HP-UX Virtual Partitions Administrator's Guide (includes A.05.02)

CPU, Memory, and I/O Resources (A.05.xx)
CPU: Concepts and Functionality
Chapter 6
217
CPU: Concepts and Functionality
NOTE Processor Terminology
Processing resources under vPars, both as input arguments and command outputs, are
described as “CPUs.” For multi-core processors such as the PA-8800 and dual-core Intel
Itanium 2 processors, the term “CPU” is synonymous with “core.” The term “processor” refers to
the hardware component that plugs into a processor socket. Therefore a single processor can
have more than one core, and vPars commands will refer to the separate cores as distinct
“CPUs,” each with its own hardware path.
Two vPars terms pre-date multi-core processors, so they are exceptions to this terminology:
• “Boot processor,” which refers to the CPU (that is, core) on which the OS kernel of the
virtual partition was booted.
• “Cell local processor (CLP),” which refers to a CPU on a specified cell.
For more information on dual-core processors, see “CPU: Dual-Core Processors” on page 225.
CPUs: Definitions for CPUs
Beginning with vPars A.04.01, the concept and restrictions of bound and unbound CPUs have been removed.
Now, there are two types of CPUs: boot processors and dynamic CPUs.
Boot Processor This is the CPU on which the OS kernel of the virtual partition was booted. There is one
boot processor per virtual partition. On booting of a virtual partition, the vPars Monitor
determines which CPU becomes the boot processor. Note that the specific CPU chosen
as the boot processor may differ across virtual partition reboots.
Dynamic CPUs These are all the other CPUs, because all CPUs, except the boot processor of each
virtual partition, can be dynamically migrated. You can find which CPU is the boot
processor by using the vparstatus command; see “Commands: Displaying Monitor and
Resource Information (vparstatus)” on page 140.
You can manage CPUs in multiple ways:
by min and max limits: See “CPU: Specifying Min and Max Limits” on page 218
by total See “CPU: Adding and Deleting by Total” on page 219
by cell local processor See “CPU: Adding or Deleting by CLP (Cell Local Processor)” on
page 221
by hardware path See “CPU: Adding or Deleting by Hardware Path” on page 222