IBM Power 570 and IBM Power 595 (POWER6 ... - IBM Redbooks

As previously indicated, certain device types supported under IBM i require an IOA
running under a supported IOP. These device types are generally within one of the
following two categories:
– SNA (and SDLC over WAN lines)
Several years ago, when there were many SNA-based communications networks, the
earlier versions of IBM i took advantage of the IOP capacities and moved some
protocol encoding and decoding implementation into the IOP, offloading CPU
utilization. For POWER6 customer environments using SNA communications need to
consider to continue to use the supported communication IOP-IOA pair cards.
Alternatives are to convert to TCP/IP support or use the new “no IOP IOAs” and
IBM i 5.4 and IBM i 6.1 SNA Enterprise Extender (EE) support.
SNA EE packages SNA protocol within an IP frame such that the IOA is unaware of
SNA protocols and data formatting. EE offers several advantages over IBM i supported
AnyNet® (SNA over TCP/IP) but does require SNA EE support at both ends of the
communications conversation. A consideration in this area would be IBM i
communicating with an older IBM 5250 remote controller which does not support SNA
EE. OEM vendors provide solutions in this area.
Note: Starting with IBM i 5.4, either SNA direct (native SNA) or Enterprise Extender
support can be used over the supported IOP-IOA pair. The IBM i System Support
planning and upgrade Web site contains additional information about IBM i SNA
support for future releases:
http://www-304.ibm.com/systems/support/i/planning/upgrade/futuresftwr.html
– Specific tape device support
Some tape hardware, for example, the older non-LTO high speed tape devices, are
supported by IBM i only with the older IOP-IOA cards.
IBM i 5.4 (with machine code LIC 5.4.5) and 6.1 support the following classes of IOAs:
► IOP required IOAs
► IOP-less only IOAs, which are supported by IBM i, AIX, and Linux releases. Some of these
IOAs are supported by IBM i 5.4 with a larger set by IBM i 6.1.
► Dual mode (smart) IOAs, without an IOP configuration, are supported by AIX or Linux
releases or IBM i 5.4 and IBM i 6.1. With an IOP, Dual mode (smart) IOAs are supported
by IBM i.
Note: In some cases, the same adapter card can be ordered with a feature code that
designates “with an IOP” and a different feature code that designates “without an IOP.” You
cannot generally assume that the same adapter, that is the card physically plugged into a
supporting card slot, will run without an IOP. It might or might not run without an IOP. Be
sure to read the feature description details for specific capabilities in Chapter 4, “Feature
descriptions and related information” on page 187.
Appendix D, “Upgrades to Power 9117-MMA and Power 9119-FHA” on page 907 includes
a table that shows feature numbers that are converted to a new feature number when
installed on a POWER6 system.
The IOP and IOA card relationships affect card placement rules within the system unit and I/O
enclosure PCI-X and PCIe card slots. For example the POWER6 system units do not support
IOP cards. Some card slots within an I/O enclosure should be used with higher speed
adapters.
12 IBM Power 570 and IBM Power 595 (POWER6) System Builder