Design innovations for IBM Z hardware management appliance

Abstract

The IBM z15 supports the new IBM Z Hardware Management Appliance optional feature, which provides redundant Hardware Management Consoles (HMCs) and Support Elements (SEs) that run on redundant physical servers inside the CPC (Central Processor Complex) frame. This eliminates the need for having to manage one or more separate physical servers for HMCs outside of the frame. This article describes the host HMC/KVM (kernel-based virtual machine) and Virtual SE environment, which is completely managed by IBM Z firmware as a true appliance. It also illustrates the firmware integrity monitoring environment for the host HMC/KVM extended to the Virtual SE to provide secure boot protection for firmware and continuous monitoring and the utilization of a shared trusted platform module. It describes how physical system errors are processed by problem analysis firmware running on the Virtual SE, thereby enabling online guided repair instructions running on the Virtual SE to be used for both HMC and SE detected errors. This article will shares the innovative design basics of the IBM Z Hardware Management Appliance feature, which has significant positive impact potential for both clients and IBM.