Starting and Stopping Processors

This section explains how to start and stop individual processors in a multiprocessing server. Only secondary processors can be handled this way.

When the Platform Support Module (PSM) is loaded in the STARTUP.NCF file and the Auto Start Processors SET parameter value (Multiprocessor category) is set to On, NetWare can start the secondary processors automatically.

NOTE:  Server console commands for processors affect only secondary processors. Processor 0 cannot be taken offline while the server is running.

You can start or stop secondary processors at any time while the server is running by using the console commands START PROCESSORS and STOP PROCESSORS or by clicking the Start Processor or Stop Process link on the Processor Information page in NetWare Remote Manager. (If you choose to start secondary processors manually, you can change the value for the Auto Start Processors SET parameter to Off.) When any secondary processor is stopped, the associated threads are automatically switched to another processor.

This section includes the following information:

• Displaying Processor Information
• Starting Processors
• Stopping Processors

Displaying Processor Information

Before starting or stopping a process, you should display the processor information to determine the status of the processor. Several utilities are available to display processor information.

Using NetWare Remote Manager

1. Click the Processors link in the navigation frame.

2. View the information on the Processor Information page.

   From this page you can view whether the processor is online or offline, start or stop a processor, and view the following information about each processor:

   • Speed, family, model, and stepping
   • Feature flags and CPUID
   • L1 and L2 cache
   • The amount of TLB Instruction and Data entries

Using Server Console Commands

To determine which processors are currently online from the System Console prompt, run the DISPLAY PROCESSORS command.

To determine processor speed and other generic information, enter the following at the System Console prompt:

CPUCHECK

For example, with a single processor, the output for CPUCHECK might be similar to the following:

For more information, see DISPLAY PROCESSORS and CPUCHECK in Utilities Reference.

Using Monitor

Per-processor statistics are also available from MONITOR. From the Available Options menu, select Kernel > Processors.

Stopping Processors

Processor 0 is the boot processor and cannot be taken offline.

When a secondary processor is taken offline, the threads running on that processor are switched to another processor automatically.

You can stop processors using NetWare Remote Manager or server console commands at the System Console prompt.

Using NetWare Remote Manager

To bring a secondary processor offline in NetWare Remote Manager, do the following:

1. Click the Processors link in the navigation frame.

2. Click the Stop Processor link for the applicable processor that you want to stop.

Using Server Console Commands

The following table specifies the commands to use at the System Console to take a processor offline.

For more information, see DISPLAY PROCESSORS and STOP PROCESSORS in Utilities Reference.

Starting Processors

The NetWare default is to start secondary processors automatically when the server boots. If a secondary processor is offline, you can bring in online by using NetWare Remote Manager or server console commands at the System Console prompt.

Using NetWare Remote Manager

To bring a processor online in NetWare Remote Manager, do the following:

1. Click the Processors link in the navigation frame.

2. Click the Start Processor link for the applicable processor that you want to start.

Using Server Console Commands

The following table specifies the commands to use at the System Console to bring a processor online.

For more information, see START PROCESSORS in Utilities Reference.