vparcreate(1M)

NAME

vparcreate — create a virtual partition

SYNOPSIS

vparcreate -p vp_name [-B boot_attr] [-D db_file] [-S static_attr] [-b kernel_path] [-o boot_opts] [-a rsrc]...

DESCRIPTION

The vparcreate command creates a new virtual partition (vPar) using the specified hardware resources. vp_name is a symbolic name for the virtual partition and must be used in all references to it. If the -D option is specified, the virtual partition is created in db_file. Otherwise it is created in the virtual partition monitor database. In either case, a virtual partition named vp_name must not already exist in the database. Any error terminates the command without creating a virtual partition.

Only a superuser can execute the vparcreate command. In a secure virtual partition environment only a Primary-Admin vPar can create a virtual partition.

Options

No option except -a (add resource) may be specified more than once. Resources allocated with the -a option must be available, that is, not already allocated to a virtual partition, nor exceeding the overall limits of the resources. Some CPU resources have special requirements; these are described below Table 1. Resources assigned with multiple -a options must not conflict. Violation of any condition is a command error.

The vparcreate command recognizes the following command line options and arguments:

-p vp_name

Specifies the symbolic name of the virtual partition. The name can consist of alpha-numeric characters A-Z, a-z, 0-9, the underbar character (_), and the period (.). The maximum length of the name is 239 characters. Required.

-B boot_attr

Specifies the autoboot and autosearch attribute of the virtual partition. boot_attr can have the following (case-insensitive) values:

auto: sets the autoboot attribute.
manual: clears the autoboot and and autosearch attributes.
search: sets the autosearch attribute.
nosearch: clears the autosearch attribute.

If the autoboot attribute is set to auto, the virtual partition is rebooted after a successful vparreset command or when the virtual partition monitor is first loaded, if appropriate monitor options have been specified.

If the attribute is set to manual, the virtual partition halts after a vparreset, and does not boot when the monitor is loaded. It must then be booted manually with the vparboot command.

If the autosearch attribute is set to search, then the combination of autoboot(auto) and autosearch(search) decides the boot action to be taken. The interpretation of autoboot and autosearch has changed for systems that support hardware partitions. Refer to setboot(1M) for details.

On hard partitioned systems with vpars the boot action corresponds to the autoboot and autosearch flags in the following manner:

 AutoBoot   AutoSearch  Boot Action
______________________________________________________

 off        off         Halt the virtual partition for
                        manual boot.
 on         off         Attempt the primary path;
                        on failure halt the virtual
                        partition.
 on         on          Attempt the primary path;
                        on failure try alternate path.

 off        on          Skip the primary path and try
                        alternate path. If the
                        alternate path is not
                        configured to boot or the
                        boot fails then halt the
                        virtual partition.
______________________________________________________

If the -B option is omitted, the attributes defaults to auto and nosearch.

-D db_file

Create the virtual partition in the virtual partition database contained in db_file. If db_file does not exist, it is created by this command. This option should be used when creating a new virtual partition database.

The virtual partition monitor need not be running. If it is, it is not notified of the new virtual partition.

Although db_file can reside in any path when accessed as an alternate database, it must be placed in the /stand directory before it can be loaded by the virtual partition monitor as its live database.

If the -D option is omitted and the virtual partition monitor is running, the virtual partition is created in the virtual partition monitor's live database. If the monitor is not running, the virtual partition is created in the default database file /stand/vpdb, which is itself created if it does not exist.

-S static_attr

Specifies the static vPar attribute. static_attr can have the following (case-insensitive) values:

static: sets the static attribute.
dynamic: resets the static attribute.

virtual partitions set to static do not support any dynamic resource migration, nor can resource attributes be added/deleted/modified with vparmodify. This attribute becomes effective after any initial resource allocation, so it is possible to assign resources when creating a new virtual partition and still specify that the resulting virtual partition be static.

If the -S option is omitted, the attribute defaults to dynamic.

-b kernel_path

Specifies the absolute path to a bootable kernel for the partition. For example, if a non-partitioned system start string at the ISL prompt is:

ISL> hpux -iS /stand/vmunix

the kernel_path is the /stand/vmunix portion of this string. If this option is omitted, the virtual partition is created with a default kernel path of /stand/vmunix.

-o boot_opts

Specifies the command-line string, except for the kernel path, applied when the virtual partition is booted. For example, if a non-partitioned system start string at the ISL prompt is:

ISL> hpux -iS /stand/vmunix

the boot_opts string is the -iS portion of this string. Note that if the string includes a space, the string must be quoted.

Refer to "Monitor and Shell Commands" in Installing and Managing HP-UX Virtual Partitions for a full list of supported boot option strings.

The default is the empty string.

-a rsrc

Adds resources to a virtual partition. rsrc is a hardware resource specification, as described in detail in the vparresources(5) manpage. A summary of resource syntax forms is shown in Table 1 below. Multiple -a rsrc specifications in the same command are allowed, but some syntax forms are only allowed once. This in indicated in Table 1. In all cases, resources in multiple specifications must not repeat or conflict with each other.

Table 1. Resource syntax summary

Resource	Forms	# times/command
CPU	cpu:`path`	Multiple
	cpu::`num`	Once
	cpu:::[`min`][:[`max`]]	Once
I/O	io:`path`[:`attr1`[,`attr2`]]	Multiple
Memory	mem::`size`	Once
	mem:::`base`:`range`	Multiple

Certain tasks can affect the outcome of others. To avoid errors, see the detailed description of the dependencies in the vparresources(5) manpage.

Dynamically increasing or decreasing the number of floating CPUs in a running virtual partition results in an asynchronous request to the OS. The OS requires an indeterminate time to complete the operation, based on overall system load and (for CPU deletion) the time required to migrate all threads on that CPU on to one or more of the remaining CPUs. During this time, the CPU is said to be undergoing migration into or out of the vPar. The CPU is assigned to its vPar throughout the migration process. For migration out, the CPU is not available for assignment to another vPar until the migration has completed.

The vparstatus command shows migrating CPUs. Refer to the vparstatus(1M) manpage.

RETURN VALUE

The vparcreate command exits with one of the following values:

0: Successful completion.
1: One or more error conditions occurred.

EXAMPLES

Create the virtual partition called Oslo in the virtual partition monitor database, but do not assign any resources:

vparcreate -p Oslo 

Create the virtual partition Bergen in the virtual partition monitor database, setting the autoboot attribute and specifying five processors, two of which are bound, 2 Gb of physical memory, and a boot disk:

vparcreate -p Bergen -a cpu::5 -a cpu:::2:6 \ 
           -a mem::2048 -a io:1/0/2/0.6.0:boot -B auto 

Since the -b option was not specified, the default kernel path /stand/vmunix will be used at boot time.

Create a virtual partition myvPar in the virtual partition monitor database, setting the autoboot and autosearch attribute and specifying five processors, three of which are bound, 1 Gb of physical memory and a boot disk:

vparcreate -p myvPar -a cpu::5 -a cpu:::3:8 \ 
           -a mem::1024 -a io:1/0/2/0.6.0:boot -B search 

ERRORS

vparcreate displays error messages on stderr for any of the following conditions:

An invalid option is specified.
An invalid value is specified for an option or a value is omitted.
vp_name already exists in the monitor database or specified db_file. Use the vparmodify command instead.
One or more options other than -a has been specified more than once or the same resource was allocated more than once.
An unavailable resource (allocated to another virtual partition or exceeding the available resource limit) was specified.
A value was omitted for an argument that requires one, or a value was supplied for an argument which does not take one.
The vparcreate command and the virtual partition monitor are at different revision levels.

AUTHOR

vparcreate was developed by the Hewlett-Packard Company.