Supported Linux distributions for POWER8 Linux on Power systems Use this topic to find the Linux distributions optimized for POWER8 servers running Linux Note: The recommended Linux distribution for a particular server is always the latest level distribution that is optimized for the server The listed distributions are the operating system versions that are supported for the specific hardware For information about the product lifecycles for the Linux distributions refer to the distribution's support site: : SUSE Product Support Lifecycle https:wwwsusecomlifecycle Red Hat Enterprise Linux: Red Hat Enterprise Linux Life Cycle https:accessredhatcomsitesupportpolicyupdateserrata Ubuntu: Ubuntu Release Life Cycle http:wwwubuntucominforeleaseendoflife Note: Big endian BE operating systems support 32bit and 64bit applications Little endian LE operating systems exclusively support 64bit applications Table 1 Supported Linux distributions for POWER8 processorbased servers IBM POWER8 processorbased 8335GTB IBM Power System S822LC Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal Red Hat Enterprise Linux 73 2 Ubuntu 16041 and 800112C IBM Power System S821LC 800122C IBM Power System S822LC for Big Data Red Hat virtualization any Ubuntu KVM Ubuntu 14045 and subsequent updates and Ubuntu 16041 and Ubuntu 16041 and subsequent updates and
IBM POWER8 processorbased 8335GCA IBM Power System S822LC 8335GTA IBM Power System S822LC 834821C IBM Power System S812LC PowerKVM 21x and 31x 3 any 12 SP1 any subsequent service packs 4 Ubuntu 14043 and subsequent updates and Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal Ubuntu 14043 and subsequent updates and Big Endian Red Hat Enterprise Linux 66 any any 11 SP3 any subsequent Red Hat virtualization any Ubuntu KVM Ubuntu 14045 and subsequent updates and Ubuntu 16041 and subsequent updates and 824721L IBM Power System S812L 5 PowerKVM 21x and 31x
& IBM POWER8 processorbased 824722L IBM Power System S822L 2 12 any subsequent service packs 4 Ubuntu 1403 and 1 2 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 65 11 SP3 any subsequent any 12 SP1 any subsequent Ubuntu 14043 and subsequent updates and Ubuntu 1405 and subsequent updates and Big Endian Red Hat Enterprise Linux 65 any any 11 SP3 any subsequent Red Hat virtualization any Ubuntu KVM Ubuntu 14045 and subsequent updates and Ubuntu 16041 and subsequent updates and Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal Ubuntu 14042 and 824742L IBM Power System S824L 5 12 any subsequent fix packs PowerKVM 21x and 31x any 12 Ubuntu 14042 and
IBM POWER8 processorbased Ubuntu 14043 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 66 11 SP3 any subsequent SP1 any subsequent Ubuntu 14043 and subsequent updates and Ubuntu 1405 and subsequent updates and Big Endian Red Hat Enterprise Linux 66 any any 11 SP3 any subsequent Red Hat virtualization any Ubuntu KVM Ubuntu 14045 and subsequent updates and Ubuntu 16041 and subsequent updates and Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal 828422A IBM Power System S822 6 828641A IBM Power System S814 828642A IBM Power System S824 12 any subsequent fix packs Ubuntu 14043 and
IBM POWER8 processorbased Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 65 11 SP3 any subsequent 8408E8E IBM Power System E850 7 12 any subsequent service packs Ubuntu 14043 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 66 11 SP3 any subsequent
' IBM POWER8 processorbased Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal 840844F IBM Power System E850C 12 any subsequent service packs Ubuntu 14043 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 68 11 SP4 any subsequent 9119MME IBM Power System E870 9119MHE IBM Power System E880 12 any subsequent service packs Ubuntu 14043 and
IBM POWER8 processorbased Nonvirtualized OS Baremetal Red Hat Enterprise Linux 66 11 SP3 any subsequent 9080MME IBM Power System E870C 9080MHE IBM Power System E880C 12 SP1 any subsequent Ubuntu 16041 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 68 11 SP4 any subsequent Note:
1 Little endian LE support requires firmware level FW830 or later For systems that are running firmware level FW830 or later partitions can be a combination of big endian and little endian 2 Starting with Red Hat provides separate builds and licenses for big endian and little endian versions for Power 3 For systems that are running PowerKVM 211 or later guests can be any combination of big endian and little endian 4 Beginning with 12 the Linux distribution supports little endian mode In prior versions only big endian mode was supported Because of this change in Power architecture there is no direct migration path from prior versions of to 12 Contact SUSE for more information 5 PowerKVM is officially supported for firmware levels 810 830 and 840 on the S812L S822L and S824L models 6 PowerKVM is allowed but not officially supported for firmware levels 810 830 and 840 on the S822 S814 and S824 models Starting with firmware 84010 PowerVM is the only option for new customers on the S822 Existing customers for the S822 at 84010 and later can switch between PowerKVM OPAL and PowerVM modes as needed 7 PowerKVM is allowed but not officially supported for firmware levels 84010 and later for the E850 model See the following distribution web sites for detailed information about the distributions: for IBM Power Red Hat Enterprise Linux Ubuntu Server If you are interested in migrating Linux on Power applications from big endian to little endian mode post a comment on the Linux on Power Community forum An IBM representative will contact you to offer assistance with IBM Software Development Kit for Linux on Power tools Parent topic: Linux on Power overview Introducing IBM Software Development Kit for Linux on Power