Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   <o:p></o:p>

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

<o:p></o:p>

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

<o:p></o:p>

Regards,

SK

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

OK good point. Correction:

> I would recommend removing Version WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
> This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

Versioned WPARs are running /usr code from the original AIX 5.2 or AIX 5.3 that has not been maintained for decades.

Regular WPAR is secure.  Their introduction added a few important new security features to AIX as they cam as a bundle in one AIX upgrade.

WPARs do have their fan customers and they use them still a lot.

But I agree that Virtual Machines (what the Power people call Logical Partition or LPAR) have been vastly more popular and benefit from Live Partition Mobility (LPM = jumping a VM between servers).

I would have to check the historical records which came first WPAR or LPAR.

I still have YouTube video playlist on Workload Partitions.

They are also an excellent way on a very large AIX VM with many workloads and apps to isolate the processes and work out the CPU, memoery and I/O each workload is taking.

By the way: AIX Live Kernel Update (LKU or just LU) uses WPAR under-the-cover.  So many AIX sysadmin are using WPAR without knowing it.

Cheers, Nigel

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

WPAR, introduced with AIX 6.1, 2007.

LPAR, introduced with POWER4, 2001

OK good point. Correction:

> I would recommend removing Version WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
> This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

Versioned WPARs are running /usr code from the original AIX 5.2 or AIX 5.3 that has not been maintained for decades.

Regular WPAR is secure.  Their introduction added a few important new security features to AIX as they cam as a bundle in one AIX upgrade.

WPARs do have their fan customers and they use them still a lot.

But I agree that Virtual Machines (what the Power people call Logical Partition or LPAR) have been vastly more popular and benefit from Live Partition Mobility (LPM = jumping a VM between servers).

I would have to check the historical records which came first WPAR or LPAR.

I still have YouTube video playlist on Workload Partitions.

They are also an excellent way on a very large AIX VM with many workloads and apps to isolate the processes and work out the CPU, memoery and I/O each workload is taking.

By the way: AIX Live Kernel Update (LKU or just LU) uses WPAR under-the-cover.  So many AIX sysadmin are using WPAR without knowing it.

Cheers, Nigel

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Thanks José but LPARs initially came without the VIOS, which I think was 2007 as part of PowerVM (was it called APV?)  for POWER6.
Until VIOS cam along the LPAR tech only had shared CPU's and Memory - not that useful.

WPAR, introduced with AIX 6.1, 2007.

LPAR, introduced with POWER4, 2001

OK good point. Correction:

> I would recommend removing Version WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
> This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

Versioned WPARs are running /usr code from the original AIX 5.2 or AIX 5.3 that has not been maintained for decades.

Regular WPAR is secure.  Their introduction added a few important new security features to AIX as they cam as a bundle in one AIX upgrade.

WPARs do have their fan customers and they use them still a lot.

But I agree that Virtual Machines (what the Power people call Logical Partition or LPAR) have been vastly more popular and benefit from Live Partition Mobility (LPM = jumping a VM between servers).

I would have to check the historical records which came first WPAR or LPAR.

I still have YouTube video playlist on Workload Partitions.

They are also an excellent way on a very large AIX VM with many workloads and apps to isolate the processes and work out the CPU, memoery and I/O each workload is taking.

By the way: AIX Live Kernel Update (LKU or just LU) uses WPAR under-the-cover.  So many AIX sysadmin are using WPAR without knowing it.

Cheers, Nigel

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

I had LPARs on a POWER4 - P690 (Regatta), no shared CPU, micro partitioning or VIOS though, somewhat different to what we know now, that all started with POWER5.  LPM came with POWER6.

Thanks José but LPARs initially came without the VIOS, which I think was 2007 as part of PowerVM (was it called APV?)  for POWER6.
Until VIOS cam along the LPAR tech only had shared CPU's and Memory - not that useful.

WPAR, introduced with AIX 6.1, 2007.

LPAR, introduced with POWER4, 2001

OK good point. Correction:

> I would recommend removing Version WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
> This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

Versioned WPARs are running /usr code from the original AIX 5.2 or AIX 5.3 that has not been maintained for decades.

Regular WPAR is secure.  Their introduction added a few important new security features to AIX as they cam as a bundle in one AIX upgrade.

WPARs do have their fan customers and they use them still a lot.

But I agree that Virtual Machines (what the Power people call Logical Partition or LPAR) have been vastly more popular and benefit from Live Partition Mobility (LPM = jumping a VM between servers).

I would have to check the historical records which came first WPAR or LPAR.

I still have YouTube video playlist on Workload Partitions.

They are also an excellent way on a very large AIX VM with many workloads and apps to isolate the processes and work out the CPU, memoery and I/O each workload is taking.

By the way: AIX Live Kernel Update (LKU or just LU) uses WPAR under-the-cover.  So many AIX sysadmin are using WPAR without knowing it.

Cheers, Nigel

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Thanks José but LPARs initially came without the VIOS, which I think was 2007 as part of PowerVM (was it called APV?)  for POWER6.
Until VIOS cam along the LPAR tech only had shared CPU's and Memory - not that useful.

WPAR, introduced with AIX 6.1, 2007.

LPAR, introduced with POWER4, 2001

OK good point. Correction:

> I would recommend removing Version WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
> This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

Versioned WPARs are running /usr code from the original AIX 5.2 or AIX 5.3 that has not been maintained for decades.

Regular WPAR is secure.  Their introduction added a few important new security features to AIX as they cam as a bundle in one AIX upgrade.

WPARs do have their fan customers and they use them still a lot.

But I agree that Virtual Machines (what the Power people call Logical Partition or LPAR) have been vastly more popular and benefit from Live Partition Mobility (LPM = jumping a VM between servers).

I would have to check the historical records which came first WPAR or LPAR.

I still have YouTube video playlist on Workload Partitions.

They are also an excellent way on a very large AIX VM with many workloads and apps to isolate the processes and work out the CPU, memoery and I/O each workload is taking.

By the way: AIX Live Kernel Update (LKU or just LU) uses WPAR under-the-cover.  So many AIX sysadmin are using WPAR without knowing it.

Cheers, Nigel

I make the at least 10 questions!

Before I start AIX 5.2, AIX 5.3, and AIX 6.1 are no longer supported. 

 - Which means they are not tested on new hardware.

 - I tested AIX 6.1 on Power10 and AIX it halted by the firmware in microseconds after your start it up.

Before I start AIX 5.2 WPARs nor AIX 5.3 WPAR are no longer supported which means they are not tested on new hardware or newer AIX version at all.

If you get combinations working then considered it by luck.

These are my personal opinions and I do not represent the IBM official position.

You have to be very careful reading documents. WPARs when announced pre-requisites were POWER7 and AIX 7.1 TL2 or later.
But the "or later" does not apply to AIX 7.2 or AIX 7.3. Just later versions of AIX 7.1.

1 Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
Yes with caveats.

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=aix-binary-compatibility

and https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=compatibility-restrictions-aix-binary

2 Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3?

Yes - I think this is documented in the Release Notes/Readme file that comes with the AIX 7.3 upgrade packages found on Fix Central

See https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/aix/7.3?topic=notes-aix-732-release

3 Are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.

4 Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs?

No.

WPARs was a short term gap filler and runs on AIX 7.1 and POWER7.
All customer were expected to upgrade many years ago.
WPAR has not been announce as supporting AIX 7.2 nor AIX 7.3

5 Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?

Yes with caveats, see answers to 1.
You also have to consider the hardware you are running the AIX 7.3 on.

6 Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

That is four combinations!

No.  AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7
Anything newer is blue sky research.

7 Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode?

That is 2 combinations.

AIX 5.2 WPAR support ended on AIX 7.1 and POWER7 - if you are running POWER9 you can get to run in POWER7 mode

But not on Power10 as it only has POWER8, POWER9 and Power10 modes.

Pure guesswork - you may get lucking. They may appear to work in the short term but as stated zero support from IBM.
Anything newer is blue sky research.

I would recommend removing WPARs from your computer room, immediately, as they are not safe and not secure.
This should have been done 5 years ago or more.

If you really must run them on the latest AIX 7.1 on POWER9 running in POWER7 compatibility mode.

Then look for a better employer that runs up to date software on up to date hardware.

As I said at the start all this is "In My Humble Opinion".

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Thank you, Nigel, Marc-Eric, Russell, Jose, Phill, & Jeff, I appreciate your feedback on this thread.<o:p></o:p>

Given the following about AIX 7.1,<o:p></o:p>

o   Power 7,8,9 and 10 h/w support AIX 7.1 (ref)<o:p></o:p>

§  Power7and 8 support it in Native mode<o:p></o:p>

§  Power9 and 10 – support it in power8 mode  <o:p></o:p>

o   AIX 7.1 has a fee-based service extension until beginning of 2026. <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

I am thinking that the customer may technically be able to run their applications on 5.2 WPAR on a 7.1 L on Power9 / Power10 in a similar way they are running at present on Power8 but t<o:p></o:p>he statement at this link says "Versioned WPARs support only POWER7® and POWER8® hardware" making it unclear whether this would include Power8 mode on Powe9 /Power10 or not (Power8 mode is virtually the same as power8 h/w, isn't it?).  (I do note that ver 5.2 has no support) <o:p></o:p>

Has someone tried/successfully run a WPAR on 7.1 LPAR running in power8 mode on a Power10 and/or a Power9?<o:p></o:p>

Finally, if I could get some inputs/recommendations on upgrade path from 5.1 WPAR to 7.1/7.2/7.3 LPAR that will be great.<o:p></o:p>

ps: my queries are more from compatibility/workability/planning perspective and not to encourage users in any way to continue running on unsupported versions :)<o:p></o:p>

Regards,

Sanjay

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Thank you, Nigel, Marc-Eric, Russell, Jose, Phill, & Jeff, I appreciate your feedback on this thread.

Given the following about AIX 7.1,

o   Power 7,8,9 and 10 h/w support AIX 7.1 (ref)

§  Power7and 8 support it in Native mode

§  Power9 and 10 – support it in power8 mode  

o   AIX 7.1 has a fee-based service extension until beginning of 2026.

I am thinking that the customer may technically be able to run their applications on 5.2 WPAR on a 7.1 L on Power9 / Power10 in a similar way they are running at present on Power8 but the statement at this link says "Versioned WPARs support only POWER7® and POWER8® hardware" making it unclear whether this would include Power8 mode on Powe9 /Power10 or not (Power8 mode is virtually the same as power8 h/w, isn't it?).  (I do note that ver 5.2 has no support) 

Has someone tried/successfully run a WPAR on 7.1 LPAR running in power8 mode on a Power10 and/or a Power9?

Finally, if I could get some inputs/recommendations on upgrade path from 5.1 WPAR to 7.1/7.2/7.3 LPAR that will be great.

ps: my queries are more from compatibility/workability/planning perspective and not to encourage users in any way to continue running on unsupported versions :)

Regards,

Sanjay

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK

Thank you, Nigel, Marc-Eric, Russell, Jose, Phill, & Jeff, I appreciate your feedback on this thread.<o:p></o:p>

Given the following about AIX 7.1,<o:p></o:p>

o   Power 7,8,9 and 10 h/w support AIX 7.1 (ref)<o:p></o:p>

§  Power7and 8 support it in Native mode<o:p></o:p>

§  Power9 and 10 – support it in power8 mode  <o:p></o:p>

o   AIX 7.1 has a fee-based service extension until beginning of 2026. <o:p></o:p>

<o:p> </o:p>

I am thinking that the customer may technically be able to run their applications on 5.2 WPAR on a 7.1 L on Power9 / Power10 in a similar way they are running at present on Power8 but t<o:p></o:p>he statement at this link says "Versioned WPARs support only POWER7® and POWER8® hardware" making it unclear whether this would include Power8 mode on Powe9 /Power10 or not (Power8 mode is virtually the same as power8 h/w, isn't it?).  (I do note that ver 5.2 has no support) <o:p></o:p>

Has someone tried/successfully run a WPAR on 7.1 LPAR running in power8 mode on a Power10 and/or a Power9?<o:p></o:p>

Finally, if I could get some inputs/recommendations on upgrade path from 5.1 WPAR to 7.1/7.2/7.3 LPAR that will be great.<o:p></o:p>

ps: my queries are more from compatibility/workability/planning perspective and not to encourage users in any way to continue running on unsupported versions :)<o:p></o:p>

Regards,

Sanjay

Hi Experts,

One of my end-customer is planning to migrate from their existing Power 8 h/w to newer Power h/w and is concerned about migrating /upgrading some of their workloads that currently runs on AIX 5.2 WPARs (on 7.1 LPARs) and a few LPARs running AIX 6.1.   

I couldn't find clear documentation/answers to some of the queries that I have listed below, and I am hoping to find them here.   

1. Is it true that any app running on 7.1 is guaranteed by IBM to work on 7.3?
2. Can AIX 6.1 LPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3? are applications running on 6.1 supposed to run fine on 7.3 too? (In past these applications in question were migrated from 5.2 to 6.1 and worked fine)

3. Can AIX 5.2 WPARs be upgraded directly to 7.3 LPARs? Are applications currently running on AIX 5.2 supposed to run fine on version 7.3 too?
4. Can AIX5.2 be hosted on P9/ P10 as WPAR on a 7.2 / 7.3 LPAR (no compatibility mode)?

5. Can AIX 5.2 be hosted on P9 or P10 as WPAR on a 7.1 LPAR in Power8 compatibility mode? (client's earlier attempts to upgrade 5.2 to 6.1 had failed due to application incompatibility hence may need to continue to run as WPARs)

Regards,

SK