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The configurable aspects of a server complex are represented
in a set of data called the "Complex Profile", which determines how hardware
is assigned to and used by nPartitions within a server. The Complex Profile consists of three parts, or groups
of data, which are described in detail in Table 1-5: “Stable Complex Configuration Data” —
This group contains complex-wide settings, including the complex name, serial
number, the nPartition assignment for each cell, and other details that apply
to the entire server complex. The Complex Profile
contains one Stable Complex Configuration Data entry. “Partition Configuration Data” —
This group contains individual nPartition settings, including the nPartition
name, core cell choices, and other details that are specific to an nPartition. The Complex Profile contains a Partition Configuration
Data entry for each possible nPartition. (A server complex may have a maximum
of sixteen nPartitions, globally numbered from 0-15.)
The master copy of all parts of the Complex Profile resides
on the service processor (MP or GSP) for the complex. Each cell in the complex
also has a copy of the Stable Complex Configuration Data and a copy of the
Partition Configuration Data for the nPartition to which it is assigned. The service processor (MP or GSP) in the server manages
all Complex Profile data and keeps all copies of the data coherent using a
locking mechanism, as described in the next sections. Changing the Server Complex Profile | |
To modify the Complex Profile and thus change the server
complex configuration, you use an administration tool such as Partition Manager
or one of the nPartition commands. See “Administration Tools for nPartitions” for
details. You cannot directly edit the Complex Profile data for a server. The service processor maintains a set of locks that are
used to ensure that only one set of changes to the Complex Profile occurs
at a time. When you configure nPartitions, the administration tools
you use revise the Complex Profile for the server in coordination with the
service processor. The tools acquire and release locks as needed when modifying
Complex Profile entries. You do not directly manage Complex Profile locks
under normal circumstances, but you can force an entry to be unlocked if required. How the Complex Profile is UpdatedA server Complex Profile is updated when you use one of
the nPartition administration tools (such as Partition Manager or commands)
to create, modify, or delete an nPartition or modify complex-wide data. The general process by which changes to the Complex Profile
occur is as follows: An administrator uses an nPartition
administration tool to request that a specific configuration change occurs. This is a request to create, modify, or delete an nPartition
or modify complex-wide data such as the complex name. The tool acquires a lock from the
service processor (MP or GSP) for the Complex Profile entry that will be revised. The lock ensures that no other changes to the Complex Profile
entry will occur while the tool revises it. If the entry already is locked, that Complex Profile entry
cannot be updated and the request will fail and the tool exits with an error
message. The tool reads the Complex Profile
entry whose lock it has acquired. The tool revises the Complex Profile
entry according to the administrator request. The tool sends the revised Complex
Profile entry back to the service processor along with the corresponding lock
key. The service processor then "pushes
out" the new, revised Complex Profile entry by updating its copy and updating
all cells that have a copy of the entry. However,
the service processor will not push out a revised Complex Profile entry that
affects the nPartition assignment of an active cell. In this case the revised
entry will remain pending until the cell becomes inactive, for example during
a reboot for reconfig or shutdown for reconfig of the nPartition to which
the cell is assigned. After the service processor has
pushed out the revised Complex Profile entry it clears the lock for the entry. After the entry is unlocked then, as needed, another nPartition
configuration task can lock and revise that portion of the Complex Profile.
A single administration task can revise multiple Complex
Profile entries. For example, you can create a new nPartition and assign its
name in a single action. In this case the tool you use must lock both the
Stable Complex Configuration Data and the Partition Configuration Data entry
for the new nPartition before revising the data according to the administration
request. Multiple nPartition configuration tasks can occur essentially
concurrently if all tasks revise different Complex Profile entries (thus allowing
each task to acquire a lock for the entry it revises). Complex Profile Entry Locking and Unlocking | |
Each Complex Profile entry has its own lock which is used
to restrict access to the entry. If necessary you can manually unlock Complex
Profile entries, however in nearly all situations you instead should allow
the administration tools to automatically acquire and release locks. | | | |  | CAUTION: You should generally avoid manually unlocking Complex Profile
entries because doing so can can result in the loss of configuration changes. | | | | |
The locks for Complex Profile entries are managed as described
here. For the Stable Complex Configuration
Data entry, there are slight differences in the locking mechanisms on HP 9000
and HP Integrity servers. On cell-based HP 9000 servers, the
Stable Complex Configuration Data has a single lock. On cell-based HP Integrity servers,
the Stable Complex Configuration Data has two separate locks: a "read lock"
for restricting read access to the current Stable Complex Configuration Data
entry, and a "write lock" for restricting access to a modifiable copy of the
Stable Complex Configuration Data.
On both HP 9000 and HP Integrity
cell-based servers there is one lock for each Partition Configuration Data
entry (each nPartition has its own Partition Configuration Data entry).
The parunlock command and the service
processor RL command enable you to manually unlock Complex
Profile entries. It can be necessary to manually unlock a Complex Profile
entry in the situation where an nPartition configuration tool such as Partition
Manager has prematurely exited. If such a tool exits before it sends revised
Complex Profile entries and corresponding lock keys back to the service processor,
the entries that the tool locked will remain locked indefinitely (until they
are manually unlocked). Manually Unlocking a Complex Profile Entry. You can manually unlock Complex Profile entries after an
nPartition configuration tool has exited before unlocking the entries it had
locked. In this situation an attempt to modify the nPartition or complex-wide
setting will fail because the Complex Profile entries still are locked. If
you are certain no authorized users are changing configurations, use the parunlock command
or the service processor RL command to unlock the entries.
After they are unlocked you can perform the modifications you had previously
attempted. For details see “Unlocking Complex Profile Entries”. Aborting a Complex Profile Change. A pending update of the Complex Profile can be canceled
or prevented by clearing the lock for a Complex Profile entry before the service
processor has pushed out the revised data for the entry. This occurs, for
example, when you have issued a request to change the nPartition assignment
of an active cell and then manually unlock the effected Complex Profile entries
before performing a reboot for reconfig of the nPartition to which the cell
is assigned. For details see “Canceling Pending Changes to the Complex Profile”. Complex Profile Group Details | |
Table 1-5 lists details
of the three groups of data that comprise the Complex Profile. Table 1-5 Complex Profile Group Details | Complex Profile Group | Description
and Contents |
|---|
Stable Complex Configuration Data. Complex-wide information. | The Stable Complex Configuration
Data contains complex-wide configuration details, some of which may be set
by administrators. Although the Stable Complex Configuration Data
applies to the whole complex, the cell assignments and cell local memory (CLM)
per cell components are comprised of data that affect the individual cells. A
copy of the Stable Complex Configuration Data resides on the service processor
(MP or GSP) and on every cell in the complex. The system boot
interfaces (the BCH and EFI environments) do not have methods for changing
Stable Complex Configuration Data. Instead, use the service processor command
menu or nPartition management tools. The Stable Complex Configuration
Data includes these components: Model String — Only applies to HP 9000 servers. PA-RISC model. Complex System Name — User-chosen name for the complex. Original Product Number — Set by HP manufacturing. Current Product Number — Originally set by HP manufacturing. Creator Serial Number — Set by HP manufacturing. Cell Assignments — User-configurable nPartition assignments
for all cells in the complex; also specifies each cell type (e.g. base). Cell Local Memory (CLM) Per Cell — Only on servers based on
the HP sx1000 or sx2000 chipset. User-configurable setting for each cell that
determines the amount of cell local memory. The operating system on an nPartition
with CLM configured must also support CLM for the cell local memory to be
accessible to the operating system. nPartition Configuration Privilege — Only on servers based
on the HP sx1000 or sx2000 chipset. Either unrestricted or restricted. A restricted
privilege means complex changes are possible only through the service processor
LAN interface, which prompts for the IPMI password.
| Dynamic Complex Configuration Data. Architecturally reserved information. | The Dynamic Complex Configuration
Data is architecturally reserved information that applies to the entire server
complex. A copy of the Dynamic Complex Configuration Data resides
on the service processor (MP or GSP) and on every cell in the complex. A reboot
is not required for Dynamic Complex Configuration Data changes to take effect. The
system boot interfaces (the BCH and EFI environments) do not have methods
for changing Dynamic Complex Configuration Data. Users and administrators
do not directly configure this data. | Partition Configuration Data. nPartition- specific information (each nPartition has its own data). | The Partition Configuration
Data contains configuration details specific to each nPartition in the complex.
Each nPartition has its own Partition Configuration Data entry, which may
be modified by administrators. The service processor (MP or GSP)
has a copy of the Partition Configuration Data for every nPartition. Each
cell has a copy of the Partition Configuration Data entry for the nPartition
to which it is assigned. Partition Configuration Data includes
this data for each nPartition: HP 9000 server components (unused on HP Integrity servers)
— These components apply only on HP 9000 servers, but are present on HP Integrity
servers for compatibility: Primary Boot Path, HA Alternate Boot Path, Alternate
Boot Path, Console Path, Keyboard Path, Boot Timer, Known Good Memory Requirement,
Autostart and Restart Flags, and CPU Flags (e.g. Data Prefetch setting). Cell use-on-next-boot values — Specifies whether the cell
is to be an active or inactive member of the nPartition to which it is assigned. Core Cell Choices — Up to four cells preferred to be the core
cell. Partition Number — The partition number; not user-configurable. Profile Architecture — Specifies whether the current Partition
Configuration Data applies to the HP 9000 server architecture or HP Integrity
server architecture; not user-configurable. nPartition Name — The nPartition name, used in various displays. Cell Failure Usage — Specifies how each cell in the nPartition
is handled when a processor or memory component fails self-tests. Only activating
the cell to integrate it into the nPartition is supported (the ri failure
usage option, as specified by the parcreate and parmodify commands). IP Address — If set, should be consistent with the IP address
assigned to the nPartition when HP-UX is booted. Not actually used for network
configuration, but for information only.
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