Potential applications
The use of LPs allows multiple systems, including the I/O for the systems, to be migrated to a single CPC while maintaining the I/O performance, recovery, and multi-pathing capability of each system, and with minimum impact to the system generation procedures.
LPs are suitable for consideration in the following environments:
- Consolidation
- Multiple production system images can be consolidated onto 1 CPC without having to merge them into one image.
- Migration
- Control programs or applications can be migrated by running the old and new systems or applications in independent LPs that are active on the same CPC at the same time.
- Production and test
- Multiple production and test systems can run on the same CPC at the same time.
- Coupling facility
- A coupling facility enables high performance, high integrity data sharing for those CPCs attached to it and configured in a sysplex.
- Coupled systems
- Multiple instances of the same workload can be run in multiple LPs on one or more CPCs as part of a sysplex configuration that takes advantage of the centrally accessible, high performance data sharing function provided by the coupling facility.
- Extended Recovery Facility (XRF)
- Primary and alternate XRF systems can run on 1 CPC. Multiple and alternate XRF systems can run on 1 CPC.
- Communications Management Configuration (CMC)
- The communications management configuration (CMC) machine, typically run on a separate CPC, can be run as an LP on the same CPC.
- Departmental systems
- Multiple applications can be isolated from one another by running each in a separate LP.
- Constrained systems
- Those systems that cannot fully use a large system because of storage constraints can alleviate the problem by using LPs to define multiple system images on the same CPC.
- Diverse workloads
- Interactive workloads such as the Customer Information Control System (CICS®) and time-sharing option (TSO) can be isolated by running each in a separate LP.