Smrutiranjan Barik

Team: PowerVS System Test

Team Size: 15

Tools & Technologies: PowerVC, OpenStack, TestRail, Jira, Postman, VIOS, NovaLink, HMC, Cloud UI, CLI, REST APIs

Environment: IBM Power Virtual Server (PowerVS) – Public and Private Cloud

Role Summary:
Working on IBM Power Virtual Server, an enterprise Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offering for IBM Power Systems, supporting IBM i, AIX, and Linux workloads across on-premises and off-premises cloud environments. The platform delivers SAP-certified, enterprise-grade compute, storage, and networking with secure, fenced internal networks and integration with IBM Cloud infrastructure.

Key Responsibilities & Contributions:

• Leading the IBM i automation initiative for IBM Power Virtual Server Cloud, identifying high-value test cases for automation using CLI and REST APIs.
• Assigning automation tasks to team members, tracking progress through GitHub, and ensuring closure with proper review and validation.
• Designing and executing system-level test cases based on SLD (Solution Level Design) documents; presenting test cases to stakeholders for review and incorporating feedback.
• Maintaining test case lifecycle in TestRail, including updates, assignments, execution tracking, and reporting.
• Driving automation and manual testing for PowerVS instance deployment using IBM i, AIX, and Linux across multiple configurations.
• Validating PowerVS on IBM Power8, Power9, and Power10 servers based on feature and capacity requirements.
• Contributing to system testing of critical PowerVS features including CPU and Memory DLPAR, Image Capture, Image Import/Export, Volume Snapshot, Volume Cloning, and Global Replication Services (GRS).
• Actively working on IBM i OS-specific areas, including licensing validation and OS-level configurations.
• Creating and validating cloud-config files for IBM i, AIX, and Linux deployments on IBM Cloud.
• Setting up end-to-end test beds, including workspace creation, network configuration, storage provisioning, and compute allocation.
• Performing testing using Cloud UI, CLI, and REST APIs across both manual and automation workflows.
• Validating pricing and billing for compute, storage, and network resources associated with PowerVS instances.
• Driving defect triage activities within the team, analyzing issues, coordinating with development teams, and tracking resolution status.
• Representing the team in daily scrum calls, capturing defect actions and priorities, and communicating execution plans back to the team.
• Presenting new features, enhancements, and test strategies to the team to ensure readiness and alignment with release objectives.
• Collaborating closely with development, test, and cross-functional teams to understand new releases, review test plans, and provide early feedback.
• Worked extensively on both Public and Private Cloud deployments, ensuring feature parity, stability, and enterprise readiness.

Team: Hardware System Test (HST) Team Size: 15

Tools & Technologies: RMC, ALM, Quix, HP SUM, Netperf, Pandora, Xorsyst, Hazard, FIO, GitHub, Jenkins

Projects: Mission Critical Servers (MCS) – Superdome X, Superdome Flex, Superdome Flex 280

Key Responsibilities & Achievements:

• Validated new system firmware, IO firmware, and driver releases for supported cards, ensuring platform stability and compatibility.

• Reviewed and updated test cases and test plans in ALM for new OS releases and feature enhancements.

• Qualified IO cards, CPUs, and DIMMs on MCS platforms, including Max IO and Max Memory testing to certify performance and reliability.

• Collaborated with development teams to analyze IO‑related changes and provide technical feedback for smooth integration.

• Distributed workloads across the team, ensuring efficient execution of test threads and timely delivery of results.

• Executed test cases on automated platforms with supplemental manual testing where required.

• Designed and implemented ROBO automation suites in GitHub, enabling multiple test triggers through Jenkins and improving test efficiency.

• Managed the defect lifecycle: filed, tracked, and followed up with component owners until closure; maintained internal issue tracker for visibility.

• Debugged complex IO and OS issues, providing solutions and workarounds to minimize downtime.

• Provided technical leadership by mentoring new engineers, distributing tasks, and ensuring team productivity.

• Handled CPE releases for main product versions and addressed DSR requests from customers, ensuring quality and responsiveness.

• Represented the team in critical discussions and supported customer‑driven requirements with effective solutions.

Team Size: 11

Tools & Technologies: Best Quest, RQM, Clear Quest, VIOS, HMC

Description:

POWER Hypervisor is the hardware abstraction layer which runs on IBM p‑Series servers, based on PowerPC architecture. IBM projects Power servers as their high‑end servers along with the z systems. POWER Hypervisor (PHYP) provides virtualization of the underlying hardware and enables creation of Logical Partitions (LPARs). VIOS handles I/O virtualization. PHYP ensures strong isolation between partitions, owning all system resources and allocating them across partitions. This involves testing and validation of virtualization (PowerVM) functions with focus on PHYP components such as Dynamic Partitioning, Live Partition Mobility, Hibernation, Remote Restart, etc.

Responsibilities:

• Installation of VIOS, AIX LPARs using NIM installation

• Contributed to functional testing of Power Hypervisor‑PowerVM features like Live Partition Mobility, Remote Restart, Active Memory Sharing, DLAR, Hibernation, DPO

• Collaborated with various Dev and Test teams to understand new line items and test plans, and provided feedback

• Worked on new line items on NEO systems with LPM features

•· Set up the test bed for various functional testing

• Delivered presentations to the team about new line items

• Wrote test cases and assisted team members in creating test plans

• Created VD on remote storage and mapped to all logical partitions using VIO server

•· Updated firmware on physical servers and created different virtual servers through HMC