--- a/src/hotspot/os/aix/os_aix.cpp	Wed Nov 15 08:25:28 2017 -0500
+++ b/src/hotspot/os/aix/os_aix.cpp	Wed Nov 15 10:34:17 2017 -0500
@@ -3545,6 +3545,14 @@
 };
 
 int os::active_processor_count() {
+  // User has overridden the number of active processors
+  if (ActiveProcessorCount > 0) {
+    log_trace(os)("active_processor_count: "
+                  "active processor count set by user : %d",
+                  ActiveProcessorCount);
+    return ActiveProcessorCount;
+  }
+
   int online_cpus = ::sysconf(_SC_NPROCESSORS_ONLN);
   assert(online_cpus > 0 && online_cpus <= processor_count(), "sanity check");
   return online_cpus;