Hard Partitioning: Dynamic Domains - Oracle Solaris 10 System Virtualization Essentials - page 48

domains or their performance. The abilities to create multiple isolated operating
systems, assign a subset of available hardware to each domain, and dynamically
change domain resources are key reasons why Dynamic Domains constitute a
unique virtualization technology for the data center.

2.2.1 Domain Configurations
Sun SPARC Enterprise M-Series servers have a unique partitioning feature that
can divide one physical system board (PSB) into one logical board or four logi-
cal boards. The number of physical system boards in the Sun SPARC Enterprise
M-Series servers varies from 1 to 16, depending on the model. The I/O varies
with the server and can include PCI Express slots, PCI-X slots, and built-in I/O.
Except for the M3000, M-Series systems can also extend the number of I/O slots
by adding an external I/O expansion unit. This I/O box can add either PCIe or
PCI-X slots. Table 2.1 provides the characteristics of each Sun SPARC Enterprise
M-Series server.

Table 2.1 Characteristics of Sun SPARC Enterprise M-Series Servers

Server Processors Memory Physical

System
Boards

I/O Boards Dynamic

Domains

Sun SPARC
Enterprise
M3000

1 SPARC64 VII Up to 64 GB 1 4 internal non-hot

plug PCIe slots

1

Sun SPARC
Enterprise
M4000

Up to 4 SPARC64 VI
or SPARC64 VII

Up to 256
GB

1 1 I/O tray

4 PCIe and 1 PCI-X
slots per tray

Up to 2

Sun SPARC
Enterprise
M5000

Up to 8 SPARC64 VI
or SPARC64 VII

Up to 512
GB

2 Up to 2 I/O trays

4 PCIe and 1 PCI-X
slots per tray

Up to 4

Sun SPARC
Enterprise
M8000

Up to 16 SPARC64
VI or SPARC64 VII

Up to 1TB Up to 4 Up to 4 IOU

8 PCIe slots per IOU

Up to 16

Sun SPARC
Enterprise
M9000-32

Up to 32 SPARC64
VI or SPARC64 VII

Up to 2TB Up to 8 Up to 8 IOU

8 PCIe slots per IOU

Up to 24

Sun SPARC
Enterprise
M9000-64

Up to 64 SPARC64
VI or SPARC64 VII

Up to 4TB Up to 16 Up to 16 IOU

8 PCIe slots per IOU

Up to 24

Note: IOU = I/O unit.