HP vPars and Integrity Virtual Machines V6.1 Administrator Guide

1.3 About vPars
vPars V6.1 is a follow-on release to the vPars V6.0 HP-UX Virtual Partitions product that enables
you to run multiple instances of HP-UX simultaneously on a Virtualization Services Platform (VSP).
Each virtual partition is assigned a subset of hardware, runs a separate instance of HP-UX, and
hosts its own set of applications. As each instance of HP-UX is isolated from all other instances,
vPars provides application and Operating System (OS) fault isolation. Applications running on top
of HP-UX using vPars run the same as when run on HP-UX native-mode (standalone). No changes,
recompilation, or re-certification is required for applications running in the virtual partitions unless
otherwise noted. The patch level of each instance of HP-UX can be different. vPars V6.1 offers a
common manageability framework that is accessible from the VSP. You can use the VSP to assign
resources that includes CPU, memory, and I/O, and manage virtual partitions (vPars) from the
graphical user interface (GUI). The VSP provides you control over creating, starting, stopping,
modifying, and deleting virtual partitions.
With vPars V6.1, you can manage virtual partitions (as well as VMs) using the VSP manageability
platform. This platform now includes a GUI. The same GUI allows you to create and manage vPars
and VMs.
In vPars V6.1, each virtual partition requires a minimum of one dedicated processor core (CPU),
one network port, one root disk, and memory sufficient for HP-UX and the hosted applications. The
VSP also has similar requirements. In terms of scalability, it is possible to create 31 vPars in an
eight socket 32 core BL890c i2 with each vPar having one dedicated physical processor core, or
to create a single vPar with 31 cores on that same server. vPars V6.1 supports Superdome 2 and
rx2800 i2 in addition to BL8x0c i2 servers supported in V6.0. Figure 1 (page 14) illustrates the
vPars V6.1 framework.
Figure 1 vPars V6.1 framework
CAUTION: In V6.1, HP supports a vPar only or VM only environment, though creation of one
type of virtual server when the other type already exists might be allowed by Integrity VM commands
in some cases. You are strongly advised not to attempt creation of mixed vPar/VM configurations.
A configuration of mixed vPars and VMs is not supported and might lead to unexpected behavior.
1.4 About Integrity VM
Integrity VM is a soft partitioning and virtualization technology that provides operating system
isolation, with sub-CPU allocation granularity and shared I/O. Integrity VM can be installed on
an Integrity server, Integrity server blade, or hardware partition (nPartition) running HP-UX. The
environment consists of two types of components:
• Virtualization Services Platform (VSP)
• Virtual machines
14 Introduction