The IBM® Hardware Management Console (HMC) provides to systems administrators a tool for planning, deploying, and managing IBM Power Systems™ servers. This IBM Redbooks® publication is an extension of IBM Power Systems HMC Implementation and Usage Guide, SG24-7491 and also merges updated information from IBM Power Systems Hardware Management Console: Version 8 Release 8.1.0 Enhancements, SG24-8232. It explains the new features of IBM Power Systems Hardware Management Console Version V8.8.1.0 through V8.8.4.0. The major functions that the HMC provides are Power Systems server hardware management and virtualization (partition) management.

Further information about virtualization management is in the following publications:

• IBM PowerVM Virtualization Managing and Monitoring, SG24-7590
• IBM PowerVM Virtualization Introduction and Configuration, SG24-7940
• IBM PowerVM Enhancements What is New in 2013, SG24-8198
• IBM Power Systems SR-IOV: Technical Overview and Introduction, REDP-5065

The following features of HMC V8.8.1.0 through HMC V8.8.4.0 are described in this book:

• HMC V8.8.1.0 enhancements
• HMC V8.8.4.0 enhancements
• System and Partition Templates
• HMC and IBM PowerVM® Simplification Enhancement
• Manage Partition Enhancement
• Performance and Capacity Monitoring
• HMC V8.8.4.0 upgrade changes

Chapter 1. Hardware Management Console overview

Chapter 2. Planning

Chapter 3. Installation upgrade and updates

Chapter 4. Configuring

Chapter 5. Operating

Chapter 6. Service support

Chapter 7. Performance and capacity monitoring

Chapter 8. Good practices

Appendix A. myHMC

Appendix B. CLI commands examples

Appendix C. IBM product engineering debug data collection

Appendix D. Live Partition Mobility support log collection

Appendix E. Preboot Execution Environment