Types Of Partitions
Partitioning on HP servers refers to the ability to run
multiple instances of the operating system (OS) on a single server. Partitioning is
accomplished by allocating different subsets of the server's hardware resources to
different partitions, each of which can run a single instance of an OS, with
isolation from other partitions. HP's partitioning technologies include both
nPartitions and virtual partitions. Depending on your server model, one
or both types of partitions may be supported.
- nPartitions
nPartitions provide both hardware and software isolation between
different instances of the operating system running on a single
server system. Each nPartition consists of an assigned group of
cells (containing CPUs and memory),
and I/O chassis (through which peripheral devices can
be attached).
Each nPartition operates independently of other nPartitions, and can run a
single instance of an OS, or can be further divided into virtual partitions (on systems that support
vPars).
The number of nPartitions supported on a server, and the resource
configurations allowed, varies by server model.
- virtual partitions
Virtual partitions provide software isolation between different instances of
the HP-UX operating system running on a single server or nPartition.
Each virtual partition runs its own instance of HP-UX.
Virtual partitions are provided by installing the vPars product on an HP
server system, or on an nPartition of an HP server system. When the
server or nPartition is booted, the vPars monitor
is initialized in place of an operating system kernel. The monitor
retrieves configuration information from the vPars partition
database, allocates system resources to virtual partitions, and
can automatically boot selected virtual partitions.
For additional documentation of HP servers and HP partitioning products, refer to the
assistance help topic.
The Complex
The server system hardware that supports nPartitions is referred to as a
complex. A complex comprises one or more cabinets that are cabled together.
Information about the configuration of a complex is stored in the
Complex Profile maintained by the service processor.
Partition Manager interacts with the service processor to read
and update the Complex Profile as needed.
A Compute cabinet in each complex contains the service processor for the complex. The
service processor is not needed for booting partitions or ordinary system
operation, but is needed to power on/off cells or chassis, to control attention
indicators, to change cell assignments, and to make other changes to the Complex
Profile.
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