Edit: I still refer to this all of the time.
Originally posted March 22, 2016 on AIXchange
If you just bought an 8408-E8E — otherwise known as the E850 — you may be wondering about its minimum supported AIX versions. Turns out there’s an easy way to find this information: Just go to the System to AIX Maps web page.
Looking down the list, under the POWER8 heading, you’ll find the E850. There are two choices: one for physical adapters, and another for virtualized adapters and the VIO server.
Under the All I/O Configurations link for the E850, there are two options, 7.1 and 6.1:
Technology Level Base Level Recommended Level Latest Level
7100-02 7100-02-06 7100-02-07 7100-02-07
6100-08 6100-08-06 6100-08-07 6100-08-07
Under Virtual I/O Only, there are several options:
Technology Level Base Level Recommended Level Latest Level
7200-00 7200-00-01 7200-00-01 7200-00-01
7100-04 7100-04-00 7100-04-00 7100-04-01
7100-03 7100-03-01 7100-03-05 7100-03-06
7100-02 7100-02-01 7100-02-07 7100-02-07
6100-09 6100-09-01 6100-09-05 6100-09-06
6100-08 6100-08-01 6100-08-07 6100-08-07
Obviously you can look up many systems besides the E850. Available hardware types go all the way back to POWER4 and beyond, including even older models that only run older versions of AIX. In some cases that old information is not online, but for most of the hardware you’d run, you can at least find the minimum levels that can be run depending on how you set up your I/O.
System to AIX Maps is well worth a bookmark. Be sure to check here to verify that what you’re planning to do will actually work.