Overview of Partition Management Tools

You can use several different software tools to create, modify, and monitor HP Superdome partitions and hardware. These tools have capabilities that overlap in some cases, but each also has unique features and access requirements.

The available tools for managing partitions are:

Guardian Service Processor (GSP) menus
Boot Console Handler (BCH) interface
HP-UX Superdome Configuration Commands
Partition Manager (parmgr)
System Administration Manager (SAM)

The following table lists all these tools and describes each tool's features and capabilities. You can use this table to select the most appropriate partition management tool based on the tasks you need to perform and the ways in which you can access the system.

Table 4-2 HP Superdome Partition Management Tools

Partition Tool	Features and Restrictions
Guardian Service Processor (GSP) menus	Description—The GSP menus provide a complex-wide service interface that can allow access to all hardware and partitions. Availability—Using the GSP menus requires logging in to the GSP. Your GSP login account determines your level of access. Unique Features—GSP commands, access to partition consoles, Virtual Front Panels for live partition status details, ability to power cycle hardware, ability to reset and TOC partitions, ability to view live chassis codes, and access to console and chassis code log files. Tasks Supported—Monitoring and managing all partitions and hardware within a Superdome complex. Detailed GSP Information—See Chapter 2 “Superdome Console and Service Interface”.
Boot Console Handler (BCH) interface	Description—The BCH interface is the method for interacting with a partition before it has booted HP-UX. Each partition's BCH interface provides menus for configuring partition settings and booting HP-UX. Availability—Using a partition's BCH interface requires accessing the partition's console through the GSP console menu. Unique Features—Allows you to select which device and which HP-UX kernel is booted, to configure the "boot actions" for devices, and to software-deallocate CPUs. Tasks Supported—Configuring and managing the HP-UX boot process, getting partition-specific information, resetting the partition, configuring various partition settings. Detailed BCH Information—See Chapter 2 “Superdome Console and Service Interface”.
HP-UX Superdome Configuration Commands	Description—The HP-UX Superdome configuration commands allow you to configure, modify, and monitor partitions and hardware within a Superdome complex. Availability—Using the HP-UX Superdome configuration commands requires logging in to HP-UX running on a partition. All users can issue the `parstatus` and `fruled` commands, but all other commands require `root` user permissions. Unique Features—Allows you to manage partitions and hardware when HP-UX is in single-user mode and when you are logged in with text-only terminal access. Tasks Supported—Configuring, modifying, and getting information about partitions and hardware within a Superdome complex. Detailed Information—See “HP-UX Superdome Configuration Commands—An Introduction”.
Partition Manager (`parmgr`)	Description—Partition Manager provides a graphical interface for configuring, modifying, and managing partitions and hardware within a Superdome complex. Availability—You can use Partition Manager when HP-UX is running in multi-user mode on the partition. You can use Partition Manager as a stand-alone X-Window application (`/opt/parmgr/bin/parmgr`), or can use the equivalent Web console or SAM area. Unique Features—Provides a graphical user interface and also supports Web console access. Performs additional error checking beyond what the HP-UX Superdome commands support. Also supports I/O card addition and replacement. Tasks Supported—Configuring, modifying, and getting information about partitions and hardware within a Superdome complex. Detailed Information—See “The Partition Manager—A Guided Tour” or the `parmgr` online help.
System Administration Manager (SAM)	Description—When using SAM as a graphical interface, you can launch the Partition Manager utility as a SAM area. See Partition Manager, above, for details.

Overview of Partition Management Tools

Technical documentation

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