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Hardware Management Console (HMC)
The Hardware Management Console (HMC) provides the tools that are needed to manage the
configuration and operation of partitions in a system, as well as add and remove hardware without
interrupting system operation.
In this book, a system that is managed by the HMC is referred to as the managed system. The HMC uses
its serial connection to the managed system to perform various functions. The HMC's main functions
include the following:
v Creating and maintaining a multiple partition environment
v Detecting, reporting, and storing changes in hardware conditions
v Acting as a service focal point for service representatives to determine an appropriate service strategy
Partitioning the system is similar to partitioning a hard drive. When you partition a hard drive, you divide a
single hard drive so that the operating system recognizes it as a number of separate hard drives. The
same holds true for the HMC's partitioning capabilities, except the HMC allows you to divide the system's
processors, memory, and I/O. On each of these divisions, you can load an operating system and use each
partition as you would a separate physical machine. This division of system resources is called a logical
partition or LPAR.
Partitioning provides users with the ability to split a single system into several independent systems, each
capable of running applications in multiple, independent environments simultaneously. For example,
partitioning enables a user to run a single application using different sets of data on separate partitions, as
if it were running independently on separate physical systems.
Service representatives use Service Focal Point (SFP), an application that runs on the HMC, to start and
end their service calls. SFP provides service representatives with serviceable event, vital product data
(VPD), and diagnostic information.
The HMC is a closed system. Additional applications cannot be loaded on the HMC. All the tasks needed
to maintain the platform, the underlying operating system, and the HMC application code are available by
using the HMC's management applications.
Partition Standby and Full System Partition Power-On Options
Booting a system in partition standby is markedly different from booting a system in the traditional
single-machine full system partition. In partition standby, the system sets aside memory that is used for
partition management.
Partition Standby Memory Issues
Unique issues are associated with assigning memory to each partition created in partition standby. In
partition standby, the HMC allocates a portion of each assigned memory block to the system.
Page Table Memory Usage
Each partition requires a minimum of 256 megabytes (MB) of system memory to function correctly. When
you start creating partitions, the system sets aside 256 MB of contiguous memory for its own use, and
allocates another 256 MB of contiguous memory for each 16 GB allocated.
Partition page tables are an additional memory requirement for a partition to operate. The memory used by
page tables for a partition is added to the total logical memory size of a partition to determine the total
memory requirements for one partition. The partition page table is outside of a partition's accessible
memory. The partition page table must be constructed with contiguous real system memory segments.
Use the following table to help you keep track of the system's page table memory usage:
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Chapter 1. Reference Information
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