The management of VM definitions is the task of the VM2000 administrator. They have a group of VM2000 commands available for this purpose.
The table below contains the various functions for working with VM definitions using the associated VM2000 commands.
Function | VM2000 command |
|---|---|
CREATE-VM-DEFINITION 1 | |
ACTIVATE-VM-DEFINITION 1 2 | |
MODIFY-VM-DEFINITION 1 2 | |
SHOW-VM-DEFINITION 1 | |
MIGRATE-VM-DEFINITION 1 2 | |
RECOVER-VM-DEFINITION 1 2 | |
| Deleting a VM definition | DELETE-VM-DEFINITION 1 2 |
| 1 | For use by the VM2000 administrator only |
| 2 | These commands can only be entered for VM definitions of uninitialized VMs. These commands are rejected for initialized VMs. |
These functions are described in more detail in the sections below.
Creating a VM definition
The VM2000 administrator creates a persistent VM definition with /CREATE-VM-DEFINITION.
The customary attributes and resources for the VM in VM2000 operation are entered in the VM definition, see section "Initializing a VM". The PERSISTENT attribute is assigned implicitly. The location of the VM in the main memory of VM2000 is defined later when the VM definition is activated.
In addition, devices are entered for the VM which are to be assigned when the VM definition is activated. Specifications for the automatic start of the guest system on the VM can also be entered when the VM definition is activated.
The VM definition can then only be processed with the commands for working with VM definitions. Other VM2000 commands with this VM name as VM ID are rejected.
A persistent VM definition can be activated by the VM2000 administrator with /ACTIVATE-VM-DEFINITION.
Activating a VM definition
The VM administrator uses /ACTIVATE-VM-DEFINITION to activate a VM definition, i.e. he/she initializes a persistent VM in accordance with the specifications in the VM definition. The location of the VM in the main memory of VM2000 is defined automatically. The devices entered in the VM definition are explicitly assigned to the VM. If required, the guest system on the VM is started in accordance with the settings for automatic startup.
AUTO-IPL=*NO).The VM definition may not belong to a VM which has already been initialized.
The VM can be monitored with a monitor job variable.
After the command has been executed successfully, the persistent VM is in the INIT-ONLY status (AUTO-IPL=*NO or AUTO-IPL=*YES, error when starting the guest system) or RUNNING (AUTO-IPL=*YES, no error when starting the guest system), see "Operating a VM".
The VM can then be operated using the VM2000 commands employed before. After this command has been executed successfully, the VM definition is updated accordingly.
Modifying a VM definition
With /MODIFY-VM-DEFINITION the VM2000 administrator can modify the following specifications in a VM definitions:
The VM's attributes and resources which have been entered (see section "Initializing a VM") with the exception of the VM name
The set of devices entered for the VM
The specifications for automatic startup of the guest system on the VM
The VM definition may not belong to a VM which has already been initialized.
Displaying a VM definition
With /SHOW-VM-DEFINITION the VM2000 administrator can display the attributes, resources and devices entered for a VM in the VM definition, as well as information on the automatic startup of the automatic startup of the guest system on the VM.
The VM definition may also belong to a VM which has already been initialized. In the case of such a VM, the VM attributes and the resources and devices assigned to the VM (/SHOW-VM-ATTRIBUTES) normally match the values which are entered in the VM definition (/SHOW-VM-DEFINITION). In exceptional cases when VM definitions cannot be modified (see "Requirements (SU /390)" in section "Working with VM definitions"), values displayed in the SE Manager can differ from those in the previous VM2000 outputs.
Migrating a VM definition
The VM2000 administrator can migrate the VM definition of a yet un-initialized VM from the source SU to a target SU with /MIGRATE-VM-DEFINITION.
Prerequisites
Source and target SU are in the same SU cluster.
The VM name is available on the target SU, i.e. it has not been assigned to another VM or VM definition.
The maximum number of VM definitions has not been reached on the target SU.
VM2000 checks these prerequisites in the /MIGRATE-VM-DEFINITION command.
Execution
On SU /390, the VM2000 monitor on the source SU, the Management Unit and the VM2000 monitor on the target SU collaborate to migrate the VM definition.
On SU x86, the migration of the VM definition is executed via the VM2000 agent (see "Implementation on SU x86"). Xen/X2000 executes the creation of the VM definition on the target SU and the subsequent deletion of the VM definition on the source SU.
Restoring a VM definition
The VM2000 administrator can restore a VM definition with /RECOVER-VM-DEFINITION, i.e. a VM definition is transferred from a remote Server Unit to the local Server Unit.
Prerequisites
The remote Server Unit has to be in the same SU cluster as the local Server Unit.
The remote Server Unit is not running.
The caller needs to check these prerequisites.VM2000 only checks if the remote Server Unit has not recently written periodic entries onto the system disk with the VM definitions. On an SU /390, this situation is also possible if BCAM in the monitor system is not ready to operate. Otherwise, VM2000 assumes that the remote Server Unit is still running.The VM name is not in use on the local Server Unit.
The maximum number of VM definitions has not been reached on the local Server Unit.
Execution
The VM definition is read by VM2000 from the remote Server Unit, adapted to the current conditions and saved on the local Server Unit.
After that, the VM definition is deleted on the remote Server Unit. If the VM definition cannot be deleted (e.g. because the remote Server Unit has recently written periodic entries onto the system disk with the VM definitions), it is deleted from the local Server Unit to which it was previously saved.
Deleting a VM definition
With /DELETE-VM-DEFINITION the VM2000 administrator can delete a VM definition.
The VM definition may not belong to a VM which has already been initialized.