HP Instant Capacity Version 10.x User Guide (5900-1581, March 2011)

Figure 9 Partition premodification state: Three cells with 3 active and 1 inactive cores in each, and
3 expected inactive cores
Cell 1
A AA
I
Cell 2
A AA
I
Cell 3
A AA
I
Figure 10 Partition postmodification state: Unassigned Cell 3 (total of 8 active cores are set)
Cell 1
A A AA
Cell 2
A A AA
Figure 11 Postmodification state: Unassigned Cell 3 with 4 inactive cores, with usage rights available
for 1 additional core
Cell 3
Available
Usage Rights
UR
IIII
When Cell 3 is unassigned from the partition, the number of intended active cores changes from
9 to 8 (because 8 is the total number of cores remaining in the partition). When the partition is
rebooted, a total of 8 cores are activated. Cell 3 becomes an unassigned cell with 4 inactive cores,
and (unused) usage rights are available for 1 additional core for the complex.
NOTE: If you intend to migrate a cell from one partition to another, you can control the number
of core usage rights available to the cell (in the new partition) by deactivating cores in the partition
you removed the cell from. By deactivating cores, you make core usage rights available to the
entire complex.
Software Application Considerations
Some software applications size themselves based on the number of available cores when the
application is started. If an application is running when an additional core is activated, the
application might not recognize the newly activated core as available for processing. Therefore,
you might need to do one of the following for optimal performance with this type of application:
• Restart the application in order for it to recognize the presence of newly activated cores.
• Reconfigure the application prior to restarting it, for maximum performance benefits of the
newly activated core.
• Use the deferred activation option when activating cores so that processors are activated only
in conjunction with system reboots. For details, see icapmodify(1M) for details
IMPORTANT: When you activate a core, the number of active cores in the system increases.
Consequently, a license upgrade might be required for some of the software from HP or other
vendors on your system.
Test Activation of Cores Using Temporary Capacity
You might want to test your software application for proper operation and improved performance
by activating an additional core. The use of temporary capacity or Instant Access Capacity (IAC)
Software Application Considerations 51