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This document is a guide for installing, configuring, and managing HP's instant Capacity on Demand (iCAP) program on HP AlphaServer systems running either Tru64 Unix or OpenVMS.

iCAP allows users to activate additional CPU capacity as processing needs grow, utilizing pre-installed but inactive (spare) CPUs. The guide details how to:

• Install the iCAP software and associated SMP licenses.
• Configure the system by designating initial active CPUs and setting others as inactive spares.
• Make additional CPUs available by "purchasing" them for full, permanent use or "loaning" them temporarily (e.g., to replace a failed CPU).
• Return loaned CPUs to spare status or re-assign iCAP CPUs among hard partitions.
• Reconfigure iCAP to correct accidental activations or adjust the CPU list.
• Handle iCAP during operating system reinstalls, updates, or system partitioning.
• Remove iCAP functionality if no longer needed.

It also provides important platform-specific caveats, particularly regarding I/O connections and optimal CPU placement on Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) architectures like ES47, ES80, GS80, GS160, GS320, and GS1280 systems. Users require specific administrative privileges (root for Tru64, CMKRNL/SYSPRV for OpenVMS) to perform these tasks, and mail notifications are sent for significant iCAP events.