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    Power7 Performance Best Practices v7

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    Bart Simson
    This document provides a checklist of key items to review when planning a migration to Power7 systems, including ensuring firmware and operating system levels are current, optimal partition placement, and tuning parameters for performance.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Power7 Performance Best Practices v7

    Uploaded by

    Bart Simson
    96 views2 pages
    This document provides a checklist of key items to review when planning a migration to Power7 systems, including ensuring firmware and operating system levels are current, optimal partition placement, and tuning parameters for performance.

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    Power7 Performance Best Practices v7

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    This document provides a checklist of key items to review when planning a migration to Power7 systems, including ensuring firmware and operating system levels are current, optimal partition placement, and tuning parameters for performance.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    96 views2 pages

    Power7 Performance Best Practices v7

    Uploaded by

    Bart Simson
    This document provides a checklist of key items to review when planning a migration to Power7 systems, including ensuring firmware and operating system levels are current, optimal partition placement, and tuning parameters for performance.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    POWER7 Performance Best Practices

    A brief checklist
    This document is intended as a short summary for customers on key items that should be looked at when planning a migration. For a more in-depth
    and more complete set of recommendations, please refer to the document links provided on the second page.
    Description
    Ensure firmware is
    current

    Ensure OS level is
    current

    Partition Placement

    Use ASO on large


    partitions
    Sizing a system

    Right-size your LPARs

    CPU utilization

    Network tunables

    Tunables

    Instructions
    Fix Central provides latest updates. These address
    optimal placement for partitions. Latest F/W levels as of
    this writing :
    760_062 for 795 / 780+ (MHD) / 770+ (MMD) models
    740_110 for 780 (MHC) / 770 (MMC) models
    730_114 for 780 (MHB) / 770 (MMB) models
    AIX:

    AIX 6.1 TL8 SP2 / AIX 7.1 TL2 SP2 (currently)


    IBM i:

    IBM i 7.1 TR6 (currently)


    POWER7 795/770+/780+
    Use DPO to optimize placement (F/W 760 required)
    Ensure LPARs are installed at DPO aware levels:

    AIX 6.1 TL8 / AIX 7.1 TL2

    IBM i 7.1 TR6 (for best performance)

    NOTE: Current versions of Linux on POWER7 are


    not DPO aware
    POWER7 780/770
    See POWER7 Virtualization Best Practices document
    To enable on AIX : asoo po aso_active=1
    Use Workload Estimator (WLE) rather than benchmark
    metrics for sizing LPARs for CPU consumption as it
    provides better sizing results.
    Assign the entitlement based on the average CPU
    utilization and the number of virtual processors based on
    peak CPU utilization. Avoid running over-entitled for long
    periods of time to prevent a performance impact.
    POWER7 is optimized for best raw throughput.
    Customers wanting to reduce CPU usage can weight the
    benefits of raw throughput performance vs. CPU
    utilization by evaluating their workload using the
    vpm_throughput_mode schedo tunable.
    Prereq: AIX 6.1 TL8 / AIX 7.1 TL2
    All network tunables are configured for best general
    utilization. If adjustments to network tunables are desired,
    review the AIX on Power Performance FAQ

    Tunables should not be migrated across AIX levels

    Restricted tunables should not be modified (unless


    directed by AIX development)

    Description
    Databases

    Virtual memory tunables

    VIOS configuration

    Virtual Ethernet adapters

    Instructions
    AIX 6.1 TL6 and above only: Enable TB segment aliasing
    NOTE1: AIX 7.1 is enabled by default
    NOTE2: MUST have installed IV23853(6.1 TL6) /
    IV23859(7.1 TL1) or related APAR
    Virtual memory tunables are configured for best
    utilization. If adjustments are desired, review the AIX on
    Power Performance FAQ

    Right-size the VIOS LPAR, especially with regards to


    memory allocation.

    Set the uncapped shared weight capacity of the VIOS


    profiles higher than any of the LPARs being serviced
    by the VIOS.

    For vSCSI disks, ensure that queue_depth for virtual


    disks are <= than the queue_depth of the physical
    disk shared by the VIOS.

    Assign correct number of virtual disks per vSCSI


    adapter:
    virtual_drives = ( 512 -2 ) / (virtual_q_depth + 3)

    Only enable the largesend attribute on the SEA if all


    LPARs serviced by the VIOS are AIX partitions.
    NOTE:For this to work correctly, large_send must be
    enabled on physical adapter backing the SEA.

    Set the minimum buffer values to the maximum buffer


    values for each of the virtual Ethernet adapters used:
    chdev l ent# min_buf_xxxx=<max_buf_xxxx value>

    Java

    NOTE: The Ethernet interface must be disabled in


    order to make the change to the adapter values.
    Set largesend on virtual Ethernet adapter to improve
    performance:
    chdev l en# -a mtu_bypass=on
    Or
    Ifconfig en# largesend
    Use of medium size pages (64k pages) increases
    application performance
    For applications that do not scale well with the
    number of CPUs might benefit if a lower number of
    CPUs are available. Reducing the SMT mode from
    SMT4 to SMT2 might benefit the application.

    5/9/2013

    Best Practices documents and References:


    POWER7 Virtualization Best Practices
    https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/form/anonymous/api/wiki/61ad9cf2-c6a3-4d2c-b779-61ff0266d32a/page/64c8d6ed-6421-47b5-a1a7d798e53e7d9a/attachment/f9ddb657-2662-41d4-8fd8-77064cc92e48/media/p7_virtualization_bestpractice.doc

    Performance Management on IBM i

    IBM I on Power Performance FAQ

    http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/management/performance/resources.html
    http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/pow03102usen/POW03102USEN.PDF

    AIX on Power Performance FAQ

    PowerVM Documentation Planning

    AIX Disk Queue Depth Tuning for Performance

    http://public.dhe.ibm.com/common/ssi/ecm/en/pow03049usen/POW03049USEN.PDF
    http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/topic/p7hb1/iphb1_vios_planning.htm
    http://www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/TD105745

    Advisor Tools:
    Workload Estimator
    http://www-912.ibm.com/estimator

    PowerVM Virtualization Performance LPAR Advisor

    VIOS Advisor

    Java Performance Advisor

    https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/Power%20Systems/page/PowerVM%20Virtualization%20Performance%20Advisor
    https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/Power%20Systems/page/VIOS%20Advisor
    https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/wikis/home?lang=en#!/wiki/Power%20Systems/page/Java%20Performance%20Advisor%20%28JPA%29

    Redbooks:
    PowerVM Best Practices
    http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg248062.pdf

    PowerVM Managing and Monitoring


    http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redbooks/pdfs/sg247590.pdf

    5/9/2013

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