Patent ID: 7194616

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for concurrent removal of processor capacity from a computer while said computer is running, said computer having (1) a resource controller being configured to control a physical resource pool including actual physical resources and (2) a capacity virtualizer being configured to provide multiple sets of virtual resources from a capacity virtualizer resource pool, wherein each of said sets of virtual resources includes a defined number of virtual processors, whereby said provided sets of virtual resources allow hosting of independent operating systems concurrently, the method comprising the steps of: said resource controller receiving a downgrade request indicating which physical resources are to be disabled; said resource controller verifying said downgrade request against a capacity data set defining the amount of resources to be enabled; said resource controller, on verifying said downgrade request against said capacity data set, requesting said capacity virtualizer to reduce said capacity virtualizer resource pool; said capacity virtualizer removing resources from said capacity virtualizer resource pool by reducing the capacity of each virtual processor in a set while keeping the number of virtual processors in the set unchanged, and said resource controller disabling physical resources corresponding to the resources removed from said capacity virtualizer resource pool, said requesting, removing, and disabling steps being performed by said resource controller and said capacity virtualizer without involvement of said operating systems.