HP 9000 rp7410 HP-UX 11i v3 Dynamic nPartitions - Features and Configuration R - Page 20

Glossary Term Assigned and unassigned cells Active and inactive cells Cell compatibility rules Online cell addition Online cell deletion Online cell migration Physical cell insertion Physical cell removal Online cell replacement Definition Each cell in a server complex either is assigned to one of the nPartitions in the complex, or it is unassigned and thus is not used by any of the nPartitions. If an I/O chassis is attached to an unassigned cell, then the chassis likewise is not assigned to an nPartition. Cells that are unassigned are considered to be available resources; they are free to be assigned to any of the existing nPartitions, or can be used to create new nPartitions. Cells that are assigned to an nPartition and have booted to form an nPartition are active cells whose resources (processors, memory, and any attached I/O) can be actively used by software running in the nPartition. Cells that are inactive either are not assigned to an nPartition, or they have not participated in partition rendezvous to form an nPartition with any other cells assigned to the nPartition. (Partition rendezvous is the point during the nPartition boot process when all available cells in an nPartition join together to establish which cells are active for the current boot of the nPartition.) While cells of different types can be freely mixed within a system complex, only compatible cells can be included in the same nPartition. The exact compatibility rules vary with the server model, but generally the compatibility rules restrict partitions to contain cells using the same processor type. The cell compatibility rules apply whether the nPartition is configured statically or through Dynamic nPartitions operations. An unassigned cell can be added to a partition (with the parmodify command) and immediately online activated (with the parolrad command). The combination of these two steps is called online cell addition. A floating cell can be deactivated from a partition (with the parolrad command) and then immediately unassigned from the partition (with the parmodify command). The combination of these two steps is called online cell deletion. Online cell migration refers to the online deletion of a cell from one partition and its online addition to another partition. Physical cell insertion refers to the insertion of a cell board into a previously vacant cell slot in a server complex. The inserted cell becomes unassigned. None of the partitions in the complex are affected by this operation. Physical cell removal refers to the removal of an inactive (and unpowered) cell board from a server complex. None of the partitions in the complex are affected by this operation. Replacement of a cell board by the sequence of operations: online cell deletion, physical cell removal, physical cell insertion of a new cell into the same slot, followed by online cell addition. 20