Specifications

Chapter 2. Architecture and technical overview 61
On the post-pay options, charges are based on usage reporting collected monthly.
Processors and memory can be activated and turned off an unlimited number of times when
additional processing resources are needed.
This offering provides a system administrator an interface at the HMC to manage the
activation and deactivation of resources. A monitor that resides on the server records the
usage activity. This usage data must be sent to IBM on a monthly basis. A bill is then
generated based on the total amount of processor and memory resources utilized, in
increments of processor and memory (1 GB) days.
Before using temporary capacity on your server, you must enable your server. To do this, an
enablement feature (MES only) must be ordered, and the required contracts must be in place.
If a Power 770 or Power 780 server uses the IBM i operating system in addition to any other
supported operating system on the same server, the client must inform IBM which operating
system caused the temporary On/Off CoD processor usage so that the correct feature can be
used for billing.
The features that are used to order enablement codes and support billing charges on the
Power 770 and Power 780 can be seen in 1.4.6, “Summary of processor features” on
page 15, and 1.4.7, “Memory features” on page 19.
The On/Off CoD process consists of three steps:
1. Enablement
Before requesting temporary capacity on a server, you must enable it for On/Off CoD. To
do this, order an enablement feature and sign the required contracts. IBM will generate an
enablement code, mail it to you, and post it on the web for you to retrieve and enter on the
target server.
A
processor enablement code allows you to request up to 360 processor days of
temporary capacity. If the 360 processor-day limit is reached, place an order for another
processor enablement code to reset the number of days that you can request back to 360.
A
memory enablement code lets you request up to 999 memory days of temporary
capacity. If you have reached the limit of 999 memory days, place an order for another
memory enablement code to reset the number of allowable days that you can request
back to 999.
2. Activation requests
When On/Off CoD temporary capacity is needed, simply use the HMC menu for
On/Off CoD. Specify how many of the inactive processors or GB of memory are required
to be temporarily activated for a certain number of days. You will be billed for the days
requested, whether the capacity is assigned to partitions or left in the Shared
Processor Pool.
At the end of the temporary period (days that were requested), you must ensure that the
temporarily activated capacity is available to be reclaimed by the server (not assigned to
partitions), or you are billed for any unreturned processor days.
3. Billing
The contract, signed by the client before receiving the enablement code, requires the
On/Off CoD user to report billing data at least once a month (whether or not activity
occurs). This data is used to determine the proper amount to bill at the end of each billing
period (calendar quarter). Failure to report billing data for use of temporary processor or
memory capacity during a billing quarter can result in default billing equivalent to 90
processor days of temporary capacity.