SR-IOV is a PCI standard architecture that enables PCIe adapters to become self-virtualizing. Similar to logical partitioning that enables server consolidation, this architecture enables adapter consolidation through sharing.
SR-IOV supports pass-through of Ethernet data from guest virtual machines directly to hardware.
Initial SR-IOV deployment supports up to 48 logical ports per adapter, depending on the adapter type. Each physical port is divided into logical ports. These logical ports are connected to a virtual machine for network connectivity.
In earlier versions, PowerVC supported the deployment of logical partition having SR-IOV network with adapter type "Virtual NIC".
Starting version 2.0.2, PowerVC also supports attaching SR-IOV network with adapter type “SRIOV Logical Port”. This feature enables Ethernet data from guest virtual machines to pass through directly to the SR-IOV adapter.
Adding SR-IOV logical ports
Prerequisite
- Validate if the SRI-OV adapter is in shared mode or dedicated mode. PowerVC doesn’t support adding logical ports to a virtual machine if the SR-IOV adapter is in dedicated mode.
- SRI-OV ports can also be validated in Host list details pages on PowerVC GUI.
Adding SR-IOV logical ports to a partition by using hardware management console (HMC)
Complete the following steps to add SR-IOV logical ports to a partition by using HMC.
Step 1: Deploy a virtual machine with SEA or SRI-OV network from the PowerVC GUI.
Step 2: Shut down and unmanage the virtual machine from PowerVC.
Step 3: Log in to HMC GUI, navigate to the respective virtual machine, and then click Virtual I/O > Hardware Virtualized I/O.
Step 4: On the SR-IOV tab, click Add Port. The Add SR-IOV Logical Port page opens. On the Add SR-IOV Logical Port page, select Select an SR-IOV physical port.
Step 5: On the Physical Ports page, select a physical port from the list of available physical ports and click OK.
Step 6: In the Logical port capacity field, enter the capacity value in percentage for the logical port and expand Advanced settings to view the advanced setting options for the SR-IOV adapter.
- From the OS MAC Address Restrictions list, select an option for the OS MAC address restrictions.
- From the VLAN ID Restrictions list, select an option for the OS VLAN ID restrictions.
- In the Port VLAN ID field, enter a value. The valid range is 2 - 4094.
- In the PVID Priority field, enter any value from 0 - 7, where 0 indicates the lowest priority and 7 indicates the highest priority value.
Note: The default value of Port VLAN ID is '0'. If you enter a non-zero value in the Port VLAN ID field, the PVID Priority field becomes available.
Step 7: Click OK. The SR-IOV port is added to the logical partition.![]()
Step 8: Onboard the logical partition in PowerVC. Validate network information on the virtual machine details page. SR-IOV Logical ports attached to the VM will appear as 'SRIOV-PHYSICAL' adapter type in PowerVC.
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Adding SR-IOV logical ports to a partition by using NovaLink CLI
Step 1: Deploy a virtual machine with SEA or SR-IOV from the PowerVC.
Step 2: Shut down the virtual machine and unmanage the virtual machine from the PowerVC.
Step 3: Select the location of the SR-IOV physical adapter from the PowerVC host details page. We can also fetch a list of SR-IOV physical adapters from NovaLink CLI using the below command.
pvmctl sriovadapter list
Step 4: Run the below command to attach the SR-IOV network with adapter type "SRIOV Logical Port".
pvmctl ethlogicalport create -p name=<Logical-Partition Name> --loc < SRIOV physical adapter location> --pvid <VLAN ID>
Step 5: Onboard the logical partition in PowerVC. Validate the network information on the virtual machine details page.
Benefits
- Improves performance by allowing data to pass directly from guest virtual machines to physical adapters with minimal processing between, allowing a guest virtual machine to achieve near wire-speed Ethernet performance.
- Power Systems SR-IOV provides QoS controls to specify a capacity value for each logical port, improving the ability to share adapter ports effectively and efficiently.
Limitations
- Doesn't support attaching SR-IOV network with adapter type "SRIOV-Physical" using PowerVC UI.
- SRIOV network with adapter type "SRIOV-Physical" will be attached to a virtual machine using HMC UI or NovaLink CLI after deploying logical partition from PowerVC.
- Mobility operations (like LPM, RR, ARR) of a virtual machine with logical ports are restricted.
PowerVC supports various network combinations which can be used to attach a network to a logical partition.
- Virtual machine with SEA
- Virtual machine with SEA and SR-IOV network with adapter type "Virtual NIC"
- Virtual machine with SEA and SR-IOV network with adapter type "SRIOV Logical Port"
- Virtual machine with SRIOV network with adapter type "Virtual NIC"
- Virtual machine with SRIOV network with adapter type "Virtual NIC" and "SRIOV Logical Port"
- Virtual machine with SRIOV network with adapter type "SRIOV Logical Port"
Conclusion
Virtual machines with SR-IOV logical ports pass Ethernet data directly to SR-IOV Adapter. In this blog, we have seen procedures for adding SR-IOV logical ports to a partition by using HMC UI and by using NovaLink CLI. We have also discussed the prerequisites, benefits, and limitations.
Hope this blog helped you to understand the new 'Onboard virtual machine with SR-IOV Logical Ports' feature in PowerVC. Happy reading!
Knowledge center link: PowerVC
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Blog author:
- Prakhar Amule