vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Balanced profiles with the bx2d prefix are available in the US South (Dallas), US East (Washington DC), Canada (Toronto), United Kingdom (London), EU Germany (Frankfurt), Japan (Tokyo), Japan (Osaka), and Australia (Sydney) regions.

Intel x86-64

AMD x86-64



Table 3. Balance profiles options for Intel x86-64 instances
Balanced profiles options for Intel x86-64 virtual server instances.

 Instance profile vCPU Cores GiB RAM Bandwidth Cap (Gbps) Instance Storage (GB) 

 bx2-2x8 2 1 8 4 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-2x8 2 1 8 4 1x75 
 bx2-4x16 4 2 16 8 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-4x16 4 2 16 8 1x150 
 bx2-8x32 8 4 32 16 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-8x32 8 4 32 16 1x300 
 bx2-16x64 16 8 64 32 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-16x64 16 8 64 32 1x600 
 bx2-32x128 32 16 128 64 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-32x128 32 16 128 64 2x600 
 bx2-48x192 48 24 192 80 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-48x192 48 24 192 80 1x900 
 bx2-64x256 64 32 256 80 <br><br> * <br><br><br> 
 bx2d-64x256 64 32 256 80 2x1200 
 bx2-96x384 96 48 384 80 <br><br> * <br><br><br>
For more information, see [Confidential computing with LinuxONE](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-about-se).

You can choose a profile based on your requirements. You can choose from balanced, compute, and memory secure execution enabled profiles. For more information, see [s390x instance profiles](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-vs-profiles). Ensure that you select a secure execution enabled profile (for example, bz2e-1x4) when you enable the Run your workload with an OS and a profile protected by Secure Execution toggle. Selecting any profile that is not secure execution enabled will cause the provisioning of the virtual instance to fail.





 Supported IBM Z or LinuxONE stock image operating systems 



Table 1. Supported s390x stock image operating systems

 Image Architectures 

 Ubuntu 18.04.x s390x 
 SUSE Linux Enterprise server (SLES) 15 SP2 s390x 
 IBM z/OS (IBM Wazi as a Service) s390x 



The IBM Wazi aaS z/OS dev and test stock image is available in all regions supported for the s390x architecture, including Japan (Tokyo), Brazil (São Paulo), Canada (Toronto), United Kingdom (London), and US East (Washington DC). For more information, see [IBM Wazi as a Service documentation](https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/wazi-aas/1.0.0).

For information about images for x86 processor architecture, see [x86 virtual server images](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-about-images).

With a cloud-init enabled image, you can provide user data. In the User Data field on the order form, you can enter optional cloud-init user data for the server. For more information about user data and automation, see [User data](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-user-data).
These servers are managed by the account holder, either you, your customer, or your services partner, depending on your business operations.

These servers are provisioned with your choice of operating system (OS) image that is directly installed to bare metal.

Because customization is controlled on bare metal servers, fast provisioning times of in the range 1 - 4 hours are obtainable with worldwide availability. For larger systems (greater 4 TB DRAM), there is a longer validation period for checking the hardware components (particularly RAM), but the machines are usually available within 24 hours.

For more information about Bare Metal servers on Classic Infrastructure, see [IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers](https://www.ibm.com/cloud/bare-metal-servers) on ibm.com and [IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers for Classic - server options](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/bare-metal?topic=bare-metal-about-bm) on IBM Cloud Docs.





 Intel Bare Metal servers on Classic Infrastructure with Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory 

Resource: [Intel Optane SSD](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/bare-metal?topic=bare-metal-ordering-ssd)

In addition, the IBM Cloud Bare Metal Servers are also available with Intel® Optane DC Persistent Memory, which is engineered for high-performance SAP production environments with ultra-high memory requirements and tuned by SAP to increase performance of SAP HANA 2.0 (SPS 03 and higher). Due to the design of Intel Optane DC PMEM, which uses dense storage format factor in DIMM slots with direct CPU access, the new storage medium has ultra low latency read/write and enables:



* Improved SAP HANA Dynamic Tiering with improved cost-efficiency and without reducing performance
* Reduced business downtime and improved RTO KPIs by moving the SAP HANA main data column store to Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory, with all data immediately accessible after planned or unplanned maintenance windows.







 Intel Virtual Servers on VPC Infrastructure 

IBM® Virtual Servers are virtual machine servers with extensive customization capabilities.

The servers run on a hypervisor that is managed by IBM Cloud, providing you flexible compute by using a scalable infrastructure (available in multi-tenant or dedicated single-tenant).
Dedicated hosts and dedicated instances 

Dedicated hosts are virtual servers that you can use to specify the data center and POD in which you want your host. You then assign instances, or virtual machines, to a specific host for maximum control over workload placement and for flexible cost-provisioning options.



  Guaranteed capacity 

You're guaranteed capacity within the data center and POD in which your host is placed. For example, if the POD containing your dedicated host and dedicated instances reaches capacity, you can continue to assign dedicated instances to your host if your host has appropriate space.





  Visible workloads 

You can view overall resource consumption for all dedicated instances that are assigned to a dedicated host on one page. View core, RAM, and local storage usage, which helps you determine whether you need to migrate dedicated instances to another dedicated host. This level of granularity gives you the ability to manage your workloads with maximum control.





  Post-deployment management 

In addition to guaranteed capacity and visibility to your workloads, you can migrate your dedicated instances between dedicated hosts for maximum control over workload placement.





  Maintenance 

Occasionally, infrastructure maintenance requires a dedicated host to restart. For example, the Xen hypervisor might need an update. If you have multiple dedicated hosts, you have the following options to minimize maintenance downtime.



*  Maintenance is done by PODs within a data center. You can deploy your dedicated hosts to separate PODs to spread out the maintenance.
*  You can create a support ticket for a dedicated host to delay the scheduled maintenance request. During that time, you can migrate offline dedicated instances between dedicated hosts that are in the same POD.







  High availability 

If a dedicated host fails, the workloads on the dedicated host are automatically migrated to a new dedicated host. Dedicated instances remain dedicated throughout the lifecycle of the virtual server.

For high availability scenarios, you might want to consider an extra dedicated host. For example, the extra dedicated host provides you the flexibility to migrate workloads for maintenance windows.
However, if you are interested in quickly finding the information that is related specifically to one of the IaaS offerings, then you might consider using the Fast Path Site Maps for [Intel Bare Metal (Classic)](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-fast-path-site-map-intel-bm), [Intel Bare Metal (VPC)](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-fast-path-site-map-intel-bm-vpc), [Intel Virtual Servers (VPC)](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-fast-path-site-map-intel-vs-gen2), [IBM Power Virtual Servers](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-fast-path-site-map-power-vs), and [VMware SDDC](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-fast-path-site-map-vmware-sddc).



 Intel Bare Metal servers on Classic Infrastructure 

IBM Cloud® Bare Metal Servers are physical servers with numerous customization capabilities.

The servers are dedicated for your use, or your customer's, and not shared in any part, including server resources, with other IBM Cloud customers.

These servers are managed by the account holder, either you, your customer, or your services partner, depending on your business operations.

These servers are provisioned with your choice of operating system (OS) image that is directly installed to bare metal.

Because customization is controlled on bare metal servers, fast provisioning times of in the range 1 - 4 hours are obtainable with worldwide availability. For larger systems (greater 4 TB DRAM), there is a longer validation period for checking the hardware components (particularly RAM), but the machines are usually available within 24 hours.
Licensed Mobility through Microsoft Software Assurance Overview 



 Overview 

Organizations around the world are benefitting from the power, flexibility, and efficiency of cloud computing. Whether you want to deploy server applications in a traditional customer on- premises environment, through a partner or a Microsoft cloud-hosted model, or a combination of all three, Microsoft gives you the flexibility to choose what is right for you, on your terms and on your schedule.





 License mobility through Microsoft Software Assurance 

With more businesses adopting Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), customers moving server workloads and applications to the cloud want to take advantage of their existing licensing investments as part of their IT strategy.

License Mobility through Microsoft Software Assurance gives Microsoft Volume Licensing customers the flexibility to deploy certain server applications with active Software Assurance on-premises or in the cloud, without having to buy additional licenses. As a result, customers can take advantage of the lowest and flexible cost infrastructure for changing business priorities. Because of this new Software Assurance benefit, customers do not need to purchase new Microsoft Client Access Licenses (CALs), and no associated mobility fees exist.





 Products eligible for License mobility through Software Assurance 

For specific Microsoft server products, [License Mobility through Software Assurance](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/licensing-programs/software-assurance-license-mobility?rtc=1tab=3) gives customers enhanced flexibility. A customer can assign their application server licenses with active Software Assurance to run server instances on shared hardware via Microsoft Azure or a License Mobility through Software Assurance Partner’s data center. Although sharing hardware, such server instances (virtual machines) must be dedicated to a single customer and are not shared with other customers.

The list of eligible server applications includes Microsoft SQL Server database software, Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server, Microsoft Skype for Business Server, Microsoft System Center servers, and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Server for Customer Service and Sales applications. (Note: For SQL Server customers with core-based licensing and Software Assurance coverage, broader benefits are available under [Azure Hybrid Benefit](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/hybrid-benefit/) rights. For more information, see Azure Hybrid Benefit. The steps described below do not apply to Azure Hybrid Benefit use.)
The VSI functions as the DNS for the instance where the hosts and VMs are registered.
* Two highly available dedicated Windows server VMs on the management cluster - Two Microsoft Windows® VMs are deployed, helping enhance security and robustness.



You must provide two Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Standard edition licenses if you configure your instance to use the two Microsoft Windows VMs.

Each license can be assigned only to one single physical server and covers up to two physical processors. One Standard edition license can run two virtualized Microsoft Windows VMs per 2-processor server. Therefore, two licenses are required since two Microsoft Windows VMs are deployed in two different hosts.

You have 30 days to activate the VMs.

For more information about ordering Windows Server 2019 licenses, see [Get started with Windows Server 2019](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started-19/get-started-19).





 Configure hostnames individually 

You can customize the hostnames prefix individually by toggling the switch on.

The hostnames prefix must meet the following requirements:



* Only lowercase alphabetic, numeric, and dash (-) characters are allowed.
* No consecutive dash characters are allowed.
* The hostname prefix must start with a lowercase alphabetic character.
* The hostname prefix must end with a lowercase alphabetic or numeric character.







 Related links 



* [Resource details](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vrw-orderinginstance-resource-details)
* [Procedure to order a Cyber Resource instance](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-cr_orderinginstance-order-procedure)
They are responsible for processing incoming requests that are assigned to them by the ICM. Each server process is multi-threaded, and can therefore process many requests simultaneously.



2. System Central Services instance (SCS instance) - Central services form the basis of communication and synchronization for the AS Java cluster. They are responsible for lock administration, message exchange, and load balancing within the cluster. Central services that are run on one physical machine and constitute a separate instance. This [SAP Central Services Instance (SCS)](https://help.sap.com/viewer/5bdacafd0bbd41648f4b80093a1bf9d6/7.4.19/en-US/480728f74c6a3837e10000000a42189b.html) comprises:



* Message Server - The message server keeps a list of all server processes in the AS Java cluster and provides information about their availability to Internet Communication Manager (ICM). It also represents the infrastructure for data exchange between the participating server processes.
* Enqueue Server - The enqueue server manages logical locks. The enqueue server runs on the Central Services instance of the Java cluster. It manages the lock table in the main memory and receives requests for setting or releasing locks. It maps the logical locks to the database.





MS SQL for standard system



* Database instance (DB) - MS SQL Server in this case. The SAP systems in a landscape have specific requirements for servers, operating systems, network setup, and supported storage. Deployment of SAP AnyDB on IIBM Cloud is similar to deployments with infrastructure with on-premises data centers. Use the information that is provided from SAP and the RDBMS providers. For more information, see [AnyDB - Microsoft SQL Server](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-anydb-ms-sql-server) and [Infrastructure certified for SAP](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-iaas-offerings).
* Primary application server instance (PAS instance) - The global directories of the ASCS instance can be used as the global file system.
Getting started with IBM Power Systems Virtual Servers 

IBM® Power® Systems Virtual Server is a Power Systems offering. Power Systems Virtual Servers are located in the IBM data centers, distinct from the IBM Cloud servers with separate networks and direct-attached storage. You can use the Power Systems Virtual Servers to deploy a virtual server, also known as a logical partition (LPAR), in a matter of minutes. IBM Power Systems clients who have typically relied upon on-premises-only infrastructure can now quickly and economically extend their Power IT resources off-premises. Avoid the large capital expense or added risk when migrating your essential workloads and get started with Power Systems Virtual Servers today!

In the data centers, the Power Systems Virtual Servers are separated from the rest of the IBM Cloud servers with separate networks and direct-attached storage. The internal networks are fenced but offer connectivity options to IBM Cloud infrastructure or on-premises environments. This infrastructure design enables Power Systems Virtual Servers to maintain key enterprise software certification and support as the Power Systems Virtual Server architecture is identical to certified on-premises infrastructure.

Power Systems Virtual Servers integrates your AIX, IBM i, or Linux® capabilities in an off-premises environment distinct from the IBM Cloud. You get fast, self-service provisioning, flexible management both on-premises and off-premises, and similar to on-premises it can be connected to access a stack of enterprise services from IBM – all with pay-as-you-use billing that lets you easily scale up and out. You can quickly deploy a Power Systems Virtual Server to meet your specific business needs and easily control workload demands. For frequently asked questions about the Power Systems Virtual Server, see [FAQs](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/power-iaas?topic=power-iaas-power-iaas-faqs).

If you are creating or configuring a Power Systems Virtual Server instance to support an SAP NetWeaver or SAP HANA workload, see [Planning your deployment](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-power-vs-planning-items) and [Deploying your infrastructure](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/sap?topic=sap-power-vs-set-up-infrastructure).
[Planning for instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-vsi_best_practices) This configuration checklist is helpful to get the most out of your IBM Cloud VPC deployment. 
 [Creating virtual server instances by using the UI](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-creating-virtual-servers) Provision public instances with various options by using the user interface. 
 [Creating virtual server instances by using the CLI](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-creating-virtual-servers&interface=cli) Provision public instances with various options by using the command-line interface. 
 [Creating an instance by using the API](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-creating-vpc-resources-with-cli-and-api&interface=apicreate-instance-api-tutorial) Provision public instances with various options by using the API. 
 [Creating instances on dedicated hosts](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-creating-instance-on-dh) Provision instances on a dedicated host or group.
Bring Your Own License (BYOL) 

IBM Cloud® supports Bring Your Own Licenses (BYOL). Microsoft has had a specific set of rules that customers should follow when using their licenses on cloud providers from 2019. On August 29th, 2022 Microsoft changed their policy with two announcements. The first customer [announcement](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/options-for-hosted-cloud) states that Microsoft BYOL can be deployed on shared (multi-tenant hosts). Previously this was limited to dedicated (single-tenant) hosts. Customers should read and understand the new terms and conditions in the [Microsoft FAQ](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/news/new-software-assurance-benefit-to-support-hosting-from-third-party-providers). The [blog](https://blogs.partner.microsoft.com/mpn/new-licensing-benefits-make-bringing-workloads-and-licenses-to-partners-clouds-easier/) posting on BYOL provides more detailed information and Microsoft also has a [training video](https://licensingschool.eventbuilder.com/hostingcustomer). Basically, when a customer uses BYOL, they will be able to license Windows Server by virtual core instead of physical cores and on public multi-tenant instances.

Customers should review these revised rules and their current spending and usage patterns to determine which deployment model makes the most financial and technical performance sense. Some workloads are steady state and require consistent infrastructure and some workloads are bursty and can be cycled on and off to take advantage of hourly pricing.

Depending on the IBM Cloud solution, Microsoft software is purchased pay-as-you-go (hourly, monthly, yearly) on shared or dedicated resources. For BYOL, as of October 19th 2022, you can provision BYOL Microsoft licenses on dedicated and shared hosts.
You can now [bring your own license](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-byol-vpc-about) (BYOL) for custom images that you create and import to IBM Cloud VPC. When you import a custom image, you can choose from new byol Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and Windows operating systems.

A new dedicated_host_only property has been added to operating system resources. Any instance with a boot volume created from an image with operating_system.dedicated_host_only set to true must be placed on a dedicated host (or into a dedicated host group). Since Windows BYOL images have dedicated_host_only set to true, they must be placed on a dedicated host (or into a dedicated host group). There are no restrictions on placing instances using RHEL BYOL images.

Every operation that returns an OperatingSystem resource now includes a dedicated_host_only property.

This feature is now generally available. See the [VPC API change log](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-api-change-log19-march-2021).







 5 March 2021 



 For all version dates 

Instance resize. Accounts that have been granted special approval to preview this feature can now resize an instance by providing the profile property in the API method PATCH /instances/{id} ([Update an instance](https://cloud.ibm.com/apidocs/vpc-betaupdate-instance)). For more information, see [Resizing a virtual server instance](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-resizing-an-instance&interface=api).

This feature is now generally available. See the [VPC API change log](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vpc?topic=vpc-api-change-log30-march-2021).







 22 February 2021 



 For all version dates 

Block storage snapshots.
IBM Power Systems Virtual Server in the IBM Power Infrastructure environment Linux OS BYOL and Custom Image (BYOS) by using [Linux within the Power Virtual Server - Capturing and importing a SLES image](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/power-iaas?topic=power-iaas-using-linuxpreparing-linux-image) Not supported for SAP HANA or SAP NetWeaver workloads, available for non-SAP workloads 
 IBM Power Systems Virtual Server in the IBM Power Infrastructure environment Unix OS BYOL and Custom Image (BYOS) by using [Importing a boot image for IBM AIX or IBM i](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/power-iaas?topic=power-iaas-importing-boot-imageconsole-import-image) SAP NetWeaver AS 
 VMware SDDC on IBM Cloud OS BYOL and custom image (BYOS) by using standard Virtual Machine Guest OS guidance from VMware documentation Supported according to SAP-VMware guidance
Workload patterns 

On the workload patterns page, you can pause and resume your instance and scale it.