npar

[Prashanth Waugh]

what is the differance between vpar & npar

[Prashanth.D.S · Accepted solution]

Hi Atul,

Npar : Hardware partitioning (two cell boards on a box acting as two individual servers)

HP nPartition servers enable you to configure a single server complex as
one large system or as multiple smaller systems.
Each nPartition defines a subset of server hardware resources to be used
as an independent system environment. An nPartition includes one or
more cells assigned to it (with processors and memory) and all I/O
chassis connected to those cells.
All processors, memory, and I/O in an nPartition are used exclusively by
software running in the nPartition. Thus, each nPartition has its own
system boot interface, and each nPartition boots and reboots
independently.
Each nPartition provides both hardware and software isolation, so that
hardware or software faults in one nPartition do not affect other
nPartitions within the same server complex.
You can reconfigure nPartition definitions for a server without physically
modifying the server hardware configuration by using the HP
software-based nPartition management tools.



Vpar : Virtual Partitioning
The vPars (Virtual Partitions) product allows you to run multiple instances of HP-UX simultaneously on one
hard partition by dividing the hard partition further into virtual partitions. Each virtual partition is
assigned its own subset of hardware, runs a separate instance of HP-UX, and hosts its own set of applications.
Because each HP-UX instance is isolated from all other instances, vPars provides application and OS
(Operating System) fault isolation. Each instance of HP-UX can have different patches and have a different Kernel.

Best Regards,
Prashanth

[ROCK_10]

Hi Atul,

The main difference between npar an vpar is that.
npar is hardware isolated means in npar the partition have their separate hardware resources like cpu,bus etc.

But in vpar it is logically isolated means we can use different hp-ux os instances within same partition(npar).

[Asif Sharif]

An nPar is a Node Partition, sometimes referred to as a Hard Partition. An nPar can be considered as a complete hardware and software solution that we would normally consider as an HP server. When we think about the basic hardware components in an HP server, we commonly think about the following:

At least one CPU
Memory
IO capability
An external interface to manage and configure the server, i.e., a system console
An operating system

In exactly the same way as a traditional server, an nPar is made of the same basic components. A major difference between a Node Partition and a traditional server is that a traditional server is a self-contained physical entity with all major hardware components (CPU, memory, and IO interfaces) contained within a single cabinet/chassis. A node partition is a collection of components that may form a subset of the total number of components available in a single hardware chassis or cabinet. This subset of components is referred to as a node partition while the entire chassis/cabinet is referred to as a server complex. HP's implementation of Node Partitions relies on a hardware architecture that is based on two central hardware components known as:A cell board, which contains a CPU and RAM,An IO cardcage, which contains PCI interface cards.


A Virtual Partition (vPar) is an independent instance of an Operating System running on a subset of hardware components taken from an existing server or Node Partition. Each Operating System instance runs completely independently of other instances, and as such, a primary reason for using vPars is to offer application and Operating System software fault isolation. Additional benefits include:

Increased system utilization by partitioning previously unused portions of the server. Typically, a non-vPars server is only using 50 percent of its capacity.

Greater flexibility of resources through:

- Multiple but independent operating environments per server (with as low as one CPU granularity per partition)

- The dynamic movement of CPU power between virtual partitions depending on workload requirements.

Increased isolation of applications, their operating systems, and assigned resources (CPU, memory, and I/O) with individual reconfiguration and rebooting of the individual partitions without affecting other partitions and their applications.

Increased product integration with other HP-UX offerings that includes iCOD, Partition Manager, Online Diagnostics, and Virtual Partition Manager.


Regards,
Asif Sharif