How Is VIOS Used?
VIOS really comes into its own when implementing external storage (SAN) and the increasingly popular and powerful live partition mobility (LPM). It helps maximize the use of physical resources that are often underutilized on the system.

Typically, you would have one or more VIOS partitions on each physical server. VIOS looks like AIX, but the command set is vastly restricted and the padmin user interface is often totally different from anything administrators have previously encountered. Over time, many functions that were traditionally accomplished with VIOS and the command line can now be done via the Hardware Management Console (HMC).

Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) has been around since 2004 and was initially available on IBM POWER5 servers running AIX and Linux workloads. It first surfaced for IBM i workloads on IBM Power Systems in 2008 with the announcement of POWER6 and is now considered a standard in many organizations running IBM i, AIX, and Linux workloads.

Is VIOS Important?
Yes! It gives you the flexibility of being able to share resources across multiple client LPARs. By sharing resources such as fibre channel adapters, network adapters, and external SAN-housed disks, you can dramatically reduce the physical footprint and the power consumed—very relevant in today’s green-thinking age.