Linux on Power
Encyclopedia
Linux on Power is the combination of any Linux
-based operating system
running on Power Architecture
technology, a microprocessor
architecture.
has been compiled to run on allowing computers such as PowerPC
-based Power Macintosh
computers originally designed to run Mac OS
to use GNU/Linux
distributions such as Debian
.
IBM
supports Linux on Power with its line of Power servers, which has gone through an evolution of names; eServer p5
series, RS/6000
, P Series, System P, and as of April 2008, IBM Power Systems. Linux releases that run on this type of hardware are a ppc64
Linux port compiled to run on IBM
POWER
based servers.
Since the release of eServer p5 series and the Linux 2.6 kernel, many Linux distributions can take advantage of POWER hardware features such as logical partitioning
, Micro-Partitioning
and RTAS. IBM at one time offered an entry/midrange line of servers called OpenPower which only run Linux, as opposed to other POWER-based servers that can also run the AIX operating system.
based IBM systems have built in virtualization
capabilities derived from mainframe
technology. On System P, this virtualization package is referred to as PowerVM. There is an additional layer between hardware and operating systems which is called the hypervisor
. IBM Power6 systems support up to 256 logical partitions on one machine, with a maximum of 10 per processor. These micropartitions can run in a shared processor pool and utilize automatic load balancing
.
The hypervisor also allows the assignment of virtual I/O and network adapters to logical partitions.
Any SUSE Linux distributions
or Debian
installation with real resources assigned can be used as a virtual I/O server. There are only two kernel modules, ibmvscsis and ibmveth, that need to be loaded to provide this functionality. Both modules are licensed under the GPL
and part of the distribution kernel.
For dynamic LPAR changes on the fly (for example, adding CPU or memory, or removing a PCI adapter), some lopdiags additional packages are needed for RSCT (Reliable Scalable Cluster Technology) communication with the HMC (Hardware Management Console). Those packages are provided from IBM in RPM
format but not in source code. After installing these packages, dynamic reconfiguration of CPU and hotpluggable PCI adapters can be done without rebooting the operating system. Reducing the memory amount assigned to the logical partition still requires reboot of the target LPAR.
and Novell
, offer licensing and support based on a "per physical machine" system for System P servers. Cost is not based on number of processors installed, which is different from pricing on IBM's System Z servers, where licensing and support is based on the number of IFL
s. Purchasing higher model numbered servers, such as a p570 or p590, allows for a smaller monetary investment but yet leaves room for more physical expansion if capacity exceeds the original investment. Each LPAR on a System P machine can be as small as 0.1 processors. This allows the total number of LPARs on a physical machine to go as high as 10 times the number of physical processors. A higher number of logical servers reduces the "per-server" cost.
are:
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
running on Power Architecture
Power Architecture
Power Architecture is a broad term to describe similar RISC instruction sets for microprocessors developed and manufactured by such companies as IBM, Freescale, AMCC, Tundra and P.A. Semi...
technology, a microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
architecture.
Introduction
Power Architecture is one of the many architectures the Linux kernelLinux kernel
The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....
has been compiled to run on allowing computers such as PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
-based Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh
Power Macintosh, later Power Mac, was a line of Apple Macintosh workstation-class personal computers based on various models of PowerPC microprocessors that were developed, marketed, and supported by Apple Inc. from March 1994 until August 2006. The first models were the Power Macintosh 6100,...
computers originally designed to run Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
to use GNU/Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
distributions such as Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
.
IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
supports Linux on Power with its line of Power servers, which has gone through an evolution of names; eServer p5
IBM System p
The System p, formerly known as RS/6000, was IBM's RISC/UNIX-based server and workstation product line.In April 2008, IBM announced a rebranding of the System p and its unification with the System i platform. The resulting product line is called IBM Power Systems.-History:It was originally a line...
series, RS/6000
RS/6000
RISC System/6000, or RS/6000 for short, is a family of RISC and UNIX based servers, workstations and supercomputers made by IBM in the 1990s. The RS/6000 family replaced the IBM RT computer platform in February 1990 and was the first computer line to see the use of IBM's POWER and PowerPC based...
, P Series, System P, and as of April 2008, IBM Power Systems. Linux releases that run on this type of hardware are a ppc64
Ppc64
ppc64 is an identifier commonly used within the Linux and GCC open source software communities to refer to the target architecture for applications optimized for 64-bit PowerPC- and Power Architecture processors, frequently used when compiling source code....
Linux port compiled to run on IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
POWER
IBM POWER
POWER is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by IBM. The name is an acronym for Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC....
based servers.
Since the release of eServer p5 series and the Linux 2.6 kernel, many Linux distributions can take advantage of POWER hardware features such as logical partitioning
LPAR
A logical partition, commonly called an LPAR, is a subset of computer's hardware resources, virtualized as a separate computer. In effect, a physical machine can be partitioned into multiple logical partitions, each hosting a separate operating system....
, Micro-Partitioning
Micro-Partitioning
Micro-Partitioning is a form of logical partitioning which was introduced by IBM on systems using the POWER5 processor, and is also referred to as a shared processor partition, and only differs from a dedicated processor partition in the way CPU utilization is configured and managed by the POWER...
and RTAS. IBM at one time offered an entry/midrange line of servers called OpenPower which only run Linux, as opposed to other POWER-based servers that can also run the AIX operating system.
Virtualization on Power6 and OpenPower
POWER6POWER6
The POWER6 is a microprocessor developed by IBM that implemented the Power ISA v.2.03. When it became available in systems in 2007, it succeeded the POWER5+ as IBM's flagship Power microprocessor...
based IBM systems have built in virtualization
Full virtualization
In computer science, full virtualization is a virtualization technique used to provide a certain kind of virtual machine environment, namely, one that is a complete simulation of the underlying hardware...
capabilities derived from mainframe
Mainframe computer
Mainframes are powerful computers used primarily by corporate and governmental organizations for critical applications, bulk data processing such as census, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise resource planning, and financial transaction processing.The term originally referred to the...
technology. On System P, this virtualization package is referred to as PowerVM. There is an additional layer between hardware and operating systems which is called the hypervisor
Hypervisor
In computing, a hypervisor, also called virtual machine manager , is one of many hardware virtualization techniques that allow multiple operating systems, termed guests, to run concurrently on a host computer. It is so named because it is conceptually one level higher than a supervisory program...
. IBM Power6 systems support up to 256 logical partitions on one machine, with a maximum of 10 per processor. These micropartitions can run in a shared processor pool and utilize automatic load balancing
Load balancing (computing)
Load balancing is a computer networking methodology to distribute workload across multiple computers or a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, disk drives, or other resources, to achieve optimal resource utilization, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid...
.
The hypervisor also allows the assignment of virtual I/O and network adapters to logical partitions.
- The hypervisor acts as a virtual switch for internal network connectivity. This allows for network communication between the LPARs to be direct (memory to memory) and not have to leave the physical machine. A dedicated virtual I/O server (VIO) partition (running a LinuxLinuxLinux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
or AIX-based system) can act as a network bridge between the internal VLAN, on which the VIO server is connected, to a physical external network. - SCSISCSISmall Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
virtualization is implemented via virtual SCSI device assignment from the VIO to the client LPARLPARA logical partition, commonly called an LPAR, is a subset of computer's hardware resources, virtualized as a separate computer. In effect, a physical machine can be partitioned into multiple logical partitions, each hosting a separate operating system....
. The VIO server has the physical storage; parts of that storage (whole disks, logical volumes or partitions) are shared to the clients through a VSCSI server to VSCSI client relationship.
Any SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...
or Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
installation with real resources assigned can be used as a virtual I/O server. There are only two kernel modules, ibmvscsis and ibmveth, that need to be loaded to provide this functionality. Both modules are licensed under the GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
and part of the distribution kernel.
For dynamic LPAR changes on the fly (for example, adding CPU or memory, or removing a PCI adapter), some lopdiags additional packages are needed for RSCT (Reliable Scalable Cluster Technology) communication with the HMC (Hardware Management Console). Those packages are provided from IBM in RPM
RPM Package Manager
RPM Package Manager is a package management system. The name RPM variously refers to the .rpm file format, files in this format, software packaged in such files, and the package manager itself...
format but not in source code. After installing these packages, dynamic reconfiguration of CPU and hotpluggable PCI adapters can be done without rebooting the operating system. Reducing the memory amount assigned to the logical partition still requires reboot of the target LPAR.
Pricing and costs
The two largest commercial Linux vendors, Red HatRed Hat
Red Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
and Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
, offer licensing and support based on a "per physical machine" system for System P servers. Cost is not based on number of processors installed, which is different from pricing on IBM's System Z servers, where licensing and support is based on the number of IFL
Integrated Facility for Linux
The Integrated Facility for Linux is an IBM mainframe processor dedicated to running the Linux operating system, with or without z/VM. IFLs are one of three types of IBM mainframe processors expressly designed to reduce software costs...
s. Purchasing higher model numbered servers, such as a p570 or p590, allows for a smaller monetary investment but yet leaves room for more physical expansion if capacity exceeds the original investment. Each LPAR on a System P machine can be as small as 0.1 processors. This allows the total number of LPARs on a physical machine to go as high as 10 times the number of physical processors. A higher number of logical servers reduces the "per-server" cost.
Systems
Systems running Linux on Power ArchitecturePower Architecture
Power Architecture is a broad term to describe similar RISC instruction sets for microprocessors developed and manufactured by such companies as IBM, Freescale, AMCC, Tundra and P.A. Semi...
are:
- IBM POWER SystemsIBM Power SystemsPower Systems is the name of IBM's Power Architecture-based server line.Before the Power Systems line was announced on April 2, 2008, IBM had two distinct Power-based lines: the System i running IBM i - and the System p series running AIX or Linux.- History :IBM had two discrete Power Architecture...
- JS43, JS23, JS20, JS21, QS20, QS21, QS22 BladeBlade serverA blade server is a stripped down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Whereas a standard rack-mount server can function with a power cord and network cable, blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power...
Center - OpenPower
- CellCell (microprocessor)Cell is a microprocessor architecture jointly developed by Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment, Toshiba, and IBM, an alliance known as "STI". The architectural design and first implementation were carried out at the STI Design Center in Austin, Texas over a four-year period beginning March 2001 on a...
blade server from Mercury Computer SystemsMercury Computer SystemsMercury Computer Systems, Inc. provides high-performance embedded, real-time digital signal and image processing solutions.Mercury designs and builds embedded multicomputers, which may be considered to be either loosely coupled NUMA computers or tightly coupled clusters. Despite being marketed as... - PlayStation 3PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
Officially supported distributions
- For IBM System p and i – SUSESUSE Linux distributionsSUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...
SLES8, SLES9, SLES10 and SLES11 - For IBM System p and i – Red HatRed HatRed Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
EL AS 3, 4 and 5
Working distributions
- CRUX PPC
- DebianDebianDebian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
- Fedora CoreFedora (operating system)Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
- GentooGentoo LinuxGentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
- openSUSEOpenSUSEopenSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
- UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...