"Converting" an nPar into 2 vPars

[AndyMueller]

Hello all, I need some advice on the following:

On a Itanium SuperDome I have 5 nPars. I have converted the 5th nPar into 2 Vpars but am not able to boot the secong vPar due to the following: The nPar has 2 73GB drives visible to it (root and it's mirror). Initially I want the 2 vPars I'm building to use only one root drive. So in essence I broke the mirror and vgreduced the mirror root disk (so that I don't have quorum issues) and am able to boot vPar1 just fine. The second vPar which uses the second root drive, will not boot because there is no OS on that drive. How can get an OS (or at least /stand/vmunix) onto that drive when it does not belong to a Volume Group. I can't use Ignite, b/c that requires an OS. How can I do this? Any help is appreciated.

Andy

[Steve Reynolds]

Did you assign the I/O path of your 73Gb disk
to your new vPar?
Do you have a network connection?
You can Ignite your system from your
LAN connection.

[Tim Nelson · Accepted solution]

A couple items:

1) the second drive must be on it's own LBA as vPars can only assign resources down to the HBA level.

2) Must then assign this IO path to the second vPar

3) A couple options to load an OS.
a) after assigning DVD drive take down both vPars so you can get to BCH. Install HPUX to second disk just like you would on a normal system including vPar software. Once completed shutdown sencond vPar. Boot vpmon from first vPar then use the vparboot command to boot both.
b) use ignite to boot sencond vPar and load image created from first vPar. From first vpar configure second vPar. vparboot second vpar using -s options for ignite server.

Once done modify any other settings for vPars like, setboot, lifcp, etc.., as you would normally.

[AndyMueller]

Thank you both so far, yes, I have assigned the HBA to the second drive for vPar2.
Proceeding with the DVD option, I did not install the OS on the first drive, I guess my question is: How does one do that, since there is no BCH prompt on Itanium, it goes to the EFI Shell. I guess I can try to boot the EFI DVD path with the MCOE CD loaded in the vpar2 DVD? I guess I first have to parconfig the vPars back to nPars, ensure DVD HBA is visible to vPar2, (same HBA is currently in use by vPar1) then try to boot vpar2 to DVD?

[Tim Nelson]

I have not done this in more than one nPar.

I would assume the steps are the same.

In a specific nPar you should be able to cm>rs this one nPar. This will get you to BCH. If this specific cell has a DVD then boot from it, cold install your first disk. Install, create vPars, then boot first one from vpmon ( must change the lif ( i.e. mkboot -a hpux /stand/vpmon ) and check out vPar1. Create vPar2 using commands from vPar1. Shutdown both, reboot nPar, Cold install vPar2, repeat, rinse. ( vPar2 can be booted from ignite server if you have the ignite server ready and able.

[Steve Reynolds]

If you have one vPar built.
Log on to that vPar.
vparstatus will show you the
vPar definitions you have created.

issue vparboot -p

At the console interrupt boot process.
Been a while, I can't exactly remember the
menu, but you can add a boot option.
Add your DVD drive. Boot from there.

[Tim Nelson]

Remember not to get vPars and IVMs mixed up. Options and processes are different.

[Torsten.]

Hi,

I assume you have 1 vPar running and no ignite server available.

Here is 1 out of different options:

- set the mode back to nPar and shutdown the system:
# vparenv -m nPars

- boot from install DVD and install HP-UX to the second disk

- install vPars software

- at EFI, switch back to vPars mode:
fs0:\> vparconfig reboot vPars
or from vpmon:
MON> reboot vPars

- boot your first vPar

- configure the second vPar

- boot the second vPar from the first
# vparboot -p my_second_vpar