CN114637538A - Baseboard management control system, electronic device and baseboard management control method - Google Patents

Abstract

A substrate management control system, an electronic device and a substrate management control method are suitable for the electronic device, are used for setting the hardware configuration of at least one hardware component connected with the electronic device, and comprise a erasable memory and a substrate management controller. The erasable memory stores a hardware description file; the hardware description file records hardware description language program codes of at least one paragraph, and the hardware description language program codes of at least one paragraph correspond to at least one hardware component. The substrate management controller is electrically connected with at least one hardware component and the erasable memory; the baseboard management controller is used for loading and executing a kernel program to carry out an initialization stage, and the baseboard management controller loads and executes an analysis program in the initialization stage and loads the hardware description file by the erasable memory. Based on executing the parsing program, the baseboard management controller parses the hardware description language program code of at least one section to generate necessary files for communication connection with the hardware component.

Description

Baseboard management control system, electronic device and baseboard management control method

technical field

The present invention relates to a baseboard management controller, in particular to a baseboard management control system, an electronic device applying the baseboard management control system, and a baseboard management control method.

Background technique

When the server host is shipped, the necessary hardware components, such as thermocouples, fans, etc., will be set according to the configuration of the hard disk, central processing unit, and memory. At this time, the baseboard management controller will write necessary firmware according to the configuration of the hardware components, so that the baseboard management controller can control the hardware components, and correctly receive and interpret the data returned by the hardware components. For example, the baseboard management controller needs to have the correct settings to control the fan speed with the correct pins and commands, and can interpret the speed according to the electrical signal responded by the fan, and give the correct mark of the speed (from the speed of the fan No. ); Similarly, the baseboard management controller needs to have the correct settings to correctly interpret the temperature according to the electrical signal responded by the thermocouple, and give the correct temperature mark (the temperature from the number of the thermocouple).

If the configuration of the aforementioned hardware components is changed, for example, the location is changed or the number is increased or decreased, the settings in the firmware of the baseboard management controller will not conform to the new configuration of the hardware components. At this point, the firmware must be updated.

The update of the existing baseboard management controller firmware is based on the hardware component configuration provided by the user. After compiling the new program code and packaging it as an image file, the user or engineer operates the equipment to overwrite the baseboard management controller firmware with the image file. . The aforementioned change operation is troublesome (re-packaging is required), the user needs are diversified, and the hardware component configuration change and the core program update are mixed in the same image file, which makes the version management of the baseboard management controller firmware difficult.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on the above technical issues, the present invention provides a baseboard management control system, an electronic device applying the baseboard management control system, and a baseboard management control method, which can simplify firmware update steps and simplify firmware version management.

The present invention provides a baseboard management control system, suitable for an electronic device, for setting the hardware configuration of at least one hardware component connected to the electronic device, including a rewritable memory and a baseboard management controller. The erasable memory stores a hardware description file; the hardware description file records at least one paragraph of hardware description language code, and at least one paragraph of the hardware description language code corresponds to at least one hardware component. The baseboard management controller is electrically connected to at least one hardware component and the rewritable memory; the baseboard management controller is used for loading and executing a kernel program to perform an initialization stage, and the baseboard management controller loads and executes the parsing program in the initialization stage , and load the hardware description file from the erasable memory. Based on the execution of the parsing program, the baseboard management controller parses at least one paragraph of the hardware description language program code to generate necessary files for communicating with the hardware components.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management controller establishes a communication link with at least one hardware component according to necessary files, and completes the initialization phase to control at least one hardware component or receive a signal returned by at least one hardware component.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management control system further includes a data source that stores at least one updated version of the hardware description file, and the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source to obtain the updated version of the hardware description file, and to store the updated version of the hardware description file. The description file is written into the erasable memory, overwriting the original hardware description file.

Preferably, the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a network interface.

Preferably, the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a bus connection interface.

The present invention also provides an electronic device for connecting to at least one hardware component, including a system chip set, a central processing unit, at least one volatile memory connection interface, at least one bus connection interface, a network interface and a power supply management circuit. The central processing unit is electrically connected to the system chip set for a central processing unit to be connected to the system chip set. The volatile memory connection interface is electrically connected to the SoC for connecting a memory module to the SoC. The bus connection interface is electrically connected to the system chip set for connecting a peripheral device to the system chip set. The network interface is electrically connected to the system chip set for connecting to a network. The power management circuit is used for outputting power to the central processing unit, the system chip set, the volatile memory connection interface, the bus connection interface and the network interface. The system chipset further includes the aforementioned baseboard management control system for setting the hardware configuration of at least one hardware component connected to the electronic device.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management controller is connected to a data source through a network interface, so as to obtain an updated version of the hardware description file from the data source, and write the updated version of the hardware description file into the rewritable memory, overwriting the original version of the hardware description file. There are hardware description files.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management controller is connected to a data source through a bus connection interface, so as to obtain an updated version of the hardware description file from the data source, and write the updated version of the hardware description file into the rewritable memory, overwriting The original hardware description file.

The present invention also provides a baseboard management control method, which is suitable for an electronic device to set the hardware configuration of at least one hardware component connected to the electronic device.

The substrate control and management method includes: storing at least one hardware description file in a rewritable memory; wherein, the hardware description file records at least one paragraph of hardware description language program code corresponding to at least one hardware component; after the electronic device starts a boot phase , start a baseboard management controller to load and execute a kernel program, so that the baseboard management controller performs an initialization phase; load and execute a parsing program with the baseboard management controller, and load at least one hardware description from the erasable memory file; and based on executing the parsing program, the baseboard management controller parses at least one paragraph of hardware description language program code to generate a necessary file for communicating with at least one hardware component.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management control method further includes the baseboard management controller establishing a communication link with at least one hardware component according to necessary files, and completing an initialization phase to control at least one hardware component or receive a return from at least one hardware component signal of.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management control method further includes connecting the baseboard management controller to a data source, obtaining an updated version of the hardware description file from the data source, and writing the updated version of the hardware description file into the rewritable memory, overwriting Write the original hardware description file.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a network interface.

In at least one embodiment, the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a bus connection interface.

According to the present invention, in most cases, the user's demand for firmware update is only the update demand for the hardware description file, without changing the kernel program or parsing program of the baseboard management controller, simplifying the firmware update process, and making the version management Simplified. In addition, the update process of the hardware description file does not involve the modification and programming of the basic firmware (ie, the kernel program and the parsing program), which can reduce the problem that the baseboard management controller cannot be started at all due to firmware reading errors. Therefore, the firmware update operation is more suitable for processing on the local computer of the electronic device, and there is no need to use an external programming device to burn the firmware of the baseboard management controller.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram of an electronic device in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a baseboard management control system in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a hardware description file, a hardware description language program code, and hardware components in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a baseboard management controller loading and parsing a hardware description file in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a baseboard management control method in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a baseboard management controller connected to a data source in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of updating a hardware description file in an embodiment of the present invention.

Among them, the reference numerals are described as follows:

10: Electronics

11: Board body

12: CPU connection interface

13: System Chipset

13a: Path Controller

13b: Logic chip

14: Volatile memory connection interface

15: Bus connection interface

16: Network interface

17: Power management circuit

100: Baseboard Management Control System

110: Erasable memory

112: Hardware description file

112': Updated hardware description file

120: Baseboard Management Controller

122: Kernel program

124: Parser

200: Hardware Components

300: Data Source

Detailed ways

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , a baseboard management control system 100 disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for an electronic device 10 to manage one or more hardware components 200 disposed in the electronic device 10 . The electronic device 10 can be a motherboard, a server, a computer host or a barebones host. The electronic device 10 of this embodiment is described by taking a motherboard as an example. The hardware components 200 include, but are not limited to, temperature sensors (eg, thermocouples), fans, switch ICs, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the mainboard at least includes a board body 11 , a central processing unit connection interface 12 , a system chip set 13 , one or more volatile memory connection interfaces 14 , and one or more bus connections Interface 15 , a network interface 16 and a power management circuit 17 . The system chip set 13 includes a path controller 13 a , a logic chip 13 b and a baseboard management control system 100 . The above-mentioned combination of the path controller 13 a and the logic chip 13 b is only an example, and the composition of the system chip set 13 in other forms is not excluded.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the board body 11 may be a printed circuit board having a printed circuit to provide electrical connections. The board body 11 does not exclude other forms of board parts, and the electrical connection between the components is achieved by wires. The aforementioned CPU connection interface 12 , system chip set 13 , volatile memory connection interface 14 , bus connection interface 15 , network interface 16 and power management circuit 17 are disposed on the board body 11 to provide the functions required by the motherboard. The power management circuit 17 is used for being connected to the power supply, so as to receive the working power provided by the power supply, convert it into an appropriate voltage and output the power to different electronic components. The arrows shown in FIG. 1 represent power transmission lines. The CPU connection interface 12 is electrically connected to the SoC 13 for connecting the CPU to the SoC 13 . The volatile memory connection interface 14 is electrically connected to the SoC 13 for connecting the memory modules to the SoC 13 . The bus connection interface 15 includes, but is not limited to, a hard disk connection interface, an expansion card connection interface, a graphics card (or graphics chip) connection interface, a universal serial bus, or pins directly disposed on the system chipset 13 . The bus connection interface 15 is electrically connected to the SoC 13 for connecting peripheral devices, such as hard disk drives, to the SoC 13 . The hardware component 200 is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the baseboard management control system 100 . The network interface 16 is electrically connected to the SoC 13 for connecting the motherboard to the network. The central processing unit connection interface 12 and the volatile memory connection interface 14 do not necessarily exist in the form of electrical connectors, and may also be reserved welding circuit pins.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the baseboard management control system 100 is disposed on the board body 11 of the motherboard for setting the hardware configuration of the hardware component 200 . The baseboard management control system 100 includes an erasable memory 110 and a baseboard management controller (BMC) 120 .

As shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 . The erasable memory 110 can be a non-volatile storage device such as EEPROM, flash memory, etc., which can be erased and written through a connection interface. The erasable memory 110 stores a hardware description file 112 (HardwareDescription file). The hardware description file 112 records one or more paragraphs of hardware description language code (Hardware Description Language Code), and each paragraph of the hardware description language code corresponds to one hardware component 200 . According to the management platform standard, the hardware description language code can be applied to the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), Redfish extensible platform management API, and network boot related protocols. The hardware description language code can also include a URL to For the baseboard management controller 120 to connect to the remote data source 300 .

As shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , the baseboard management controller 120 is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the hardware components 200 and the rewritable memory 110 . The baseboard management controller 120 is used for executing a kernel program 122 and a parsing program 124 . As shown in FIG. 4 , after the necessary components installed in the electronic device 10 can be powered on, the baseboard management controller 120 can load and execute the kernel program 122 during the booting phase of the electronic device 10 to execute the baseboard management controller 120 the initialization phase itself. The baseboard management controller 120 executes the parsing program 124 in the initialization phase to load the hardware description file 112 from the erasable memory 110 . Based on executing the parsing program 124 , the baseboard management controller 120 parses the hardware description language code of one or more paragraphs in the hardware description file 112 to generate necessary files, such as drivers, for communication with each hardware component 200 . Next, the baseboard management controller 120 establishes a communication link with the hardware components 200 and completes the initialization phase to control the hardware components 200 or receive signals returned by the hardware components 200 .

As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the hardware description language program code is a language used to describe the function and behavior of the hardware component 200, and can describe the digital circuit system at the register transfer level, behavior level, logic gate level, etc., so as to facilitate The baseboard management controller 120 identifies the hardware component 200 and establishes a communication link. The parsing program 124 of the baseboard management controller 120 can generate necessary files (drivers compiled into executable binary codes) corresponding to the hardware components 200 according to the description of the hardware description language program code, so that the kernel program executed by the baseboard management controller 120 122 can initialize the hardware components 200 and establish a communication link with each hardware component 200, so as to use correct logic to control the hardware components 200 subsequently, and receive and correctly parse the signals returned by the hardware components 200.

The following is an example of the hardware description file 112, illustrating what may be recorded by the hardware description language code. In this example, the baseboard management controller 120 of the model AST2500 of ASPEED Technology Inc., the switch IC of the model PCA9545 of Texas Instruments, and the thermocouple connected to the PCA9545 are used. The examples are not intended to limit the types of hardware components 200 that can be applied to the specific implementation of the present invention.

In the above example, the set of switch IC, motherboard thermocouple, and CPU thermocouple can be regarded as a hardware component 200, and the program codes in lines 1 to 17 mentioned above are regarded as a paragraph of HDL code. The switch IC, the motherboard thermocouple, and the CPU thermocouple can be regarded as multiple other hardware components 200 , and the program codes of the aforementioned line numbers 1 to 17 are regarded as multiple paragraphs of hardware description language program codes, and each paragraph corresponds to a Hardware components 200 . When the switch IC model is changed, the number/location of thermocouples on the motherboard, the number/location of CPU thermocouples are changed, or even new hardware components 200 are added, it means that one or more hardware components 200 are changed. In this case, the original hardware description language code is not applicable to the new one or more hardware components 200 . For example, when adding a hard disk thermocouple to detect the hard disk temperature, the content of line numbers 1 to 17 will lack the HDL code corresponding to the hard disk thermocouple; for example, the motherboard thermocouple is removed or When it is changed to detect GPU temperature, the program code section corresponding to the thermocouple of the motherboard will not match the actual configuration. For another example, when a CPU fan is added, the hardware description language program code needs to include a command for controlling the rotational speed of the fan and a method for parsing the rotational speed returned by the fan.

According to the present invention, in the aforementioned case, the basic firmware (kernel program 122, parsing program 124) of the baseboard management controller 120 itself does not need to be updated and upgraded, and only needs to read and write to the erasable memory 110, and the hardware description file 112 It is enough to replace it with the updated file; even, the user can rewrite the content of the hardware description file 112 by executing the plain text editing program when the electronic device 10 is turned on, and write the modified hardware description file 112 into the erasable and rewritable file. The memory 110 overwrites the original hardware description file 112 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , based on the above-mentioned electronic device 10 , the present invention further provides a baseboard management control method applicable to the electronic device 10 for setting the hardware configuration of at least one hardware component 200 connected to the electronic device 10 . The steps of the baseboard management control method are as follows.

As shown in FIG. 5 , first, the hardware description file 112 is stored in the erasable memory 110 , as shown in step S110 . The hardware description file 112 records one or more paragraphs of hardware description language program code corresponding to one or more hardware components 200 . The way to store the hardware description file 112 in the erasable memory 110 may be to directly write to the erasable memory 110 with a dedicated read/write device; The erasable memory 110 reads and writes to modify or update the hardware description file 112 already stored in the erasable memory 110

As shown in FIG. 5 , after the electronic device 10 starts the boot phase, the baseboard management controller 120 is started to load and execute the kernel program 122 , so that the baseboard management controller 120 performs the initialization phase, as shown in steps S120 and S130 . Next, the baseboard management controller 120 loads and executes the parsing program 124, and loads the hardware description file 112 from the rewritable memory 110, as shown in step S140.

As shown in FIG. 5 , then, based on the execution of the parsing program 124 , the baseboard management controller 120 parses the hardware description language code of one or more paragraphs in the hardware description file 112 to generate the necessary communication links with the hardware components 200 . file, as shown in step S150. Finally, the baseboard management controller 120 can establish a communication link with the hardware components 200 according to necessary files, such as drivers, and complete the initialization phase to control the hardware components 200 or receive signals returned by the hardware components 200 .

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , when the electronic device 10 is powered on, the baseboard management controller 120 can be directly or indirectly connected to the data source 300 . For example, the baseboard management controller 120 can be connected to a remote server through the network interface 16 shown in FIG. 1 , and the server is used as the data source 300 . For another example, the baseboard management controller 120 may be connected to the hard disk drive at the local end through the bus connection interface 15 as shown in FIG. 1 , using the hard disk drive as the data source 300 .

As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , the data source 300 is used to store the updated version of the hardware description file 112 ′. Through the connection between the baseboard management controller 120 and the data source 300 , the baseboard management controller 120 can obtain the updated hardware description file 112 ′ from the data source 300 . Next, the kernel program 122 of the baseboard management controller 120 can read the hardware description language program code of one or more paragraphs in the updated version of the hardware description file 112' to convert the updated version of the hardware description file 112' into a necessary file format, The updated hardware description file 112 ′ is written into the erasable memory 110 as a new hardware description file 112 , and the original hardware description file 112 is overwritten to conform to the current or scheduled change of the configuration of the hardware component 200 .

A plurality of updated hardware description files 112 ′ may be stored in the data source 300 , and each updated hardware description file 112 ′ matches a configuration of a hardware component 200 . Therefore, for the user, when operating the electronic device 10, as long as the configuration of the hardware component 200 is confirmed, the program can be used to operate the baseboard management controller 120 to obtain the corresponding updated version of the hardware description file 112' from the data source 300, and write into the erasable memory 110 for updating the hardware description file 112 . The aforementioned update process of the hardware description file 112 does not involve the firmware update of the baseboard management controller 120 itself. Therefore, the firmware of the baseboard management controller 120 can be divided into the version management of the basic firmware and the version management of the hardware description file 112 .

In most cases, the user only needs to update the hardware description file 112, and therefore, the version management will be simplified, and there is no need to interleave the version management of the basic firmware and the version management of the hardware description file 112. ; The version of the basic firmware and the version of the hardware description file 112 can be managed individually. In addition, the update process of the hardware description file 112 does not involve the modification and programming of the basic firmware, which can reduce the problem that the baseboard management controller 120 cannot be started completely due to the firmware reading error; even if the writing is wrong, the baseboard management controller 120 can The writing of the hardware description file 112 can still be performed again in the startup state. Therefore, the update operation is more suitable for processing on the local computer of the electronic device 10 , and it is not necessary to use an external programming device to burn the firmware of the baseboard management controller 120 .

Claims (13)

1. A baseboard management control system, suitable for an electronic device, to set the hardware configuration of at least one hardware component connected to the electronic device, wherein the baseboard management control system comprises: an erasable memory storing a hardware description file; the hardware description file records at least one paragraph of hardware description language code, and the at least one paragraph of hardware description language code corresponds to the at least one hardware component; and a baseboard management controller electrically connected to the at least one hardware component and the erasable memory; the baseboard management controller is used for loading and executing a kernel program to perform an initialization phase, and the baseboard management controller is connected to the Loading and executing a parsing program in the initialization phase, and loading the hardware description file from the erasable memory; wherein, based on executing the parsing program, the baseboard management controller parses the hardware description language code of the at least one paragraph to generate Necessary files for communication with the at least one hardware component. 2 . The baseboard management control system of claim 1 , wherein the baseboard management controller establishes a communication link with the at least one hardware component according to the necessary file, and completes the initialization phase to control the at least one hardware component 2 . component or receive a signal returned by the at least one hardware component. 3 . The baseboard management control system of claim 1 , wherein the baseboard management control system further comprises a data source storing at least one updated version of the hardware description file, and the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source 3 . , used to obtain the at least one updated version of the hardware description file, write the at least one updated version of the hardware description file into the rewritable memory, and overwrite the original hardware description file. 4 . The baseboard management control system of claim 3 , wherein the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a network interface. 5 . 5 . The baseboard management control system of claim 3 , wherein the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a bus connection interface. 6 . 6. An electronic device for connecting to at least one hardware component, wherein the electronic device comprises: a system chipset; a central processing unit electrically connected to the system chip set for a central processing unit to be connected to the system chip set; at least one volatile memory connection interface electrically connected to the system chip set for connecting a memory module to the system chip set; at least one bus connection interface electrically connected to the system chip set for connecting a peripheral device to the system chip set; a network interface electrically connected to the system chipset for connecting to a network; a power management circuit for outputting power to the central processing unit, the system chip set, the at least one volatile memory connection interface, the at least one bus connection interface and the network interface; Wherein, the system chipset further includes the baseboard management control system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 2, for setting the hardware configuration of the at least one hardware component connected to the electronic device. 7 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the baseboard management controller is connected to a data source through the network interface, for obtaining an updated version of the hardware description file from the data source, and storing the updated version of the hardware description file from the data source. The hardware description file is written into the erasable memory, overwriting the original hardware description file. 8 . The electronic device of claim 6 , wherein the baseboard management controller is connected to a data source through the at least one bus connection interface, and is used for obtaining an updated hardware description file from the data source and converting the The updated hardware description file is written into the rewritable memory, overwriting the original hardware description file. 9. A baseboard management control method, suitable for an electronic device for setting a hardware configuration of at least one hardware component connected to the electronic device, wherein the baseboard management method comprises: storing at least one hardware description file in an erasable memory; wherein, the at least one hardware description file records at least one paragraph of hardware description language code corresponding to the at least one hardware component; After the electronic device starts a boot phase, a baseboard management controller is started to load and execute a kernel program, so that the baseboard management controller performs an initialization phase; Loading and executing a parsing program by the baseboard management controller, and loading the at least one hardware description file from the erasable memory; and Based on executing the parsing program, the baseboard management controller parses the hardware description language program code of the at least one paragraph, and generates a necessary file for communicating with the at least one hardware component. 10 . The baseboard management control method of claim 9 , wherein the baseboard management method further comprises: establishing a communication link with the at least one hardware component by the baseboard management controller according to the necessary file, and completing the In the initialization phase, the at least one hardware component is controlled or a signal returned by the at least one hardware component is received. 11 . The baseboard management control method of claim 9 , wherein the baseboard management method further comprises: connecting the baseboard management controller to a data source, and obtaining an updated hardware description file from the data source, 11 . and write the updated hardware description file into the rewritable memory to overwrite the original at least one hardware description file. 12 . The baseboard management control method of claim 11 , wherein the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a network interface. 13 . 13 . The baseboard management control method of claim 11 , wherein the baseboard management controller is connected to the data source through a bus connection interface. 14 .

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