Virtualization Features; Micro-Partitioning - IBM p5 590 System Handbook

3.1 Virtualization features

Virtualization Engine is comprised of a suite of system services and technologies
that form key elements of IBMs on demand computing model. It treats resources
of individual servers, storage, and networking products to function as a single
pool, allowing access and management of resources across an organization
more efficiently. Virtualization is a critical component in the on demand operating
environment, and the system technologies implemented in the POWER5
processor-based IBM Sserver p5 servers provide a significant advancement in
the enablement of functions required for operating in this environment.
The following sections explain the virtualization engine system technologies that
are integrated into Sserver p5 system hardware and operating systems,
including:

Micro-Partitioning

Virtual Ethernet
Virtual I/O Server
POWER Hypervisor
The following reference is recommended for the reader that is looking for more
introductory material on IBM concepts on virtualization: Advanced POWER
Virtualization on IBM Eserver p5 Servers Introduction and Basic Configuration,
SG24-7940.
3.2 Micro-Partitioning
Micro-Partitioning is an advanced virtualization feature of POWER5 systems with
AIX 5L Version 5.3 and Linux (SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server 9 for POWER
systems and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3 for POWER) that allows multiple
partitions to share the processing power of a set of physical processors. A
partition can be assigned as little as 1/10th of a physical processor's resource.
The POWER Hypervisor controls the dispatching of the physical processors to
each of the shared processor partitions. In most cases, a shared processor pool
containing multiple physical processors is shared among the partitions. Shared
processor partitions (partitions using Micro-Partitioning technology) still need
dedicated memory, but the partition's I/O requirements can be supported through
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Enables you to allocate less than a full physical
processor to a logical partition allowing increased overall
resource utilization
Provides network virtualization capabilities that allows
communications between integrated servers
Provides the ability to dedicate I/O adapters and devices
to a virtual server, allowing the on demand allocation and
management of I/O devices
Supports partitioning and dynamic resource movement
across multiple operating system environments