Utility Pricing Solutions

The HP Instant Capacity and HP Pay per use (PPU) software products are a part of the HP Utility Pricing Solutions program. The HP Instant Capacity product is a purchase model in which processor capacity can be instantly increased to accommodate increasing demands. PPU is a lease model in which customers are charged only for actual processor usage.

HP Instant Capacity (formerly Instant Capacity on Demand)

The HP Instant Capacity (iCAP) version 7.0 (product number B9073BA) provides the ability to instantly increase or decrease processing capacity on specified HP enterprise servers.

Summary of Change

The name of the product has changed from Instant Capacity on Demand (iCOD) to HP Instant Capacity (iCAP) for HP 9000 and HP Integrity Servers. The new version number of the software is B.11.23.07.00.
With this version, coupled with the use of HP-UX Virtual Partitions software (vPars)^[15] version A.04.01 or greater, you can now use the Instant Capacity (iCAP) software in an integrated virtual partitioned environment. In this environment, the vPars software coordinates with Instant Capacity when allocating resources, making it less likely for a complex to be misconfigured and out of (licensing) compliance.
Because of the enhanced integration between vPars and Instant Capacity software, there is now a boot time compliance check. At boot time, if the number of assigned processors is greater than the number of intended processors for all virtual partitions in the nPartition, then the Instant Capacity software notifies the vPar monitor, and the monitor prevents the virtual partition from booting until the user performs a hard partition boot to clear the condition.
For certain configurations, previous versions of the Instant Capacity software required e-mail connectivity to HP in order to send asset reports as encrypted e-mail messages. Instant Capacity versions B.07.x no longer require e-mail connectivity or asset reporting; however, you may choose to configure it (or leave it configured) because it can be useful for viewing complex-wide asset information at the HP Utility Pricing Solutions portal (http://www.hp.com/go/icod/portal).
Note that for a new installation, asset reporting is on by default so that, unless you turn asset reporting off or configure the e-mail connectivity, error messages may be logged when the software attempts to send asset reports. The icod_stat command displays the current configuration for asset reporting. You turn asset reporting on or off with the icod_notify -a command. For e-mail configuration details, see the HP Instant Capacity User’s Guide for versions B.07.x.
There are also new features associated with the use of Temporary Capacity (TiCAP):
- There is a new warning message to indicate that temporary capacity will expire. By default, the message will warn the users when temporary capacity is projected to be exceeded in 15 days. However, the warning message can be configured to specify a shorter or longer value for 15 as the warning period. This is accomplished with the new -w option on the icod_modify command.
- If temporary capacity is exceeded and the value goes negative (unlicensed processors continue to be used), then on the next reboot of any partition in the complex, the Instant Capacity software will automatically deactivate one or more unlicensed processors in order to bring the system into closer licensing compliance. The Instant Capacity software will deactivate as many processors as is necessary to either stop consumption of temporary capacity or to bring the partition to the minimum number of required active processors. You must purchase additional temporary capacity or purchase the appropriate number of (RTU) processor licenses to be in full compliance.

Impact

On HP-UX 11i v2 May 2005, HP Instant Capacity (iCAP) version B.11.23.07.00 supersedes Instant Capacity on Demand (iCOD) versions 6.x. On HP-UX 11i v1, the current version of the product remains 6.50 Instant Capacity on Demand (iCOD).

Compatibility

While the name of the product has changed to be HP Instant Capacity (iCAP), many of the commands, warning, and error messages still refer to the software as iCOD. Commands such as icod_modify do not change their name in this version.

When activating or deactivating processors within virtual partitions, new considerations apply because you can use either the icod_modify command or the vparmodify command, depending on the type of adjustment needed. The icod_modify command should be used in a virtual partition environment when you are making adjustments that span multiple nPartitions. If you are adjusting processor assignments across virtual partitions in a single nPartition, you should use the vparmodify command (-a and -d options) for the best coordination between the Instant Capacity software and the vPars software and for optimized behavior. The vparmodify command does not affect the intended active count for the nPartition and it therefore cannot be used to migrate unused capacity either to or from other nPartitions.

As described previously, there are also new compliance/enforcement checks in this version: in a virtual partition environment, there is a boot time compliance check to ensure that the number of assigned processors doesn't exceed the number of intended processors for the nPartition. And, if temporary capacity is exceeded and unlicensed processors continue to be used, the Instant Capacity software may deactivate processors at the next reboot of any partition in the complex.

Performance

Interactions with vPars software may be slower than in previous releases, due to the additional coordination and integration between vPars and Instant Capacity. Affected commands include vparmodify and vparcreate.

Documentation

For further information, refer to the following:

Manpages:
- icod(5)
- icod_modify(1M)
- icod_notify(1M)
- icod_stat(1M)
Web Sites:
HP Software Depot: software.hp.com
Technical Documentation: docs.hp.com
Documents:
The following documents are available at http://docs.fc.hp.com/hpux/netsys/index.html#On%20Demand%20Solutions%20%28ODS%29:
- HP Instant Capacity User’s Guide for versions B.07.x
- HP Instant Capacity Release Notes for versions B.07.x

Obsolescence

The name of the product has changed to HP Instant Capacity for HP 9000 and HP Integrity Servers. The name “iCOD” for the product as a whole is now obsolete (although there are still internal references to the iCOD name).

HP Pay per use

The HP Pay per use (PPU) version B.11.23.07.02 software (HP product T2351AA) is a lease model in which customers are charged only for the processor usage on (specified) HP servers.

Summary of Change

PPU has been updated to version B.11.23.07.02 to support HP-UX Virtual Partitions (vPars)^[16] and the Node and Host Name Expansion product.^[17]

Impact

PPU version B.11.23.07.02 supersedes PPU version 7.0 on HP-UX 11i v2.

Compatibility

There are no known compatibility issues.

Performance

There are no known performance issues.

Documentation

For further information, refer to the following documentation:

Manpages:
- ppu(5)
- ppuconfig(1M)
- ppud(1M)
Web Sites:
- HP Software Depot: http://software.hp.com
- Technical Documentation: http://docs.hp.com
- HP External: http://www.hp.com/hpfinancialservices/pay_per_use.html
Documents:
For further information, refer to the following documents, available at http://docs.hp.com/hpux/netsys/index.html#On%20Demand%20Solutions%20%28ODS%29:
- HP Pay per use (PPU) Release Notes for versions 7.x
- HP Pay per use (PPU) User's Guide for versions 7.x

Obsolescence

Not applicable.

^[15]See “HP-UX Virtual Partitions”.

^[16]See “HP-UX Virtual Partitions”.

^[17]See “Node and Host Name Expansion”.

Utility Pricing Solutions

Technical documentation

» Table of Contents

HP Instant Capacity (formerly Instant Capacity on Demand)

Summary of Change

Impact

Compatibility

Performance

Documentation

Obsolescence

HP Pay per use

Summary of Change

Impact

Compatibility

Performance

Documentation

Obsolescence