PowerVM NovaLink

PowerVM® NovaLink is a software interface that is used for virtualization management. You can install PowerVM NovaLink on a PowerVM server. PowerVM NovaLink enables highly scalable modern cloud management and deployment of critical enterprise workloads. You can use PowerVM NovaLink to provision large numbers of virtual machines on PowerVM servers quickly and at a reduced cost.

PowerVM NovaLink runs on a Linux logical partition on a POWER8® processor-based server that is virtualized by PowerVM. You can manage the server through a representational state transfer application programming interface (REST API) or through a command-line interface (CLI). You can also manage the server by using PowerVC or other OpenStack solutions. PowerVM NovaLink is available at no additional charge for servers that are virtualized by PowerVM.

PowerVM NovaLink can be installed only on POWER8 processor-based servers.

Benefits of PowerVM NovaLink

PowerVM NovaLink provides the following benefits:

Rapidly provisions large numbers of virtual machines on PowerVM servers.
Simplifies the deployment of new systems. The PowerVM NovaLink installer creates a PowerVM NovaLink partition and Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) partitions on the server and installs operating systems and the PowerVM NovaLink software. The PowerVM NovaLink installer reduces the installation time and facilitates repeatable deployments.
Reduces the complexity and increases the security of your server management infrastructure. PowerVM NovaLink provides a server management interface on the server. The server management network between PowerVM NovaLink and its virtual machines is secure by design and is configured with minimal user intervention.
Operates with PowerVC or other OpenStack solutions to manage your servers.
PowerVM NovaLink 1.0.0.6 supports PowerVM Open I/O. Open I/O enables Software Defined Environments for Software Defined Networking (SDN) and storage. As the I/O is hosted by a single Linux partition, it is targeted for the cloud, development, and test environments. Production environments where the workload does not have built-in resiliency should continue to use the Virtual I/O Server to host I/O.

PowerVM NovaLink architecture

The PowerVM NovaLink software runs on an Ubuntu Linux, or a Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 7.3 logical partition. The PowerVM NovaLink partition uses I/O resources that are virtualized by the Virtual I/O Server. The PowerVM NovaLink software is delivered by using the dpkg package manager for Ubuntu versions of PowerVM NovaLink, and the standard Red Hat Packet Manager (RPM) for Red Hat versions of PowerVM NovaLink, similar to any other software in Linux.

PowerVM NovaLink includes an installer that configures the PowerVM NovaLink environment in one action. The PowerVM NovaLink installer creates the Linux and Virtual I/O Server logical partitions and installs the operating systems and PowerVM NovaLink software.

The PowerVM NovaLink stack consists of the following services:

PowerVM NovaLink Core Services provide direct interfaces to the managed system.
- REST API which is similar to that on the Hardware Management Console (HMC) and a python-based software development kit: https://github.com/powervm/pypowervm
- Command-line interface (CLI) for shell interaction with PowerVM. This CLI differs from CLI of the HMC to provide a complete PowerVM CLI that encompasses both hypervisor and VIOS configurations.
OpenStack Services provide drivers and plug-ins for use by OpenStack-based management solutions, including PowerVC:
- PowerVM virtualization driver for OpenStack Nova: https://github.com/openstack/nova-powervm
- PowerVM Shared Ethernet Adapter agent for OpenStack Neutron: https://github.com/openstack/networking-powervm
- PowerVM compute agent plug-ins for OpenStack Ceilometer: https://github.com/openstack/ceilometer-powervm

Managed system co-management

POWER8 processor-based servers can be co-managed by PowerVM NovaLink and an HMC that is at version 8.4.0, or later. An HMC that co-manages a POWER8 processor-based server can also manage POWER6® and POWER7® processor-based servers.

When a managed system is co-managed by the HMC and PowerVM NovaLink, you set either PowerVM NovaLink or the HMC to be in the master mode. Certain system management, partition management, and Capacity on Demand (CoD) tasks can be performed only from the interface that is in master mode. For example, if PowerVM NovaLink is in the master mode, you can run partition change operations only by using PowerVM NovaLink. If you want to run partition change operations by using the HMC, you must set the HMC to master mode.

Firmware updates for a co-managed system can be performed only from the HMC. The HMC must be set to the master mode to update the firmware.

To set the HMC to the master mode, run the following command from the HMC command line, where managed_system is the name of the managed system:

chcomgmt -m managed_system -o setmaster -t norm

After you have completed your tasks on the HMC, run the following command from the HMC command line to make PowerVM NovaLink the master again.

chcomgmt -m managed_system -o relmaster

Note: When a server is co-managed by the HMC and PowerVM NovaLink, partition profiles and system plans are not supported, regardless of whether the HMC is set to the master mode. While you can use the HMC to modify the virtualization configuration of the system when the HMC is the master, you must use the HMC Enhanced UI (or CLI) as it is optimized for working with the current configuration of a partition. However, you must use PowerVC or another OpenStack solution to manage the virtualization for your PowerVM NovaLink servers.

The HMC retains its hardware and service management roles in a co-managed environment, even when the HMC is not in master mode. However, you must set the HMC to master mode to perform any operations that change the system state. Operations that change the system state include firmware update, repair and verify, power on, or power off.

For more information about OpenStack, see the OpenStack documentation (http://docs.openstack.org/).

For more information about PowerVC, see the PowerVC Standard Edition information in IBM® Knowledge Center (https://www.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/SSXK2N).

Last updated: Fri, December 06, 2019