SPARC M8 and SPARC M7 Servers Administration Guide

I/O Domains With SR-IOV Configuration

This example uses logical domains implemented using Oracle VM Server for SPARC to partition and virtualize the system.

You can create I/O domains with SR-IOV to provide flexible I/O with native I/O throughput that removes the virtualization I/O overhead that is associated with using virtual I/O services from a root domain. This configuration has these features:

• Depends on the root domain for virtual console services.

• Allows live migration with some network cards, using Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.5.

• Supports dynamic SR‐IOV.

  • Enables creation or destruction of virtual functions without a reboot of the primary domain.

  • Enables the addition or removal of virtual functions to a running domain without a need to reboot it.

  • Enables the creation or destruction of multiple virtual functions simultaneously.

For information about SR-IOV live migration, see the Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.5 Administration Guide.

This diagram shows the basic layout of the I/O domains with SR-IOV configuration. The total number of possible I/O domains depends on the number of available root complexes and CPU cores, the amount of available memory, and especially, the requirements of the workload in each domain.

The diagram shows a configuration with a single root domain, the primary domain, although SR-IOV can also be used in multiple root domains.

Related Information

• Understanding the I/O Architecture

• Understanding Core Assignments

• Understanding the Memory Resources

• Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.5 Administration Guide