Fujitsu SPARC M12-1
 
Fujitsu M10-4
 
Fujitsu M10-4S
 
Fujitsu SPARC M12-2
 
Fujitsu SPARC M12-2S
 
Fujitsu M10-1
 

PLA-Support>Sun Systems>SPARC>Enterprise>SN-SPARC: Fujitsu M10
 

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Goal

Solution

References

Created from <SR 3-16224928161>

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Goal

Break down important concepts in regards to CPU Activation.

Solution

You can dynamically expand or reduce CPU core resources in the SPARC M12/M10 without interrupting system operation to meet your workload requirements. This functionality provides CPU core resource flexibility, so that you can increase as many CPU core resources as needed when necessary while lowering the initial server cost.

The cost of CPUs represented a major proportion of the investment in former servers because CPU core resources were purchased per chip unit. In addition, software costs were tied directly to the total number of cores in the server since the licenses of many software applications were based on the number of cores in the system.

In the SPARC M12/M10, the CPU Activation function allows you to purchase CPU cores at a finer granularity than one CPU chip.

Note - The SPARC M12/M10 requires a minimum number of activated CPU cores in order to function. In addition, SPARC M12/M10 CPU Activation uncouples, in purchasing, CPU cores from memory and I/O (PCI Express slots, onboard devices and ports, and internal storages). Even when no core is activated in a given CPU chip, memory and I/O are available. You can use all DIMM slots, PCI Express slots, and onboard devices and ports independently of how many CPU cores are activated.

To enable CPU cores, you need to purchase a CPU Activation, a right to use the CPU cores. When you purchase a CPU Activation, you can get a CPU Activation key to make CPU core resources available. The purchase unit of CPU Activation for each server is as follows.

Table: Purchase unit of CPU Activation Server Minimum required number of cores Purchase unit

SPARC M12-2 2 cores
1 core (1 set)
SPARC M12-2S 2 cores
1 core (1 set)
SPARC M10-1 2 cores
2 cores (1 set)
SPARC M10-4 4 cores
2 cores (1 set)
SPARC M10-4S 4 cores
2 cores (1 set)

A CPU Activation key is factory registered to the XSCF before initial server installation. An additional CPU Activation key can be activated not just during initial server installation but even while the system in production is running. After registering a CPU Activation key to the XSCF, you need to assign CPU core resources to a physical partition. The license numbers and form of some types of software vary depending on the number of CPU cores used. Confirm the license terms of the software when adding CPU cores to be used.

Note - In the SPARC M12/SPARC M10, one CPU core has multiple threads. Oracle Solaris recognizes each hardware thread as one virtual CPU (vCPU).
In the SPARC M12, one set of CPU Activation is used to activate one CPU core, resulting in eight virtual CPUs becoming available to Oracle Solaris.
In the SPARC M10, one set of CPU Activation is used to activate two CPU cores, resulting in four virtual CPUs becoming available to Oracle Solaris.

A CPU Activation key can be moved between the units of the same model. A CPU Activation key registered on a server can be deleted and registered on a different server.

You can move a CPU Activation as follows:

▪ SPARC M12-2 ==> SPARC M12-2
▪ SPARC M12-2S ==> SPARC M12-2S
▪ SPARC M10-1 ==> SPARC M10-1
▪ SPARC M10-4 ==> SPARC M10-4
▪ SPARC M10-4S ==> SPARC M10-4S

You cannot move a CPU Activation between models other than the above:

References

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