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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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