HP ProLiant DL288 ISS Technology Update, Volume 9 Number 1 - Page 4

ISS Technology Update Volume 9, Number 1 Quick tip: Disabling AMD® processor cores in ProLiant 300 series G5 and G6 servers In ProLiant AMD 300-series G5 and G6 servers, RBSU options are available to disable processor cores. Operating systems and applications can recognize the reduced core count so that fewer software licenses may be required. Reducing core count recognition has the potential to reduce software licensing costs. Also, applications can benefit from increased memory bandwidth and increased cache per core. The mechanisms and options to disable processor cores vary depending on the installed AMD or Intel processor and whether the HP ProLiant server is Generation 5 or 6. This article describes the available options to disable cores on ProLiant AMD 300 series (the option to disable cores is not supported on ProLiant AMD 100 series servers) G5 and G6 servers using HP Core Disable technology and AMD Core Select technology™. HP Core Disable technology For HP ProLiant G5 servers using earlier models of the AMD processor (2300/8300 series), the RBSU offers a core disable option based on HP Core Disable technology. With this technology, the user can configure the server such that all cores are enabled or half the cores are enabled (see Table 1). The option to enable only one core is not present in the currently released BIOS updates. HP Note The lack of support for single-core operation is based on observations with Systems ROMPaq Firmware Upgrade for HP ProLiant DL385 G5 (A09) Servers Version: 2009.07.11 (A) (11 Sep 2009). AMD Core Select technology AMD Core Select is offered on HP ProLiant G6 servers that are configured with an AMD 2400 or 8400 series processor and the latest System ROM supporting this feature. AMD Core Select lets administrators use the RBSU to select the number of software-visible cores per CPU. This selection range includes a minimum of one, up to the full number of supported cores as shown in Table 1. Table 1. HP Core Disable and AMD Core Select support in ProLiant AMD G5 and G6 servers Server Platform Technology AMD Processor Core options ProLiant AMD G5 ProLiant AMD G6 HP Core Disable AMD Core Select 2300/8300 series 2400/8400 series All cores enabled 1/2 cores enabled All cores enabled 5 cores enabled 4 cores enabled 3 cores enabled 2 cores enabled 1 cores enabled Additional resources For additional information on the topics discussed in this article, visit the following sites: Resource Technology and architecture of HP ProLiant AMDbased 300-series G6 (Generation 6) servers URL http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual /c01889304/c01889304.pdf?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN 4