LPAR
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In IBM mainframe computing and enterprise storage, a Logical Partition, commonly called an LPAR, is a virtualized computing environment abstracted from all physical devices. On IBM mainframes, LPARs can form a Sysplex or Parallel Sysplex, managed by a facility called PR/SM.
LPARs safely allow combining multiple test, development, quality assurance, and production work on the same system, offering several advantages such as lower costs, faster deployment, and more convenience. IBM mainframe LPARs are Common Criteria EAL5 certifiable, equivalent to physically separate servers with no connections, so they are appropriate for the highest security requirements, including military use. Nearly all IBM mainframes run with multiple LPARs (up to 60 in recent models).
IBM currently offers LPARs, with varying technical specifications, in certain IBM TotalStorage products, System z9, zSeries, pSeries, and iSeries servers. Multiple operating systems are compatible with LPARs, including z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, z/TPF, AIX, Linux (including Linux on zSeries), and i5/OS, depending on platform. In storage systems, such as the IBM TotalStorage DS8000, LPARs allow for multiple virtual instances of a storage array to exist within a single physical array.
