HP Instant Capacity User's Guide for Versions 8.x

iCAP codewords (such as RTU codewords) are applied to a complex using the icapmodify
command on any partition of the complex. iCAP codewords are generated with a sequence
number and all iCAP codewords for a particular complex must be applied in the order in which
they were generated.
After the appropriate codewords have been applied to a complex, additional components in the
complex may be activated, up to the number of component usage rights granted by the applied
codewords. Depending on their type, components are activated using the icapmodify command
(if activating cores), or other commands including parmodify (see parmodify(1M)) and parmgr
(see parmgr(1M)).
In addition to RTU codewords, cores can be activated with temporary capacity. Temporary
capacity codewords allow the activation of more cores than allowed by the usage rights on the
complex, but only for a limited time.
If a server is a member of a GiCAP group, usage rights from other members of the group may
also be “borrowed” to activate additional components when needed. Additionally, temporary
capacity on other members of a GiCAP group may be used to activate more cores than allowed
by the core usage rights in the group.
Software Removal
Instant Capacity software cannot be removed. Other software products depend on it to approve
configuration changes to the system.
Status Of Instant Capacity Components
Information about the Instant Capacity components on a complex and the available usage rights
for each type of component can be obtained by invoking the icapstatus command. This
command also provides information about the amount of temporary capacity presently in
use and the projected expiration of the temporary capacity. If the complex is a member of
a GiCAP group the command provides information about group membership, including any
borrow or loan status of usage rights.
Detailed information about GiCAP groups can be obtained by invoking the icapmanage -s
command on a Group Manager system.
Virtual Partitions
Instant Capacity may be present on systems or partitions where virtual partition technology is
employed. In a virtual partition environment, cores that are not assigned to any virtual partition
are considered inactive (in addition to other classes of inactive cores). Unassigned cores can be
assigned (activated) or deassigned (deactivated) using either the icapmodify command or the
vparmodify command, depending on the type of adjustment needed, the version of vPars being
used, and the level of logging or reporting desired.
One important consideration is that vparmodify can be used to activate or deactivate cores in
other virtual partitions within the nPartition; icapmodify only activates or deactivates cores
within the current virtual partition (the partition where the command is invoked).
Another consideration is that core assignment via the vparmodify command does not result
in logging of the activation, e-mail configuration change notification, or transmission of an asset
report to HP.
iCAP has a minimum version dependency on vPars A.03.05. For versions of vPars before A.03.05,
the icapmodify command for activating or deactivating cores in a virtual partition will fail
with an error message indicating the vPars version dependency.
For vPars versions A.03.05 or greater, the icapmodify command must be used in a virtual
partition environment when you are making any adjustment to an nPartition. If you are adjusting
core assignments across virtual partitions in a single nPartition, you should use the vparmodify
command for the best coordination between the Instant Capacity software and the vPars software,
and for optimized performance. The vparmodify command is the fastest and most efficient
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