General
Virtual Partition Database is where the configuration of every vPar in the server is represented. The default location for the vPar database is /stand/vpdb.
If this file does not exist when the command to create the first vPar
is executed, the file will be created. When the vPar monitor is loaded,
it reads the vPar database into memory. Upon booting each of the vPars,
a copy of the vPar monitor's in-memory database is written to the file
system for every vPar in the server. This results in all of the vPars
having a current copy of the vPar configuration. The vPar
infrastructure also supports alternate databases, which allows for
differing configurations based on the database loaded by the monitor.
CPUs
Bound CPU
is a CPU that services I/O interrupts. Starting with HP-UX 11i v2,
interrupts can be dynamically migrated. However, previous releases of
HP-UX did not support interrupt migration, therefore a bound CPU can be
added or removed from a vPar only while the vPar is down. Since bound
CPUs service interrupts, it is recommended vPars with I/O-intensive
workloads have more bound CPUs than unbound CPUs. There are two
subtypes of bound CPUs, monitor bound and user bound.
Monitor-Bound CPU
is a CPU bound by the monitor as a result of meeting the minimum number
of CPUs assigned to a vPar. Monitor-bound CPUs are chosen by the
monitor at boot time and cannot be dynamically migrated from one
Virtual Partition to another.
User-Bound CPU is a CPU bound because the user has explicitly specified the path of the CPU to be assigned to a vPar.
Unbound CPU
is a CPU that does not service interrupts. Unbound CPUs can be
dynamically migrated from one vPar to another while the vPars are in
the up state.
Unbound
CPUs are ideal for CPU-intensive workloads, especially in environments
where migrating CPUs enable higher server utilization.
Minimum CPUs
is the minimum number of CPUs to be assigned to the vPar. This value
represents the number of CPUs that will be bound by the monitor if no
CPUs are explicitly assigned.
Maximum CPUs is the maximum number of CPUs that can be assigned to the vPar. The sum of bound and unbound CPUs cannot exceed this value.
Memory
Memory Size
is the amount of memory in MB assigned to the vPar. The memory size
must be in multiples of 64MB. Memory sizes that are not multiples of 64
MB will be rounded up to the nearest 64MB boundary.
Memory Range
is a specific base address and size that dictates exactly which range
of memory should be assigned to the vPar. Memory ranges should only be
used with systems and applications that support non-uniform memory
access (NUMA) architectures.
I/O
Local Bus Adapter (LBA)
is the hardware layer that can be assigned to a single vPar. The
assignment of an LBA to a vPar assigns the I/O slot, the contained PCI
card, and all devices attached to the PCI card.
Explicit I/O Path is the path of the LBA being explicitly assigned to a vPar. All devices below the specified LBA are owned by a single vPar.
Implicit I/O Path
is the path of an LBA that is implicitly assigned to a vPar as a result
of a device below the LBA being assigned to a vPar. This situation
typically occurs when a boot device is assigned to a vPar but the LBA
containing the boot device is not explicitly assigned to the vPar.
Boot Attributes
are added to an I/O path to specify the primary and alternate boot
paths for a vPar's operating system. Configuration of boot paths is a
mechanism commonly used to assign implicit I/O paths. This situation is
illustrated in the example scenario below.
