These sections provide the information that you need to configure a guest partition and how to install Linux on an i5 server.
You can also find information about supported input/output (I/O) adapters and about network server configuration.
A hosted guest partition is dependent on a hosting i5/OS® partition for I/O resources. The hosting i5/OS partition can either be a primary or a secondary partition. The I/O resources a guest partition can use from a hosting partition include disk, CD, and tape devices.
You must start the hosted guest partition from the hosting i5/OS partition by using a network server description (NWSD). You can use the NWSD to control the guest partition. The guest partition can only be active when the hosting partition is active and out of restricted state. When i5/OS is in a restricted state, all NWSDs are automatically varied off. An i5/OS partition can host multiple guest partitions. Ensure that the hosting partition can support guest partitions.
You can IPL a hosted guest partition by varying on an NWSD object. You must not power on a hosted guest partition when using the Work with Partitions Status display. If you power on the guest partition running Linux using the Work with Partitions Status display, all of the virtual I/O devices will be unavailable.
A nonhosted guest partition is not dependent on a hosting i5/OS partition for any I/O resources. The guest partition has its own disk units, or the partition makes use of networking support to do a network boot. You can start a nonhosted guest partition even if the primary partition is not fully active. You can start a nonhosted guest partition from the Work with Partitions Status display.
Linux is an open source operating system. You can obtain Linux in source format and build it for one person or a business. The open source code encourages feedback and further development by programmers. Linux developers are encouraged to design their own specialized distribution of the operating system to meet their specific needs.
All Linux distributions share a similar Linux kernel and development library. Linux distributors provide custom components that ease the installation and maintenance of Linux systems. Before you install another distributor's version of Linux, verify that the kernel has been compiled for the Power PC and the hardware for the i5 server. Your system might be misconfigured and will not run Linux in a guest partition.
You can download different versions of Linux through the Internet. However, not all the versions of Linux have been tested for use with the storage unit. See your Linux distributor to learn how to obtain the latest maintenance updates.