JP5013324B2 - Computer apparatus and BIOS update method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a computer apparatus and a BIOS update method thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art There is known a computer device that can handle a plurality of functional modules in the device as one control unit or a plurality of control units, or switch the configuration. An example of an apparatus related to this is shown in FIG.

  In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, two functional modules 10 and 20 are individually connected to CPUs (Central Processing Units) 50 and 60, respectively.

  In this configuration, the function modules 10 and 20 and the CPUs 50 and 60 can be divided and handled as two control units. That is, at the time of division, two systems of one CPU 50 and the functional module 10 and the other CPU 60 and the functional module 20 can be constructed.

  On the other hand, both can be handled as one control unit without being divided. At that time, the function modules 10 and 20 are duplicated function modules in one apparatus, and the CPUs 50 and 60 are a large-scale computing resource.

  In this way, a device that can divide and handle resources in the device is called a partition machine, and a divided unit is called a partition.

  When the partition machine shown in FIG. 1 is handled as one partition, one of the two functional modules is a drive system module and the other is a standby system module. Among these, the drive system module performs control. On the other hand, in order to provide redundancy, the standby system module synchronizes with the drive system module about the BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) image and its set value. Therefore, a BIOS duplex function is required.

  As such a BIOS duplex function, what is conventionally used for the purpose of maintaining redundancy is known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 describes a device having two BIOS memories and a work memory on a bus, using one BIOS memory as an active BIOS for operation, and writing an update BIOS on the other. . In this case, in response to an update request from an upper block, the current BIOS is duplicated even during the update process by writing to an appropriate BIOS memory under bus control.

Japanese Patent No. 3778280

  However, the conventional BIOS duplex function does not assume a partition machine as shown in FIG. For this reason, there exists a subject that it cannot respond to operating two BIOS memories in a partition machine as another partition, respectively.

  Further, the BIOS update method in the partition machine has the following problems.

  For example, the BIOS update tool operating on the CPU cannot recognize the state of the BIOS ROM (Read Only Memory) because the OS (Operating System) cannot recognize the south bridge of the standby system module in a one-partition configuration. There was a problem that confirmation of image and confirmation of image destruction could not be performed.

  Specifically, a BIOS update tool that operates on a conventional CPU performs a BIOS update via a south bridge. However, the OS cannot recognize the standby south bridge in the one partition configuration. The reason is that the south bridge of the driving system takes control of I / O (input / output), which is the role of the south bridge, and the standby south bridge enters a dormant state. As a result, the BIOS update tool alone cannot update the standby BIOS, and there is a problem that duplication cannot be realized.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in a one-partition configuration in a partition machine, it is possible to automatically maintain a duplex state at the time of update, to appropriately cope with a configuration change in the partition machine, and to improve the reliability of the duplex function. It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer device and a BIOS update method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, a computer apparatus according to the present invention is connected to a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory storing a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) update tool operating on the CPU, and the CPU. is either configured to handle as a single control unit with a duplicated driving system module and the standby module each other, have a plurality of functional modules that can switch or configuration handled as a plurality of control units, the plurality of functional modules Each includes a south bridge connected to the CPU, a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) connected to the south bridge, and a BIOS ROM connected to the south bridge and the BMC. Using the factor as a trigger, it is determined whether or not the configuration is handled as the one control unit. In the configuration treated as the control unit, each of the BMC of BMC and the standby module side of the driving system module side, and shall be connected directly to the communication bus, BMC of the drive system module side, the drive system Image synchronization processing is performed on the BMC on the standby module side via the communication bus between the BIOS image stored in the BIOS ROM on the module side and the BIOS image stored on the BIOS ROM on the standby system module side It is characterized by making it.

A BIOS update method for a computer apparatus according to the present invention includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory storing a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) update tool operating on the CPU, and the CPU connected to each other. A BIOS update method for a computer device having a plurality of functional modules capable of switching between a configuration in which a dual drive system module and a standby system module are handled as a control unit or a configuration in which the control system is handled as a plurality of control units, Each of the plurality of functional modules includes a south bridge connected to the CPU, a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) connected to the south bridge, and a BIOS ROM connected to the south bridge and the BMC. , Triggered by preset factors, Determine configuration or not treated as serial one control unit, in the case of the configuration handled as the single control unit, each of the BMC of BMC and the standby module side of the driving system module side, directly connected to a communication bus The BMC on the drive system module side communicates between the BIOS image stored in the BIOS ROM on the drive system module side and the BIOS image stored on the BIOS ROM on the standby system module side. The image synchronization processing is executed by the BMC on the standby module side via the bus .

  According to the present invention, the following effects can be achieved.

  The first effect is that the standby BIOS also automatically updates when the update of the drive system BIOS is completed from the BIOS update tool operating on the CPU. Therefore, in the one partition configuration, the duplex state is automatically set at the time of update. It is a point that can be maintained.

  The second effect is that it is possible to appropriately cope with a configuration change in the partition machine because it determines whether or not the BIOS image can be synchronized according to the partition configuration.

  The third effect is that the reliability of the duplex function can be improved by diagnosing the BIOS image of the drive system / standby system and having the function of restoring an abnormal image with a normal image.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the computer apparatus which comprises a partition machine. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the BIOS update method in the computer apparatus which comprises the partition machine which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of image synchronization (step S3) in FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which determines the synchronous origin of step SQ9 of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement in case image synchronization is performed by factors other than the BIOS update instruction | indication from a BIOS update tool.

  Next, an embodiment of a computer device and a BIOS update method thereof according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The present embodiment is applied to a BIOS update method in a computer device constituting the partition machine shown in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, in an environment where a plurality of function modules are duplicated as a drive system module and a standby system module, the function of the BIOS update tool operating on the CPU is complemented, and the BIOS update for the plurality of modules is realized. It has a function of maintaining redundancy without going through.

  Also, according to the present embodiment, whether or not BIOS synchronization can be executed by setting a configuration in a partition machine that can handle a plurality of functional modules as one control unit, a plurality of control units, or a configuration switchable. It has the function to judge.

  Further, the present embodiment has a function of restoring to a state where operation is possible as much as possible even when the process fails due to an abnormality during the BIOS update process.

  Referring to FIG. 1, in the computer apparatus constituting the partition machine according to the present embodiment, two sets of functional modules 10 and 20 include south bridges 12 and 22 and BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) 11 and 21, respectively. The south bridges 12 and 22 and the BMCs 11 and 21 have BIOS ROMs (firmware ROM) 13 and 23 which are firmware memories accessible from both through the memory buses 16 and 26. Further, the BMCs 11 and 21 have image temporary storage areas 14 and 24 that are memory areas for temporarily storing update images in the process of BIOS synchronization processing by the BMC. Furthermore, the BMC 11 and the BMC 21 can communicate with each other via the communication bus 100.

  As the BMCs 11 and 21, those used in the conventional computer system are applied. The BMCs 11 and 21 have a function for performing remote control without depending on the CPUs 11 and 21 and the south bridges 12 and 22, and the south bridges 12 and 22 are suspended. It can operate even in a state. In the present embodiment, the BMCs 11 and 21 execute the synchronization programs 1 and 2.

  The computer apparatus according to the present embodiment can be divided into a maximum of two partitions. In the example of FIG. 1, when a one-partition configuration is adopted, 10 is a drive system module and 20 is a standby system module. The BMC, south bridge, and BIOS ROM mounted on each module are referred to as a drive system BMC 11, a drive system south bridge 12, a drive system BIOS ROM 13, a standby system BMC 21, a standby system south bridge 22, and a standby system BIOS ROM 23.

  The CPUs 50 and 60 have a BIOS update tool 51 in the subordinate main memory 52. Although it is expressed by two CPUs in FIG. 1, it shows that there are two units that can be divided by partitions, and is not an actual number.

  The drive system BMC 11 has a synchronization program 1 and synchronizes the standby system module 20 with the BIOS. When performing synchronization, a function of acquiring the destruction (damage) information and generation information of the BIOS image from the synchronization program 2 executed by the standby BMC 21 using the communication bus 100 and determining which image to synchronize with. Have

  The drive system south bridge 12 reads and executes the BIOS image. Further, it has a function of receiving an update instruction from the update tool 51 and writing an image to the drive system BIOS ROM 13, and has a serial bus 15 for notifying the drive system BMC 11 of completion when writing is completed. The standby south bridge 22 does not operate in a dormant state when it is configured with one partition.

  The drive system BIOS ROM 13 includes a BIOS image storage area for storing the BIOS image, a BIOS setting information, a generation information storage area for storing the BIOS image generation (revision) information, and a damage inspection of the stored BIOS image. Checksum area. The drive system BIOS ROM 13 is connected to the memory bus 16 and can be accessed from the drive system BMC 11 and the drive system south bridge 12 via the memory bus 16. However, normally, the drive system BIOS ROM 13 is accessed from the drive system south bridge 12 via the memory bus 16, and the drive system BIOS ROM 13 is accessed via the memory bus 16 from the drive system BMC 11 only when BIOS synchronization processing is performed. .

  The update tool 51 operating on the CPU 50 directly updates the drive system BIOS ROM 13 via the drive system south bridge 12.

  Next, the operation of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, when the BIOS update instruction from the BIOS update tool 51 is given to the drive system south bridge 12, the drive system south bridge 12 performs the update, and after completion, the drive system BMC 11 uses the serial bus 15 to complete the update. Notification is made (step S1).

  Next, the drive system BMC 11 that has received the update completion notification confirms the partition configuration of the apparatus (step S2). As a result, when the configuration is one partition (step S2: YES), after the BIOS update of the drive system is completed, the BIOS synchronization processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed by communicating with the standby system module (step S3). On the other hand, in the case of a two-partition configuration (step S2: NO), since the duplex function is not provided, the operation is continued without performing the synchronization process (step S4).

  The operation of step S3 in FIG. 2 will be described using the sequence diagram shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, when the synchronization process starts, first, the drive system BMC 11 gives a BIOS image read instruction to the standby system BMC 21 (step SQ1). The standby BMC 21 given the read instruction reads the BIOS image to the standby BIOS ROM 23 (steps SQ5 and SQ6). In the process of reading, checksum diagnosis is performed while storing in the image temporary storage area 24 (step SQ7). The drive system BMC 11 performs the same procedure for the drive system BIOS ROM 13 at the same time (steps SQ2 to SQ4).

  When the standby BMC 21 finishes reading the BIOS image, the standby BMC 21 transmits the BIOS image generation (revision) information and the checksum diagnosis result to the drive BMC 11 (step SQ8). The drive system BMC 11 given the generation information of the standby system BIOS image and the checksum diagnosis result checks the generation of the drive system BIOS image and the generation of the standby system BIOS image, and confirms the failure of the BIOS image by the checksum diagnosis. It is determined which BIOS image is synchronized with the drive system and the standby system (step SQ9), and the subsequent flow is determined (step SQ10).

  The operation of determining the synchronization source in step SQ9 in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  4, the drive system BMC 11 given the generation information and checksum diagnosis result of the standby BIOS image in step SQ8 of FIG. 3 includes the generation information of the drive system BIOS image and the checksum diagnosis result. And subsequent operations are determined (steps S10 and S11).

  The following four types can be taken in the subsequent operations.

  The first is when it is diagnosed from the checksum diagnosis result that there is an abnormality in the standby BIOS image, or there is no problem in both BIOS images, but the generation is different between the drive system and the standby system. The drive system BIOS image is transmitted to the standby system BMC 21, and an update instruction is issued (step S12). The standby BMC 21 receives the image and updates it. After completion, a completion notice is sent to the drive system BMC 11 (step S15).

  Second, when there is a problem with the BIOS image of the drive system, the standby system BMC 21 is requested to transmit the standby system BIOS image (step S13), and the drive system BIOS is updated (step S16).

  The third is a case where there is an abnormality in the BIOS images of both systems and stalls (step S14).

  The fourth is that there is no abnormality in the BIOS of both systems, the generations are the same, and it is determined that synchronization is not necessary, and the synchronization process is terminated (step S17).

  In the flowchart of FIG. 5, a case will be described in which image synchronization is performed by a factor other than an instruction from the update tool.

  In FIG. 5, when the partition configuration is set to one partition (step S21), image synchronization is performed to realize duplexing.

  When the setting value of the BIOS is changed (step S22), since the setting value includes values related to the configuration information and the behavior of the BIOS, the setting contents are synchronized in order to realize duplication in one partition. There is a need. For this purpose, since it is necessary to guarantee the generation coincidence of the BIOS image, the image generation coincidence diagnosis is performed before the set values are synchronized.

  Also, when the drive system BMC 11 starts up a partition to execute the BIOS (step S23), if there is only one partition, generation coincidence diagnosis and failure diagnosis are performed to ensure duplication before starting up.

  If either the drive system or standby system BMC is stalled during synchronization diagnosis or during BIOS image transmission, or if the BMC that is writing during the BIOS image rewrite is stalled, the BMC is used to eliminate the stall. In step S24, the synchronization diagnosis is performed when the BMC is restarted in consideration of the failure of the synchronization process and the destruction of the BIOS image in the BIOS ROM.

  When the above factors (steps S21 to S24) occur, first, the set partition configuration is confirmed (step S25). As a result, if there is one partition (step S25: YES), the BIOS ROM is synchronized (step S26), and the flow shown in the sequence diagram of FIG. 3 is executed. If there are two partitions (step S25: NO), the duplexing function is not provided, so the synchronization process is not performed and the operation is continued (step S27).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the synchronization program 1 receives a BIOS update completion notification from the drive system south bridge 12 and uses the memory bus 16 to obtain a BIOS image from the drive system BIOS ROM 13 which is firmware memory. Read and transmit to the standby BMC 21 through the communication bus 100.

  Also, the generation confirmation of the BIOS image is performed by the drive system BMC 11 and the standby system BMC 21 through the communication bus 100 to confirm whether the standby system module 20 has the same image as the drive system module 10. If they are different, the drive system BIOS image is transmitted to the standby system BMC 21 to synchronize.

  Further, before the synchronization, the image destruction diagnosis of both the drive system BIOS ROM 13 and the standby system BIOS ROM 23 is performed by checksum calculation, and synchronization with the normal image is performed to realize the restoration of the destruction image.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the BIOS update tool has a function of transmitting the BIOS update image of the drive system module 10 to the standby system BMC 21 of the standby system module 20 and performing the update from the standby system BMC 21. Allows BIOS updates to places where direct update is not possible.

  In addition, since the generation synchronization of the BIOS image is realized, even when there is no BIOS update, the configuration of the partition is changed, and duplexing is possible even when synchronization is required. Furthermore, since it has a function of recovering a destructive image, it is possible to improve the reliability of the BIOS image.

  As described above, the present embodiment has the following effects.

  The first effect is that the standby BIOS also automatically updates when the update of the drive system BIOS is completed from the BIOS update tool operating on the CPU. Therefore, in the one partition configuration, the duplex state is automatically set at the time of update. It is a point that can be maintained.

  The second effect is that it is possible to appropriately cope with a configuration change in the partition machine because it determines whether or not the BIOS image can be synchronized according to the partition configuration.

  The third effect is that the reliability of the duplex function can be improved by diagnosing the BIOS image of the drive system / standby system and having the function of restoring an abnormal image with a normal image.

  As another embodiment of the present invention, the basic configuration is as described above, but the same effect can be obtained when more functional modules are mounted in the same partition. By connecting all the BMCs of functional modules existing in the same partition through the communication bus 100, the synchronization method of this embodiment can be applied.

  3 and 4, the checksum is used as the BIOS image abnormality detection function, but error detection that provides the same effect such as CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) and Hamming code, It is obvious that the same effect can be obtained even if the error correction function is used.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various changes that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, the present invention can be used for a computer apparatus constituting a partition machine and its BIOS update method.

1, 2 Synchronization program 10 Drive system module 11 Drive system BMC
12 Drive system south bridge 13 Drive system BIOS ROM
14 Drive system image temporary storage area 15 Drive system serial bus 16 Drive system memory bus 20 Standby system module 21 Standby system BMC
22 Standby South Bridge 23 Standby BIOS ROM
24 Standby system image temporary storage area 25 Standby system serial bus 26 Standby system memory bus 50, 60 CPU
51 Update tool 52, 62 Main memory 100 Communication bus

Claims (10)

CPU (Central Processing Unit)
A main memory for storing a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) update tool operating on the CPU;
A plurality of functional modules that are connected to the CPU and that can be switched between a configuration that handles a single control unit having a drive system module and a standby system module that are duplexed with each other, or a configuration that can be handled as a plurality of control units;
Each of the plurality of functional modules is
A south bridge connected to the CPU;
BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) connected to the south bridge;
A BIOS ROM connected to the south bridge and the BMC;
In response to a preset factor, it is determined whether the configuration is to be handled as the one control unit. In the case of the configuration to be handled as the one control unit, the BMC on the drive system module side and the BMC on the standby system module side are determined. Each of these shall be directly connected to the communication bus,
The BMC on the drive system module side is imaged via the communication bus between the BIOS image stored in the BIOS ROM on the drive system module side and the BIOS image stored in the BIOS ROM on the standby system module side. A computer apparatus that causes a BMC on the standby module side to execute a synchronization process.   In the image synchronization processing, generation verification is performed to determine whether or not the generation of the BIOS image on the drive system module side and the BIOS image on the standby system module side match, and if they do not match, the drive system module 2. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the BIOS image on the standby module side is synchronized with the BIOS image on the side as a synchronization source.   The image synchronization process performs a destructive diagnosis on whether the BIOS image on the drive system module side and the BIOS image on the standby system module side are damaged before the generation verification, and either of them is damaged. 3. The computer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the corrupted BIOS image is synchronized between the drive system module side and the standby system module side using the unbreakable BIOS image as a synchronization source. 4.   4. The computer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the factor includes a notification of completion of the BIOS update to the BMC on the drive system module side. 5.   The factors are: when switching to a configuration handled as the one control unit, when changing the set value of the BIOS, when starting up the configuration handled as the one control unit by the BMC, and when restarting the BMC The computer apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising at least one of: CPU (Central Processing Unit)
A main memory for storing a BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) update tool operating on the CPU;
A computer device having a plurality of functional modules connected to the CPU and capable of switching between a configuration in which a control unit having a drive system module and a standby system module that are duplicated each other and a configuration in which the control unit is handled as a plurality of control units. A BIOS update method,
Each of the plurality of functional modules is
A south bridge connected to the CPU, a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) connected to the south bridge, and a BIOS ROM connected to the south bridge and the BMC;
In response to a preset factor, it is determined whether the configuration is to be handled as the one control unit. In the case of the configuration to be handled as the one control unit, the BMC on the drive system module side and the BMC on the standby system module side are determined. Each of these shall be directly connected to the communication bus,
The BMC on the drive system module side is imaged via the communication bus between the BIOS image stored in the BIOS ROM on the drive system module side and the BIOS image stored in the BIOS ROM on the standby system module side. A BIOS update method for a computer apparatus, characterized in that a synchronization process is executed by a BMC on the standby module side .   In the image synchronization processing, generation verification is performed to determine whether or not the generation of the BIOS image on the drive system module side and the BIOS image on the standby system module side match, and if they do not match, the drive system module 7. The BIOS update method for a computer apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the BIOS image on the standby module side is synchronized with the BIOS image on the side as a synchronization source.   The image synchronization process performs a destructive diagnosis on whether the BIOS image on the drive system module side and the BIOS image on the standby system module side are damaged before the generation verification, and either of them is damaged. 8. The computer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein if there is, the corrupted BIOS image is synchronized between the drive system module side and the standby system module side using a non-damaged BIOS image as a synchronization source. BIOS update method.   9. The BIOS update method for a computer apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the factor includes a notification of completion of the BIOS update to a BMC on the drive system module side.   The factors are: when switching to a configuration handled as the one control unit, when changing the set value of the BIOS, when starting up the configuration handled as the one control unit by the BMC, and when restarting the BMC The BIOS update method for a computer apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising at least one of the following.

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