Course Description
This course is designed to provide you with the information and
skills required to use the IBM zEnterprise Unified Resource Manager
(zManager) tasks to create the virtual server environment used by an
ensemble configuration.
The course will discuss all the elements that are used by Unified
Resource Manager for creating and managing virtual servers. These
include, zBX components, HMC usage to create an ensemble and perform
Unified Resource Manager tasks, creating virtual networks (VLANs),
assigning storage to Hypervisors and virtual servers, creating and
modifying virtual server definitions.
The course will use a combination of lecture topics and labs to
describe and implement a virtual server using Unified Resource Manager.
Units in this course are:
- Introducing the zEnterprise System
- HMC usage and management
- Unified Resource Manager storage concepts and implementation
- Unified Resource Manager network concepts and implementation
- Unified Resource Manager virtual server concepts and implementation
- Unified Resource Manager HMC operational tasks
- Performance management: Workloads, monitoring and reporting
- z/BX optimizers and appliances
Labs will include:
- HMC ensemble navigation.
- Verifying z/OS ensemble enablement
- Auditing an ensemble configuration (zBX Blades).
- (Optional) Auditing the ensemble configuration (zVM Linux)
- Removing ensemble resources: Networking, storage and virtual servers (Blades only)
- Provisioning virtual server resources (Blades only)
- Installing AIX from NIM server
- Operational tasks (Optional) zVM VSwitches and VNICs
- (Optional) New workloads and performance policies
What You'll Learn
- Describe the purpose of zEnterprise System:
- Why it is needed, the value it can provide, the major components and their purpose.
- Identify the two suites of Unified Resource Manager functionality to manage an ensemble.
- Describe the zBX model 002:
- The purpose of the model 002.
- Identify server attachments and the zBX machine type.
- Identify hardware components internal to the zBX.
- What components are provided by IBM when ordering a zBX.
- Describe a zEnterprise ensemble:
- Minimum and maximum configurations.
- Identify the OSA features and CHPID types required of ensemble networking.
- Describe the INMN and IEDN, cabling required, routing and switch connections.
- List networking security characteristics and considerations for the zEnterprise ensemble.
- Identify hypervisor and virtual server operating systems supported with the Unified Resource Manager.
- Describe basic concepts on how resources are provided to virtual servers.
- Describe the difference between traditional System z HMC configurations and HMCs used for ensemble management
- Identify and describe the HMC tasks used to:
- Create an ensemble, define HMCs and add members.
- Perform a model conversion to entitle blades.
- Identify the two new default HMC IDs defined for ensemble activities.
- Explain why additional HMC access might be required beyond the traditional HMC users.
- Describe how resource and task roles can be used to restrict HMC user access.
- Use the HMC to access ensemble related tasks.
- Describe several navigational techniques and tips to find ensemble related tasks using the tree style UI.
- Identify storage types used by the zEnterprise System.
- Describe basic SAN concepts as they apply to:
- FC terminology, world wide names, logical units, zoning, LUN masking and multipathing.
- Describe Unified Resource Manager storage concepts and usage for z/VM and zBX blades.
- List the major steps used to define the storage types used by Unified Resource Manager.
- Identify and describe the Unified Resource Manager tasks that are used to add storage resources to the hypervisor.
- Describe the purpose and contents of the storage access list.
- Identify the HMC task roles that are required to add storage resources to hypervisors and virtual servers.
- Identify and explain the ensemble networks and key attributes.
- Describe basic network concepts and terminology as they apply to an ensemble network.
- Identify the different ways that customer managed networks can access the ensemble data network.
- Describe how virtual networks are defined for the ensemble.
- Explain different methods to communicate between VLANs.
- Identify the prerequisite steps needed to successfully use the
Unified Resource Manager tasks to create and define virtual networks.
- Use Unified Resource Manager tasks to:
- Create new virtual networks.
- Display detail and status information about a virtual network.
- Configure TOR switch.
- Identify the hypervisors and virtual server operating systems that are supported with Unified Resource Manager.
- Describe basic concepts on how resources are provided to the virtual servers.
- Identify virtual server definition requirements for Unified Resource Manager.
- Identify the prerequisite steps needed to successfully use the
Unified Resource Manager tasks to create and define the virtual servers.
- Use Unified Resource Manager tasks to:
- Create new virtual servers with the virtual server wizard.
- View and edit all available virtual resources using the details window.
- Mount virtual media.
- Describe and identify initial boot options for System p and System x virtual servers
- Use Unified Resource tasks to:
- Mount virtual media
- Boot from virtual media or network adapter
- Identify and perform operational tasks that is used for:
- zEnterprise hardware management
- Virtual server life cycle management
- Identify and perform energy related tasks available to the zEnterprise System
- Tasks to monitor energy use
- Tasks to save or cap energy usage
- Describe the minimum task and resource roles required to perform operational management and energy tasks
- Identify workload flow (across servers), performance monitoring and adjustment capabilities
- Describe how a performance policy can be used to help achieve business goals of workloads in an ensemble:
- Structure of a performance policy
- Dynamic resource adjustment because of missing goals
- Describe how a new workload and performance policy is created with Unified Resource Manager
- Identify the various panels used by the new workload wizard to define the performance policy
- Describe how Unified Resource Manager provides workload monitoring and reporting:
- List available reports and their purpose
- Benefits of GPMP and ARM instrumentation
Who Needs to Attend
This intermediate course is for technical individuals directly
involved in the installation and support of creating and managing
virtual servers using Unified Resource Manager. This could include
technical personal in networking, storage and System z system
programmers.
Prerequisites
Since the audience could
potentially cross many different IT profession skill sets, such as,
mainframe system administrators, system programmers, distributed system
administrators, networking and storage administrators and professions, there is no required prerequisites.
However you should have a working knowledge and experience in their selected field. This could include working experience in one or more of the following areas:
- System z architecture
- z/OS
- z/VM
- PowerVM, Power Systems
- Storage administration for mainframe or distributed systems
- Network administration
Course Outline
Unit 1: Introducing the zEnterprise System
- zEnterprise System introduction
- zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension hardware
- Ensembles and ensemble networking requirements
- Hypervisor and virtual server basics
This unit describes the three major components of the
zEnterprise System and their purpose. It describes the purpose of the
zManager, the management suites available for ensemble management, the
purpose and use of the zEnterprise BladeCenter Extension (zBX), the zBX
functional components, connectivity requirements, ensemble networking
requirements and describes basic hypervisor and virtual server concepts.
Unit 2: HMC usage and management
- Creating the ensemble: HMC usage
- HMC user requirements to perform zManager functions and tasks
- HMC navigation examples to perform zManager tasks
This unit describes the role the HMC performs in an
zEnterprise ensemble configuration. HMC requirements and user ID
requirements to perform zManager tasks will be explained, tree style
navigation examples and tips will be identified to perform zManager
tasks will be given.
Unit 3: zManager storage concepts and implementation
- zManager storage concepts
- zManager storage implementation
This unit describes the storage types, usage and concepts
that is used in the zEnterprise System and supported with zManager.
Storage types used for z/VM and Power blades will be explained, storage
definition process, exporting and importing storage access lists will be
detailed, and zManager task roles and tasks required to add storage to
hypervisor and virtual servers will be demonstrated using various
examples.
Unit 4: zManager network concepts and implementation
- zManager networking concepts
- zManager network implementation
This unit describes virtual networking concepts that apply
to ensemble and zManager tasks. It discusses step by step zManager tasks
to create, configure, and verify virtual networks and zBX TOR switch
ports used by the IEDN.
Unit 5: zManager virtual server concepts and implementation
- zManager virtual server concepts
- zManager virtual server implementation
This unit describes basic concepts for virtual servers and
their hypervisor as supported by zManager. It explains the required
information and documentation that should be available prior to
performing zManager tasks to create virtual servers.
The unit provides a detailed step by step process using zManager
tasks to create and modify the virtual server definitions, mount virtual
media, and identify other tasks that can be part of a new virtual
server installation.
Unit 6: zManager HMC operational tasks
- Operational management tasks
- Energy management tasks
This unit describes the available HMC tasks that can be
used during the operation of an ensemble. It will identify the tasks
available for hardware and virtual server life cycle management,
describe their usage and identify how they are accessed. Tasks for
energy monitoring and reporting will be discussed and identified.
Additional energy capabilities available with the automate suite will
also be discussed and defined.
Unit 7: Workloads and performance policies
- Workloads and performance monitoring concepts
- Performance policy creation and implementation
This unit describes how workloads can flow across various
servers in the ensemble and how a performance policy can be used to help
achieve the business goals of that workload. Performance policies will
performance monitoring will be described. The zManager tasks to create
and implement performance policies will be identified. Tasks available
for performance monitoring will also be identified and explained.
Unit 8: zBX optimizers and appliances
This unit describes and overview the IBM Smart Analytics
Optimizer and the IBM DataPower appliances. It explains how they can be
used in the zEnterprise System and the initial setup activities required
to install and access the DataPower appliance in the zBX.
Hands on labs
Exercise 1 : Lab set up
This exercise will provide the set up procedures to set up and access the lab systems
Exercise 2 : HMC tree UI ensemble navigation
This exercise will provide the student the opportunity to use the
HMC to view the various elements of an ensemble. It will provide the
basic skills necessary to navigate the HMC to perform ensemble related
functions.
Exercise 3: Audit the ensemble configuration
This exercise will document the existing ensemble configuration
elements and definitions for virtual servers, storage and networking.
Exercise 4: Removing and provisioning virtual server resources
This exercise will remove currently assigned virtual servers,
storage and virtual networking assignments. After the environment is
removed it will then be recreated by adding the appropriate virtual
servers, VLANs and storage resources. Storage will be assigned to the
hypervisor using two different options.
Exercise 5: Load operating systems
This exercise will be used to load the operating systems into the newly defined virtual servers and test connectivity..
Exercise 6: HMC operational tasks
This exercise will be used to perform various operational tasks that might be required for ensemble operation.
Exercise 7: Enabling GPMP and performance