Question & Answer
Question
How can I backup the Virtual I/O Server?
Answer
You can back up the Virtual I/O Server and user-defined virtual devices using the backupios command. You can also use IBM Tivoli Storage Manager to schedule backups and store backups on another server.
The Virtual I/O Server contains the following types of information that you need to back up: the Virtual I/O Server itself and user-defined virtual devices.
The Virtual I/O Server includes the base code, applied fix packs, custom device drivers to support disk subsystems, and some user-defined metadata. All of this information is backed up when you use the backupios command.
User-defined virtual devices include metadata, like virtual devices mappings, that define the relationship between the physical environment and the virtual environment. You can back up user-defined virtual devices in one of the following ways.
- You can backup user-defined virtual devices by using the viosbr command. Use this option in situations where you plan to restore the configuration information to the same VIOS partition from which it was backed up.
- You can backup user-defined virtual devices by saving the data to a location that is automatically backed up when you use the backupios command. Use this option in situations where you plan to restore the VIOS to a new or different system (for example, in the event of a system failure or disaster). Furthermore, in these situations, you must also back up the following components of your environment in order to fully recover your Virtual I/O Server configuration:
– External device configurations, such as Storage Area Network (SAN) devices.
– Resources defined on the Hardware Management Console (HMC), such as processor and memory allocations. This means backing up your HMC partition profile data for the VIOS and its client partitions.
– The operating systems and applications running in the client logical partitions.
You can backup and restore the VIOS as follows:
| Backup Method | Media | Restoration Method |
| To tape | Tape | From tape |
| To DVD | DVD-RAM | From DVD |
| To remote file system | nim_resources.tar image | From an HMC using the Network Installation Management (NIM) on Linux facility and the installios command |
| To remote file system | mksysb image | From an AIX 5L/6L™ NIM server and a standard mksysb system installation |
| Tivoli Storage Manager | mksysb image | Tivoli Storage Manager |
Related Information
Was this topic helpful?
Document Information
Modified date:
19 February 2022
UID
isg3T1011899