HP nPartition servers can be configured as
one large single system or divided up into multiple separate systems;
the latter is the more common configuration. Each of the separate
nPartitions provide both hardware and software isolation from one
another. Therefore, no activity on one nPartition can affect the
operation of another nPartition. As the foundation for a VSE, HP's
nPartition servers provide a flexible yet robust solution for data
center consolidation. nPartitions are also commonly referred to as hard
partitions.
Figure 1
is a block diagram of an HP nPartition cabinet. The diagram shown
closely resembles an HP SD32A cabinet, but the intent is not to
represent any specific model. There are differences in the physical
layout of the various HP nPartition cabinets, but the overall concepts
presented in the figure and the accompanying text generally apply to
all HP nPartition cabinets.
The following list describes the major components of HP nPartition servers, most of which are shown in Figure 1.
Complex:
HP nPartition complexes contain a minimum of one and a maximum of four
cabinets cabled together. The minimal configuration for a complex is a
single compute cabinet. The maximal configuration for a complex
consists of two compute cabinets and two I/O expansion cabinets.
Compute Cabinet:
A cabinet containing CPU, memory, and I/O resources is called a compute cabinet.
I/O Expansion Cabinet (IOX):
An I/O expansion cabinet contains I/O resources but no CPU or memory resources.
Management Processor:
Every complex contains one active service processor that is referred to
as either the management processor or the guardian service processor.
Cell:
The physical hardware board that provides CPU and memory resources. A
cell can be added, removed, or upgraded without disrupting the
operation of the other partitions in the complex. Cells are the
fundamental building blocks of HP nPartition servers.
I/O Chassis:
I/O chassis contain peripheral component interconnect (PCI) slots
suitable for installing networking and storage adapters. Both compute
and I/O expansion cabinets contain I/O chassis. In order to be usable
by an nPartition, every I/O chassis must be physically connected to a
cell. An I/O chassis can be connected to exactly one cell. Note that a
cell need not be connected to an I/O chassis to be usable by an
nPartition.
Core I/O Card:
Within each I/O chassis, slot 0 (zero) may contain a core I/O card. At
least one core I/O card is required for every nPartition. The core I/O
card provides console access and other fundamental nPartition services.
nPartition:
An nPartition consists of one or more cells and at least one of the
cells must be connected to an I/O chassis. In addition, at least one of
the I/O chassis must contain a core I/O card. When a cell is assigned
to an nPartition, the connected I/O chassis is automatically assigned
to the same nPartition. nPartitions can be created, modified, and
deleted without changing the physical hardware in a complex, which
allows for flexible configuration over the life of the system
There are three generations of HP nPartition servers. Table 1
lists the generations along with the supported operating systems,
processor types, model numbers, and the maximum number of cells and I/O
chassis for each of the servers. The external I/O chassis listed in the
table reside within an I/O expansion cabinet. Along with the maximum
number of I/O chassis listed, the number of PCI slots is also shown for
each configuration. The total number of PCI slots available for a given
configuration is the sum of the slots in internal and external I/O
chassis.
Table 1. HP nPartition Server Models
| Generation | Supported Operating Systems | Processor | Model Numbers | Max Number of Cells | Max Number of Internal I/O Chassis (and MaxPCI
Slot Count)
| Max Number of External I/O Chassis (and MaxPCI
Slot Count)
|
|---|
| First Generation | HP-UX | PA-RISC | HP 9000
rp7410 | 2 | 2 (16) | 0 (0) |
| HP 9000
rp8400 | 4 | 2 (16) | 2 (16) |
| HP 9000
SD16000 | 4 | 4 (48) | 0 (0) |
| HP 9000
SD32000 | 8 | 4 (48) | 4 (48) |
| HP 9000
SD64000 | 16 | 8 (96) | 8 (96) |
| Second Generation (based on sx1000 chipset) | HP-UX | PA-RISC | HP 9000
rp7420 | 2 | 2 (16) | 0 (0) |
| HP 9000
rp8420 | 4 | 2 (16) | 2 (16) |
| HP 9000
SD16A | 4 | 4 (48) | 0 (0) |
| HP 9000
SD32A | 8 | 4 (48) | 4 (48) |
| HP 9000
SD64A | 16 | 8 (96) | 8 (96) |
| | HP-UX, Microsoft Windows, Linux | Intel®
Itanium® 2 | HP Integrity
rx7620 | 2 | 2 (16) | 0 (0) |
| HP Integrity
rx8620 | 4 | 2 (16) | 2 (16) |
| HP Integrity
SD16A | 4 | 4 (48) | 0 (0) |
| HP Integrity
SD32A | 8 | 4 (48) | 4 (48) |
| HP Integrity
SD64A | 16 | 8 (96) | 8 (96) |
| Third Generation (based on HP super scalable processor chipset sx2000) | HP-UX | PA-RISC | HP 9000
rp7440 | 2 | 2 (16) | 0 (0) |
| HP 9000
rp8440 | 4 | 2 (16) | 2 (16) |
| HP 9000
SD16B | 4 | 4 (48) | 0 (0) |
| HP 9000
SD32B | 8 | 4 (48) | 4 (48) |
| HP 9000
SD64B | 16 | 8 (96) | 8 (96) |
| | HP-UX, Microsoft Windows, Linux | Intel®
Itanium® 2 | HP Integrity
rx7640 | 2 | 2 (16) | 0 (0) |
| HP Integrity
rx8620 | 4 | 2 (16) | 2 (16) |
| HP Integrity
SD16B | 4 | 4 (48) | 0 (0) |
| HP Integrity
SD32B | 8 | 4 (48) | 4 (48) |
| HP Integrity
SD64B | 16 | 8 (96) | 8 (96) |
