A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that, in an
embodiment, simulate allocation of a simulated resource to simulated
partitions in a simulated logically-partitioned computer and determine
whether the allocation conflicts. The simulation may include summing
amounts of the simulated resource for the simulated partition in an
order, where the order of the simulated partitions is received via a user
interface. In various embodiments, the allocation may conflict if the
allocation exceeds the capacity of the simulated logically-partitioned
computer or if the simulated resource is restricted to exclusive
allocation. The result of the simulation, including whether the
allocation conflicts, is presented via the user interface. In various
embodiments, the simulated resource may be memory, an I/O controller, or
a storage device.