mkpart(1M) mkpart(1M)
NAME
mkpart - Partition Configuration Tool for Origin
SYNOPSIS
mkpart [ -f <cfgfile> ]
mkpart [ -F ] [ -p <partid> ] [ -m <modid> ... ]
[ -p <partid> ] [ -m <modid> ... ]
mkpart [ -F ] [ -l ] [ -init ]
mkpart [ -a ] [ -d <partid> ]
DESCRIPTION
mkpart is the partition administration tool for Origin Systems. It
provides the System Administrator with capabilities to list current
partitions, re-configure the system into multiple partitions, re-
initialize all partition ids, and to re-activate or de-activate
partitions.
You must have superuser privilege to use this command. If the system is
configured as CAP_NO_SUPERUSER, you must have effective capabilities of
CAP_SHUTDOWN, CAP_DEVICE_MGT and CAP_SYSINFO_MGT.
All the affected partitions have to be rebooted in order to change the
system to the new partition scheme.
A multi module Origin System can be divided into multiple independent
units for the purposes of booting different kernels on them. These
systems can be power cycled independently eventhough they are connected
by the craylink interconnect. The kernels can detect the presence of
other partitions by using low level hardware support. A partition is
identified by its partition id, partid and a module is identified by its
module id, modid. A partition consists of a set of modules that satisfy
the following conditions:
The route between any 2 nodes within a partition must be fully within
that partition and not route through any other partition.
There is a direct route between any 2 partitions and does not route
through any other partition.
The partition should encompass the entire machine or is a power of 2
modules.
For example, in a 4 module system, with each rack having consequtive
module ids,
Partition 1 = Module 1 and Module 2
Partition 2 = Module 3 and Module 4
Modules 1 and 3 cannot be in the same partition due to the first
restriction. This system cannot be divided into 4 partitions of 1 module
each without Xpress links.
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After mkpart has successfully set up the system for the new partition
config, it asks the user for permission to shutdown all the affected
partitions. The command automatically shuts down all the affected
partitions if permission is given by the user. If not, the new partition
setup is effective after the next reboot. After reboot, the system comes
back to the system maintenence menu with the new partition config.
The mkpart command options are:
-l List all the active partition configurations to standard
out. The format of the command output looks like the
contents of the cfgfile associated with the -f option. The
active partitions are those that have XPC configured and
running on them.
-f cfg_file The new config info is taken from the file cfgfile. This
file consists of a set of lines with each line representing
a partition. The format of this line is:
partition: <partid> = module: <modid> [<modid> ...]
The -f option should not be used if partition id and module
id is specified on the command line.
-p partid Specifies the partition id for the new configuration. This
is complementary to the -f option. The -p option should not
be used if the -f option is chosen.
-m modid ... Specifies the module ids that make up the partition. The -m
option should be specified after a -p option. All the module
ids should be separated by spaces.
-d De-activate partition <partid>. The kernel deletes all
internal information about this partition. This option does
not need a re-boot of the system.
-a Re-discover all partitions. Detect new partitions that have
been powered on or previously de-activated partitions. This
option does not need a re-boot of the system.
-init Set the partition id of all modules to 0. On the next reboot
the system will be coalsced to include all modules.
-help prints a usage message.
-F Forces override of all sanity checks. The command sets up
partitioning as given and tries to reboot the system. This
option should be used with caution. The user of the command
should know about the consequences of wrong usage of this
option.
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EXAMPLES
To partition a 4 module system into 2 partitions of 2 modules each:
mkpart -p 1 -m 1 2 -p 2 -m 3 4
or edit a file, part.cfg with the following lines:
partition: 1 module: 1 2
partition: 2 module: 3 4
and run
mkpart -f part.cfg
FILES
/etc/config/mkpart.config stores info about permitted configs in
a format that mkpart can understand.
This file is cannot be edited by the
user.
NOTES
The mkpart command needs the partition, xpc and cl modules to be
configured into the OS.
The partition id of 0 has a special meaning in the OS. The system
administrator should avoid the use of partition id 0 when partitioning
the system. The partition id can be any number between 1 and 63, both
included.
DIAGNOSTICS
The mkpart command does not respond to the interrupt key. This is
because the partitioning information may be in a inconsistent state which
may cause problems on a reboot.
The mkpart command performs certain sanity checks on the partition config
required by the user. It uses the partitioning information currently
available to do this. Under certain conditions, these checks cannot
proceed without input from the user. These are in addition to the three
checks mentioned previously.
All the modules must be included in any command line. If a set of modules
are left out because they will not be affected, the mkpart command
automatically includes them and asks the user if it is OK.
The partition id should be in the range 0 to 63.
Partition ids must be unique and a module can be included in 1 partition
only.
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Systems with meta routers need a different set of checks compared to the
normal systems. The mkpart command warns the user of this.
Partitioning needs the ASIC HUB to be of REV 5 or more. If all HUBs are
not at the required level, the user is warned of this.
The mkpd daemon must be running on all partitions for mkpart to work. If
this is not the case, the mkpart command may terminate with a message to
the user to check the router connectivity manually. The user should
manually check if all the required conditions for partitioning is
satisfied and use the -F option to force partitioning. The command
appears to take a while for executing. This is because it needs to
communicate with every daemon in the system many times. The mkpd daemon
records some of its messages in the SYSLOG file.
The mkpbe is a backend utility used by mkpart. It should not be used by
the user from the command line.
The mkpart command uses the rexec facilities of the systems to set up
partitions. The system should have atleast 1 network interface configured
between the partitions. If there is no external network available, ifcl,
the craylink TCP driver, should be configured.
The list of partition configs supported by IRIX array software is stored
in an encoded form in /etc/config/mkpart.config. If the required config
does not look like a supported config a warning message is printed.
SEE ALSO
clshmctl(1), clshmd(1).
WARNINGS
The mkpart command is not intended for casual use. If used incorrectly,
it can completely freeze all partitions in the system and prevent it from
even booting the PROM. Silicon Graphics strongly recommends that this
command be used with the co-ordination of the System Administrators of
all the current partitions.
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