System partitioning to present software as platform level functionality including mode logic to maintain and enforce partitioning in first and configure partitioning in second mode

A method comprising:

• in response to at least one event, reversibly switching a processor, by mode logic included in the processor, from a first mode to a second mode to partition a system, wherein the processor includes partitioning logic configurable only in the second mode;
• partitioning, by the processor, the system into a first partition to execute first operating system software to manage a first plurality of resources as individually accessible to the first operating system software, and a second partition to execute second operating system software to manage a second plurality of resources as individually accessible to the second operating system software;
• enforcing the partitioning of the first partition and the second partition in the first mode;
• and
• presenting the second partition, including the second operating system software, to the first operating system as a device implementing a specific platform level functionality and embedded in the system.

A system comprising:

• a plurality of processors;
• and
• a partition manager to allocate a first subset of the plurality of processors to a first partition, the first partition to execute first operating system software to manage the first subset of the plurality of processors as resources individually accessible to the first operating system software, the partition manager also to allocate a second subset of the plurality of processors to a second partition, the second partition to execute second operating system software to manage the second subset of processors as resources individually accessible to the second operating system software, and the partition manager also to present the second partition, including the second operating system software, to the first operating system as a device implementing a specific platform level functionality and embedded in the system;
• wherein at least one of the processors includes:
• partitioning logic to support the allocation of the first subset of processors to the first partition and the allocation of the second subset of processors to the second partition;
• and
• mode logic to provide a second mode to execute the partition manager and a first mode to execute at least one of the first operating system software and the second operating system software, wherein the partitioning logic is configurable in the second mode, wherein the mode logic is to provide the second mode in response to at least one event.