HP-UX Virtual Partitions Administrator Guide (includes A.05.07) (5900-1229, September 2010)

1 Introduction
This chapter covers:
• What Is vPars?
• Why Use vPars?
• Supported Environments
• Product Interaction
• Ordering vPars
What Is vPars?
vPars is a Virtual Partitions product that enables you to run multiple instances of HP-UX
simultaneously on one hard partition by dividing that hard partition further into virtual partitions.
Each virtual partition is assigned its own subset of hardware, runs a separate instance of HP-UX,
and hosts its own set of applications. Because each instance of HP-UX is isolated from all other
instances, vPars provides application and Operating System (OS) fault isolation. Each instance
of HP-UX can have different patches and a different kernel.
Figure 1-1 vPars Conceptual Diagram
One Hard Partition
Virtual Partition 1
Hardware : subset
OS : HP-UX 11i or later
Patch Level : A
Applications : app1, app2
Virtual Partition 2
Hardware : subset
OS : HP-UX 11i or later
Patch Level : B
Applications : app2
Virtual Partition N
Hardware : subset
OS : HP-UX 11i or later
Patch Level : A
Applications : app3
. . .
What Is vPars? 17