Configuring an IBM i Virtual Machine Instance

Storage volumes and Operating Systems

The number of storage volumes per VM varies by Operating System. IBM i 7.2, and later operating systems, support 127 storage volumes. Operating systems earlier than IBM i 7.2 support 64 storage volumes.

Accessing the IBM i console

For information about accessing the IBM i console, see Accessing the IBM i Console.

Tips for working with the IBM i console:

  • The default IBM i user and password are QSECOFR and QSECOFR, respectively.
  • When the VM is first provisioned, cloud-init will be executed. This will create two interfaces that IP4G will use to configure the IP address and inject license keys. Do not restart the system until cloud-init has finished and the VM is available on the network, you should see that the VM health status is ‘OK’ and you can access the console and see the initial ibmi screen. If cloud-init is interrupted, a support case must be opened to run the initial provisioning again, or delete and recreate the VM.

Licensing information

License keys are injected automatically during the provisioning process via cloud-init. Upon first login, the license agreements will need to be accepted.

For more information about minimum supported OS version and PTF levels, see Preparing systems for migration.

After deploying an IBM i VM, accept the license agreements. To accept the license agreements from the console, Select all with a 5 next to each license agreement. Click “Next…” and PF15 to show more items. After accepting the license agreements, press PF3. Then, wait until cloud-init configures the network and injects license keys.

Verifying the cloud-init configuration

The cloud-init configuration process can take up to five minutes. Do not restart the VM while cloud-init is executing, you should see that the VM health status is ‘OK’. If the VM is restarted during this time, support must be contacted. They will have to manually configure network and license keys.

Use the CFGTCP command to verify cloud-init correctly configured TCP/IP addresses. Enter the command, then choose Option 1. Verify the IP addresses match the VM’s internal IP addresses.

The example image below shows the Work with TCP/IP Interfaces window.

Verifying the cloud-init configuration:

If the external IP address is not displayed, wait approximately ten minutes. Then, refresh the terminal. Ping the external TCP/IP address. The external address must match what is shown in the IP4G user interface under VM Instances –> <server name>. Contact support or delete and reprovision the IBM i VM if the system cannot be reached.

Changing the default passwords

The System Service Tools (SST) and Dedicated Service Tools (DST) passwords are set to QSECOFR/QSECOFR. Service Tools access will be required to configure any newly-atttached disks. To change the System Service Tools (SST) and Dedicated Service Tools (DST) passwords complete the following steps.

  1. Enter the STRSST command.
  2. At the SST login screen, log in using QSECOFR/QSECOFR. Change the password if prompted.
  3. Use the SST functions to add additional disks to any ASP configuration.