In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, Generative AI (GenAI) stands as a beacon of innovation, driving unprecedented advancements across various sectors. From automating complex processes to enhancing decision-making capabilities, GenAI is revolutionizing the way we interact with technology. One of the most promising applications of GenAI is within cloud environments, where it can help customers streamline operations, optimize resource management, and provide intelligent insights.
Today, Skytap is excited to announce the limited availability release of AI Assistant. This new Skytap product feature leverages the power of GenAI to transform how you interact with and manage your Skytap environments. It is intended to offer an additional layer of customer support to further enrich your Skytap experience.
The Power of AI Assistant
AI Assistant is designed to be your intelligent assistant, providing you with the information and support you need to maximize the potential of your Skytap environments. By integrating advanced GenAI capabilities, AI Assistant can understand and respond to a wide range of queries, making it an invaluable tool for both technical and non-technical users.
How It Works
AI Assistant offers two types of assistance:
- Skytap-specific knowledge assistance: This component of AI Assistant is specifically tailored to provide detailed information about Skytap environments. It draws from a rich repository of data sources, including Skytap documentation, user guides, and support articles. This ensures you receive accurate and contextually relevant answers to your Skytap services and features queries.
- General knowledge assistance: This component leverages broader GenAI capabilities to answer general questions that may not be specific to Skytap. It utilizes a vast dataset that includes general technical knowledge, industry best practices, and more.
How AI Assistant Can Help
AI Assistant is designed to handle a diverse range of questions, ensuring you get the support you need, when you need it. Here are some examples of the types of queries it can help you with:
Example 1
You
How should I set my EC?
Skytap Knowledge Assistant
To set your Entitled Capacity (EC) in Skytap, you should follow the updated formula provided by Skytap for IBM Power LPARs. The formula is designed to facilitate more efficient usage of Skytap resources. Here is the updated formula:
[ \text{EC} = \min(\text{vcpu_count}, \lfloor \max(\text{GiB_ram}/50, 0.05) \rfloor, 0.005) ]
Key Points:
- New LPARs: Use the updated EC formula.
- Cloned and Copied LPARs: Use the updated EC formula.
- Existing LPARs: Automatically use the updated formula after they are shut down and restarted.
Steps to Configure EC:
- Calculate EC: Use the formula to calculate the EC based on your LPAR’s vCPU count and RAM.
- Adjust EC Setting: If the configured EC setting for an LPAR is higher than the newly calculated EC allocation, the EC configuration will be changed to the maximum EC allocation available using the new formula. If the configured EC setting is lower, no change will be made.
Example Calculations
If your LPAR has 4 vCPUs and 200 GiB of RAM:
[ \text{EC} = \min(4, \lfloor \max(200/50, 0.05) \rfloor, 0.005) ]
[ \text{EC} = \min(4, \lfloor 4 \rfloor, 0.005) ]
[ \text{EC} = \min(4, 4, 0.005) ]
[ \text{EC} = 4 ]
Additional Considerations:
- Uncapped vCPU Sharing Mode: LPARs using this mode can exceed their maximum processor allocation by consuming spare processor cycles from the Power VM shared processor pool.
- Capped LPARs: Always limited to a maximum processor allocation equal to the configured EC.
For more detailed instructions and examples, you can refer to the Skytap documentation on editing VM vCPUs and RAM.
Example 2
You
What are TCP tuning options for AIX?
Skytap Knowledge Assistant
The TCP tuning options for AIX in the context of Skytap are as follows:
Relevant AIX Network Settings
Skytap Recommended Base Settings
The following AIX settings have been found to greatly increase WAN throughput across a WAN when both the transfer initiator and responder are AIX. These settings should be applied to both the initiator and responder for the most significant gains.
Commands for Gathering Current Settings
To gather the current settings, you can use the following commands:
These settings and commands help optimize network performance for AIX VMs in Skytap environments.
Example 3
You
Write a Python script to provision 3 environments from a template and output the URLs.
Skytap Knowledge Assistant
To provision environments in Skytap using a Python script, you will need to interact with the Skytap API. Below is an example script that provisions three environments from a specified template and outputs their URLs.
Before running the script, ensure you have the following:
- Skytap API credentials (API token).
- The template ID from which you want to provision the environments.
Here is the Python script:
Explanation:
- API_TOKEN: Replace ‘your_skytap_api_token’ with your actual Skytap API token.
- TEMPLATE_ID: Replace ‘your_template_id’ with the ID of the template you want to use for provisioning environments.
- BASE_URL: The base URL for Skytap API.
- Headers: The headers include the authorization token and content type.
- create_environment: This function sends a POST request to create an environment from the specified template.
- main: This function calls create_environment three times to create three environments and stores their URLs.
- Output: The script prints the URLs of the created environments.
Make sure you have the requests library installed. You can install it using pip if you don’t have it already:
Run the script, and it will provision three environments from the specified template and output their URLs.
Example 4
You
What is the error label: ISCSISW_ERR3 IDENTIFIER: C2874145
General Knowledge Assistant
The error label “ISCSISW_ERR3” with the identifier “C2874145” is associated with the iSCSI software initiator in IBM AIX operating systems. This error typically indicates a problem related to the iSCSI software driver or its configuration.
To troubleshoot this error, you can follow these steps:
- Check the Error Log: Use the errpt command to view detailed information about the error. This can provide more context and specifics about what caused the error.
- Verify iSCSI Configuration: Ensure that the iSCSI initiator is correctly configured. Check the configuration files and settings to make sure they are correct.
- Network Connectivity: Verify that the network connection between the iSCSI initiator and the target is stable and properly configured. Check for any network issues that might be causing connectivity problems.
- Driver and Firmware Updates: Ensure that you have the latest updates for the iSCSI software driver and any related firmware. Sometimes, updates can resolve known issues.
- Consult Documentation: Refer to the IBM AIX documentation and support resources for more detailed information on the error and recommended actions.
- Contact Support: If the issue persists, consider reaching out to IBM support for further assistance. They can provide more in-depth troubleshooting and solutions.
By following these steps, you should be able to identify and resolve the issue related to the ISCSISW_ERR3 error.
Sign Up for AI Assistant and Take Your Skytap Experience to the Next Level
Skytap is excited to offer AI Assistant to customers in limited availability so we can learn from you. This is your opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation, leveraging GenAI to enhance your Skytap experience. If you are interested in gaining access to AI Assistant contact Dawn Winston, Skytap Product Management, or reach out to Skytap Support.
Don’t miss out on this chance to improve your cloud management and user experience with AI Assistant. Join us in shaping the future of technology, one intelligent query at a time.
Stay tuned for more updates and enhancements as we continue to refine and expand the capabilities of AI Assistant. Together, we can unlock the full potential of GenAI in the cloud.
