Method for inter partition communication within a logical partitioned data processing system

A method of sharing information between a plurality of partitions in a partitioned data processing system, wherein a specific block of memory is assigned to each partition and is accessible by the assigned partition, comprising the steps of:

• assigning an area of said specific block of memory of each partition to an inter partition communication area (IPCA),
• all of IPCA's together forming a virtual memory that needs to be accessed by at least one other of said plurality of partitions,
• controlling each partition using a hypervisor,
• limiting inter partition communication between each IPCA of each partition sharing a section of a common memory with other IPCA's of other partitions;
• and
• during control of each partition using the hypervisor, in an event one partition requires additional resources, an ICPA of a requesting partition communicates with IPCA's of all other partitions to determine whether additional resources from the virtual memory may be allocated to the requesting partition, and in the event the virtual memory informs the ICPA of the requesting partition that resources are being reallocated to a second partition, the ICPA of the requesting partition writes to the ICPA of the second partition regarding the resources being reallocated.