nPars Administrator Users Guide for BL870c i4 & BL890c i4 Abstract This document contains specific information that is intended for users of this HP product.
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Contents 1 Introduction...............................................................................................6 Overview................................................................................................................................6 Concept of the Blade Link Domain (BL870c i4 and BL890c i4)...................................................7 2 Managing nPartitions..................................................................................8 Basic system components.............
Removing (deleting) an nPartition.........................................................................................22 Case E: Physical blade swap....................................................................................................22 Best practices....................................................................................................................23 Case H: Scale up via a field upgrade........................................................................................
A Useful URLs.............................................................................................
1 Introduction The nPars Administrator Users Guide for BL870c i4 & BL890c i4 describes the steps to plan, create and manage partitions – nPartitions, on the BL870c i4 and BL890c i4. NOTE: The scope of this document is limited to nPartitions. For information on administration of virtualized servers, HP-UX vPars and Integrity VM v6.1.5, please refer to HP Integrity Virtual machines version 6.1 and later Installation, Configuration and Administration at www.hp.com/ go/hpux-hpvm-docs www.hp.
Concept of the Blade Link Domain (BL870c i4 and BL890c i4) A collection of blades conjoined, i.e. electrically tied together by QPI fabric through the mechanism of a Blade Link (BL), is referred to as a Blade Link Domain. The user configures and initializes the blades within the Blade Link Domain, using the DMP, Domain management processor. The physical default location for both the DMP, and iLO nPartition configuration menu is on the lowest numbered blade of the Blade Link Domain (lowest Enclosure bay #).
2 Managing nPartitions Basic system components iLO iLO Domain Management Processor (DMP) The iLO Domain MP is responsible for managing an entire blade link domain. It is responsible for maintaining the partition configuration of the domain. From the DMP, a user can configure nPartitions. A user can configure the Blade Link Domain into smaller units of 1 or 2-blade nPartitions.
iLO Auxiliary Management Processor (AMP) The iLO Auxiliary MP is the core management role that exists on every iLO in a multi-blade server (or nPartition). The AMP is not the primary customer interface to the iLO or console of the nPar (though the npar command run on an AMP will identify the blade as an auxiliary blade). Blade Link The Blade Link stores the nPartition configuration and nPartition license. The primary use of the Blade Link is to provide the inter-blade connections for the system CPUs.
Figure 4 iLO Web Graphical User Interface Licensing Page iLO Text User Interface LM command [Server1] CM:hpiLO-> lm LM License Management Current MP License State: nPartition License : Installed iLO Advanced License : Installed iLO Advanced License Key : 32RGV-D6QNW-KPCV8-K4DQ4-MQGTC 10 Managing nPartitions
You may overwrite the current iLO Advanced License Key with a new key.
3 nPartitions configuration settings User interfaces for nPartitions iLO Text User Interface Domain Management Processor (DMP) BL870c i4 NPAR Current nPartition Configuration: Bay 3 4 ----------------------------------------------nPartition : A A Domain MP : yes Power Off : yes nPartition Unlocked : The DMP is not allowed to modify partitions that are powered on or locked.
The DMP is not allowed to modify a locked partition. for configuration options. See the DMP in bay 1 nPartition Lock Menu: L — Locked Current —> U — Unlocked (default) Enter new value, or [Q] to Quit: BL890c i4 NPAR Current nPartition Configuration: nPartition Configuration : AACC Lock for nPartition C : Unlocked The DMP is not allowed to modify a locked partition. for configuration options.
-> Command successful. iLO Web Graphical User Interface nPartition Configuration on DMP Figure 5 BL870c i4 nPartition Configuration on DMP For further information on the iLO GUI, please refer to the HP Integrity iLO Users Guide at http:// h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02111169/c02111169.pdf.
Figure 6 BL890c i4 nPartition Configuration on DMP For further information on the iLO GUI, please refer to the HP Integrity iLO Users Guide at http:// h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02111169/c02111169.pdf.
nPartition Configuration on MMP Figure 7 BL870c i4 nPartition Configuration on MMP 16 nPartitions configuration settings
Figure 8 BL890c i4 nPartition Configuration on MMP User interfaces for nPartitions 17
4 Planning nPartitions This chapter describes the hardware and firmware requirements for an nPartition. Hardware Configurations The blades connected via a Blade Link (BL) must all be of the same type; e.g., BL8x0c i4. This allows for any configuration of nPartitions to work together. The “Domain” is the full set of blades connected to each other with the Blade Link. An “nPartition” is a set of blade(s) which work together as a single server. NOTE: All processors must match, i.e.
Creating a new (smaller) nPartition In a BL2, the domain can be divided into two single-blade nPartitions that act like the BL1. In a BL4, the domain can be divided into four different combinations of double- and single-blade nPartitions, similar to the BL2 and BL1 above. NOTE: The NPAR command is used to create the nPartitions. Single-blade nPartition A single-blade nPartition has similar requirements as for a BL1: • - The processors must match within the blade. • - An ICH Card must be present.
5 Creating and configuring nPartitions — use cases This chapter describes the supported use cases to create a new partition, as well as cases for changing the partition size by adding blades to or removing blades from a partition. Recall that a fixed number of blades are always present within the Blade Link Domain. This can only be altered by scaling up the physical Blade Link Domain size by employing a field upgrade.
Tools for configuring nPartitions – use cases As noted in Chapters 2 and 3, the only mechanism for employing partition configuration changes is provided on the Domain management processor (DMP) within the Blade Link Domain. This is in contrast with the Superdome 2 system architecture which uses an interface on the OA for partition management.
System setting Each blade assigned to a partition will be initialized to a factory default state for system variables, viewable at EFI. The monarch blade of the partition will retain its UEFI system settings. For example, when moving from AAAA to AACC, the modified AA partition will have fewer resources. It will keep its UEFI settings, but they may need to be modified. Any existing VC profiles will have to be modified or replaced for the smaller number of blades.
a known good blade. Note that the highly preferred solution for a faulted blade is to replace it with a known good blade. Placing a faulted blade into its own partition is a method of isolating a fault. For a multi-blade partition experiencing a fault, isolating the fault will cause a reduction in the number of resources in the partition. If it is required to maintain a multi-blade partition, and a spare known good blade is not on hand, the Administrator can consider doing the physical blade swap.
For the complete field upgrade procedure, refer to the BL8x0c i4 service upgrade guide. System settings (initial state) • In all cases the monarch for partition A is preserved • For a BL870c i4 Integrity server, if partition B existed, it will still retain its system variable content when moved into partition A. • The only time the system variables are changed is when you run the nPar cmd, hence the blade is not factory defaulted for the blade upgrade case.
6 System server configuration and booting within an nPartition Booting to UEFI and preparing for operating system installation Booting from the CLI (iLO/OA) This section describes how to power on and boot the nPar using iLO/OA CLI. NOTE: The Superdome 2 nPar partitioning capabilities are not available for BL8x0c i4. Please refer to theC-Class HP BladeSystem Onboard Administrator Command Line Interface User Guide at http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00702815/ c00702815.
Figure 9 Domain Status 2. 26 Select the Monarch partition that you want to power on, select Virtual Devices tab and then click on the Momentary Press button (see Figure 10).
Figure 10 nPartition Virtual Device Tab 3. Navigate to the status tab to see the status of the partition (see Figure 11) or Navigate to partition domain (left pane) to see all partition status in the domain (see Figure 12).
Figure 11 nPartition Status Tab 28 System server configuration and booting within an nPartition
Figure 12 Domain status after a partition is powered on Getting a console using CLI (iLO/OA) For further details on administration of iLO please refer to the HP Integrity iLO Operation Guide at http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02111169/c02111169.pdf. This section describes how to connect to the console via iLO/OA CLI. To access the system console of a partition using the command line, run the co command at Monarch iLO Main Menu.
To access the system console of a partition using the GUI, select the iLO link of the partition (Left Pane), and then click on the Remote Serial Console Link. Figure 13 Remote Serial Console Link System settings at EFI The system settings must be considered and changed appropriately when scaling up, scaling down, or when partitions are changed using the iLO. The following table provides system settings and their values in modified or new partitions.
* The term CPU, in this text refers to the processor and not to specific CPU cores. Following are two examples of how different partition changes impact system settings. If partitions are changed from AAAA to AACC For partition A: None of the system settings will be changed. Error logs will be cleared on blade 1 and 2.
Table 4 Partition use case: Scale up (grow) the partition Boot type LAN boot at EFI Comments: Recommended blade Partition use case: Scale up (grow) the configuration for scaling up (growing) partition the nPartition Options: 1. Retain existing OS boot image for the partition. 2. Specify a new boot image and install. - New Physical resources are added to the partition. - HPUX OS image should scale with the new resources. Options: 1. Reuse existing OS boot image within the partition. 2.
Table 5 Partition use case: Scale down (shrink) the partition (continued) Comments: Recommended blade Partition use case: Scale down (shrink) configuration for scaling down the partition (shrinking) the nPartition Boot type removed resources, i.e., FibreChannel IO mezz card or FCOE LOM. HP-UX parSpec support CLI commands overview HP-UX parSpec commands are not operative for the BL8x0c i4, due to the parSpec capabilities being supported on the Superdome class of machine only.
Table 6 Backup and restore procedures (continued) Phase Migration Focus Procedure Alternatives/comments BL system settings Ensure serial# and UUID are recorded for later reference. Should be on label and in FRU. Moving Environment off Note: can’t migrate at nPar level, other Areas to consider: than with Service Guard. • Virtualized environments * note HPVM 6.x documents Online/offline o Online/offline nl nl Physical Change Blade Link Domain nl - Shutdown servers in BL Domain.
7 Using Virtual Connect with nPartitions An nPartition, consisting of N blades, is treated identically to a server of comparable size and type. This extends to all features of Virtual Connect (VC). For example, in all respects a 2-blade nPar in a BL890c i4 server is treated exactly like a BL870c i4 server. Creating an nPartition Configuring nPartitions can be thought of as dividing a multi-blade server into multiple servers with fewer blades.
Figure 15 Device Bays screen • The same information can be displayed in the VCM TUI. At the command prompt (“->”), enter the command “show profile” to see the profiles and their server bay assignments Figure 16 VCM TUI show profile command • 36 Enter the command “show devicebay” to see the nPar configurations and the profiles assigned.
Figure 17 CM TUI show devicebay command • As an example of what can happen when the configuration of a Blade Link Domain is changed, consider the case where the configuration above is changed to AAAA. After the change, the Server Profiles screen shows profile Test1 assigned to the 4-blade server and profile Test2 is assigned to a “COVERED-AUXILIARY” blade. This is because this profile is assigned to bay 3 which is now an auxiliary blade in the BL890c i4 server.
Figure 19 Blade Link Domain Configuration Change Example (Device Bays Screen) • Again, the same information can be displayed in the VCM TUI. Notice that the “show profile” command shows that profile Test2 is still assigned to device bay 3, as “Covered-Auxiliary”. Figure 20 Blade Link Domain Configuration Change Example (show profile command) • 38 The “show devicebay” command now shows the quad-blade server with profile Test1 assigned to it.
Figure 21 Blade Link Domain Configuration Change Example (show devicebay command) How profile connections are mapped Profile connections can be divided into two categories, Ethernet (enet) connections and Fibre Channel (FC) connections. These two connection categories do not use the same server ports and are therefore mapped independently of each other. There are two different types of Ethernet connections, Fibre-Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and regular Ethernet.
NOTE: The bay 1, 2, 3, 4 notation in the "Blade Description" column assumes the BL890 is installed in the lowest-numbered bays in the enclosure. Those bay numbers would be different for a BL890 installed in bays 5-8, for example. The descriptions of the blades in each nPar for a BL870c i4 are: Table 8 nPar Blade Description AA The blade in bay 1 is the monarch blade and the blade in bay 2 is the auxiliary blade. AB Both blades are monarch blades.
When scaling up, at least one monarch blade becomes an auxiliary blade. The profiles from the monarch blades in the old Blade Link Domain are first unapplied from the old configuration. Then the profiles assigned to the monarch blades of the nPartitions in the new configuration are applied to those nPars. Any profile assigned to a bay that changed from monarch to auxiliary is now considered to be assigned to a “Covered-Auxiliary” bay. It is still assigned to the bay, but not applied to a server.
8 nPars and Insight tools nPartitions in SIM This chapter describes how SIM handles nPartitions in case of Integrity BL8x0c i4 blades. Unpartitioned/default configuration SIM treats the Unpartitioned Integrity BL8x0c i4 blades exactly in the same way as it does the Integrity BL8x0c i2 blades . Partitioned scenarios Once the System Administrator changes the partition configuration successfully (either Scale up or Scale down), the node structure in SIM will be updated on reception of traps from OA.
consisting of N blades is treated just like a server consisting of N blades, all of the plugins on top of SIM will work as it is without any changes. nPars and Blade Link Domain Unlike other partitionable systems, the nPars are associated to the Blade Link Domain to which they belong and there is no notion of a Complex node. nPars and VC profiles Each of the Monarchs in a Blade Link Domain can be assigned a VC profile. Once a VC profile is assigned, the details of the same can be seen even in SIM.
9 Servicing of nPartitions This chapter describes the steps needed to address replacing hardware within a BL domain or nPartition. Topics covered are specific to a partitioned BL domain. Hardware replacement for a domain-wide (default) nPartition iscovered in other service guides. • Replacing a BL. • Replacing a blade. • Isolating a faulted blade This chapter only covers replacement of a single piece of the system.
Replacing a blade The Blade Link system variables and partitioning information reside in the Blade Link. The nPartitions will be set up as before. As with replacing a blade in a default system, iLO and system non-volatile data will be lost and need to be restored. WARNING! Be sure to back up system settings prior to replacing a blade using the procedure specified in chapter 6 for store and recovery. Isolating a faulted blade If one blade has faulted hardware (i.e.
Figure 23 Conjoined single partition example NOTE: In the following examples, the question marks indicate that the DMP has determined that a communication problem exists with the particular blade marked by the question mark.
Example 1 Blade 2 Faulted, Initial AAAA -> ABCC NPAR Current nPartition Configuration: Bay 5 6 7 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------nPartition : A A A A Domain MP : yes Power Off : yes ??? nPartition Unlocked : ICH Present : yes ??? yes yes nPartition Menu: Current -> AAAA ------ABCC ABCD - One 4-Blade System (default) Two 2-Blade nPartitions One 2-Blade nPartition, and Two 1-Blade nPartitions Two 1-Blade nPartitions, and One 2-Blade nPartition Four 1-Blade nPartitions
Example 2 End State, ABCC, where B is residing in a separate partition NPAR Current nPartition Configuration: Bay 5 6 7 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------nPartition : A B C C Domain MP : yes Power Off : yes ??? yes nPartition Unlocked : ??? yes ICH Present : yes ??? yes yes nPartition Menu: ---------Current -> ABCC ABCD - One 4-Blade System (default) Two 2-Blade nPartitions One 2-Blade nPartition, and Two 1-Blade nPartitions Two 1-Blade nPartitions, and One 2-Blade nPa
On the DMP Monarch, the SYSSET command can restore the primary parameters (using the secondary parameters from the first blade) or can restore the secondary parameters on all blades in the domain (using the primary parameters from the Blade Link module). On other MMPs, the SYSSET command can only restore the secondary parameters on blades in the specific partition. SYSSET cannot restore the primary parameters on the Blade Link, and cannot restore secondary parameters on blades in other partitions.
10 Support and other resources Contacting HP Before you contact HP Be sure to have the following information available before you call contact HP: • Technical support registration number (if applicable) • Product serial number • Product model name and number • Product identification number • Applicable error message • Add-on boards or hardware • Third-party hardware or software • Operating system type and revision level HP contact information For the name of the nearest HP authorized reselle
HP Insight Remote Support Software HP strongly recommends that you install HP Insight Remote Support software to complete the installation or upgrade of your product and to enable improved delivery of your HP Warranty, HP Care Pack Service or HP contractual support agreement.
Glossary Auxiliary management processor The iLO Auxiliary MP is the core management role that exists on every iLO in a multi-blade server (or nPartition). Blade Link Domain A collection of blades conjoined, i.e., electrically tied together by QPI fabric through the mechanism of a Blade Link (BL), is referred to as a Blade Link Domain. Domain management processor The user configures and initializes the blades within the Blade Link Domain, using the Domain management processor (DMP).
A Useful URLs 1. 2. 3. 4. HP Integrity server blades white papers - www.hp.com/go/integrityblades HP Integrity BL860c i4, BL870c i4 & BL890c i4 Server Blade HP User Service Guide -http:// www.hp.com/go/Blades-docs. http://www.hp.com/go/Blades-docs. HP Integrity iLO Operation Guide - http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/ SupportManual/c02111169/ c02111169.pdfhttp://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02111169/c02111169.pdf HP Integrity iLO Users Guide at http://h20000.www2.
