OpenVMS supports several methods of managing CPU resources. The
console establishes the default owner instance for each CPU using
the console environment variables. This allows the CPU resources
to be statically assigned, providing a precise initial configuration.
In the event of a cold boot (that is, power cycle or initialization),
this default configuration is restored from console nonvolatile
RAM.
Once a configuration has been booted, OpenVMS provides more
elegant means of assigning resources for users with the CMKRNL (Change
Mode to Kernel) privilege. The following sections describe these
methods.