A processor is a device that executes programmed instructions.
Logical partitions support dedicated processors and shared processors. The more processors you have the greater number of concurrent operations being executed at any given time. Your processor sends and receives information from the different parts of the system (from hardware and software).
Processors can work as a group to decrease the computing time that an operation requires. The fewer the number of processors in a system the longer the amount of computing time needed. If more processors are allocated to a partition, the greater the number of concurrent operations.
You measure the total system performance in the Commercial Processing Workload (CPW) that is unique for each model. The relative performance of a partition equals the CPW for the entire system times the number of processors in a logical partition divided by the total number of processors on the system.
Relative logical partition performance = (CPW) (# processors in the logical partition/total # of processors).
From the Configure Logical Partition window, you can view all of the system processor hardware resources. From the primary partition, you can also see which processors the logical partitions own.
If a processor fails while the server is running, then all the logical partitions on that server (not just the one with the faulty processor) fail. If a processor failure is detected during the system restart (IPL), the logical partition configuration manager will attempt to honor the minimum processor setting for all partitions. Once minimums have been met, all remaining resources are distributed, proportional to the intended allocation, among the appropriate partitions. If the partition minimums cannot be met, all resources are left in the primary partition and no secondary partitions are started. An entry is placed in the primary partition Product Activity Log (PAL) with a System Reference Code (SRC) of B6005342 to indicate that the minimum configuration could not be met. The primary partition PAL also contains one or more entries to indicate the failing hardware. You can view processor errors in the Product Activity Log (PAL) on the primary partition.