IBM RS/6000 SP Problem Determination Manual page 146

5.1.2 Some Rules for Partitioning
There are some basic rules that should always be followed when you set up the
partitions which impose some limitations on the configurations that can be
selected for the partitions.
All nodes on a switch chip must be in the same partition. The previous chapter
outlines which switch chips service which nodes. From this, it can be seen that
in a single frame, single switch system, with two wide nodes in slots one and
three, it would not be possible to have these two nodes in a partition on their
own. Later in the chapter we will look at some further configurations in more
detail.
In a POWERparallel System Support Programs Version 2.1 system where you
have not explicitly set up System Partitioning, you still have a single, default,
partition. Many of the configuration files and variables are in place; it is just that
they always point to the only partition that exists.
Within a partition, it is essential to have all the nodes installed with the same
version of AIX and POWERparallel System Support Programs. If by some chance
there are mixed versions within a partition, then many components will fail to
work properly (if at all), inconsistencies will appear in some of your output, and
the configuration will not be supported. In this case, these nodes should be
reinstalled at the correct level to ensure consistency throughout the partition.
Check the versions of products installed, using either the
oslevel
version of POWERparallel System Support Programs:
# lslpp -l | grep ssp
If there is a requirement to have more than a single AIX Version 3.2.5 partition,
then ensure that a recent level of maintenance is applied. Check the level by
issuing the following command:
# lslpp -L | grep ssp.basic
Here is an example of the output from this command:
ssp.basic
To provide the support for multiple AIX Version 3.2.5 partitions, ensure that the
level of ssp.basic is at least 2.1.0.8. An AIX Version 3.2.5 partition is always the
default partition, but this topic will be addressed in more detail later on.
The Control Workstation must be at AIX Version 4.1 and PSSP 2.1 to provide the
support for System Partitioning. All the additional High Performance Switch
topology files required for the many partitioning configurations are supplied in
the product ssp.top . Ensure this product is installed on the Control Workstation
before beginning any tasks associated with System Partitioning.
When the Control Workstation is installed at PSSP 2.1 and AIX Version 4.1, it is
only able to act as an install server for nodes at the same version of code. It is
not possible to install PSSP 1.2 and AIX Version 3.2.5 nodes from this Control
Workstation. It is essential, therefore, to create at least two boot/install servers
on the AIX Version 3.2.5 nodes prior to upgrading your Control Workstation to
AIX Version 4.1. More details on how to do this are in Chapter 2, "The
Installation Process" on page 7.
The reason that at least two boot/install servers are needed is so that if one of
the boot/install servers needs installing, there is another node from which to
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command. For example, the following command can be run to check the
2.1.0.10
This soft copy for use by IBM employees only.
C SP System Support Package
lslpp
command or the