5.6 Step 6: Set Environment Variables
When you have upgraded the firmware on all of your pro-
cessor modules, you can create the Galaxy-specific envi-
ronment variables as shown in the following example. This
example assumes you are configuring a 2 instance, 8 CPU, 1
Gigabyte OpenVMS Galaxy computing environment.
P00>>> create -nv lp_count 2
P00>>> create -nv lp_cpu_mask0 1
P00>>> create -nv lp_cpu_mask1 fe
P00>>> create -nv lp_io_mask0 100
P00>>> create -nv lp_io_mask1 80
P00>>> create -nv lp_mem_size0 10000000
P00>>> create -nv lp_mem_size1 10000000
P00>>> create -nv lp_shared_mem_size 20000000
P00>>> init
Once you create these variables, you can use console SET
commands to manipulate them. These variables need only be
created on processor 0.
The following descriptions give detailed information about
each environment variable.
LP_COUNT
If set to zero, the system will boot a traditional SMP configu-
ration only. Galaxy console mode is OFF.
If set to a non-zero value, the Galaxy features will be used,
and the Galaxy variables will be interpreted. The exact value
of LP_COUNT represents the number of Galaxy partitions
the console should expect. Currently, this number must be 0
or 2.
Note that if you assign resources for three partitions and
set this variable to two, the remaining resources will be left
unassigned. Unassigned CPUs will be assigned to partition 0.
You may also create the variables for the maximum number
of partitions ahead of time and simply not assign resources to
them (set them to non-zero values) until needed.
LP_CPU_MASK partition number
This bit-mask determines which CPUs are to be initially
assigned to the specified Galaxy partition number. The
AlphaServer 8400 console chooses the first even-numbered
CPU as its primary. Keep this in mind when assigning
the resources (in other words, do not assign only an odd-
numbered CPU to a partition).
LP_IO_MASK partition number
These variables assign I/O modules by slot number to each
instance.
* 100 represents the I/O module in slot 8
* 80 represents the I/O module in slot 7
* 40 represents the I/O module in slot 6
These are the only valid assignments for the AlphaServer
8400.
You can assign more than one I/O module to an instance us-
ing these masks, but each Galaxy instance requires at least
one I/O module.
LP_MEM_SIZE partition number
These variables allocate a specific amount of private mem-
ory for the specified instance. It is imperative that you create
these variables using proper values for the amount of mem-
ory in your system and the desired assignments for each
instance. Refer toTable 5-1 for common values.
See also the shared memory variable on the following line.
LP_SHARED_MEM_SIZE
This variable allocates memory for use as shared memory.
Refer to Table 5-1 for common values.
Tips
Shared memory must be assigned in multiples of 8
megabytes and all values are expressed in hexadeci-
mal bytes.
You can define only the amount of shared memory to
use, and leave the other lp_mem_size variables un-
defined. This will cause the console to allocate the
shared memory from the high address space, and
split the remaining memory equally among the num-
ber of partitions specified by the lp_count variable. If
you also explicitly assign memory to a specific par-
tition using a lp_mem_size variable, but leave other
partition memory assignments undefined, the console
will again assign the memory fragments for shared
memory and any partitions with explicit assignments,
then split and assign the remaining memory to any
remaining partitions not having explicit memory
assignments.
bootdef_dev and boot_osflags variables
You should set these variables on each of your Galaxy consoles
prior to booting to ensure that AUTOGEN reboots correctly
when it needs to reboot the system after an initial installation
and after a system crash or operator requested reboot.
5.6.1 Galaxy Environment Variables Example
P00>>> SHOW GALAXY*
lp_count 2
lp_shared_mem_size 20000000 (512 MB)
lp_mem_size0 10000000 (256 MB)
lp_mem_size1 10000000 (256 MB)
lp_cpu_mask0 1 (CPU 0)
lp_cpu_mask1 fe (CPUs 1-7)
lp_io_mask0 100 (I/O module in slot 8)
lp_io_mask1 80 (I/O module in slot 7)
P00>>
5.6.2 Table of Useful Integers
Table 5-1 lists common values for Galaxy environment
variables. All values are expressed in hexadecimal bytes.