Introduction to the HP Virtual Server Environment

Figure 6. Flexing nPartitions with iCAP

nPar1

end

Inactive iCAP Core

ctive Core

nPar2

nPar1

nPar1 nPar2

nPar2

Temporary Instant Capacity

Temporary Instant Capacity (TiCAP) gives you the option of purchasing a prepaid block of processing

time that enables you to activate and deactivate iCAP cores without having to purchase the usage

rights for permanent activation. The process involves purchasing a block of processing time (in 30-

day increments) that enables iCAP cores to be activated for a limited period of time (measured and

tracked in 30-minute intervals). In fact, you can use this block of processing time to activate more

than one iCAP core at the same time, thereby enabling you to activate sufficient capacity in response

to short-term spikes in processing requirements.

Global Instant Capacity

With Global Instant Capacity (GiCAP), the concept of shared usage rights extends to a group of

servers. Cores can be deactivated on one server in the group in order to facilitate activation on

another server. Again, the main requirement is that the number of activated cores across the GiCAP

group does not exceed either the number of purchased usage rights for the group or the amount of

purchased temporary capacity. This effectively extends the iCAP and TiCAP capabilities to partitions

that are running on separate physical servers that can be located in separate cities or even separate

countries.

Pay-per-use

Pay-per-use (PPU) differs from iCAP in that it is a leasing option. When you lease a system from HP,

you can choose a flexible lease payment that is based on the actual CPU utilization of the server each

month. The utilization is measured every 5 minutes for each core on each partition of the server. This

data is then averaged each day across all the cores on the system (or complex). This daily average is