HP Pay per use (PPU) User's Guide for versions 8.x

This document is the HP Pay per use (PPU) User's Guide for versions 8.x, published in September 2006. It provides comprehensive information for system administrators managing HP PPU software on HP 9000 and HP Integrity servers running HP-UX, OpenVMS, and Windows Server 2003.

Key aspects of the PPU program and software:

1. Usage-Based Billing: PPU is a pricing model where customers are billed based on the actual usage of server cores, either by "Core Percent Utilization" (the only model for Windows Server 2003) or "Number of Active Cores."
2. Components: The system comprises PPU software (PPU Agent) running on server partitions, a dedicated Utility Meter appliance that collects usage data, and an HP Usage Database accessible via a web portal.
3. Supported Platforms: PPU versions 8.x are detailed for HP-UX 11i v1/v2 and OpenVMS I64 V8.3. PPU version 7.1 is covered for Windows Server 2003 (64-bit Enterprise/Datacenter Editions).
4. Requirements: Strict requirements include maintaining PPU software on all partitions (host only for HPVM environments), ensuring the Utility Meter software is version 7.3 or higher, and meeting specific OS bundle, patch, and firmware prerequisites.
5. Installation & Configuration: The guide provides detailed steps for installing and configuring the PPU software on various operating systems. The ppuconfig command is central for setting the utility meter address (required), an optional system identifier, and for capping the number of active cores (for HP-UX and OpenVMS).
6. PPU Agent: This software component (e.g., ppud daemon on HP-UX, PPU_SERVER process on OpenVMS, PPU Service on Windows) is responsible for reporting system configuration and core usage data to the utility meter. It must be running on all partitions.
7. Data Reporting & Monitoring: Usage data is sent to the utility meter and subsequently posted to the HP PPU web portal (typically two days after collection) in 5-minute intervals. Local XML usage reports are also available.
8. Connectivity is Critical: If the connection between the PPU software and the utility meter is broken, HP may assume 100% core utilization for billing purposes. Email notifications are sent for missing data.
9. Utilization Capping: On HP-UX and OpenVMS, administrators can limit (cap) the number of active cores using ppuconfig -rc to manage costs. This feature is not supported by Windows PPU 7.1, which relies on other resource management tools.
10. Troubleshooting: The document includes general and platform-specific troubleshooting steps, covering installation, configuration, agent status, file permissions, and connectivity verification.
11. Uninstalling: Uninstalling PPU software is strongly discouraged, as it can lead to being charged for 100% core utilization.