Available: from 1.9.2.0 (V10R1M1010)

Backups of virtual I/O servers can be made with the command “vios mkviosbk”:

vios [-h <hmc>] [-m <ms>] mkviosbk [-f] [-t <type>] [-v] <vios> [<hmc>:]<backup_name> [<attributes> ...]
   -f : force overwriting of an existing backup
   -h : the HMC where the backup is stored
   -t : the type of backup to create
      vios - full VIOS backup (default)
      viosioconfig - VIOS I/O configuration backup
      ssp - Shared Storage Pool backup

Backups are stored on the HMC in the directories /data/viosbackup and /data/viosconfig. The backups can be used by the HMC for an installation or restore if required.

There are three different types of backups supported by the command, these can be selected using the “-t” (type) option:

vios         – full VIOS backup (default)
viosioconfig – VIOS I/O configuration backup
ssp          – Shared Storage Pool configuration backup

If no backup type is specified, a full backup (type vios) is made by default. Attributes can be used to specify whether additional information or data should be saved in the backup:

   nimol_resource -
      0 - do not include NIMOL resources
      1 - include NIMOL resources (default)
   media_repository -
      0 - do not include the contents of the virtual media repository (default)
      1 - include the contents of the virtual media repository
   volume_group_structure
      0 - do not include volume group structures (default)
      1 - include volume group structures for all volume groups

In the simplest case, you only need to specify the name of the backup:

$ vios mkviosbk mss03-vio1 backup
$

A full backup with NIMOL resource is created. This backup can be used for the installation or restore of a virtual I/O server, see “hmc installios” and “vios ​​installios“. In dual-HMC configurations, the HMC to be used will be selected automatically by the LPAR tool. The HMC can also be specified by using the “-h” option or by adding the prefix “<hmc>:” to the backup name:

$ vios mkviosbk -h hmc02 mss03-vio1 backup
$
$ vios mkviosbk mss03-vio1 hmc02:backup
$

For VIOS I/O configuration backups or SSP backups, the “-t” option must be used:

$ vios mkviosbk -t viosioconfig mss03-vio1 cfgbackup
$

The backups for a Virtual I/O Server can be listed using the commands “vios lsviosbk” or “hmc lsviosbk”.