HP OpenVMS 8.x manual Overview of Booting on a Cell-Based Server, Booting the nPartition Hardware

NOTE: To boot your OpenVMS I64 operating system, you can use a VGA graphics device (except on an rx2600 Integrity server or other servers that lack the firmware capabilities), a serial device, or a network interface for the console. For information about setting up the console on your Integrity server, see Section A.2 (page 152).

When using a VGA console and installing from vMedia or a USB DVD drive with the keyboard plugged into a USB hub, if the keyboard does not respond, simply unplug the hub and plug it back in.

NOTE: HP Integrity servers maintain a system event log (SEL) within system console storage, and OpenVMS I64 automatically transfers the contents of the SEL into the OpenVMS error log. During a successful boot operation while using a console, you might see a message indicating that the BMC SEL is full. You can safely continue when the BMC SEL is full by following the prompts; OpenVMS processes the contents of the SEL.

HP recommends that the latest system firmware be loaded and used. For more information about updating the system firmware, see Section 1.3.4 (page 29). For midrange and high-end Integrity servers, contact HP Customer Support to update your firmware.

A.6.1 Overview of Booting on a Cell-Based Server

This section gives an overview of booting the nPartition hardware and booting OpenVMS on an nPartition.

A.6.1.1 Booting the nPartition Hardware

Each nPartition runs its own firmware and has its own system boot environment. You can boot an nPartition independently of any other nPartitions in the same server complex.

The nPartition boot process includes two phases: the cell boot phase and the nPartition boot phase. Note that these phases occur only as part of the hardware boot process, not as part of the operating system boot.

•Cell boot phase—This phase occurs when cells are powered on or reset. The main activities during this phase are the power-on-self-test activities. During this phase, cells operate independently of other cells in the complex. Cells do not necessarily proceed through this phase at the same pace, because each cell may have a different amount of hardware to discover and test, or cells might be reset or powered on at different times.

•nPartition boot phase—This phase occurs when an nPartition has been booted, after its cells have completed their self tests. During this phase, “nPartition rendezvous” occurs, in which each cell contacts the other active cells in the nPartition and selects a core cell that is responsible for managing the rest of the nPartition boot process. A processor on the core cell runs the nPartition EFI system boot environment. When the operating system boot process is initiated, the core cell passes control to the operating system loader.

You can view progress of these phases by using the Virtual Front Panel (VFP) to check the nPartition boot state. Access VFP from the MP main menu.

For information about how to boot the nPartition hardware, see your hardware documentation.

A.6 Booting Operations 173