OpenVMS supports several methods of managing CPU resources. Theconsole establishes the default owner instance for each CPU usingthe console environment variables. This allows the CPU resourcesto 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 nonvolatileRAM.
Once a configuration has been booted, OpenVMS provides moreelegant means of assigning resources for users with the CMKRNL (ChangeMode to Kernel) privilege. The following sections describe thesemethods.