Chapter 3. Virtualization 99Table 3-4 PowerVM capabilities by edition for POWER7-based bladesThe PowerVM Editions Web site also contains useful information:http://www.ibm.com/systems/power/software/virtualization/editions3.4.2 Logical partitionsLogical partitions (LPARs) and virtualization increase use of system resources and add a newlevel of configuration possibilities. This section provides details and configurationspecifications. A logical partition can be regarded as a virtual server, capable of starting anoperating system and running a workload. SDMC-managed systems use the term virtualserver.Dynamic logical partitioningLPAR was introduced with the POWER4™ processor-based product line and the IBM AIXVersion 5.1 operating system. This technology offered the capability to divide a pSeries®system into multiple logical partitions, allowing each logical partition to run an operatingenvironment on dedicated attached devices, such as processors, memory, and I/Ocomponents.Later, dynamic logical partitioning increased the flexibility, allowing selected system resources(such as processors, memory, and I/O components) to be added and deleted from logicalpartitions as they are executing. IBM AIX Version 5.2, with necessary enhancements toenable dynamic LPAR, was introduced in 2002. The ability to reconfigure dynamic LPARsencourages system administrators to redefine available system resources dynamically toreach the optimum capacity for each defined dynamic LPAR.Micro-partitioningVirtualization of physical processors in POWER5, POWER6, and POWER7 systemsintroduces an abstraction layer that is implemented in POWER Hypervisor. Micro-partitioningis the ability to distribute the processing capacity of one or more physical processors amongone or more logical partitions. Thus, processors are shared among logical partitions.Micro-partitioning technology allows you to allocate fractions of processors to a logicalpartition.PowerVM Offerings Express Standard EnterpriseMaximum VMs Up to 3 per server 10 per core 10 per coreManagement VMControl, IVM,SDMCVMControl, IVM,SMDCVMControl, IVM,SDMCVirtual I/O Server Yes Yes (Dual) Yes (Dual)PowerVM Lx86 Yes Yes YesSuspend/Resume No Yes YesNPIV Yes Yes YesShared Processor Pools No Yes YesShared Storage Pools No Yes YesThin Provisioning No Yes YesActive Memory Sharing No No YesLive Partition Mobility No No Yes
