Shared processor pool considerations for i5/OS license agreements

If you use the shared processing pool, you should be aware of the maximum number of virtual processors you allocate to each partition on your server. Depending on your logical partition configuration, you might need to purchase more i5/OS^® licenses to ensure compliance with your i5/OS license agreement.

IBM^® rounds up to the nearest whole number in calculating the number of software licenses you need to purchase. However, IBM never charges you for more software licenses than the number of physical processors that exist on your server.

For example, Company Y has purchased 2 i5/OS licenses. Company Y has a server with 3 processors and 4 logical partitions. All 4 partitions use the shared processing pool. The configuration of the partitions is as follows:

Table 1. Logical partition configuration in compliance with license agreement
Partition name	Operating system	Processing units used by each partition	Total processing units
Partition A	i5/OS	0.25	2.0
Partition B	i5/OS	1.75	2.0
Partition C	Linux^®	0.25	1.0
Partition D	Linux	0.75	1.0

The configuration in the previous table is in compliance with Company Y's license agreement because only a total of 2 processing units in the shared processing pool are being used by i5/OS partitions. However, Company Y can easily become out of compliance with their i5/OS license agreement with this configuration.

For instance, the system administrator powers off Partition C and moves its processing units to Partition A. The total processing units being used by the i5/OS partitions increase to 2.25 units. The following table shows the new partition configuration.

Table 2. Logical partition configuration not in compliance with license agreement
Partition name	Operating system	Processing units used by each partition	Total processing units
Partition A	i5/OS	0.50	2.25
Partition B	i5/OS	1.75	2.25
Partition C (powered off)	Linux	0.00	0.75
Partition D	Linux	0.75	0.75

When determining the total number of i5/OS licenses required, any partial processing units used by i5/OS are rounded up to the next whole number in the final count. Therefore, if Company Y uses the configuration in the previous table, they need three i5/OS licenses. Because Company Y has only purchased two i5/OS licenses, they are out of compliance with their license agreement. To ensure that they are in compliance with their license agreement, Company Y must either decrease the maximum number of processing units that Partition A uses or purchase another i5/OS license.

You must have enough i5/OS licenses to equal the maximum processor capacity of your partitions. If your processor capacity exceeds the number of i5/OS licenses you have purchased, you will receive out of compliance messages. To stop receiving these messages, you can contact IBM to purchase more licenses or you can reconfigure your processor allocation.

Parent topic:

Software licensing and licensed programs for logical partitions