Activating a logical partition based on its current configuration

You can use the Hardware Management Console (HMC) to activate a logical partition based on its current configuration instead of a partition profile. When you activate the logical partition, the system commits resources to the logical partition based on the current configuration of the logical partition and starts the operating system or software that is installed on the logical partition. Logical partitions start faster when activated based on their current configuration data than when activated with a partition profile.

Before you begin

You cannot activate a logical partition based on its current configuration if one of the following conditions is true:

  • The state of the logical partition is such that the logical partition is not capable of starting. To activate the logical partition based on its current configuration, change the state of the logical partition such that it is capable of starting.
  • There is no active partition profile associated with the logical partition. For example, a newly created logical partition that has never been activated does not have an active partition profile. This logical partition cannot be activated based on its current configuration because its current configuration has no resources. The first time you activate a logical partition, you must activate it by activating a partition profile.

If you plan to activate a logical partition that uses virtual resources that are provided by the Virtual I/O Server, you must first activate the Virtual I/O Server (VIOS) logical partition that provides the virtual resources.

If you plan to activate a logical partition that uses shared memory (hereafter referred to as a shared memory partition), you must first activate at least one VIOS logical partition that meets the following criteria:

  • The VIOS logical partition (from now on referred to as a paging VIOS partition) must provide access to an available paging space device that meets the size requirements of the shared memory partition.
  • The paging VIOS partition must be assigned to the shared memory pool.

If the shared memory partition is configured with redundant paging VIOS partitions, activate both paging VIOS partitions before you activate the shared memory partition.

When you activate a shared memory partition and the shared memory pool does not contain enough physical memory that is required for activation, you can release to the hypervisor the physical memory that is currently assigned to other shared memory partitions that are shut down. The hypervisor can then assign the released physical memory to the shared memory partition that you want to activate.

On a HMC that is at a version earlier to Version 7.8.0, if the resource configuration field of the partition is set to Not configured, activating a logical partition with current configuration results in an error. On a HMC at Version 7.8.0, or later, if the resource configuration field is set to Not configured, and the partition has a last valid configuration profile, then that profile is used to activate the partition.

About this task

To activate a logical partition based on its current configuration by using the HMC Version 10.1.1020, or earlier, complete the following steps:
  1. In the navigation pane, click Resources.
  2. Click All Partitions. Alternatively, click All Systems. In the work pane, click the server name that has the logical partition. Click View System Partitions. The All Partitions page is displayed.
  3. In the work pane, select the logical partition and click Actions > View Partition Properties
  4. Click the Partition Actions > Operations > Activate.
  5. In the Activate page, select Current Configuration as the value for the Partition Configuration field.
  6. Click Finish.
To activate a logical partition based on its current configuration by using the HMC Version 10.2.1030, or later, complete the following steps:
  1. In the navigation pane, click System resources.
  2. Click Partitions. Alternatively, click Systems. In the work pane, click the server name that has the logical partition. Click Partitions. The Partitions page is displayed.
  3. Click Partition Actions > Operations > Activate.
  4. In the Activate page, select Current Configuration as the value for the Partition Configuration field.
  5. Click Finish.