Technical data

nPartition System Overviews
Cell Properties
HP System Partitions Guide: Administration for nPartitions, rev 5.1 62
Core Cells One cell in each nPartition must serve as the active core cell. The core
cell is a cell that is connected to an I/O chassis that has core I/O. The
core cell controls the nPartition until HP-UX has booted, and it provides
console access for the nPartition.
The core cell’s core I/O provides console access for the nPartition through
the service processor (GSP or MP).
The monarch processor on the core cell runs the Boot Console Handler
(BCH) code while all other processors are idle until HP-UX is booted.
Although an nPartition can have multiple core-capable cells (any
assigned cell that has an I/O chassis with core I/O), only one core I/O is
actively used in an nPartition (the one belonging to the active core cell).
To be eligible as a core cell, a cell must be assigned to the nPartition, it
must be active, and it must be attached to an I/O chassis containing
functional core I/O.
The core cell is selected by system firmware in the early stages of the
nPartition boot process.
By default—on HP Superdome and HP rp8400 servers—the lowest
numbered eligible cell in an nPartition is selected as the core cell.
By default on HP rp7410 servers only, cell 1 is selected as the core cell if
it is eligible.
You can define up to four core cell choices (or “alternates”) for an
nPartition (two core-capable cells are currently supported on HP rp7410
and HP rp8400 servers). The core cell choices are cells that you prefer to
be selected as the nPartition’s core cell. If your first core cell alternate
cannot be used, then the second choice is checked; if the second choice
fails, then any other choices are tried, in the order you specified.
When none of the core cell choices can serve as the active core cell, the
nPartition then attempts to select an eligible cell using the default
process.
Active and
Inactive Cells
Cells that are assigned to an nPartition and have booted to form an
nPartition are active cells whose resources (processors, memory, and
any attached I/O) can be actively used by software running in the
nPartition.
Cells that are inactive either are not assigned to an nPartition, or they
have not participated in partition rendezvous to form an nPartition with
any other cells assigned to the nPartition. (Partition rendezvous is the