HP Integrity rx5670 Windows Integrity nPartition Guide - Page 12

Introduction Getting to know nPartitions Base Cells All cells within an nPartition are base cells. If you do not specify the cell type, the nPartition administration tools automatically set the cell type to base cell. Active and Inactive Cells Active cells are assigned cells that boot to form an nPartition whose resources (processors, memory, and any attached I/O) can be actively used by software running in that nPartition. Cells that are inactive are either not assigned to an nPartition or have not participated in partition rendezvous to form an nPartition with other cells in the nPartition. (Partition rendezvous is the event during the nPartition boot process when all available cells in an nPartition join to determine which cells are active for the current boot of the nPartition.) The resources belonging to inactive cells are not actively used by an nPartition. Core Cell The core cell is an active cell that is attached to an I/O chassis with a functional core I/O. Each nPartition must have one core cell. Although an nPartition can have multiple core-capable cells (any assigned cell that has an I/O chassis with core I/O), only one core I/O is actively used in an nPartition. The core cell is selected by system firmware in the early stages of the nPartition boot process. When none of the core cell choices can serve as the active core cell, the nPartition attempts to select an eligible cell. The core I/O in the I/O chassis connected to the core cell provides console access for the nPartition through the management processor. The monarch processor in the core cell runs the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) while all other processors are idle until an operating system is booted. Cell Local Memory (CLM) CLM is a portion of the memory in a cell that can be accessed quickly by processors residing on the same cell. You can configure CLM for each cell either as a percentage of the total memory in the cell or as an absolute number of gigabytes. For nPartitions running Microsoft Windows, HP recommends assigning 100% CLM for each cell in the nPartition. However, when running other operating systems the appropriate CLM assignment will likely differ, depending on the nPartition configuration and workloads running. Cell Property Details Cells in an nPartition have various properties that determine how the cells can be used and managed. Active and Inactive nPartition Boot States Each nPartition has a boot state of either active or inactive. The boot state indicates whether the nPartition has booted so that it may be interactively accessed through its console (active nPartitions). An nPartition that is active has at least one core-capable cell that is active (not in a boot-is-blocked state). When an nPartition is active, one or more of the cells assigned to the nPartition have completed partition 12 Chapter 1