nPartition Administrator's Guide

NOTE: For servers based on the HP sx1000 or sx2000 chipset, you can instead use nPartition
tools running on a remote system to remotely create and configure new nPartitions (including
the first nPartition in the complex).
See “Remote and Local Management of nPartitions” (page 41) for details.
You can use nPartition management tools running on the Genesis Partition as the method for
configuring all nPartitions in the complex. The Genesis Partition always is partition number 0.
When it is first created, the Genesis Partition consists of one cell that is connected to an I/O chassis
that has core I/O installed. The Genesis Partition also should have a bootable disk (or a disk onto
which you can install an operating system).
If an operating system is not installed on any disks in the Genesis Partition, you can boot the
Genesis partition to the system boot interface (either BCH or EFI) and from that point install an
operating system. This installation requires either having access to an installation server, or to a
CD drive (or DVD drive) attached to an I/O chassis belonging to the nPartition.
After you boot an operating system on the Genesis Partition, you can modify the nPartition to
include additional cells. You also can create other, new nPartitions and can modify them from
the Genesis Partition or from any other nPartition that has an operating system with the nPartition
tools installed.
Basics of nPartition Modification
Modifying an nPartition involves using an nPartition administration tool to revise one or more
parts of the server Complex Profile data, which determines how hardware is assigned to and
used by nPartitions. The Complex Profile is discussed in “Complex Profile” (page 37).
For detailed procedures see Chapter 6 (page 165).
You can modify an nPartition either locally or remotely.
• For local administration, use nPartition Commands or Partition Manager from an nPartition
in the same complex as the nPartition to be modified. Some nPartition details also can be
modified locally from an nPartition console by using EFI Shell commands or BCH menu
commands.
• For remote administration, use remote administration features of the Enhanced nPartition
Commands or Partition Manager Version 2.0.
You can use either of two methods for remote administration: WBEM and IPMI over LAN.
— For remote administration using WBEM the tool remotely accesses an operating system
running on an nPartition in the target complex.
Use the -u... -h... set of parmodify options or the Partition Manager Switch
Complexes action and "remote nPartition" option.
— For remote administration using IPMI over LAN the tool remotely accesses the service
processor of the target complex.
Use the -g... -h... set of parmodify options or the Partition Manager Switch
Complexes action and "remote partitionable complex" option.
See “Remote and Local Management of nPartitions” (page 41) for details.
nPartition Modification Tasks
The following tasks are among the basic procedures for modifying nPartitions.
• Assigning and Unassigning Cells
To assign (add) or unassign (remove) cells from an nPartition use the parmodify -p#
-a#... command to add a cell, or the parmodify -p# -d#... command to remove a
Overview of Managing nPartitions 31