Re: Hardware support: VIOS service vs IBM i Service

It is a very expensive proposition. Just have either a split backplane (for
those machines that support it) and just a couple of disks or add an
expansion if more disks are needed. I have seen 770s using Dual VIOS in
that manner. It is frankly appalling to see the volume groups configured
WITHOUT any protection just because "if it fails, the other VIOS has a
copy, and mirroring is managed by the LPAR". Whoever designed that solution
didn't think about the CE that had to re-create everything from scratch
(the vg, the file backed disks, the mappings, everything) in case of a
single disk failure.
Luckily the customer had already started to move those LPARs to SAN, so in
the end I think they asked us to replace the drive and just leave it there
spinning uselessly...

Roberto

On Thu, 25 Mar 2021 at 07:54, Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis <
midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

OK. How would you do internal disk (That is no SAN storage) with
REDUNDANT VIOS?
Or for that matter with redundant IBM i hosts?

I'm listening.

- DrF

On 3/24/2021 9:57 PM, Shaun Ryan wrote:

I really Have to say that service agent actions aside - this was a

very

poorly designed VIOS solution.

Obviously a single VIOS server presenting disk to client server luns

from

internal disk

sorry but to me this beggers believe, the design is just full of

single

points of failure (which in reality is no different to an IBMi

hosting

server)

All our vios servers are dual vios with dual SEA and dual paths to

disk -

aka redundant
Split backplane allows for the dual VIOS's installation with the
individual rootvg on separate RAID sets and separate controllers

Yes I am more of a AIX guy but sorry to say the client / business

partner

brought this issue onto themselves

As for the service agent actions, try being elsewhere in the world

for

agent knowledge / skills

Shaun


Shaun Ryan
Systems Administrator SAP Basis
[1][USEMAP] [2]P: +64 3 363 6939
[3]M: +64 21 974 587
[4]E: Shaun.Ryan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[5]167 Main North Road, Christchurch 8140

-----Original Message-----
From: Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis <midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, 25 March 2021 8:37 am
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion <

midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>;

Vern Hamberg <vhamberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Hardware support: VIOS service vs IBM i Service

Was VIOS guy, actually I think AIX. Clearly not an IBM i guy no way.

At

the time of this problem IBM i existed only on Tape and the hopes and
dreams that the blown up RAID set could be recovered. It wasn't.

- L

On 3/24/2021 3:33 PM, Vern Hamberg wrote:
> Have to believe that tech wasn't true IBM i service person - I bet
> this would never happen with our real service people.
>
> Vern
>
> On 3/24/2021 9:16 AM, Jeff Crosby wrote:
>>> Turns out he had reached end of shift and just put us on hold and
>>> went
>> home.
>>
>> Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 24, 2021 at 9:20 AM Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis <
>> midrange@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> I have one customer who lost their entire system years ago due to
>>> IBM #FAIL with a system that had VIOS for hosting (Internal

disk) of

>>> three IBM i partitions. Improper understanding of the

configuration

>>> meant IBM couldn't find the failed disk that the HMC had reported
>>> and thus left without repairing it. When drive two failed some

time

later, bye bye.
>>> They had gone into all three IBM i partitions and Service Tools
>>> reported all disks were good!
>>>
>>> Some months later that SAME customer lost their entire system

once

>>> again when a failed drive replacement procedure took out the RAID
>>> set containing the hosting storage. After this failure we rebuilt
>>> with IBM i hosting replacing VIOS. To them VIOS is indeed a 'four
>>> letter word.' At one point before throwing all the VIOS disks

into

>>> the dumpster and making the call to host with IBM i, we were

waiting

>>> on the phone with a tech and couldn't get him to respond. Turns

out

>>> he had reached end of shift and just put us on hold and went

home.

>>> Once we discovered he was gone, and national duty manager

struggled

>>> to find someone to help us, that was the instant the IBM i tape

came

>>> out of my bag and we began reconfiguring the system.
>>>
>>> Your absolute best friend when you run VIOS is to 'know a guy'

who

>>> who runs strong with the AIX. No joke here.
>>>
>>> - L
>>>
>>> On 3/24/2021 9:02 AM, Rob Berendt wrote:
>>>> I'm so used to when a disk drive needs replaced in IBM i you

log on

>>>> to
>>> the system, get into STRSST, step back and let the hardware
>>> repairman do his thing.
>>>> It's a whole different animal in VIOS.
>>>>
>>>> First of all when you open the ticket with IBM they ask you the
>>> stupidest question: What operating systems are running under

this?

>>>> Why is this a stupid question? Well if you tell them IBM i then
>>>> they
>>> send someone out who knows IBM i and doesn't have a clue about

VIOS.

>>> So when you start a putty session and get them into the vios

console

>>> and they type in STRSST and get command not found you already

know

>>> you can tack hours on to the call.
>>>> The next thing is that they assume the customer is all knowing

and

>>> comfortable with VIOS and/or AIX and know how to unmirror disk
>>> drives and all sorts of stuff that were all set up for me. Since
>>> you are not you will have to open a software ticket also.
>>>> And Heaven help you if you are not at a version 3 of VIOS. You

get

>>>> a
>>> reply like, your choices are:
>>>> - Upgrade to a supported version of VIOS
>>>>
>>>> - Contract with IBM Lab Services for a minimum of 40

hours

>>>> at
>>> several hundred dollars an hour
>>>> - Sign an extended support contract for the expired

version

>>>> of
>>> VIOS
>>>> It doesn't help that you drove hours to a remote data center on
>>>> Monday
>>> for an appointment you scheduled with the IBM hardware guy the

week

>>> before. AND HE NEVER SHOWS NOR CALLS! The national duty manager
>>> had a tough time finding anyone in Indy and had to get back to

me.

>>> Service man claims he was at a customer site with his phone in

the

>>> car and doesn't know when he'll ever get out of there. Who

leaves

>>> their phone in the car?!?
>>> The only time I can think of this is my son has to because the

Navy

>>> really frowns upon anyone taking a phone into a secure area. He
>>> lost it for a few days while they scanned it to see if he took

any

>>> pictures, etc.
>>>> So you drive back down on Tuesday.
>>>> I wonder if the NCAA having their tournaments in town had

anything

>>>> to do
>>> with this. Like did the serviceman score tickets?
>>>> Oh well, driving out of town allowed me to check out some shops

on

>>>> the
>>> way home and I scored a little powder to reload some rounds...
>>>> Rob Berendt
>>>> --
>>>> IBM Certified System Administrator - IBM i 6.1 Group Dekko Dept
>>>> 1600 Mail to: 7310 Innovation Blvd, Suite 104
>>>> Ft. Wayne, IN 46818
>>>> Ship to: 7310 Innovation Blvd, Dock 9C
>>>> Ft. Wayne, IN 46818
>>>> [6]http://www.dekko.com
>>>>
>>> --
>>> IBM Champion for Power Systems
>>>
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Hosting

>>> [8]www.iDevCloud.com - Personal IBM i Hosting [9]

www.Frankeni.com -

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>>> and Power Systems Consulting.
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>

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