Example Instant Capacity Scenario
| The remainder of this chapter will focus on an example scenario. This example will revisit the scenario described in Chapter 4, "nPartition Servers." In the scenario, the nPartition server was configured with two cells in the rex01 nPartition and two absent cells. The scenario walked through the process of physically adding two new cells to the server. One of the new cells was added to the existing rex01 nPartition and the second new cell was used to create a new nPartition, rex02. In this example scenario, instead of starting with two empty cells slots, unlicensed Instant Capacity components are present in the system. One Instant Capacity cell contains 4GB of unlicensed memory and eight unlicensed CPUs. Table 10-1 provides a representation of the initial server configuration. Notice the unlicensed cell, cab0, cell3, is inactive.
Table 10-2 shows the configuration of the complex after the example scenario. The unlicensed cell will be licensed along with 4GB of memory and six CPUs. The cell that was initially inactive, cab0, cell3, will be active in the newly created rex02 nPartition. This configuration leaves two processors inactive in the rex02 nPartition. Chapter 11, "Temporary Instant Capacity," will describe the process for activating these two processors on a temporary basis as business conditions demand. Additionally, Chapter 15, "Workload Manager," will describe how these two Instant Capacity processors can be used for dynamic CPU allocation across separate nPartitions.
Viewing Status of the Instant Capacity SystemFigure 10-3 provides a graphical view from Partition Manager of the initial system configuration. Eight of the CPUs in the rex01 nPartition are not active; four of these inactive CPUs are on the inactive cell, cab0, cell3. Additionally, four CPUs are inactive on the three remaining active cells. Specific CPUs are not labeled as Instant Capacity CPUs because Instant Capacity does not consider specific CPUs to be Instant Capacity components. The Instant Capacity software only ensures that the proper amount of resources is inactive. Figure 10-3. Initial nPartition Configuration The initial Instant Capacity status of the system is shown in Listing 10-1. Several fields have been highlighted in the output. The first is the Exception status. If the system were not in compliance with the number of expected inactive components, a message would be displayed in this field indicating why the system is not in compliance. note The Instant Capacity software used in this example scenario refers to unlicensed components as "iCOD" components. The software is being updated to simply refer to Instant Capacity components as unlicensed components. The Active processors field indicates how many processors are currently active in the local nPartition. The four CPUs in cab0, cell 3 are inactive, as are four of the twelve CPUs in the rex01 nPartition. Instant Capacity determines which CPUs are activated and deactivated using an algorithm that is not published. Therefore, the system administrator does not need to choose the specific CPUs to be activated and deactivated. As described in Table 10-2, the output in Listing 10-1 shows the unlicensed cell, eight unlicensed processors, and 4GB of unlicensed memory. Along with each of these values, the quantity of actual inactive components is also provided. This allows a quick comparison to ensure that at least the required numbers of components are inactive. Listing 10-1. Initial Instant Capacity Status# icod_stat Software version: B.06.03 System ID: rex01 Serial number: USE4416CNL Product number: AB240A Unique ID: ad2b3532-abd9-11d8-a988-7877a7f45c12 System contact e-mail: Not set From e-mail: Set to the default ('adm') Asset reporting: on Exception status: No exception Local Hard Partition Information -------------------------------- Total processors: 16 Intended Active processors: 8 Active processors: 8 Licensed processors that can be activated: 0 Processors that can be activated if licensed: 4 Processors that cannot immediately be activated: 4 Global iCOD Information ----------------------- iCOD cells: 1 Actual inactive cells: 1 iCOD processors: 8 Actual inactive processors: 8 iCOD Memory: 4.0 GB Actual inactive Memory: 4.0 GB Temporary capacity available: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes Processors using temporary capacity: 0 Projected temporary capacity expiration: N/A Allocation of iCOD Resources Among Partitions ------------------------------------------------------------- nPar Inactive Inactive Inactive ID Cells Memory CPUs nPar Name ==== ======== =========== ======== ====================== 0 1 4.0 GB 8 rex01 (local) N/A 0 0.0 GB 0 Unassigned Cells iCOD Partition Configuration Information --------------------------------------------------------------- Intended Actual Compatible nPar Active Active Total Software ID CPUs CPUs CPUs Installed nPar Name ==== ======== ====== ===== ========== ==================== 0 8 8 16 Yes rex01 (local) Listing 10-1 shows that the System contact e-mail value is not set for this system. This field is the e-mail address for the system administrator, system contact, or other individual who is responsible for ensuring that the system remains compliant with the number of unlicensed components. Before applying a codeword or performing Instant Capacity configuration changes, HP recommends that users set the System contact e-mail address. E-mail messages are sent to the address supplied in this field when Instant Capacity configuration changes are made and when the system is not in compliance with the Instant Capacity contract. The system contact is configured using the following command: # icod_modify -c bryanj@rex01 The contact e-mail address has been set to bryanj@rex01. Applying an Instant Capacity CodewordActivation of Instant Capacity components requires an Instant Capacity RTU license contained in a codeword. RTU codewords are available from the Instant Capacity portal after a license has been purchased for the components. The icod_stat s command is issued to gather the information required for obtaining a codeword. Listing 10-2 shows an Instant Capacity system snapshot of rex01 that contains an audit snapshot in the last line. Listing 10-2. Instant Capacity System Snapshot Report # icod_stat -s Product number: AB240A Serial number: USE4416CNL Audit snapshot: vYXAJWC.v5ngfaK.688cwTP.BwHjXzs.sMekFUR.4dc9jsC.0uy2N25. GR2RUf4.dGnVi8T.VeQ2 In addition to the information found in the icod_stat s output in the system snapshot report, the following pieces of information are necessary to acquire an Instant Capacity codeword:
Instant Capacity codewords affect the entire complex. Notice that there are no requirements to specify nPartition configuration information, such as the nPartition to be created, the specific cell to be activated, or exact CPUs to be activated. Instead, the codewords are applied at the complex level and the system administrator is able to activate the licensed resources as necessary. Figure 10-4 shows an example screen of the Instant Capacity portal which is located at http://www.hp.com/go/icod/portal. The Create codeword screen in the portal provides an interface for entering the system and order information and will respond with an Instant Capacity codeword. Figure 10-4. Example Instant Capacity Portal Screen for Creating a Codeword Listing 10-3 demonstrates the application of an Instant Capacity codeword. The icod_modify command is used to apply the codeword. In this case, the RTU codeword allows one cell, 4 GB of memory, and six CPUs to be activated. The application of the codeword does not activate any resources. Additional commands must be issued to take advantage of the newly licensed Instant Capacity components. note Application of an Instant Capacity codeword does not activate any resources. Further steps must be taken to activate the desired hardware components. Listing 10-3. Application of Instant Capacity Right-to-Use Codeword# icod_modify -C \ > BE7hzjK.Rx4yA3v.XHLL4GY.gjrQbQx-DKWGyRt.EyaVJaf.6jXpDCn.qqFNf8 The following valid codeword has been applied to the complex: Right-to-Use Codeword 6 CPUs 1 Cells 4.0 GB of Memory Execute the icod_stat(1M) command to see the results of the application of this codeword. NOTE: Application of Right-to-Use codewords does not result in the activation of components. Components must be activated separately. Listing 10-4 shows the status of the system following the application of the codeword. There are now zero unlicensed cells, two unlicensed CPUs, and no unlicensed memory in the complex. The listing shows there has not been any change in the number of active cells, processors, or memory. Also shown in the output is the change to the System contact e-mail as a result of the icod_modify command shown previously. Listing 10-4. Instant Capacity Status after Application of Right-to-Use Codeword# icod_stat Software version: B.06.03 System ID: rex01 Serial number: USE4416CNL Product number: AB240A Unique ID: ad2b3532-abd9-11d8-a988-7877a7f45c12 System contact e-mail: bryanj@rex01 From e-mail: Set to the default ('adm') Asset reporting: on Exception status: No exception Local Hard Partition Information -------------------------------- Total processors: 16 Intended Active processors: 8 Active processors: 8 Licensed processors that can be activated: 4 Processors that can be activated if licensed: 0 Processors that cannot immediately be activated: 4 Global iCOD Information ----------------------- iCOD cells: 0 Actual inactive cells: 1 iCOD processors: 2 Actual inactive processors: 8 iCOD Memory: 0.0 GB Actual inactive Memory: 4.0 GB Temporary capacity available: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes Processors using temporary capacity: 0 Projected temporary capacity expiration: N/A [...] Creating a New nPartitionThe hardware components can now be activated as a result of applying the Instant Capacity codeword. The inactive cell, cab0, cell3, will be removed from the rex01 nPartition. It will then be used to create a new nPartition, rex02. The following two commands perform these tasks: # parmodify -p 0 -d 3 # parcreate -c 3::: -P rex02 Partition Created. The partition number is: 1 The parcreate command would not have been allowed if the RTU codeword had not been applied. All nPartition configuration changes are validated with the Instant Capacity software, so the order in which codewords are applied and configuration changes are made is important. When creating a new nPartition, the Instant Capacity software is consulted to ensure that the change will not take the system out of compliance. During the validation setup, the Instant Capacity software assumes that all of the CPUs on a cell will be activated. The difference between the number of Actual inactive processors and the number of iCOD processors must be equal or greater than the number of CPUs on the cells being added to the nPartition. In this case, there are eight inactive processors and two Instant Capacity CPUs. This leaves a total of six inactive licensed CPUs. The cell contains four CPUs, so the operation to create a new nPartition is permitted. The Instant Capacity status of the server after creating the rex02 nPartition is shown in Listing 10-5. This command was executed from the rex01 nPartition. Notice the rex02 nPartition shown in the two tables near the end of the output. The Intended Active CPUs column shows how many CPUs the Instant Capacity software is assuming will be active in the nPartition when it is booted. Since the intention is to have only two CPUs active in rex02, the icod_modify command must be used after HP-UX is installed to deactivate two of the CPUs. Listing 10-5. Instant Capacity Status after Creating New nPartition# icod_stat [...] Global iCOD Information ----------------------- iCOD cells: 0 Actual inactive cells: 1 iCOD processors: 2 Actual inactive processors: 8 iCOD Memory: 0.0 GB Actual inactive Memory: 4.0 GB Temporary capacity available: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes Processors using temporary capacity: 0 Projected temporary capacity expiration: N/A Allocation of iCOD Resources Among Partitions ------------------------------------------------------------- nPar Inactive Inactive Inactive ID Cells Memory CPUs nPar Name ==== ======== =========== ======== ====================== 0 0 0.0 GB 4 rex01 (local) 1 1 4.0 GB 4 rex02 N/A 0 0.0 GB 0 Unassigned Cells iCOD Partition Configuration Information --------------------------------------------------------------- Intended Actual Compatible nPar Active Active Total Software ID CPUs CPUs CPUs Installed nPar Name ==== ======== ====== ===== ========== ==================== 0 8 8 12 Yes rex01 (local) 1 4 0 4 No rex02 Viewing Status of Complex from Newly Created nPartitionThe rex02 nPartition has been created and an operating system has been installed. The process of installing the HP-UX operating system is not shown, as the only important consideration is to ensure that the Instant Capacity software is installed along with HP-UX on the nPartition. The final nPartition configuration is shown in Figure 10-5. The two nPartitions are active and are running HP-UX. Additionally, both nPartitions have the Instant Capacity software installed and configured. Figure 10-5. Final nPartition Configuration The Instant Capacity status of the complex from the rex02 nPartition is shown in Listing 10-6. Of particular interest are the fields showing the intended number of active CPUs. Since no configuration changes have been performed to adjust the number of intended active CPUs in rex02, the Instant Capacity software assumes that the maximum number of CPUs will be activated. Listing 10-6. Instant Capacity Status on rex02 nPartition# icod_stat Software version: B.06.01 System ID: rex02 Serial number: USE4416CNL Product number: AB240A Unique ID: ad2b3532-abd9-11d8-a988-7877a7f45c12 System contact e-mail: bryanj@rex01 From e-mail: Set to the default ('adm') Asset reporting: on Exception status: No exception Local Hard Partition Information -------------------------------- Total processors: 4 Intended Active processors: 4 Active processors: 4 Licensed processors that can be activated: 0 Processors that can be activated if licensed: 0 Processors that cannot immediately be activated: 0 Global iCOD Information ----------------------- iCOD cells: 0 Actual inactive cells: 0 iCOD processors: 2 Actual inactive processors: 4 iCOD Memory: 0.0 GB Actual inactive Memory: 0.0 GB Temporary capacity available: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes Processors using temporary capacity: 0 Projected temporary capacity expiration: N/A Allocation of iCOD Resources Among Partitions ------------------------------------------------------------- nPar Inactive Inactive Inactive ID Cells Memory CPUs nPar Name ==== ======== =========== ======== ====================== 0 0 0.0 GB 4 rex01 1 0 0.0 GB 0 rex02 (local) N/A 0 0.0 GB 0 Unassigned Cells iCOD Partition Configuration Information --------------------------------------------------------------- Intended Actual Compatible nPar Active Active Total Software ID CPUs CPUs CPUs Installed nPar Name ==== ======== ====== ===== ========== ==================== 0 8 8 12 Yes rex01 1 4 4 4 Yes rex02 (local) Deactivating Two CPUsTwo of the four CPUs in the rex02 nPartition must now be deactivated. This is done by using the following icod_modify command on the rex02 nPartition. This command sets the intended number of active processors to two. # icod_modify -s 2 \ > "Setting intended number of active processors to 2":"Bryan Jacquot" 2 processors are intended to be active and are currently active. The second line of the command is optional and provides a descriptive comment for the change. This comment is logged in the Instant Capacity log file and is also sent in an e-mail to the Instant Capacity system contact. The final field in the command is the name of the administrator performing the change. The icod_modify command must be issued by the root user, and therefore a field is available to provide clarity in who was authenticated as root and issued the command. The command shown deactivates two CPUs immediately. If the applications running in the nPartition were not able to handle the dynamic removal of CPUs, the change could have been deferred until the next reboot by adding the D command line option. It is important to remember the Instant Capacity codewords are applied at the complex level, regardless of the nPartition in the complex where the command is executed. In this example, the RTU codeword allowed six CPUs to be activated, among other things. The codeword was applied on rex01, but it did not specify which CPUs could be activated. The command that deactivated two CPUs in the rex02 nPartition applies to the nPartition where the command is executed. This command is not a complex-wide change; instead, the Instant Capacity software ensures that only two CPUs are activated in the rex02 nPartition. Other than applying Instant Capacity codewords, the icod_modify command affects the local nPartition where it is executed. The status of the system after deactivating the CPUs is shown in Listing 10-7. Notice that there are now two active processors and that the intended number of active processors is also two. The number of intended active processors will persist across reboots. Listing 10-7. Instant Capacity Status after Deactivating Two Processors in rex02# icod_stat [...] Local Hard Partition Information -------------------------------- Total processors: 4 Intended Active processors: 2 Active processors: 2 Licensed processors that can be activated: 2 Processors that can be activated if licensed: 0 Processors that cannot immediately be activated: 0 Global iCOD Information ----------------------- iCOD cells: 0 Actual inactive cells: 0 iCOD processors: 2 Actual inactive processors: 6 iCOD Memory: 0.0 GB Actual inactive Memory: 0.0 GB Temporary capacity available: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes Processors using temporary capacity: 0 Projected temporary capacity expiration: N/A [...] When Instant Capacity processors are activated or deactivated, the system contact is sent an e-mail message. Listing 10-8 shows the e-mail that was sent after the two processors in rex02 were deactivated. The e-mail notifications can be enabled or disabled using the icod_notify command. Listing 10-8. Email Notification for CPU DeactivationDate: Thu, 19 Aug 2004 19:38:32 -0600 (MDT) To: bryanj@rex01 Subject: iCOD Configuration Change Notification A configuration change has been made to the following system: rex02 One or more processors were deactivated. Details of the change include: Time of change: 08/19/04 19:38:32 Previous number of active processors: 4 Current number of active processors: 2 Number of processors to be active after reboot: 2 Description of change: Setting intended number of active processors to 2 Person making change: Bryan Jacquot System contact e-mail: bryanj@rex01 If you are the system contact and do not want to receive this type of notification in the future, it can be disabled by executing the following command on the system in question: /usr/sbin/icod_notify -n off To turn notification on, execute: /usr/sbin/icod_notify -n on Activating Remaining ProcessorsThe initial codeword applied to the complex provided a RTU license for six additional CPUs. Two of those processors have been consumed in the rex02 nPartition. The four deactivated CPUs in the rex01 nPartition can now be activated. The following command achieves this objective: # icod_modify -a 4 \ > "Activating remaining 4 licensed CPUs":"Bryan Jacquot" 12 processors are intended to be active and are currently active. Listing 10-9 shows the final Instant Capacity status of the complex. There are two inactive CPUs and two Instant Capacity CPUs, and the system is in compliance with the Instant Capacity contract. Listing 10-9. Final Instant Capacity Status with Two Instant Capacity CPUs# icod_stat [...] Local Hard Partition Information -------------------------------- Total processors: 12 Intended Active processors: 12 Active processors: 12 Licensed processors that can be activated: 0 Processors that can be activated if licensed: 0 Processors that cannot immediately be activated: 0 Global iCOD Information ----------------------- iCOD cells: 0 Actual inactive cells: 0 iCOD processors: 2 Actual inactive processors: 2 iCOD Memory: 0.0 GB Actual inactive Memory: 0.0 GB Temporary capacity available: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes Processors using temporary capacity: 0 Projected temporary capacity expiration: N/A [...] Viewing the Instant Capacity Log FilesThe Instant Capacity commands log configuration changes on the system where the changes are made. The application of the Instant Capacity codeword, the activation of the four CPUs on rex01, and the deactivation of the two CPUs on rex02 are shown in Listing 10-10. These log files are not aggregated between the nPartitions in the complex automatically. Therefore, HP recommends that the clocks in each nPartition be synchronized to allow aggregation of the log files using external tools. Listing 10-10. Instant Capacity Log File Entries<rex01:/var/adm/icod.log> Date: 08/19/04 19:32:04 Log Type: Right-to-Use codeword applied Processors: 6 Cells: 1 Memory (GB): 4.000 Date: 08/19/04 19:46:10 Log Type: Configuration Change Total processors: 12 Active processors: 12 Intended Active CPUs: 12 Description: Activating remaining 4 licensed CPUs Changed by: Bryan Jacquot <rex02:/var/adm/icod.log> Date: 08/19/04 19:38:32 Log Type: Configuration Change Total processors: 4 Active processors: 2 Intended Active CPUs: 2 Description: Setting intended number of active processors to 2 Changed by: Bryan Jacquot Migrating Instant Capacity CPUs between nPartitionsThe Instant Capacity infrastructure enables more than just activation of Instant Capacity components after they are licensed. Using the Instant Capacity software, CPUs can be activated and deactivated dynamically provided the system is not taken out of compliance. As a result, nPartitions can be dynamically sized based on workload utilization requirements. Listing 10-11 shows a script that could be used to migrate Instant Capacity CPUs between two nPartitions. In the example scenario, the two CPUs in the rex01 nPartition can be dynamically deactivated and two CPUs can be dynamically activated in the rex02 nPartition. This allows a workload to retain the hardware and electrical isolation inherent with nPartitions but provides dynamic CPU migration capabilities similar to vPars. When Instant Capacity is used for dynamic CPU migration, the CPUs are not being moved from one nPartition to another; instead, the CPUs are being activated and deactivated in such a way as to never have more CPUs active than are licensed. The only restriction relating to the migration of Instant Capacity CPUs is the system must not be taken out of compliance. Therefore, CPUs must be deactivated in the source nPartition before they are activated in the destination nPartition. Listing 10-11. Script for Migrating Instant Capacity CPUs#!/usr/bin/sh # ************************************************************* # Migrate Instant Capacity CPUs # ------------------------------------------------------------- # # Usage: # migrate_icod_cpus -s <source nPar> -d <dest nPar> -c <count> # # Description: # # This script will move <count> CPUs from <source nPar> to # <dest nPar>. The source and destination parameters are the # hostnames of the nPartitions. ssh is used to remotely # execute the commands on the respective nPartitions. This # script assumes trust relationships have been established # between the node running this script and the source and # destination nPartitions. # # This script is for illustration purposes only. # # ************************************************************* # # Initialize variables # SOURCE="" DEST="" COUNT="" USAGE="migrate_icod_cpus -s <source nPar> -d <dest nPar> \ -c <count>" # # Parse the command line arguments, see getopt(1) for usage # details. # set -- $(getopt c:d:s: $*) if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then print -u2 "$USAGE" exit 1 fi while [ $# -gt 0 ]; do case "$1" in '-c') COUNT=$2 shift 2 ;; '-d') DEST=$2 shift 2 ;; '-s') SOURCE=$2 shift 2 ;; --) break # this is the end of parameters ;; esac done # # Ensure all of the required parameters were specified # if [ -z "$SOURCE" -o -z "$DEST" -o -z "$COUNT" ]; then print -u2 "ERROR: Missing required argument(s)" print -u2 "$USAGE" exit 1 fi ssh root@$SOURCE "/usr/sbin/icod_modify -d $COUNT" || exit $? ssh root@$DEST "/usr/sbin/icod_modify a $COUNT" exit $? The migrate_icod_cpus script demonstrates an isolated yet flexible computing environment. Each nPartition retains hardware isolation but has CPU flexibility attributes that are typically available only from environments with lower levels of isolation. Given the availability of two Instant Capacity CPUs in the rex complex, the number of active CPUs in each nPartition can vary based on workload demands. The migrate_icod_cpus script is not practical for a production environment. It does not ensure that the number of licensed CPUs are always active. For example, if the destination nPartition happens to be down, two licensed CPUs will be left inactive after they are deactivated in the source nPartition. Chapter 15, "Workload Manager," describes a mechanism to robustly migrate Instant Capacity CPUs based on workload demands. |
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