Facilitating access to input/output resources via an i/o partition shared by multiple consumer partitions

An article of manufacture comprising:

• at least one computer usable medium having computer readable program code logic to facilitate access to input/output (I/O) resources of a partitioned environment comprising multiple logical partitions, the computer readable program code logic comprising:
• provide logic to provide an I/O logical partition in the partitioned environment, said I/O logical partition comprising one logical partition of the multiple logical partitions of the partitioned environment, the multiple logical partitions running above a hypervisor of the partitioned environment, and being interfaced via the hypervisor to one or more consumer logical partitions of the multiple logical partitions of the partitioned environment and providing access for the one or more consumer logical partitions to one or more I/O resources assigned to the I/O logical partition;
• employ logic to employ, by at least one consumer logical partition of the one or more consumer logical partitions, the I/O logical partition to access at least one I/O resource of the one or more I/O resources assigned to the I/O logical partition;
• wherein the provide logic provides the I/O logical partition with access to a partition management tool for providing the I/O logical partition;
• and
• wherein the partition management tool facilitates at least one managing the I/O logical partition, specifying one or more resources to be allocated to the I/O logical partition, and specifying one or more consumer logical partitions allowed to share at least one I/O resource of the one or more I/O resources.