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

is required for activation of a core without usage rights for testing purposes. For details, see
Chapter 5: “Temporary Instant Capacity” (page 55).
The following testing guidelines are meant to be an aid to your test plan. You might need to get
consulting help to develop a more detailed plan.
1. Test your applications for proper functionality and performance first by testing with the number
of inactive cores equal to the number of cores without usage rights. (The system should already
be configured this way.) Be sure to check measurement tools that monitor core usage.
2. Acquire temporary capacity for the necessary amount of core test activation.
3. Use temporary capacity to activate one or more inactive cores to be used while your
applications are running.
4. Confirm that measurement tools, which monitor processing usage, account for the newly
activated cores.
5. Verify that applications are benefiting from the performance of the extra cores (as per your
expectations for your applications). Some applications might need to be restarted or
reconfigured to take advantage of the newly activated cores.
6. When you are finished with your testing, deactivate cores until the number of inactive cores
again matches the number of cores without usage rights, thereby stopping the usage of
temporary capacity.
7. Use icapstatus to verify that no cores are consuming temporary capacity.
Replacement of Failed Cores
HP-UX LPMC and HPMC
If an active core fails with a Low Priority Machine Check (LPMC) in a partition with Instant Capacity,
its processing capacity is replaced instantly by an inactive core, if any are available in the partition.
The failed core is marked for deconfiguration during the next system reboot.
For additional considerations in a virtual partition environment, see “LPMC Deactivations in Virtual
Partitions” (page 52).
If an active core fails with a High Priority Machine Check (HPMC), then upon reboot the failed
core is deconfigured and its processing capacity is instantly replaced by an inactive core, if any
are available in the partition.
NOTE: In both of the preceding scenarios, replace the failed core in a timely manner using your
normal hardware support process.
LPMC Deactivations in Virtual Partitions
In a vPar environment, if the LPMC monitor deactivates a core, it automatically replaces the failing
core with an Instant Capacity core from the free pool, if such a core is available. The failing core
remains in the virtual partition until either the virtual partition or the virtual partition monitor is
rebooted.
For more information about LPMC in vPars, see the various white papers available at the BSC
website (search for “LPMC”):
www.hp.com/go/bizsupport.
Failed Monarch Processors (HP-UX)
Monarch processors that are failing with an LPMC are not instantly replaced. When a monarch
processor experiences an LPMC, the LPMC monitor marks the processor for deconfiguration;
however, the LPMC monitor cannot deactivate the processor until the system is rebooted. Deactivation
of a monarch processor is not possible because it is the controlling processor of the operating
system (CPU 0). Therefore, the system cannot replace a (failing) monarch processor.
52 Using Instant Capacity to Manage Processing Capacity