Set up Linux on IBM System z for Production

Set up Linux on IBM System z for Production

Released November 2013
Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
ISBN: 9780738438870

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Book description

This IBM® Redbooks® publication shows the power of IBM System z® virtualization and flexibility in sharing resources in a flexible production environment. In this book, we outline the planning and setup of Linux on System z to move from a development or test environment into production. As an example, we use one logical partition (LPAR) with shared CPUs with memory for a production environment and another LPAR that shares some CPUs, but also has a dedicated one for production. Running in IBM z/VM® mode allows for virtualization of servers and based on z/VM shares, can prioritize and control their resources.

The size of the LPAR or z/VM resources depends on the workload and the applications that run that workload. We examine a typical web server environment, Java applications, and describe it by using a database management system, such as IBM DB2®.

Network decisions are examined with regards to VSWITCH, shared Open Systems Adapter (OSA), IBM HiperSockets™ and the HiperPAV, or FCP/SCSI attachment used with a storage area network (SAN) Volume Controller along with performance and throughput expectations.

The intended audience for this IBM Redbooks publication is IT architects who are responsible for planning production environments and IT specialists who are responsible for implementation of production environments.

Table of contents

  1. Front cover
  2. Notices
    1. Trademarks
  3. Preface
    1. Authors
    2. Now you can become a published author, too!
    3. Comments welcome
    4. Stay connected to IBM Redbooks
  4. Chapter 1. Introduction
    1. 1.1 Hardware
    2. 1.2 Reliability, availability, and serviceability
    3. 1.3 System z virtualization
    4. 1.4 Linux as a System z guest
    5. 1.5 Linux on System z in a cloud environment
  5. Chapter 2. Architectural considerations
    1. 2.1 z/VM
      1. 2.1.1 z/VM single system image
    2. 2.2 Overview of architectures used in this book
      1. 2.2.1 Scenario 1: Two z/VM LPARs (SSI) on a single System z CPC
      2. 2.2.2 Scenario 2: Four z/VM LPARs (SSI) on two to four System z CPCs
      3. 2.2.3 Scenario 3: SCSI-only (non-SSI) solutions
      4. 2.2.4 Summary
  6. Chapter 3. Hardware planning considerations
    1. 3.1 Memory planning for Linux on System z guests
      1. 3.1.1 Swap
    2. 3.2 Memory planning for z/VM
      1. 3.2.1 z/VM storage
      2. 3.2.2 Paging subsystem definitions
    3. 3.3 Channel planning
      1. 3.3.1 Fabric transport and addressing
      2. 3.3.2 Channel configuration and management consideration
      3. 3.3.3 Channel sharing
      4. 3.3.4 Performance assessment
      5. 3.3.5 Considerations of choosing FICON or FCP
  7. Chapter 4. Storage planning considerations
    1. 4.1 HyperPAV overview
      1. 4.1.1 Benefits of using HyperPAV
      2. 4.1.2 Configuring HyperPAV
      3. 4.1.3 User directory entry
      4. 4.1.4 Making HyperPAV available to Linux
    2. 4.2 ECKD versus SCSI
      1. 4.2.1 ECKD over FICON
      2. 4.2.2 SCSI over FCP
      3. 4.2.3 Summary
  8. Chapter 5. Network planning considerations
    1. 5.1 Network overview
      1. 5.1.1 Open Systems Adapters
      2. 5.1.2 OSA with Link Aggregation
      3. 5.1.3 IBM HiperSockets
      4. 5.1.4 z/VM Guest LANs
      5. 5.1.5 z/VM virtual switches
  9. Chapter 6. Linux planning considerations
    1. 6.1 File system management
      1. 6.1.1 File system hierarchy with LVM
      2. 6.1.2 Disk naming convention
    2. 6.2 Network management
      1. 6.2.1 Maximum transmission unit
      2. 6.2.2 Buffer count configuration
    3. 6.3 Compliance considerations
      1. 6.3.1 Production checklist
      2. 6.3.2 Local repository
      3. 6.3.3 Authentication
  10. Chapter 7. Software planning considerations
    1. 7.1 Management tools
      1. 7.1.1 z/VM Directory Maintenance Facility
    2. 7.2 Database management systems
      1. 7.2.1 Linux memory setup considerations for database servers
      2. 7.2.2 Linux storage setup considerations for database server
      3. 7.2.3 Linux network consideration for database servers
      4. 7.2.4 IBM DB2 Enterprise Database Server considerations
      5. 7.2.5 Oracle Database Server considerations
      6. 7.2.6 Summary
    3. 7.3 Java application considerations
    4. 7.4 Web and application servers
      1. 7.4.1 IBM WebSphere Application Server
      2. 7.4.2 Apache Web Server
  11. Chapter 8. Security considerations
    1. 8.1 Manage directory in z/VM
    2. 8.2 Secure console access to z/VM virtual machines
    3. 8.3 Secure network access to z/VM
    4. 8.4 Secure your z/VM resources
    5. 8.5 Secure Linux on System z email servers
    6. 8.6 Secure users
    7. 8.7 Use an external security manager
  12. Chapter 9. Backup and restore considerations
    1. 9.1 Image-level backup of z/VM
      1. 9.1.1 z/VM offline backups
    2. 9.2 z/VM online backups
      1. 9.2.1 Using SPXTAPE to back up spool files
      2. 9.2.2 Copying z/VM CPOWNED minidisks
    3. 9.3 File-level backup of z/VM data
    4. 9.4 Linux file-level backup tools
      1. 9.4.1 Tar archiving utility
      2. 9.4.2 Disk dump: Using the dd command
      3. 9.4.3 rsync command
      4. 9.4.4 LVM2 snapshot
    5. 9.5 Other kinds of backups
  13. Chapter 10. Performance considerations
    1. 10.1 Using z/VM commands
      1. 10.1.1 CP INIDICATE command
      2. 10.1.2 CP QUERY command
    2. 10.2 IBM Performance Toolkit for VM
      1. 10.2.1 Logical partition information
      2. 10.2.2 Processor utilization and waiting time
      3. 10.2.3 Total/Virtual processor ratio
      4. 10.2.4 z/VM resource manager (SRM)
      5. 10.2.5 SHARE values
      6. 10.2.6 QUICK DISPATCH option
      7. 10.2.7 z/VM memory subsystem
      8. 10.2.8 Minidisk cache guidelines
      9. 10.2.9 Paging subsystem
      10. 10.2.10 Final memory considerations
    3. 10.3 IBM Tivoli OMEGAMON XE on z/VM and Linux
    4. 10.4 Open source tools and Linux on System z commands
  14. Chapter 11. Accounting
    1. 11.1 Do it simple; do it right
    2. 11.2 Configuring the z/VM accounting services
  15. Appendix A. Performance Toolkit reports
    1. A.1 Performance Toolkit reference commands and reports
  16. Appendix B. Migration checklists
    1. B.1 z/VM checklist
    2. B.2 Linux on System z
    3. B.3 Infrastructure checklist
    4. B.4 Network checklist
    5. B.5 Product checklist
  17. Appendix C. Sample procedure
    1. C.1 Pre-production steps
    2. C.2 Post-production steps
  18. Related publications
    1. IBM Redbooks
    2. Other publications
    3. Online resources
    4. Help from IBM
  19. Back cover

Product information

  • Title: Set up Linux on IBM System z for Production
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: November 2013
  • Publisher(s): IBM Redbooks
  • ISBN: 9780738438870