           IBM PowerVM Lx86 Release Notes for release 1.4.0.0

+---- Note ------------------------------------------------------------+

Before using this information and the product it supports, read the
information in "Notices".

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Sixth Edition (April 2010)

This edition applies to the version 1.4.0.0 of IBM PowerVM Lx86 and to
all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in
new editions.

Copyright International Business Machines Corporation 2009.
US Government Users Restricted Rights -- Use, duplication or disclosure 
restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.


Contents

IBM PowerVM Lx86 Release Notes for release 1.4.0.0
   Product and Support references for PowerVM Lx86
   Changes in the 1.4.0.0 release
   Registration Codes for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
   Administration Guide documentation updates
     Update 1: SE Linux and installation to non-default locations
     Update 2: Running the automated installer
     Update 3: Naming of RHEL5 Advance Platform
   Upgrading and reinstallation options for previous installations of 
   PowerVM Lx86
    PowerVM Lx86 CD and package structure
   Documentation location
   Reporting a failure
   Performance notes
     Performance overview
     LPAR Mobility
   Functionality notes
     Memory limit defaults to off in 1.3.2.0 and 1.4.0.0
     Increased memory required by Oracle database
     Known issues
   Notices
     Trademarks

IBM PowerVM Lx86 Release Notes for release 1.4.0.0

These release notes are for IBM® PowerVM(TM) Lx86 for x86 Linux®
Applications (PowerVM Lx86) release 1.4.0.0. They are a supplement to
the IBM PowerVM Lx86 Administration Guide.

Product and Support references for PowerVM Lx86

PowerVM Lx86 is offered as a standard feature with the purchase of all
PowerVM Editions. For the most current information regarding IBM
products, consult your IBM representative or reseller, or visit the IBM
worldwide contacts page:

http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/us/

or

http://www.ibm.com/planetwide/

For more detailed information on PowerVM Lx86, visit PowerVM Lx86 for
x86 Linux applications:

http://www.ibm.com/systems/power/software/linux/

All distributed software licenses include Software Subscription and
Support (also referred to as Software Maintenance) for a period of 12
months from the date of acquisition, providing a streamlined way to
acquire IBM software and assure technical support coverage for all
licenses. Extending coverage for a total of three years from date of
acquisition may be elected.

While your Software Subscription and Support is in effect, IBM provides
you assistance for your routine, short duration installation and usage
(how-to) questions, and code-related questions. IBM provides assistance
via telephone and, if available, electronic access, only to your
information systems (IS) technical support personnel during the normal
business hours (published prime shift hours) of your IBM support center.
(This assistance is not available to your end users.) IBM provides
Severity 1 assistance 24 hours a day, every day of the year. For
additional details, consult your IBM Software Support Handbook at:

http://www.ibm.com/support/handbook

Software Subscription and Support does not include assistance for the
design and development of applications, your use of programs in other
than their specified operating environment, or failures caused by
products for which IBM is not responsible under this agreement. PowerVM
Lx86 is also available for ISVs and developers from the IBM
developerWorks portal:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/lx86/index.html?S_TACT=105AGX03

If you obtain your product from the DeveloperWorks web site, it is not
supported by IBM support as mentioned above. For self-help, you can join
an open forum to exchange information with other users and IBM.

Want to know more?

*  Listen to our Webcast (intended for ISVs, but generally useful):
   https://isvwebcast.on.raindance.com/confmgr/view_stored_doc.jsp?docId=92214445597031436579261482246
   (pAVE is the prior name for the PowerVM Lx86 product)
*  Read the IBM Redpaper Getting started with PowerVM Lx86:
   http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpapers/abstracts/redp4298.html
*  Join the discussion and ask questions at the developerWorks forum on
   PowerVM Lx86 for x86 Linux applications:
   https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/forums/dw_forum.jsp?forum=1058
*  Learn more at IBM Linux->Linux on Power systems including System p
   and System i: http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/software/linux/
*  Learn more at Linux on System p:
   https://www.ibm.com/systems/p/linux/index.html

Changes in the 1.4.0.0 release

The 1.4.0.0 release adds the following improvements to PowerVM Lx86:

*  Support for RHEL 5.5.
*  Support for POWER 7 processors. Note that RHEL5 only supports POWER7
   in POWER6 Compatibility Mode. Customers will need to use SLES11 to
   take full advantage of POWER7. PowerVM Lx86 supports POWER6
   Compatibility mode on POWER7.
*  Visibility of POWER processes in the VxE /proc filesystem. This
   feature is off by default and enabled via a switch in the config
   file. See the Admin Guide for more details.
*  General performance improvements.
*  Additional bug fixes.

The 1.4.0.0 release removes the following:

*  Support for POWER5.
*  Support for RHEL 4.4 and RHEL 4.5

The 1.3.1.0, 1.3.2.0 and 1.4.0.0 releases do not support the following
features:

*  Support for SLES 9 SP3 and SP4. Customers wanting to use SLES 9 will
   need to use PowerVM Lx86 version 1.3.0 or earlier.

Registration Codes for Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server subscription for the PowerPC
architecture includes a registration code for PowerPC hosts.
Additionally, starting September 28, 2009 a second registration code, to
be used exclusively for x86 architecture virtual machines hosted on
PowerPC hardware via the PowerVM hypervisor, is included.

Customers wishing to deploy x86 virtual machines need to make use of the
second registration code to register their x86 guests with the Novell
Customer Center to receive updates, while continuing to use the PowerPC
code to register their PowerPC hosts.

Customers lacking the second registration code to be used with x86
guests should follow the instructions here:

http://www.novell.com/support/documentLink.do?externalID=7004469

Administration Guide documentation updates

This section details updates to the Administration Guide for PowerVM
Lx86 1.4.0.0.

Update 1: SE Linux and installation to non-default locations

This is an addition to Chapter 7, SE Linux support with PowerVM Lx86, on
page 47 of the Administration Guide.

SE Linux and installation to non-default locations:

If the x86 World or the PowerVM Lx86 binaries are installed into
somewhere other than the default locations, and SE Linux is to be used
for translated x86 processes, the directories containing PowerVM Lx86
and the x86 World must be accessible by all restricted SE Linux domains.
For example, if the x86 World is installed into /mnt/i386, please set
the file context of these directories as follows:



chcon -t root_t /mnt

chcon -t root_t /mnt/i386



If these directories are not accessible by restricted SE Linux domains,
some translated daemon processes may fail to start when SE Linux is set
to enforcing mode.

Update 2: Running the automated installer

This is an addition to the "Examples of usage" section on page 19 of
Chapter 5, Running the automated installer, of the Administration Guide:



Uninstall PowerVM Lx86 and the x86 World:



% installer.pl --uninstall Lx86 --uninstall x86world



When installing a particular x86 World distro using the --distro option,
to find the list of valid arguments for the distribution, please type:

% installer.pl --help



Update 3: Naming of RHEL5 Advance Platform

The Administration Guide refers to RHEL5 AS when it should be RHEL5
Advanced Platform (AP.)

Upgrading and reinstallation options for previous installations of 
PowerVM Lx86

The 1.4.0.0 release supports upgrading from all previously released
versions of PowerVM Lx86, including all 1.1.x, 1.2.x, and 1.3.x
versions. Note that if you choose to upgrade the PowerVM Lx86 binary
from a previous 1.1.x or 1.2.x installation, you will be prompted to
update the location of the PowerVM Lx86 binaries and associated log
files to locations that use the new powervm-lx86 directory and file
naming conventions. You can use the existing directory locations, but
the product binaries and log file will use the new naming convention.

 PowerVM Lx86 CD and package structure

The PowerVM Lx86 CD structure is:

*  powervm-lx86-<release_version>-<build_number>.tgz
*  powervm-lx86-release-notes-<release_version>.txt
*  powervm-lx86-release-notes-<release_version>.pdf

The PowerVM Lx86 directory structure within the tar file is:

*  powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/installer.pl
*  powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/lib/
*  powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/resources/
*  powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/doc/

To install PowerVM Lx86, copy
powervm-lx86-<release_version>-<build_number>.tgz to the local machine,
extract it and then, as root, run the
powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/installer.pl
script.

Documentation location

The PowerVM Lx86 Administration Guide and the PowerVM Lx86 Release Notes
can be found in the following location in the tgz file:

powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/doc

which is a symlink to
powervm-lx86-installer-<release_version>-<build_number>/resources/doc/RO



After installation, the PowerVM Lx86 Administration Guide and Release
Notes can be found here:

<PowerVM Lx86 install location>/doc

which is a symlink to <PowerVM Lx86 install
location>/installer/resources/doc/RO

Reporting a failure

If a Linux x86 application fails while being translated, an error is
displayed. In addition, an error log is created in the
/var/opt/powervm-lx86/log directory. You can change the location of the
default log directory during installation. Log files are created for
each running process that encounters an error.

Report the error to IBM Support. Include a description of the failure
and what events preceded the failure. Also include details of the POWER
hardware and the operating system running on the POWER system.

Note: The reported error may be caused by an issue with the Linux x86
application being executed and may not be a problem with PowerVM Lx86.

Performance notes

Performance overview

There are various architectural differences between x86 and Power which
can impact performance of translated applications, for example,
translating dynamically generated code like Java(TM) bytecode is an
ongoing translation process, which can be expected to impact the
performance of x86 Java applications which are using an x86 Java virtual
machine. Floating point intensive applications may have some performance
penalties. Finally, translating multi-threaded applications can incur an
additional performance overhead as the translator works to manage shared
memory accesses.

LPAR Mobility

PowerVM Lx86 tunes itself to the processor it is started on. If PowerVM
is started in an LPAR on a POWER6 machine and that LPAR is subsequently
migrated whilst active to a POWER7 machine there will be a significant
performance impact. This impact can be avoided by restarting PowerVM
Lx86 after migrating from POWER6 to POWER7.

Functionality notes

Memory limit defaults to off in 1.3.2.0 and 1.4.0.0

In this release of PowerVM Lx86 the memory limit default is set to off
to maximize performance of applications being translated.

If you want to limit the amount of memory used by Lx86, please read the
Administration Guide section describing the use of the
MEMORY_MONITOR_TRIGGER_RATIO in the configuration file.

Increased memory required by Oracle database

Oracle database makes accurate calculations based on the number of CPUs
and the amount of memory in the system in order to expand and make the
fullest use of the system resources. Oracle database estimates the total
overhead of these processes to be 40MB. As PowerVM uses additional
memory Oracle database will underestimate the amount of memory a given
configuration will use and thus cause an out of memory condition. The
database creates more processes when more CPUs are available, thus the
overhead becomes more apparent on systems with a large number of
reported CPUs. Therefore, when configuring the memory available to the
system it is important to take this extra overhead into consideration.
It is recommended to add an extra 700MB per CPU (count as reported in
/proc/cpuinfo) to cover the overhead of PowerVM. This can be solved by:

*  Reducing the number of CPUs visible to Oracle database. On POWER7 one
   approach to this is to run the CPUs in SMT-2 mode rather than the
   default SMT-4 mode. For example, running Oracle database 10g on a
   16-core POWER7 in SMT-4 mode with 64 h/w threads available the total
   extra overhead will be 700MB * 64 = 45GB. In SMT-2 mode, with 32 h/w
   threads available, the overhead will be half that; around 22GB.
*  Increasing the available RAM, such that the total amount of RAM is
   sufficient to hold the PowerVM overhead.

Known issues

There are some known issues with PowerVM Lx86. This section details
those issues and any workarounds that are available.

nscd service fails when SE Linux is enabled in the x86 World and set to 
enforcing

On RHEL 4.x systems, when SE Linux is enabled on the Power system and
set to enforcing mode (rather than permissive mode or turned off) and SE
Linux is enabled in the PowerVM Lx86 configuration file, the x86 nscd
service will fail to start. This is under investigation.

SE Linux file attributes in x86 World archives

If an x86 World archive is created on a system with SE Linux disabled,
when extracting the x86 World archive onto a system with SE Linux
enabled, the SE Linux file attributes will be incorrect. Similarly, if
an x86 World is installed onto a system with SE Linux disabled and SE
Linux is subsequently enabled, the filesystem labels will need to be
corrected. To fix this issue relabel the filesystem using the restorecon
command in a translated x86 shell. For example by executing the command
restorecon -R /. Note that this command may take some time to complete.

Notices

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