Abstract:
A partition reconfiguration system includes a management node that issues a partition reconfiguration instruction based on pre-defined schedule information; an operating system that, in response to the instruction, changes an operation state thereof to a partition re-configurable state in which a usual operation state is stopped to make reconfiguration possible and, at the same time, notifies that the operation state thereof has been changed, the operating system operating on a computer system; and a service processor that, in response to the notification notifying that the operation state has been changed, configures a partition according to information on components constituting the partition included in the instruction and, at the same time, changes the operation state of the operating system to the usual operation state.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a partition reconfiguration system, a partition reconfiguration method, and a partition reconfiguration program, and more particularly to a partition reconfiguration system, a partition reconfiguration method, and a partition reconfiguration program that automatically change the configuration of partitions to efficiently use computer resources.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    A plurality of logical divisions of a computer system composed of CPU boards, input/output controllers, and external storage devices are called partitions.  
           [0005]    Partitions are already known according to the prior art, including what is described in the Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 3-69740.  
           [0006]    The partitions that are originally set up are used permanently in most cases, and it has been quite uncommon that a system manager reconfigures the partitions as necessary.  
           [0007]    However, the conventional partition reconfiguration system has the problems described below.  
           [0008]    A first problem is that it is very difficult to efficiently use computer resources such as the CPU boards, input/output controllers, and external storage devices that are the components of a partition. In a computer system with a fixed partition configuration in which the operation mode changes according to time zones, the usage rate of the computer resources, such as the CPU boards, input/output controllers, and external storage devices that are the components of a partition, is low except at a load peak time but is high at a load peak time. From the viewpoint of whole system, this prevents the computer resources from being used efficiently. More specifically, online applications and batch applications are sometimes processed concurrently in separate partitions. Normally, in the daytime during which much online application processing is executed, the load of the computer resources of a partition allocated to online applications is heavy but the load of computer resources of a partition allocated to batch processing is light. On the other hand, at night during which much batch application processing is executed, the load of computer resources of a partition allocated to batch applications is heavy but the load of computer resources of a partition allocated to online applications is light. In a computer system where such an operation mode is used, a function that efficiently reconfigures the partitions is desired.  
           [0009]    A second problem is that the partition reconfiguration operation is tiresome. The system manager is usually responsible for reconfiguring the originally set-up partitions when such a need arises. Because day-to-day operations are executed in the daytime, the partition reconfiguration operation must be done at night or on holidays. This increases the load of the system manager.  
         SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a partition reconfiguration system that automatically reconfigures the partitions to increase the efficiency of computer resources.  
           [0011]    A first partition reconfiguration system according to the present invention partitions components constituting a computer system based on pre-defined schedule information.  
           [0012]    A second partition reconfiguration system according to the present invention, which is a system in accordance with the first partition reconfiguration system, comprises a management node that issues a partition reconfiguration instruction based on the pre-defined schedule information; an operating system that, in response to the instruction, changes an operation state thereof to a partition re-configurable state in which a usual operation state is stopped to make reconfiguration possible and, at the same time, notifies that the operation state thereof has been changed, the operating system operating on the computer system; and a service processor that, in response to the notification notifying that the operation state has been changed, configures a partition according to information on components constituting the partition included in the instruction and, at the same time, changes the operation state of the operating system to the usual operation state.  
           [0013]    A third partition reconfiguration system according to the present invention, which is a system in accordance with the second partition reconfiguration system, further comprises partition reconfiguration schedule means for including at least date/time information indicating a date and time on which each partition is to be reconfigured and component information indicating information on components constituting the partition, wherein the management node periodically obtains the date/time information and the component information from the partition reconfiguration schedule means, compares the obtained date/time information with a current date/time, judges that a partition should be reconfigured if there is a matching date/time entry, and issues a partition reconfiguration instruction based on the corresponding component information.  
           [0014]    A fourth partition reconfiguration system according to the present invention is a system in accordance with the third partition reconfiguration system, wherein the partition reconfiguration schedule means further includes load information including at least information on a CPU usage rate and an I/O load for each partition configuration, the load information being collected from the operating system after reconfiguration, and wherein the management node periodically obtains the date/time information and the component information from the partition reconfiguration schedule means, compares the obtained date/time information with the current date/time, judges that a partition should be reconfigured if there is a matching entry and, after adding components to the components indicated by the component information if the load information on a partition, whose component information is the same or similar to the component information on the partition to be reconfigured, indicates a heavy load or after reducing components from the components included in the component information if the load information indicates a light load, issues the partition reconfiguration instruction.  
           [0015]    A first partition reconfiguration method according to the present invention partitions components constituting a computer system based on pre-defined schedule information.  
           [0016]    A second partition reconfiguration method according to the present invention, which is a method in accordance with the first partition reconfiguration method, comprises the steps of issuing a partition reconfiguration instruction based on the pre-defined schedule information; and, in response to a notification from an operating system notifying that an operation state thereof has been changed to a partition re-configurable state in which a usual operation state is stopped to make reconfiguration possible, configuring a partition according to information on components constituting the partition included in the instruction and, at the same time, changing the operation state of the operating system to the usual operation state.  
           [0017]    A third partition reconfiguration method according to the present invention is a method in accordance with the second partition reconfiguration method, wherein the step of issuing a partition reconfiguration instruction comprises the steps of periodically obtaining, from partition reconfiguration schedule means for including at least date/time information indicating a date and time on which each partition is to be reconfigured and component information indicating information on components constituting the partition, the date/time information and the component information; comparing the obtained date/time information with a current date/time and judging that a partition should be reconfigured if there is a matching date/time entry; and issuing a partition reconfiguration instruction based on the corresponding component information.  
           [0018]    A fourth partition reconfiguration method according to the present invention is a method in accordance with the third partition reconfiguration method, wherein the step of issuing a partition reconfiguration instruction comprises the steps of periodically obtaining the date/time information and the component information from the partition reconfiguration schedule means that further includes load information including at least information on a CPU usage rate and an I/O load for each partition configuration, the load information being collected from the operating system after reconfiguration; comparing the obtained date/time information with the current date/time and judging that a partition should be reconfigured if there is a matching entry; and issuing the partition reconfiguration instruction after adding components to the components indicated by the component information if the load information on a partition, whose component information is the same or similar to the component information on the partition to be reconfigured, indicates a heavy load or after reducing components from the components included in the component information if the load information indicates a light load.  
           [0019]    A first program according to the present invention causes a computer to partition components constituting a computer system based on pre-defined schedule information.  
           [0020]    A second program according to the present invention, which is a program in accordance with the first program, causes the computer to issue a partition reconfiguration instruction based on the pre-defined schedule information; and, in response to a notification from an operating system notifying that an operation state thereof has been changed to a partition re-configurable state in which a usual operation state is stopped to make reconfiguration possible, configure a partition according to information on components constituting the partition included in the instruction and, at the same time, change the operation state of the operating system to the usual operation state.  
           [0021]    A third program according to the present invention, which is a program in accordance with the second program, causes the computer, when issuing a partition reconfiguration instruction, to periodically obtain, from partition reconfiguration schedule means for including at least date/time information indicating a date and time on which each partition is to be reconfigured and component information indicating information on components constituting the partition, the date/time information and the component information; compare the obtained date/time information with a current date/time and judge that a partition should be reconfigured if there is a matching date/time entry; and issue a partition reconfiguration instruction based on the corresponding component information.  
           [0022]    A fourth program according to the present invention is a program in accordance with the third program, wherein, when issuing a partition reconfiguration instruction, the program causes the computer to periodically obtain the date/time information and the component information from the partition reconfiguration schedule means that further includes load information including at least information on a CPU usage rate and an I/O load for each partition configuration, the load information being collected from the operating system after reconfiguration; compare the obtained date/time information with the current date/time and judge that a partition should be reconfigured if there is a matching entry; and issue the partition reconfiguration instruction after adding components to the components indicated by the component information if the load information on a partition, whose component information is the same or similar to the component information on the partition to be reconfigured, indicates a heavy load or after reducing components from the components included in the component information if the load information indicates a light load. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]    The invention will be understood more fully from the detailed description given here below and from the accompanying drawings of preferred embodiments of the invention, which, however, should not be considered as limiting the invention but are for explanation and understanding only.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 is an example of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 11 is an example of a third embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
       [0035]    Here, it should be noted that like reference numerals represent like elements throughout the disclosure.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0036]    The present invention will be described in detail by referring to the attached drawings.  
         [0037]    First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.  
         [0038]    Referring to FIG. 1, the first embodiment of the present invention comprises a computer system  100 , a management node  200 , and a service processor  300 .  
         [0039]    Those components, which operate under program control, are interconnected via a communication network  400 .  
         [0040]    The computer system  100  comprises CPU boards  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 , input/output controllers  20 ,  21 ,  22 , and  23 , external storage devices  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33 , and high-speed communication paths  40  and  41 .  
         [0041]    To the management node  200 , a schedule database  210  is connected.  
         [0042]    The schedule database  210  contains partition reconfiguration schedules. A partition reconfiguration schedule includes date/time information indicating the date and time of partition reconfiguration, a partition number identifying a partition, and component information indicating information on the computer resources of a partition after the partition is reconfigured (see FIG. 2).  
         [0043]    The management node  200  references partition reconfiguration schedules stored in the schedule database  210  and/or adds partition reconfiguration schedules to the schedule database  210 . More specifically, the management node  200  periodically obtains partition reconfiguration schedules from the schedule database  210  to check if a partition should be reconfigured. If the management node  200  finds that the partition should be reconfigured, it issues a partition reconfiguration instruction to the service processor  300  and the corresponding operating system.  
         [0044]    The service processor  300  receives a partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  and, at the same time, a notification from an operating system indicating that the operating system has moved to the partition re-configurable state. In response to the instruction from the management node  200 , the service processor  300  configures partitions by combining some of the CPU boards  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 , the input/output controllers  20 ,  21 ,  22 , and  23 , and external storage devices  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33 . Normally, the operating system is stored in the external storage devices  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33 , and the operating system stored in an external storage device corresponding to a partition operates in that partition.  
         [0045]    Next, with reference to FIGS.  1 - 6 , the general operation of the embodiment will be described in detail.  
         [0046]    First, the management node  200  obtains partition reconfiguration schedules stored in the schedule database  210  (step A 1 ).  
         [0047]    Next, the management node  200  compares the current date/time with the date/time information included in the partition reconfiguration schedules to check if there is a matching entry (step A 2 ).  
         [0048]    If there is a matching entry, the management node  200  issues a partition reconfiguration instruction to the operating system operating in the configuration indicated by the component information corresponding to the matching date/time information entry and to the service processor  300  (step A 3 ). After issuing the partition reconfiguration instruction, or if there is no matching entry, the management node  200  suspends processing for a predetermined period of time and returns control to step A 1  to continue processing (step A 4 ).  
         [0049]    In response to the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step B 1 ), the operating system stops the normal operation state and changes its own state to a partition re-configurable state in which the partition may be reconfigured (step B 2 ). After completing the state transition, the operating system notifies the service processor  300  of the completion of the state transition (step B 3 ) and suspends processing (step B 4 ).  
         [0050]    On the other hand, in response to the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step C 1 ), the service processor  300  waits for the operating system to enter the partition re-configurable state (step C 2 ) and, when a state transition completion notification is received from the operating system, reconfigures the partition based on the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step C 3 ).  
         [0051]    After reconfiguring the partition, the service processor  300  changes the operating state of the operating system to the usual operation state existing before partition reconfiguration (step C 4 ).  
         [0052]    Next, the embodiment will be described using an example.  
         [0053]    First, the management node  200  obtains the partition reconfiguration schedules stored in the schedule database  210  (step A 1 , See FIG. 2).  
         [0054]    Next, the management node  200  compares the date/time information included in the partition reconfiguration schedules with the current date/time to check if there is a matching entry (step A 2 ).  
         [0055]    If the current date/time is 21:00 on Mar. 20 (Monday), 2000, there is a matching date/time information entry in the partition reconfiguration schedules. Thus, the management node  200  issues a partition reconfiguration instruction to the operating system that will operate in the configuration included in the corresponding component information and, at the same time, notifies the service processor  300  of the partition reconfiguration instruction as well as the partition component information (step A 3 ).  
         [0056]    In response to the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step C 1 ), the service processor  300  waits for the operating systems to change its state to the partition re-configurable state (step C 2 ).  
         [0057]    On the other hand, in response to the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step B 1 ), the operating system changes its state to the partition re-configurable state (step B 2 ). After completing the state transition, the operating system notifies the service processor  300  of the state transition has been done (step B 3 ), and suspends processing (step B 4 ).  
         [0058]    In response to the state transition information from the operating system, the service processor  300  reconfigures the partition based on the partition reconfiguration information notified by the management node  200  (step C 3 , see FIG. 6).  
         [0059]    Finally, after reconfiguring the partition, the service processor  300  changes the operation state of the operating system to the usual operation state existing before partition reconfiguration (step C 4 ).  
         [0060]    Next, with reference to the drawings, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.  
         [0061]    Referring to FIG. 7, the second embodiment of the present invention comprises a management node  200 , a schedule database  210 , and a computer system  100  that comprises CPU boards  10 ,  11 ,  12 , and  13 , input/output controllers  20 ,  21 ,  22 , and  23 , and external storage devices  30 ,  31 ,  32 , and  33 . The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that there is no service processor  300  and that the management node  200  is connected to a high-speed communication path  40  for managing the partition configuration. All partition configuration management functions of the service processor  300  shown in FIG. 1 are included in the management node  200 .  
         [0062]    The management node  200  is able to reference partition reconfiguration schedules stored in the schedule database  210  and/or add partition reconfiguration schedules to the schedule database  210 . In addition, the management node  200  periodically obtains partition reconfiguration schedules to check if the partitions should be reconfigured. Upon detecting that the partitions should be reconfigured, the management node  200  issues a partition reconfiguration instruction to the corresponding operating system via the high-speed communication path  40 . In addition, the management node  200  receives from the operating system an notification indicating that it has entered the partition re-configurable state.  
         [0063]    With reference to FIGS.  7 - 10 , the general operation of this embodiment will be described in detail.  
         [0064]    First, the management node  200  obtains partition reconfiguration schedules stored in the schedule database  210  (step D 1 ).  
         [0065]    Next, the management node  200  compares the current time with time/date information included in the partition reconfiguration schedules to check if there is a matching entry (step D 2 ).  
         [0066]    If there is a matching entry, the management node  200  issues a partition reconfiguration instruction to the operating system operating in the configuration indicated by the component information corresponding to the matching date/time information entry (step D 3 ) and waits for the operating system to enter the partition re-configurable state (step D 4 ).  
         [0067]    If no date/tine information matches the current date/time, the management node  200  suspends processing for a predetermined time and returns control to step D 1  to continue processing (step D 7 ).  
         [0068]    On the other hand, in response to the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step El), the operating system changes its state to the partition re-configurable state (step E 2 ) and, after completion of state transition, notifies the management node  200  of the completion of state transition (step E 3 ) and suspends processing (step E 4 ).  
         [0069]    Upon receiving the state transition completion notification from the operating system (step D 4 ), the management node  200  reconfigures the partition based on the partition reconfiguration schedule (step D 5 ). After partition reconfiguration, the management node  200  changes the state of the operating system to the usual operation state existing before partition reconfiguration (step D 6 ).  
         [0070]    Next, the embodiment will be described using an example.  
         [0071]    First, the management node  200  obtains partition reconfiguration schedules stored in the schedule database  210  (step D 1 , see FIG. 2).  
         [0072]    Next, the management node  200  compares the date/time information included in the partition reconfiguration schedules with the current date/time to check if there is a matching entry (step D 2 ).  
         [0073]    When the current date/time is 21:00 on Mar. 20 (Monday), 2000, there is a matching date/time information entry in the partition reconfiguration schedules. Thus, the management node  200  issues a partition reconfiguration instruction to the operating system operating in the configuration indicated by the corresponding component information (step D 3 ) and waits for the operating system to enter the partition re-configurable state (step D 4 ).  
         [0074]    On the other hand, in response to the partition reconfiguration instruction from the management node  200  (step E 1 ), the operating system changes its state to the partition re-configurable state (step E 2 ) and, after the completion of state transition, notifies the management node  200  of the completion of state transition (step E 3 ) and suspends processing (step E 4 ).  
         [0075]    Upon receiving the state transition notification from the operating system, the management node  200  reconfigures the partition based on the contents of the partition reconfiguration information (step D 5 , FIG. 10).  
         [0076]    Finally, after the partition reconfiguration, the management node  200  changes the operation state of the operating system to the usual operation state existing before partition reconfiguration (step D 6 ).  
         [0077]    Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.  
         [0078]    Referring to FIG. 11, the partition reconfiguration schedules stored in a schedule database  210  in the third embodiment include load status history information.  
         [0079]    The load status history information includes information on the CPU usage rate and the I/O load of each partition collected by the corresponding operating system after reconfiguration.  
         [0080]    A management node  200  periodically obtains partition reconfiguration schedules from the schedule database  210  to check if the component information of the partition to be reconfigured is valid. For example, if the past history includes a partition configuration whose components are the same as or similar to those of the partition that will be reconfigured and if the load of the partition included in the past history is found extremely high, the components are extended. For example, one or more CPU boards are additionally allocated to create a partition configuration compatible with an estimated high load.  
         [0081]    Similarly, if the past history includes a partition configuration whose components are the same or similar to those of the partition that will be reconfigured and if the load of the partition included in the history is found light, the components are reduced to efficiently use the partition components.  
         [0082]    In the example of partition reconfiguration schedules shown in FIG. 11, the component information for “Mar. 27, 2000, Mon, 21:00” is the same as that for “Mar. 20, 2000, Mon, 21:00”, and the CPU usage rate in that partition configuration is as high as 95%. Therefore, when configuring a partition for “Mar. 27, 2000, Mon, 21:00”, one CPU board is additionally allocated to the partition to which two CPU boards,  40  and  41 , are originally allocated as indicated by the component information.  
         [0083]    As described above, the present invention has the following effects.  
         [0084]    The first effect is that scheduling partition reconfiguration enables partitions to be reconfigured automatically and ensures the efficient use of computer resources.  
         [0085]    The reason is that the management node instructs the service processor and an operating system to reconfigure the partition based on the previously created partition reconfiguration schedule and, according to the instruction, the service processor and the operating system reconfigure partitions.  
         [0086]    The second effect is that the partitions may be configured according to the loads.  
         [0087]    The reason is that load information included in the partition reconfiguration schedules allows the management node to reconfigure partitions based on the load information.  
         [0088]    Although the invention has been described in detail above in connection with various preferred embodiments thereof, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that these embodiments have been provided solely for purposes of illustration, and are in no way to be considered as limiting the invention. Instead, various modifications and substitutions of equivalent techniques will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this specification, and such modifications and substitutions are to be considered as falling within the true scope and spirit of the following claims.