parcreate(1M)

NAME

parcreate — create a new partition

SYNOPSIS

parcreate -c cell: [celltype]:[use_on_next_boot]:[failure_usage][:clm_value] [ -c cell: [celltype]:[use_on_next_boot]:[failure_usage] [:clm_value] ]... [-b path] [-t path] [-s path] [-r cell] [-r cell]... [-T flag] [-k s_lock] [-B] [-I IPaddress] [-L clm_value] [-P PartitionName] [ [ -u username [:] -h IPaddress|hostname ] | [ -g -h IPaddress|hostname ] ]

DESCRIPTION

The parcreate command creates a new partition. By default the new partition is created on the local complex. Either the -u or the -g option can be specified to create a partition on the specified target (local or remote) complex. The command takes the specified cells (and any attached I/O chassis) and assigns them to the new partition. At least one of the cells specified must be attached to an I/O chassis that contains core I/O. The command finds an available partition ID and assigns it to the new partition. It displays the partition ID of the newly created partition on stdout.

By the nature of its operation, this command modifies the configuration of its target complex. Operation can be affected by the state of the target complex's nPartition Configuration Privilege. If the nPartition Configuration Privilege is unrestricted (the default), or the complex is accessed using the -g option, creation of new partitions is allowed. Otherwise the command fails. The -g option is unaffected by the state of the nPartition Configuration Privilege. Note: The state of the nPartition Configuration Privilege can only be changed at the service processor's Command menu.

Superuser permission is required to run this command on the local partition. If the -u or -g option is used to access a remote partition or complex, superuser permission is not required on the local system, and the local system need not exist on an nPartition. If the -u option is specified, username on the remote host must have superuser permission or the command will fail.

Please refer to the nPartition Administrator's Guide for a description of the partition management terms used in this man page.

Options and Arguments

parcreate recognizes the following command line options and arguments:

-B

Specifies that the new partition be booted. The default is not to boot. Note: On Itanium-based platforms this option has no effect, because boot paths cannot be set on the new partition. Therefore, the partition cannot boot automatically. You must manually boot up the partition from the SP console interface.

-b path

Specifies the primary boot path. path specifies a physical hardware path. Note: On Itanium-based platforms, boot paths cannot be set or modified on a non-local partition. You must use the SP console interface to set any boot path of the newly created partition.

-c cell:[celltype]:[use_on_next_boot]:[failure_usage][:clm_value]

Identifies a cell to be assigned to the partition. To assign multiple cells to the partition, multiple -c options should be used.

cell specifies the cell ID. It can be specified either in the local (cabinet#/slot#) or global (cell#) format. For example, the cell located in cabinet 0, slot 1 is identified in the local format as 0/1 or in the global format as 1.

celltype specifies the type of the cell. The valid celltype values for a cell are:

base: This is the default if celltype is not specified. A base cell in a partition participates in interleaved memory.

use_on_next_boot specifies whether the cell will participate in a reboot. The valid values for use_on_next_boot are:

y: participate in reboot. This is the default. However if the slot is missing or the cell does not exist or the cell is powered off then it defaults to n.
n: do not participate in reboot.

At least one of the cells specified using the -c option must contain core I/O with the use_on_next_boot flag set to y.

failure_usage field is used by system firmware when a partition is booted. If a CPU selftest failure or a DIMM deallocation occurs during the power-on self-test process, then this flag is used by the system firmware to determine whether or not and how the cell should be integrated into the partition at boot time. The valid failure_usage values for a cell are:

ri: reactivate with memory interleave. Specifies to integrate the cell as it would normally be integrated. This is the default for base cells.

clm_value specifies the amount of the memory that will be configured as local (non-interleaved) memory for the cell. The clm_value specified using the -c option takes precedence over the clm_value specified using the -L option. The command will issue a warning if the specified clm_value exceeds the total memory of the cell.

Note: On PA platforms, the amount of memory allocated for CLM may not match the amount of CLM requested due to some memory being reserved exclusively by the operating system.

If no clm_value is specified, maximum interleaved memory (no CLM) is assumed for cells. The command will issue a warning if 100% CLM is specified for all the cells in the partition. The clm_value can be expressed in two forms:

As a percentage (ratio). The percent number can be any number in the range 0 - 100 with a suffix of "%". This number will be rounded up to 12.5%, 25%, 37.5%, 50%, 62.5%, 75%, 87% or 100%. If the cell contains less than 4 GB memory, then the percentage will be rounded to 25%, 50%, 75% or 100%. The specified percentage is applied each time the partition boots, thus resulting in a different value if the working memory in the cell is different. For example, a cell in a partition has 8 GB memory and the user specifies 50% CLM. When the partition boots, 4 GB of that cell's memory will be used as CLM. Later the user shuts down the partition, adds another 8 GB memory to that cell. When the partition is booted again, the cell now has 16 GB of memory, so 8 GB (50%) is allocated as CLM.
As an absolute number (default). This can also be optionally suffixed by "GB". The clm_value is interpreted as an absolute number of gigabytes of memory. Numbers other than integers and halves are rounded up to the nearest 0.5 GB. For example, 2.5 GB will not be rounded up. However 2.3 GB will be rounded up to 2.5 GB. For example, a cell in a partition has 8 GB memory and the user specifies 4 GB CLM. When the partition boots 4 GB of that cell's memory will be used as CLM. Later the user shuts down the partition, adds another 8 GB memory to that cell. When the partition is booted again, the cell now has 16 GB of memory, but the CLM is still 4 GB.

-g

Allows access to the complex specified by the -h option. The accessed complex is then considered the target complex. Access is through the service processor's LAN port.

The -h option is required if this option is used.

If this option is specified, the command prompts for the password.

If an error is reported when you attempt to connect using this option, check to see that IPMI LAN access has not been disabled on the remote service processor. Access to the complex through IPMI over LAN can be enabled or disabled by logging on to the service processor and using the SA command from the Command Menu.

The -u and -g options are mutually exclusive.

-h IPaddress|hostname"

This option should only be used in combination with either the -u or -g option. IPaddress|hostname specifies the IP address or hostname of the target partition (-u) or complex (-g).

-I IPaddress

Specifies the IP address that should be used by management tools such as parmgr to address this partition. This value must be consistent with the IP address that is assigned to the partition once HP-UX is installed and networking is configured.

-k s_lock

Specifies a lock key for the Stable Complex Configuration Data provided by parmgr. Note: The -k option is intended for use by system management tools which invoke the parcreate command programmatically. Command line users should avoid this option.

-L clm_value

Specifies the amount of the memory that will be used as local (non-interleave) memory per cell. The clm_value specified using the -c option takes precedence over the clm_value specified using the -L option. Please refer to the explanation of the -c option for details of the clm_value formats.

-P PartitionName

Specifies the name of the new partition. The characters which can appear in a valid partition name are a-z, A-Z, 0-9, - (dash), _ (underscore), " " (space) and . (period). If the partition name includes space then the name should be enclosed within double quotes. The partition name can have a maximum of 64 characters. The partition name should not start with a dash (-).

-r cell

Specifies the core cell choices. A core cell choice is a configured cell which has attached core IO. If the core cell of a partition is deleted then the firmware will select the first core cell choice as the next core cell. One to four core cell choices can be specified. The first cell specified is the first core cell choice, the second cell specified is the second core cell choice, the third cell specified is the third core cell choice and the fourth cell specified is the fourth core cell choice.

A cell can be specified either in the local (cabinet#/slot#) or global (cell#) format. For example, the cell located in cabinet 0, slot 1 is identified in the local format as 0/1 or in the global format as 1.

-s path

Specifies the secondary boot path. path specifies a physical hardware path. Note: On Itanium-based platforms, boot paths cannot be set or modified on a non-local partition. You must use the SP console interface to set any boot path of the newly created partition.

-T flag

Specifies whether Hyper-Threading should be enabled or not (only if cell support this feature). By default Hyper-Threading is disabled. The valid values for flag are:

y: enables Hyper-Threading, which allows multiple threads to run concurrently on each CPU.
n: disables Hyper-Threading, this is the default value.

-t path

Specifies the alternate boot path. path specifies a physical hardware path. Note: On Itanium-based platforms, boot paths cannot be set or modified on a non-local partition. You must use the SP console interface to set any boot path of the newly created partition.

-u username[:]

Specifies the required authorization to access a partition other than the local system (but can also be used as a loopback access to the local partition).

The -h option is required if this option is used.

If this option is specified, the command prompts for the password.

username specifies a configured user name on the target partition.

Note: This command is a Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) Client Application. The -u option accesses the target partition using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection. If errors are reported, check that the conditions described in the DEPENDENCIES section are satisfied.

Mapping of Global Cell Numbers to Local Cell Numbers

The cabinets in a complex are numbered starting from 0. The cell slots in each cabinet are also numbered starting from 0. Each cabinet can have a maximum of 8 cells. For example, the cells located in cabinet 0 will have the following cell numbers in global format: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The cell numbers in corresponding local format will be 0/0, 0/1, 0/2, 0/3, 0/4, 0/5, 0/6, 0/7.

Similarly the cells located in cabinet 1 will have the following cell numbers in global format: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. The cell numbers in corresponding local format will be 1/0, 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7.

From the above convention the cell located in cabinet 1, slot 0 is identified in the local format as 1/0 or in the global format as 8. The parstatus command displays the above cell as "cab1,cell0". The cell located in cabinet 1, slot 4 is identified in the local format as 1/4 or in the global format as 12. The parstatus command displays the above cell as "cab1,cell4". See parstatus(1).

RETURN VALUE

The parcreate command exits with one of the following values:

0: Successful completion.
1: Error condition occurred.

EXAMPLES

Create a new partition myPartition with two cells. One of the cells is located in cabinet 0, slot 4. The celltype for the cell is base. The failure_usage policy for this cell is ri. The CLM value for this cell is 1 GB.

The other cell is located in cabinet 0, slot 6. The celltype and failure_usage are not specified for this cell. The use_on_next_boot for both cells is y.

parcreate -P myPartition -c 0/4:base:y:ri:1GB 
   -c 6::y: -b 0/0/1/2.6 -t 0/0/1/3.6 
   -s 0/0/1/4.6 -r 0/4 

Create a new partition nextPartition with two cells. The cells are located in cabinet 0, slot 0 and slot 1. This example uses the default values for the cells. The default celltype will be base. The default failure_usage policy will be ri. The default use_on_next_boot will be y. By default there will be no CLM for the cells.

parcreate -P nextPartition -c 0::: -c 0/1::: 

WARNINGS

Activation of Instant Capacity (iCAP) components (cells and CPUs) is possible with the parcreate command. This may result in the requirement to purchase such components to stay in compliance with a customer's iCAP contract.

DEPENDENCIES

This command uses the Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) product and some of its configuration settings. If you encounter connection errors when using the -u option, check that the following two conditions are satisfied:

Use the cimconfig command (see cimconfig(1M) in the WBEM product documentation) to verify (and correct if necessary) the setting of the following two variables:
- enableRemotePrivilegedUserAccess=true
- enableHttpsConnection=true
The target partition's digital certificate has been appended to the local partition's Shared Authentication Store. For the nPartition commands, the Shared Authentication Store is stored in the file: /etc/opt/hp/sslshare/known_hosts.pem. This file is used by all the clients, which use SSL based certificates. If these clients trust a target partition, then the nPartition commands will also trust the target partition.

Refer to the WBEM documents specified in the SEE ALSO section below for further information.

AUTHOR

parcreate was developed by the Hewlett-Packard Company.