Creating a system plan by using the HMC

You can use the Hardware Management Console (HMC) to create a new system plan, based on an existing system configuration, and then deploy that system plan to other managed systems.

When you create a system plan on the HMC, you can deploy the resulting system plan to create identical logical partition configurations on managed systems with identical hardware. The system plan contains specifications for the logical partitions and partition profiles of the managed system that you used as the basis of creating the system plan.

If you use HMC V7R3.3.0 or later to create the system plan, the system plan can also include operating environment information for a logical partition. You still can deploy the system plan to systems that are managed by an earlier version of the HMC. Earlier versions of the HMC Deploy System Plan Wizard can deploy the logical partitions in the system plan and ignore any operating environment installation information in the system plan.
Note: Although the system plan that you create by using HMC V7R3.3.0 or later can contain some information about AIX® or Linux® operating environments on logical partitions in the system plan, it does not contain the information needed to install those operating environments as part of deploying the system plan. If you want a system plan to have the necessary information for installing an AIX or Linux operating environment, you need to use the System Planning Tool (SPT). You can use the SPT either to create a system plan or to convert a system plan that you create with the HMC to the format that the SPT uses and then change the system plan in the SPT. You also must use the SPT if you want to include specific automatic installation files with the system plan, or to customize any automatic installation files for the system plan.

The new system plan also can contain hardware information that the HMC is able to obtain from the selected managed system. However, the amount of hardware information that the HMC can capture for the new system plan varies based on the method that the HMC uses to gather the hardware information.

There are two methods that the HMC potentially can use: inventory gathering and hardware discovery. For example, when using inventory gathering, the HMC can detect virtual device configuration information for the Virtual I/O Server. Additionally, the HMC can use one or both of these methods to detect disk and tape information for IBM® i logical partitions.

Ensure that you meet the requirements for using either or both of the inventory gathering and hardware discovery methods before you create your system plan. See System plan creation requirements for more information.

Creating a system plan

To create a system plan by using the Hardware Management Console, complete the following steps:
  1. In the navigation area, select System Plans. The System Plans page opens.
  2. In the Tasks area, select Create System Plan. The Create System Plan window opens.
  3. Select the managed system that you want to use as the basis for the new system plan.
  4. Enter a name and description for the new system plan.
  5. Optional: For Hardware Management Console V7R3.3.2, or later, select whether you want to retrieve inactive and unallocated hardware resources. This option appears only if the managed system is capable of hardware discovery, and the option is selected by default.
    Note: If you do not select the Retrieve inactive and unallocated hardware resources option, the HMC does not perform a new hardware discovery, but instead uses the data in the inventory cache on the system. The HMC still performs inventory gathering and retrieves hardware information for any active logical partitions on the managed server. The resulting new system plan contains hardware information from the inventory-gathering process, as well as hardware information from the hardware inventory cache on the system.
  6. Optional: Select whether you want to view the system plan immediately after the HMC creates it.
  7. Click Create.
Now that you have a new system plan, you can export the system plan, import it onto another managed system, and deploy the system plan to that managed system.
Note: As an alternative to the HMC Web user interface, you can use the mksysplan command on the HMC to create a system plan based on the configuration of an existing managed system.