Micro-Partitioning

Micro-Partitioning™ allows multiple logical partitions to share the system's processing power. Use this topic to learn more about Micro-Partitioning and how it functions in a virtual computing environment.

Micro-Partitioning enables you to allocate processors to logical partitions in increments of .1. For example, one partition might have .6 of a processor, while another partition might have 1.4 processors. Such partitions are referred to as shared processor partitions. You can choose between dedicated processor partitions and shared processor partitions using Micro-Partitioning.

Micro-Partitioning allows for increased overall use of system resources by automatically applying only the required amount of processor resource needed by each partition. You can configure the POWER® hypervisor to continually adjust the amount of processor capacity that is allocated to each shared processor partition based on workload. Tuning parameters provide the system administrator with extensive control over the amount of processor resources that each partition can use.

Micro-Partitioning is supported by AIX® 5.3 + APAR IY58321 or later, i5/OS® V5R4 or later, and Linux®. To use Micro-Partitioning on IBM® System p5®, IBM eServer™ p5, IBM eServer OpenPower®, and System p® servers, the Advanced POWER Virtualization feature is required.