JP2016122268A - Information processing device, bios setting information change method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information processing device, a BIOS setting information change method, and a computer program that shorten the time required for startup when changing BIOS setting information by an external tool.SOLUTION: An information processing device 1 starts on the basis of BIOS setting information. The information processing device includes: an input unit 2 that inputs change information for the BIOS setting information; a storage unit 4 that stores BIOS setting information; and a change unit 3 that initializes a memory by referring to the change information which is input by the input unit 2 when rebooting the information processing unit 1 and the BIOS setting information which is stored in the storage unit 4, and then changes the BIOS setting information which is stored in the storage unit 4 on the basis of the change information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to changing BIOS setting information referred to by a BIOS.

  BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is a program mounted on a motherboard of an information processing apparatus such as a computer.

  The BIOS refers to the BIOS setting information, determines the number of cores of peripheral devices and CPU (Central Processing Unit), the operation mode of the memory, and the like, and performs processing necessary for starting up the OS (Operating System).

  There are two methods for the user to update the BIOS setting information. The first method is a method of updating using a BIOS setup menu. The other method is a method of updating with an external tool that operates in an information processing apparatus different from the information processing apparatus. In either means, it is necessary to restart the information processing apparatus (hereinafter also referred to as “reboot” or simply “startup”) in order to reflect the updated BIOS setting information.

  In addition, in the latter method of updating with an external tool, the information processing apparatus must be rebooted once more. This is because of the restriction due to the timing of synchronizing the value updated by the external tool with the BIOS setup menu. In order for the BIOS to use the BIOS setting information updated by the external tool, the BIOS needs to perform a synchronization process on the BIOS setting information before executing the memory initialization process. However, the BIOS operates by using the CPU cache as a memory in the phase before the memory initialization process. Therefore, the BIOS cannot load a large amount of data in which the BIOS setting information is stored on the memory. Therefore, after it becomes possible to secure a large amount of memory by performing the memory initialization process, the BIOS executes the synchronization process for the BIOS setting information. When the BIOS setting information is changed by this synchronization processing, it is necessary to reboot the information processing apparatus with reference to the changed setting information. Therefore, when BIOS setting information is updated by an external tool, one reboot occurs frequently.

  In an information processing apparatus having a small configuration, one reboot is not a significant problem in the startup time. However, in an information processing apparatus with a large-scale configuration, the memory initialization process occupies most of the startup time. By rebooting again after the memory initialization, the overall startup time becomes approximately twice as long as the normal startup time. . This hinders the maintenance and operation work of the system including the information processing apparatus.

  Here, as related technologies existing prior to the present application, there are, for example, the following patent documents.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an information processing apparatus that changes the BIOS parameters in a very short time without affecting the BIOS module configuration.

  Patent Document 2 can update BIOS setting information at a convenient timing while referring to the BIOS setting at that time, and suppresses an increase in downtime of the information processing apparatus targeted for BIOS setting update. An information processing apparatus is disclosed.

JP-A-11-161484 JP 2012-098857 A

  Patent Document 1 aims to shorten the time for rewriting the BIOS parameters, and does not consider the processing at the time of starting the BIOS.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a method for changing the BIOS setting information from an external tool, but does not consider the processing order of the process for initializing the memory and the process for changing the BIOS setting information.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus and the like that can shorten the time required to start up the information processing apparatus when BIOS setting information is changed by an external tool.

  In order to achieve the above object, an information processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes the following arrangement.

That is, an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention is provided.
An information processing apparatus that is activated based on BIOS setting information,
An input unit for inputting change information to the BIOS setting information;
A storage unit for storing the BIOS setting information;
After the memory is initialized with reference to the change information input by the input unit when the information processing apparatus is rebooted and the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit, the change information is And a changing unit that changes the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit.

The BIOS setting information changing method according to one aspect of the present invention that achieves the same object,
In an information processing apparatus that is activated based on BIOS setting information,
After initialization of the memory when rebooting is performed with reference to the input change information and the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit, the memory stored in the storage unit based on the change information Change the setting information.

  Further, the same object is achieved by an information processing apparatus having the above-described configuration or a computer program for realizing a BIOS setting information changing method by a computer, and a computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program. Achieved.

  According to the present invention described above, there is an effect that it is possible to shorten the time required to start up the information processing apparatus when the BIOS setting information is changed by an external tool.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the BIOS setting information 23 which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. These are the figures explaining the BIOS setting information 13 and the temporary table according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process which starts BIOS in the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process which produces the temporary table in the information processing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes an input unit 2, a change unit 3, and a storage unit 4.

  The information processing apparatus 1 is activated based on the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit 4.

  The input unit 2 inputs change information for the BIOS setting information referred to by the BIOS when the information processing apparatus 1 is activated.

  When the information processing apparatus 1 is rebooted, the changing unit 3 initializes the memory with reference to the change information input by the input unit 2 and the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit 4. After the initialization, the changing unit 3 changes the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit 4 based on the change information.

  As described above, the first embodiment described above has an effect that the time required to start up the information processing apparatus can be shortened when the BIOS setting information is changed.

  This is because the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment initializes the memory with reference to the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit 4 and the change information when the information processing apparatus 1 is rebooted. Therefore, it is not necessary to reboot again after changing the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit 4 based on the change information.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment based on the information processing apparatus according to the first embodiment described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. However, the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. For example, in FIG. 2, the CPU 11, the BMC 21, the storage unit 12, the storage unit 22, and the external tool 31 (including the management PC) are assumed to exist one by one for convenience of explanation. Not exclusively. Further, there is no problem even if the information processing apparatus further includes other parts.

  The information processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 11, a storage unit 12, a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) 21, and a storage unit 22. Here, the CPU 11 may be included in the changing unit 3 shown in FIG. The storage unit 12 may be included in the storage unit 4. The BMC 21 and the storage unit 22 may be included in the input unit 2.

  The CPU 11 and the BMC 21 have an interface capable of communicating data. The CPU 11 and the BMC 21 communicate with each other using, for example, an IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) command.

  The BIOS 111 is firmware that runs on the CPU 11. The storage unit 12 is a nonvolatile memory used by the BIOS 111. The storage unit 12 stores BIOS setting information 13 that is a setting value necessary for starting the BIOS 111. The BIOS 111 performs various settings based on the BIOS setting information 13 and starts up.

  A BMC FW (BMC Farm-Ware) 211 is firmware that operates on the BMC 21. The storage unit 22 is a non-volatile memory used by the BMCFW 211. And the memory | storage part 22 stores the BIOS setting information 23 which can be changed with an external tool among the information contained in the BIOS setting information 13, for example.

  The BMC 21 has an interface capable of communicating data with the external tool 31. The BMC 21 and the external tool 31 communicate by using, for example, an IPMI command.

  The external tool 31 is software executed on, for example, a management PC (Personal Computer). The user can change the BIOS setting information 32 stored in the management PC using the external tool 31.

  The BIOS setting information 32 changed by the user using the external tool 31 is stored in the BIOS setting information 23 by the BMCFW 211. One means for copying the BIOS setting information 32 to the BIOS setting information 23 is an IPMI command.

  When the BIOS 111 is activated, the BIOS 111 acquires the BIOS setting information 23 including the contents changed by the external tool 31, and refers to the contents to initialize the memory. Then, the BIOS 111 synchronizes the BIOS setting information 13 and the BIOS setting information 23. As a result, the value of the BIOS setting information 23 is reflected in the BIOS setting information 13. That is, the BIOS setting information 13 is a value reflecting the BIOS setting information 32 changed by the external tool 31.

  Here, the BIOS setting information 13, the BIOS setting information 23, and the temporary table will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the BIOS setting information 23 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the BIOS setting information 13 and the temporary table according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The BIOS setting information 51 illustrated in FIG. 4 is an example of the BIOS setting information 13. The BIOS setting information 51 is composed of one or more genres (classifications 1 to L). Here, the setting information of the classifications 1, 2, and L corresponds to the BIOS setting information 131, 132, and 133, respectively. Each of the BIOS setting information 131, 132, 133 includes a BIOS setting item (a pair of a setting item name and a setting value). The BIOS 111 refers to these BIOS setting items (11,..., 18, 21,... 25, P1... PL) when starting up.

  Next, taking the BIOS setting information 51 as an example, a method for acquiring the value of the BIOS setting item will be described. For example, it is assumed that the BIOS setting item P1 of the classification L is to be acquired from the BIOS setting information 51. At this time, the BIOS 111 first searches for the category of the item to be referred to from the BIOS setting information 131 that is the head of the BIOS setting information 51. As a result of the search, the BIOS 111 finds the BIOS setting information 133. Then, the BIOS 111 searches for the BIOS setting item P1 in the classification (BIOS setting information 133). Then, the BIOS 111 can find the BIOS setting item P1. The BIOS setting information 51 is searched in this way by the BIOS 111.

  Next, the BIOS setting information 23 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the BIOS setting information 23 includes BIOS setting information 230, BIOS setting information 231, and BIOS setting information 232. The BIOS setting information 230 is a change flag that indicates whether there is a change by an external tool. The BIOS setting information 231 is a setting item for category 1. The BIOS setting information 232 is a setting item for category 2.

  The BIOS setting information 230 is set to “1” if there is a change in the BIOS setting information 23 and “0” if there is no change. The BIOS setting information 230 is a flag that is set to “1” by the BMC FW 211 when the BIOS setting information 23 is updated by the external tool 31. The BIOS 111 requests the BMCFW 211 to set “0” in the BIOS setting information 230 when the synchronization processing of the BIOS setting information 13 (51) and the BIOS setting information 23 is completed.

  The BIOS setting information 231 and the BIOS setting information 232 represent different types of BIOS setting information. The BIOS setting items 11, 15, and 16 of the BIOS setting information 231 (classification 1) are a subset of the BIOS setting information 131. Similarly, the BIOS setting items 21 and 22 of the BIOS setting information 232 (class 2) are a subset of the BIOS setting information 132.

  The BIOS setting items 11, 15, 16 of the BIOS setting information 231 and the BIOS setting items 21, 22 of the BIOS setting information 232 are items whose values can be changed by the external tool 31 among the items of the BIOS setting information 13 (51). is there. The BIOS setting items 11, 15, and 16 in the BIOS setting information 231 are synchronized with the BIOS setting information 11, 15, and 16 in the BIOS setting information 131. Similarly, the BIOS setting items 21 and 22 in the BIOS setting information 232 are synchronized with the BIOS setting items 21 and 22 in the BIOS setting information 132.

  The BIOS setting information 61 shown in FIG. 4 is an example of a temporary table. Similar to the BIOS setting information 13 (51) and the BIOS setting information 23, the temporary table includes one or more classifications (here, classifications 1 'and 2'). The classification 1 '(BIOS setting information 611) includes setting values corresponding to the same BIOS setting items as the BIOS setting information 131 of the BIOS setting information 13 (51). The classification 2 '(BIOS setting information 612) includes setting values corresponding to the same BIOS setting items as the BIOS setting information 132 of the BIOS setting information 13 (51).

  Next, the flow of processing will be described using a flowchart.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing processing for starting up the BIOS in the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  When the information processing apparatus reboots or the information processing apparatus is turned on and the BIOS 111 is activated, the BIOS 111 executes Step B1.

Step B1:
The BIOS 111 creates a temporary table of BIOS setting information (step B1). The temporary table is a table obtained by merging items included in the BIOS setting information 23 changed by the external tool 31 with items included in the BIOS setting information 13. That is, the value of the temporary table is the same as the value of the item included in the BIOS setting information 13 when startup is completed with the changed setting information. The temporary table is composed only of items that have been changed in the BIOS setting information 23 and items related thereto. Therefore, a temporary table can be created with a small amount of memory. The procedure for creating the temporary table will be described later.

Step B2:
Next, the BIOS 111 initializes the memory. The BIOS 111 is set using the BIOS setting information so that the memory in the information processing apparatus can be used. In a general information processing apparatus, setting is performed with reference to the BIOS setting information 13. However, in the second embodiment of the present invention, the setting is performed with reference to the temporary table.

Step B3:
Then, the BIOS 111 synchronizes the BIOS setting information 13 and the BIOS setting information 23. In this case, first, the BIOS 111 refers to the BIOS setting information 23 (FIG. 3) and confirms whether or not the BIOS setting information 23 has been changed.

  When there is no change in the BIOS setting information 23 (change flag is “0”), the BIOS 111 merges the value of the BIOS setting information 13 with the value of the BIOS setting information 23. At this time, the value of the BIOS setting information 13 (that is, the BIOS setting information 131 and the BIOS setting information 132) is stored in the temporary table. Since the various settings during startup thereafter are performed by the BIOS setting information 13, the startup is completed without rebooting.

  When there is a change in the BIOS setting information 23 (change flag is “1”), the BIOS 111 has initialized the memory with reference to the temporary table created based on the BIOS setting information 23 and the BIOS setting information 13. It is. In other words, since various settings after the creation of the temporary table are performed using the temporary table having the same value as that after the synchronization processing, the startup is completed without rebooting.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to reboot in the synchronization process of step B3.

  After completing the synchronization process (after the end of step B3), the BIOS 111 continues various initializations and completes startup.

  Next, the process of creating a temporary table in step B1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing processing for creating a temporary table in the information processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The memory used in the following description is, for example, the storage unit 12.

Step C1:
The BIOS 111 accesses the BIOS setting information 13 in order to acquire the current BIOS setting value.

Step C2:
Next, the BIOS 111 confirms whether or not the BIOS setting information 13 has been acquired.

Step C3:
If the BIOS setting information 13 can be acquired in step C2, the BIOS 111 holds the values of the BIOS setting information 131 and 132 of the BIOS setting information 13 acquired in step C1 on the memory.

Step C4:
If the BIOS setting information 13 cannot be acquired in step C2, the BIOS 111 sets the BIOS setting information 131, 132 default values of the BIOS setting information 13 held by the BIOS 111, and the BIOS setting information 131, 132 of the BIOS setting information 13. Is stored in memory as the value of.

Step C5:
Next, the BIOS 111 checks whether the BIOS setting information 23 has been changed. The BIOS setting information 23 is synchronized with the BIOS setting information 32 changed by the external tool 31. Therefore, by checking whether or not the BIOS setting information 23 has been updated, the BIOS 111 can know whether or not the BIOS setting information 32 has been changed by the external tool 31. It is confirmed by referring to the BIOS setting information 230 in the BIOS setting information 23 shown in FIG. 3 whether or not the BIOS setting information 23 has been changed. The BIOS setting information 230 is set to “1” if there is a change in the BIOS setting information 23 and “0” if there is no change. The BIOS setting information 230 is set to “1” by the BMCFW 211 when the BIOS setting information 23 is updated. If there is a change in the BIOS setting information 23 in step C5, step C6 is performed. If there is no change in the BIOS setting information 23, the BIOS 111 executes Step C8.

Step C6:
The BIOS 111 acquires the BIOS setting information 23.

Step C7:
The BIOS 111 uses the BIOS setting item of the BIOS setting information 23 acquired in Step C6 and the BIOS setting information 131 and 132 of the BIOS setting information 13 acquired in Step C3 or Step C4 to use the temporary table (BIOS setting information in FIG. 4). 61). In the temporary table, BIOS setting information 611 and BIOS setting information 612 are stored. The BIOS setting information 611 is a content reflecting the BIOS setting information 231 in the BIOS setting information 131. The BIOS setting information 612 is a content reflecting the BIOS setting information 232 in the BIOS setting information 132. When the creation of the temporary table is completed, the BIOS 111 executes Step C9.

Step C8:
If it is determined in step C5 that there is no change in the BIOS setting information 23, the BIOS 111 creates a temporary table (BIOS setting information 61) based on the BIOS setting information 131 and 132 of the BIOS setting information 13 acquired in step C3 or step C4. To do.

Step C9:
The BIOS 111 adds the created temporary table to the top of the BIOS setting information 13 (BIOS setting information 52 shown in FIG. 4). By changing the table at the head to the BIOS setting information 61, the value of the temporary table is always referred to first when searching for the value to be acquired.

  This method eliminates the need to load a large amount of data (BIOS setting information 13) on the memory. Further, since the temporary table reflecting the BIOS setting information 23 changed by the external tool 31 can be used from the initial stage of start-up, the reboot for reflecting the setting can be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the external tool 31 is connected to the BMC 21 so as to be able to communicate with the data, but there is no problem even if it is not connected. It is sufficient that the BIOS 111 can acquire the BIOS setting information 32 by some method.

  The data communication method between the BIOS 111 and the BMC FW 212 and the BMC FW 212 and the external tool 31 has been described by taking the IPMI command as an example, but is not limited thereto. For example, the BIOS 111 may directly refer to the contents written by the external tool 31 on the memory of the BMCFW 212.

  The BIOS setting information 23 shown in FIG. 3 is not limited to this format. In FIG. 3, one update flag is provided for the BIOS setting information 231 and the BIOS setting information 232, but an implementation having an update flag for each BIOS setting information is also conceivable.

  The memory for storing the temporary table (BIOS setting information 51) shown in FIG. 4 is not limited to the storage unit 12. For example, there is a means for directly referring to the memory using the storage unit 22 of the BMCFW 212.

  After the completion of the BIOS setting synchronization process in step B3 in FIG. 5, the BIOS 111 can delete the BIOS setting information 61 (temporary table) in the BIOS setting information 52 in FIG. However, before the deletion, the BIOS 111 needs to reflect the BIOS setting information 61 in the BIOS setting information 131 and the BIOS setting information 132.

  The timing for creating the temporary table is not limited to step B1 in FIG. 5, but may be any time before the execution of memory initialization. For example, when the BIOS setting information 23 is changed by the external tool 31 during OS operation, it may be performed at that time. In that case, the BMC FW 212 detects a change in the BIOS setting information 23 by the external tool 31 and notifies the BIOS 111 by raising an interrupt that the BIOS setting information 23 has been changed. The BIOS 111 receives the interrupt, acquires the change in the BIOS setting information 23 from the BMCFW 212, and creates a temporary table. At the timing of reboot, a temporary table (BIOS setting information 61) is added so as to become the BIOS setting information 52 of FIG. Thereby, it is possible to start immediately after rebooting using the BIOS setting information reflecting the change in the BIOS setting information 23. In this case, however, step B1 in FIG. 5 is omitted.

  As described above, the second embodiment has an effect that the startup time of the information processing apparatus can be shortened when the BIOS setting information is changed by the external tool 31.

  The reason is that the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment does not directly write the change by the external tool to the BIOS setting information 13, but the BIOS 111 holds a temporary table of the BIOS setting information reflecting the change by the external tool 31. Referring to it, start up. As a result, the BIOS 111 can use the BIOS setting information reflecting the change of the external tool in the memory initialization setting. For this reason, the information processing apparatus does not need to be rebooted after the synchronization processing, and the startup time can be shortened.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing apparatus 2 Input part 3 Change part 4 Storage part 10 Information processing apparatus 11 CPU
12 storage unit 13 BIOS setting information 21 BMC
22 Storage Unit 23 BIOS Setting Information 31 External Tool 32 BIOS Setting Information 111 BIOS
211 BMCFW

Claims (8)

An information processing apparatus that is activated based on BIOS setting information,
An input unit for inputting change information to the BIOS setting information;
A storage unit for storing the BIOS setting information;
After the memory is initialized with reference to the change information input by the input unit when the information processing apparatus is rebooted and the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit, the change information is An information processing apparatus comprising: a changing unit that changes the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input unit is a BMC (baseboard management controller). When the said storage part is made into the 1st storage part, the said input part is provided with the 2nd storage part which stores the input said change information, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Information processing device. The change unit is a temporary table created in the first storage unit based on the first storage unit and the second storage unit, the BIOS that refers to the BIOS setting information when the information processing apparatus is activated. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The information processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the temporary table has the same content as the content in which the change information is reflected in the BIOS setting information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second storage unit stores information indicating whether or not change information is input. In an information processing apparatus that is activated based on BIOS setting information,
After initialization of the memory when rebooting is performed with reference to the input change information and the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit, the memory stored in the storage unit based on the change information A BIOS setting information changing method for changing setting information. Initialization of the memory when rebooting is performed by referring to the input change information and the BIOS setting information stored in the storage unit, and after the initialization function ends, the change information is based on the change information. A computer program for causing a computer to implement a change function for changing the setting information stored in the storage unit.

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