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  9. 2.5.1 Considerations When Configuring the System for Dynamic Reconfiguration

2.5.1 Considerations When Configuring the System for Dynamic Reconfiguration


2.5.1 Considerations When Configuring the System for Dynamic Reconfiguration
This section describes the points that must be considered when configuring the system, using the physical partition dynamic reconfiguration (PPAR DR) function. The dynamic reconfiguration function is supported only by the SPARC M12-2S/M10-4S.
Updating the XCP firmware
The physical partition dynamic reconfiguration (PPAR DR) function is supported by XCP 2220 and later. For details on how to update the XCP firmware, see "Chapter 16 Updating the XCP Firmware" in the Fujitsu SPARC M12 and Fujitsu M10/SPARC M10 System Operation and Administration Guide.
Checking PPAR DR mode
To use the physical partition dynamic reconfiguration (PPAR DR) function, PPAR DR mode must be enabled. This is set using the setpparmode command of the XSCF firmware. For details on how to check the setting of PPAR DR mode, see "2.5.3 How to Check/Set PPAR DR Mode."
Requirements for device drivers and I/O devices
To use the physical partition dynamic reconfiguration (PPAR DR) function, all the PCIe cards and I/O device interfaces mounted on the system board to be subject to physical partition dynamic reconfiguration must support PPAR DR. Moreover, all the installed I/O device drivers and duplicated software must support physical partition dynamic reconfiguration. For details on the PCIe card, driver, and duplicated software that support PPAR DR, see "Cards That Support PCI Hot Plug and Dynamic Reconfiguration" in the PCI Card Installation Guide for your server.

If all the PCIe cards and I/O devices installed on the system board to be subject to PPAR DR do not support PPAR DR, physical partition dynamic reconfiguration cannot be performed for that system board.
Software requirements
If the physical partition dynamic reconfiguration (PPAR DR) function is used, the logical domain may temporarily stop (suspend). Therefore, the software needs to take actions such as changing the timeout detection time and temporary stopping timeout monitoring. These software products include the software that detects an error with a timer or the like, such as the cluster software and system monitoring software.
Memory size assigned to the hypervisor
The amount of memory that can be used with the logical domain is less than the amount of memory actually installed in the chassis. This is because the memory used for hypervisor operation is reserved on each chassis. At system configuration, design the domain configuration by subtracting the memory used by this hypervisor. The amount of memory assigned to the hypervisor depends on the model, building block configuration, and PPAR-DR mode setting. For details on PPAR DR mode, see "2.5.3 How to Check/Set PPAR DR Mode."

For details on the hypervisor memory assigned to each physical partition, see Table 2-9.
Setting unit of memory size
To enable physical partition dynamic reconfiguration when the version of Oracle VM Server for SPARC is earlier than 3.2, set the memory size to be assigned to the logical domain to a multiple of "number of cores assigned to the logical domain x 256 MB". For details on examples of the setting procedure, see "Appendix A Environment Configuration Examples and Procedures Using Physical Partition Dynamic Reconfiguration."
Placement of CPU cores and memory
To enable the disconnection of the SPARC M12-2S/M10-4S with physical partition dynamic reconfiguration, be careful when determining the number of CPU cores to be assigned, as well as the memory placement. For details, see "2.5.2 Considerations in System Operation for Dynamic Reconfiguration," "Placement of CPU cores and memory."
Time synchronization
When performing physical partition dynamic reconfiguration, the system time of a logical domain may be delayed. Before using the physical partition dynamic reconfiguration (PPAR DR) function, synchronize the time by using NTP (Network Time Protocol).
For details on the setting of the Oracle Solaris NTP server, see the Oracle Solaris System Management (Network Service) (Oracle Solaris 10) or Oracle Solaris 11 Network Service Introduction (Oracle Solaris 11).
Dynamic addition/deletion of PCIe root complex
In the case of the SPARC M10, you can add or delete a PCIe root complex without stopping Oracle Solaris on the root domain running XCP 2240 or later along with Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.2 or later. In this case, you can add or delete only the root domain with Oracle Solaris 11.2 SRU11.2.8.4.0 or later installed.
Therefore, to add/delete a PCIe root complex when it is configured with only the control domains of Oracle Solaris 10, it is necessary to restart Oracle Solaris after delayed reconfiguration. So, dynamic reconfiguration of the physical partition is not available.
For details on this function, see "Assigning a Dynamic PCIe Bus" in the Oracle VM Server for SPARC Administration Guide for Oracle VM Server for SPARC 3.2 or later.
To configure a system using dynamic reconfiguration of physical partitions, the document including further detailed considerations and best practices has been posted to the Fujitsu SPARC servers Documentations site.
https://www.fujitsu.com/global/products/computing/servers/unix/sparc/downloads/documents/index.html
Refer to "1.2 Overview of PPAR DR" and "Appendix.A PPAR DR deleteboard Best Practice" in the Building High Availability System on Fujitsu SPARC M12 and Fujitsu M10/SPARC M10 Servers (Maintenance procedure).