VIO Maintenance and Check modes in HMC

Almost every customer, I've seen in the field, has some sort of scripts to check status of paths on the client LPARs and SEAs on VIO, and switch them off during maintenance (e.g. VIOS update).

The usual way, a customer does VIO maintenance, is:
1. check, that every client LPAR is connected through both VIOSes (VFC/VSCSI).
2. check, that the SEA is active and has now problems, such as LIMBO state.
3. Switch over the SEA (chdev -l entX -a ha_mode=standby)
4. Switch off the paths in the client LPARs (chpath or something like).

5. do maintenance (VIOS update, adapter exchange, whatever).

6. Switch on the paths in the client LPARs
7. Bring the SEA back into auto state (chdev -l entX -a ha_mode=auto)
8. Check that the SEA is active and no visible problems with it.
9. Check all the paths on all client LPARs

10. repeat the same procedure for the 2nd VIO.

HMC as a management console in a normal situation has access to all VIOSes and all LPARs on the managed system. It can have a new menu entry or command for checking and putting one VIO in dual-VIO configuration into "maintenance" mode, when there is no traffic through the VIOS is possible.

I would see it almost the same way as LPM window is done - with buttons Validate (pp. 1, 2, 8, 9) and switch Maintenance mode on (pp. 3, 4) and off (pp. 5, 6).

Nice addition to it will be also implementation of 'VIO update command/screen in HMC.

btw Vmware has maintenance mode switch.