HP-UX SNAplus2 Installation Guide (February 2007)

Online Addition/Replacement (OL*) of PCI Cards
OL* Overview and Concepts
Chapter 674
Card Compatibility
Online Addition (OLA).
When adding an interface card, the first issue that must be resolved is
whether the new card is compatible with the system. Each OL*-capable
PCI slot provides a set amount of power. The replacement card cannot
require more power than is available.
The card must also operate at the slot’s bus frequency. A PCI card must
run at any frequency lower than its maximum capability, but a card that
could only operate at 33 MHz would not work on a bus running at 66
MHz.
Online Replacement (OLR)
When replacing an interface card, the replacement card must be
identical to the card being replaced or at least be able to operate using
the same driver as the replaced card. This is referred to as like-for-like
replacement and should be adhered to because using a similar but not
identical card may cause unpredictable results. For example, a newer
version of the target card which is identical in terms of hardware may
contain an updated firmware version that could potentially conflict with
the current driver.
The PCI specification allows a single physical card to contain more than
one port. A single-port bus adapter can not be replaced by a dual-port
adapter, even if the additional port(s) on the card are identical to the
original bus adapter.
When the replacement card is added to the system, the appropriate
driver for that card must be configured in the kernel before beginning
the operation. The pdweb utility ensures the correct driver is present. (In
most cases, the replacement card will be the same type as a card already
in the system, and this requirement will be automatically met.) If you
have any question about the driver’s presence, use the “Kernel
Configuration” area of pdweb to determine which drivers are loaded in
the kernel.
System Firmware Information
If you plan to use OL*, your system may need to update its firmware. For
information on firmware requirements, see HP-UX 11i v3 Installation
and Upgrade Guide.