Logical partitioning provides better utilization of physical resources by sharing the resources across logical processors.
A logically partitioned PS703 or PS704 blade server can reduce the number of blade servers that are needed within the BladeCenter® unit and the enterprise. You can consolidate several servers into a single logically partitioned blade server.
You can quickly and easily move hardware resources from one logical partition to another as needs change. (The PS703 or PS704 blade server requires a partition to stop before changing queued allocation changes for the partition.) Features such as Micro-Partitioning® allow for processor resources to be shared automatically among logical partitions that use the shared processor pool.
Dedicating a portion of the resources (disk storage unit, processors, memory, and I/O devices) to a partition achieves logical isolation of software. If configured properly, logical partitions also have some hardware fault tolerance. Applications that might not run well together on a single machine, can be isolated and run efficiently in separate partitions.
You can create a combined production and test environment on the same server. The production partition can run your main business applications, and the test partition can run test software. A failure in a test partition, while not necessarily planned, dies not disrupt normal business operations.
Partitioning enables separate production and test server environments, eliminating the need to purchase additional hardware and software. After testing, return the test resources to the production partition or elsewhere as required. Develop new projects on the same hardware on which you eventually deploy them.
Using high-availability application software, your partitioned server can run as an integrated cluster. You can use an integrated cluster to protect your server from most unscheduled failures within a partition.