A partition manager includes a resource detection mechanism that uses a
persistent resource database to determine which resources were seen
previously, and to determine which resources are required for a logical
partition to start. Once all required resources for a logical partition
are detected, the logical partition is started. In this manner, a logical
partition may be started as soon as all of its resources are available,
without waiting on the resources of other logical partitions. In
addition, a missing required resource will prevent a logical partition
from starting, thus avoiding the crash of a logical partition due to
missing resources.