JP2002318642A - Computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for surely controlling the power source OFF of a computer system 11 even when firmware in a management controller 21 having a power source control function runs away, or the management controller 21 itself breaks down. SOLUTION: An I<2> C controller 27 is incorporated in a power source control platter 26, and the power source OFF of a computer system 11 is monitored by an SVP board 19, and when the abnormality of a management controller 21 is detected, a power source OFF instruction is issued to the I<2> C controller 27 incorporated in the power source control platter so that the power source OFF control of the computer system 11 can be executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides management controller with a built-in and power control functions in firmware (hereinafter referred SVP) service processor and (hereinafter referred to I ² C controller) eye-to-sea controller power control with a built-in The present invention relates to a computer system including a platter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in computer systems such as PC servers, not only direct power control by power switches of devices constituting the system, but also power control by a computer system from a remote computer, or the computer system itself by designating time. Power supply control is often performed by unattended operation by the user.

Conventionally, a power supply from a remote computer
The control related to turning off the power by FF or time specification is as follows.
For example, the power supply OF is more than the CPU of the computer system.
F command is issued, the operating system is shut down, and the power is turned off from the management controller.
Issue the F instruction. If the operating system cannot be shut down, the SVP issues a power-off command to the management controller. Where S
The VP is defined as (1) turning on the power of the computer at a fixed time, (2) controlling the power of the computer when the computer is abnormal (the operating system hangs up), and (3) logging information held by the computer. (4) browsing the logging information read in (3) from a personal computer connected via LAN, and (5) controlling the power ON / OFF of the computer from a personal computer connected via LAN. A processing device that manages and controls the system. In this method, however, if the firmware in the management controller runs out of control, the power cannot be turned off normally because the function of the management controller is used in any case.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-10666 discloses a power control program (firmware) in a flash ROM built in a power control microcomputer (management controller) as a method for coping with such a situation.
In the case where is destroyed, a method of rewriting the power supply control program and restoring the power supply control normally has been proposed.

[0005]

When a power-off command is given from a remote computer or a power-off command at a specified time, if the firmware in the management controller runs out of control or if the management controller itself is out of order, the computer may be turned off. Stops with the power on. Also, power on and off from power switch and management controller
Even when the power is controlled by combining the F command, if the firmware in the management controller runs away or the management controller itself breaks down, the power ON / OFF command is incorrectly issued and the power switch is turned off. Control may not be possible.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-10666 discloses a method in which a power control program is rewritten by directly inputting a key to a computer. This is not effective during unattended operation in which the power supply is turned off or the power supply is turned off for a specified time, and the power supply control program runs away, so that the power supply of the computer system cannot be turned off. If the power control microcomputer itself, which is the management controller, has been destroyed, the power control program cannot be rewritten.
I can't do FF.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to surely turn off the power of a computer system even when the management controller firmware runs out of control and the management controller itself is destroyed. The purpose is to provide a way to:

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned object, separately from a management controller,
Power supply disconnecting means for outputting a power supply OFF signal to the power supply device is provided. Further, an abnormality occurrence detecting means for judging the state of the management controller is provided. The abnormality occurrence detecting means, when detecting an abnormality of the management controller, instructs the power-off means to turn off the power. By doing so, the power of the computer system can be reliably turned off even when the firmware of the management controller runs away or the management controller itself has failed.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, an I ² C controller is used as a power-off means. The I ² C controller is an LSI that controls an I ² C bus (hereinafter, referred to as an I ² C bus). The I ² C bus is a device that aims at efficiently performing mutual control between ICs. It is a simple bidirectional bus with a structure consisting of books wires.
The features of this bus are that (1) it consists of two buses, a serial data line and a serial clock line, and (2) each device connected to the bus has its own address. Addressing of each device by software can be performed based on the above, and a simple relationship of master and slave is always established between devices. (3) Even if a plurality of masters try to start data transfer at the same time, This is a full-fledged multi-master bus equipped with a collision detection function and a communication adjustment procedure to prevent data destruction. In addition, a board on which the above-described SVP is mounted (hereinafter referred to as an SVP board) is used as the abnormality occurrence detecting means.

The computer system 11 of this embodiment
Is a motherboard 29, a power supply 28, a power control platter 2
6, HDD platter 23, SCSI board 17, LAN
It has a board 18 and an SVP board 19 and is connected to a remote computer 30 at a remote location via a LAN board 18 and a LAN 33. Here, the power supply control platter is a board that controls the power supply unit. Servers may use more than one power supply to improve capacity and reliability (they are redundant so that one may fail), and the computer is stable even if one power supply unit fails In the case where there are a plurality of power supply units, the function of controlling the distribution of loads is performed. Further, information on the power supply unit (including error information) can be sent to the management controller. HD
The D platter is a board for connecting an HDD (hard disk drive) to a computer, and is a board necessary for performing a hot plug replacement of the HDD (replace a failed HDD while the power of the computer is ON). It is. Further, information of the HDD (including error information) can be sent to the management controller. SCSI
The board is SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
(Acronym for e) This is a type of peripheral device interface for small computers, and is an interface board necessary for operating a hard disk drive (HDD), a magneto-optical disk, and the like on a personal computer. Although omitted because it is not necessary for the function of the present invention, the SCSI board and the HDD platter are usually connected. A LAN board is a LAN connection board.
A LAN (Local Area N) which is a premises network system which is attached to a personal computer and connects computers distributed in a relatively small area such as in the same building or the same site.
It has the function of connecting the transmission medium (cable) of the network and the personal computer.

On a motherboard 29, a CPU 12, a PCI-PCI bridge 14, a system memory 13, and a VGA board (hereinafter referred to as a VGA) of a computer system are provided.
A PCI-PCI bridge 14 and the VGA board 16 are connected by a PCI bus 31. The board 16), a BIOS ROM 22, and a management controller 21 are arranged. The BIOS ROM 22 and the management controller 21 are connected by an Isa bus (hereinafter referred to as an ISA bus) 32. Also, the PCI bus 31 and the ISA
The bus 32 is connected to the PCI-ISA bridge 15. Further, on the motherboard 29, the sensor unit 20,
A power switch 24 and an I ² C controller 25 are mounted. Here, the PCI-PCI bridge is C
Sometimes referred to as a PU-PCI bridge, the CPU
And an LSI for connecting to the PCI bus. The system memory is an internal storage device directly managed by the CPU, and is generally called a memory. In addition to storing programs and data handled by the personal computer, programs and data being executed by the CPU are stored. VGA (Vide
An oGraphics Array (Board) board is a board necessary to display data handled by a personal computer on a display. What is BIOS ROM (Biosrom)?
OS (Basic Input / Output System) ROM (Read On
ly Memory), which is a ROM storing a control program depending on hardware in an OS (Operating System). The management controller is not defined in terms of words, but has built-in firmware. (1) Power control of computer system, (2)
Logging of computer information (including error information) such as information from temperature sensors, HDD platters, and power control platters arranged on the motherboard; (3) monitoring of CPU, memory, PCI bus, and ISA bus; A term used for an LSI having a function of logging information. What is an ISA bus? ISA (Industry Standard
Architecture) bus, which is an external extension bus having a 16-bit width. A keyboard (KB) and a mouse are connected to this bus. A PCI-ISA bridge is a PCI
This is an LSI for connecting the bus and the ISA bus. The above-mentioned SCSI board 17, LAN board 18 and SVP
The board 19 is mounted outside the motherboard.
It is connected to the I bus 31. The power supply 28, the power supply control platter 26, and the HDD platter 23 are also mounted outside the motherboard, and are connected by an I ² C bus 34. An I ² C controller 27 is provided in the power supply control platter 26, and is also connected by an I ² C bus 34. Further, the SVP board 19, the sensor unit 20, the power switch 24 and the I ² C controller 25 are also connected to the I ² C bus 34.

The CPU 12 controls the execution of an operating system, an application program including a device driver and a utility, and the like. The management controller 21 communicates via the I ² C bus 34
It has a function of collecting and logging information from the HDD platter 23, the power control platter 26, and the sensor unit 20.
It also has a power control function,
When a power ON / OFF command is received from the VP board 19,
It has a function of issuing a power ON / OFF signal 35. These functions are controlled by firmware 21A in the management controller 21. The sensor unit 20 includes a CPU abnormality detection sensor, a temperature abnormality sensor, a voltage abnormality sensor, and the like.

The power ON / OFF signal 35 is given by operating the power switch 24 in addition to the power ON / OFF signal from the management controller 21. The power switch 24 and the power off command I ² C controller 25 are connected, and when the power switch 24 issues the power off command, the power off command issuance is notified by the power off command I ² C controller 25. To the SVP board 19.

The SVP board 19 has a computer
Data system power off or remote computer
When a power-off command is received from the
A power-off command is issued by operating the power switch 24.
Power off instruction I ^TwoFrom C controller 25
Power off state of computer system 11 when received
To monitor. The SVP board 19 has a logging function
And the logging of the management roller 21
Results and the computer on the SVP board 19 itself.
Logging of power ON / OFF status. SVP board 1
9 from the remote computer 30
Reference can be made through N33. Also, SVP button
The mode 19 has a power control function, and
Issuing power ON / OFF commands to the controller 21 and
And the management controller 21 is destroyed
I^TwoI of power supply control platter 26 through C bus 34^Two
The power to instruct the C controller to turn off the power
It has a function to issue a power source OFF command.

The power supply control platter 26 has a power ON / OF
Upon receipt of the F signal, it has a function of controlling the power supply to the power supply 28 and a function of reporting the state of the power supply 28 to the management controller 21 via the I ² C bus 34. Further, an I ² C controller 27 is provided inside the power supply control platter 26.
Is built in, and the power is turned off from the SVP board 19.
When receiving the command, a power supply OFF signal 36 is issued to the power supply 28. The I ² C controller 27 built in the power supply control platter 26 has a GPIO (General Purpose I / O) and has a function of performing I / O control through an I ² C bus 34. Here, GPIO is a general-purpose I / O
This is an O port, and a specific purpose is not determined, but can be used for any purpose by setting.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the SVP board 19 in the embodiment of the present invention and the flow of signals for ON / OFF control of the power supply thereby. The SVP board 19
I ² C controller 101, LAN controller 10
2. SVP board driver 103, power ON / OFF
It comprises a monitoring unit 104, a power ON / OFF control unit 105, a fixed time power ON time information unit 106, and a log information unit 107. These are controlled by firmware (not shown) in the SVP board 19.

The I ² C controller 1 of the SVP board 19
01 receives the logging information from the management controller 21 and the power-off command information from the power switch 24 via the power-off command I ² C controller 25 via the I ² C bus 34 as described above. The logging information from the management controller 21 is sent to the log information unit 107. The power-off command information given via the I ² C controller 25 is power-on / off.
The data is sent to the monitoring unit 104. The SVP board 19 issues a power ON / OFF command sent from the power ON / OFF control unit 105 to the management controller 21,
Further, when it is determined that the management controller 21 is abnormal, a power off command is issued to the I ² C controller 27 built in the power supply control platter 26.

The LAN controller 102 receives a power ON command and a log information reference command from the remote computer 30. Power ON from remote computer 30
The command is sent to the power ON / OFF control unit 105. When a log information reference command is received, data is downloaded from the log information unit 107 and sent to the remote computer 30.

The SVP board driver 103 is a PCI
A power ON / OFF command of the computer system 11 issued from the CPU 12 at a specified time via the bus 31 and a power OFF command information from the remote computer 30 are received and sent to the power ON / OFF monitoring unit 104. CPU
12 receives the time designation information of the fixed-time power ON,
The fixed-time power ON time information is written in the fixed-time power ON time information unit 106. Also, information on whether or not the SVP board 19 is in a normal state is sent to the CPU 12 at regular time intervals.
Send to

The power ON / OFF monitoring unit 104 is an SVP
Board driver 103 and I ² C controller 10
1 receives logging information and power on / OF
A power ON / OFF monitoring command is received from the F control unit 105. The power ON / OFF monitoring monitors the status of the PCI bus 108 to monitor the power ON / OFF state. When the power supply is normal and in the ON state, for example, a voltage of DC 5 V is observed on the PCI bus. Power ON / OFF success,
The failure detection result is written to the log information unit 107. If the power-off fails, the power-on / O
The information is sent to the FF control unit 105.

The power ON / OFF control unit 105 receives a power ON command from the fixed time power ON time information unit 106 and a power O
The power-off failure information is received from the N / OFF monitoring unit 104. In the case of the fixed time power ON command, the power ON command is sent to the management controller 21 via the I ² C controller 101. When the information on the power-off failure is received, (1) when it is determined that the operating system has not been shut down normally, a power-off command is issued to the management controller 21, and (2) when the management controller 21 is determined to be abnormal. To the I ² C controller 27 in the power supply platter 26 via the I ² C controller 101, respectively.
Send F command.

The fixed-time power ON time information section 106 stores the SV
The power supply ON time designation information from the P board driver unit 103 is written, and when the power ON time comes, a power ON command is issued to the power ON / OFF control unit 105.

The log information section 107 stores the management controller 2 collected via the I ² C controller 101.
1 and the monitoring result of power ON / OFF by the power ON / OFF monitoring unit 104 is written. When the logging information reference command is issued from the remote computer 30, the logging information is sent to the remote computer 30.

FIG. 3 shows that the computer is turned on at a designated time.
FF and power supply from remote computer OF
7 shows a processing flowchart for the case of setting F. Fixed-time power OFF command or remote computer 30
When a power OFF command is received from the controller (step 301), C
The PU 12 performs a shutdown process of the operating system (Step 302). When the shutdown processing of the operating system is completed, the processing shifts to a power-off processing, and the CPU 12
The management controller 21 issues a power-off signal, and upon receiving the power-off signal,
12 is the SVP board driver section 10 of the SVP board 19
Then, the information of the power-off command is sent to 3 (step 303).
The power ON / OFF monitoring unit 104 of the SVP board 19 determines whether the power is normally turned off (step 3).
04). If the power supply is normally turned off, the log information unit 107 of the SVP board 19 logs that the power supply was successfully turned off (step 305).

If the power-off fails, the power-on / off control unit 105 of the SVP board 19 determines that the shutdown processing of the operating system could not be performed normally (step 306). The power ON / OFF control unit 105 of the SVP board 19 receives the detection result and issues a power OFF command to the management controller 21 (Step 307). The power ON / OFF monitoring unit 104 of the SVP board 19 determines whether the power is normally turned off (step 308). If the power supply is normally turned off, the log information section 1 of the SVP board 19
In step 07, a power-off command is issued from the SVP board 19 to the management controller 21 to perform power-off processing and log that the power-off operation has been normally performed (step 309). If the power supply has failed, the power supply on / off control unit 105 of the SVP board 19 determines that the management controller is abnormal (step 310).

FIG. 4 shows that the power is turned off from the power switch 24.
2 is a flowchart showing a process for performing the following. When a power-off command is issued by operating the power switch 24 (step 401), a signal is transmitted from the power-off command I ² C controller 25 to the SVP board 19 (step 402). The SVP board 19 receives this signal, and the power ON / OFF control unit 105 of the SVP board 19
Sends a power-off command to the management controller 21 via the I ² C controller 101 and the I ² C bus 34 to generate a power-off signal 35. In response, the power supply 28 is turned off (step 40).
3). The power ON / OFF monitoring unit 104 monitors the power OFF state (step 404). If the power supply is normally turned off, the log information unit 107 of the SVP board 19 logs that the power supply was successfully turned off (step 4).
05). If the power-off fails, the SVP board 19
The power ON / OFF control unit 105 determines that the power OFF command has been improperly issued due to the abnormality of the management controller 21 and the power control by the power switch 24 could not be performed (step 406).

FIG. 5 is a processing flowchart when it is determined that the management controller has been destroyed. Power ON / OFF control unit 105 of SVP board 19
Issues a management controller abnormality process when it determines that the management controller 21 has been destroyed (step 501). Power supply of SVP board 19
The N / OFF control unit 105 issues a power OFF command to the I ² C controller 27 built in the power control platter 26 (step 502). I ^{2 with} built-in power control platter
The power off signal 36 is issued from the C controller 27, and the power is turned off (step 503). The SVP board 19 logs that the management controller 21 has been destroyed to the log information section 107 of the SVP board 19 (Step 504).

When it is determined that the management controller is abnormal and a forced power OFF command is issued from the SVP board to the I ² C controller with a built-in power supply platter,
By utilizing the logging function of the SVP board, the information to that effect can be logged, for example, "A forced power OFF command has been issued from the SVP board 19 to the I ² C controller 27 with a built-in power control platter." In addition, information for determining that the motherboard needs to be replaced during maintenance work can be provided to the maintenance person.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Even when the firmware of the management controller 21 runs out of control or the management controller 21 itself breaks down and the power off signal 35 cannot be issued from the management controller 21 to the power supply control platter 26, the power supply from the remote computer 30 or the specified time can be used. The power can be turned off. The power can be turned off even when the power is turned off from the power switch 24 because the power off signal is improperly issued due to the destruction of the management controller 21.

The logging information 1 of the SVP board 19
At 07, logging is performed so that it is possible to know which means was used to turn off the power. Management controller 21
When the SVP board 19 issues a power-off command from the SVP board 19 to the I ² C controller 27 with a built-in power control platter, the logging information 107 of the SVP board 19 includes
"I ² C with built-in power control platter from SVP board 19
A forced power-off command has been issued to the controller 27. " Based on this information, it can be determined that the motherboard 29 needs to be replaced during maintenance work.

In this embodiment, as in the case of the management controller 21, an I ² C controller 27 having a power-off function is mounted on the power supply control platter 26, and a power-off process is performed when an abnormality occurs in the management controller 21. Are integrated into the power supply control platter 26, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example,
The power supply OFF instruction I ² C controller 25 is provided with the same function, and when an abnormality occurs when the power supply OFF command is issued from the power switch 24, the power supply OFF instruction I ² C
A power-off command may be issued from the SVP board 19 to the controller 25.

[0032]

According to the present invention, the power supply disconnecting means is provided separately from the management controller, and further, the abnormality detecting means of the management controller is provided, and the power OFF command is issued from the abnormality detecting means to the power disconnecting means. By doing so, there is an effect that the power of the computer can be surely turned off even when the firmware of the management controller runs away or the management controller itself is destroyed.

Further, logging is performed so that it is possible to know which means has been used to turn off the power in the logging information of the abnormality occurrence detecting means, which is effective during maintenance work.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary view for explaining a configuration of an SVP board in the embodiment and a flow of a signal for power ON / OFF control based on the configuration.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a processing flowchart in a case where a computer is turned off at a designated time and a power is turned off from a remote computer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of turning off a power supply from a power switch.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flowchart when it is determined that the management controller has been destroyed.

[Explanation of symbols]

11: Computer system, 12: CPU, 13: System memory, 14: PCI-PCI bridge, 15:
PCI-ISA bridge, 16: VGA board, 17:
SCSI, 18: LAN board, 19: SVP board,
20: sensor unit, 21: management controller,
22: BIOS ROM, 23: HDD platter, 2
4: Power switch, 25: I ² C controller for power off command, 26: Power control platter, 27: I ² C controller with built-in power control platter, 28: Power supply, 29: Motherboard, 30: Remote computer, 31: PC
I bus, 32: ISA bus, 33: LAN, 34: I ²
C bus, 35: power ON / OFF signal, 36: power OF
F signal, 101: I ² C controller in SVP board,
102: LAN controller, 103; SVP board driver unit, 104: power ON / OFF monitoring unit, 105:
Power ON / OFF control unit, 106: fixed time power ON time information unit, 107: log information unit, 108: PCI bus 5V
Voltage monitoring.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kuki Watanabe 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside Hitachi Asahi Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuomi Mori 810 Shimoimaizumi, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Yasuhiko Imai 810 Shimoimaizumi, Ebina-shi, Kanagawa F-term (reference) in the Internet Platform Division of Hitachi, Ltd. 5B011 DA01 DC06 FF03 GG16 HH02 JA14 MA01

Claims (3)

[Claims] A power supply for supplying power to the system;
Power control means for controlling the entire power supply of the system by a program to turn on / off the power supply, abnormality detection means for detecting an abnormality of the power supply control means and issuing a signal for instructing a power-off process; A computer system comprising: a power-off means for receiving and performing a power-off process for the power supply device. 2. The abnormality detecting means has a function of monitoring a power control function by the power control means and a function of logging a control state, and the abnormality detecting means determines that power OFF by the power control means cannot be controlled. 2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein when the abnormality detection unit issues a power-off command to the power control unit, the abnormality detection unit provides information to that effect to a maintenance service person of the computer system. 3. A power supply device for supplying power to the system, wherein ON / OFF information of a power switch can be communicated to the power control means.
3. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein when the power of the computer system cannot be turned off by the FF operation, the abnormality detection unit determines that the power control unit is abnormal and issues a power-off command to the computer system.