JP3381588B2 - Storage device normality check device and information processing device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention holds firmware in a programmable read-only storage device during off-line operation, and copies the firmware of the programmable read-only storage device to an operating-use storage device at the same time when the system is started up. And an apparatus for confirming normality of a storage device in such an information processing device, and particularly to those devices suitable for a fault tolerant system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A current information processing apparatus has a P
The firmware is stored in the ROM and the firmware in the PROM is RA
A system is generally used in which data is copied to M and, while online, operates using data in RAM. It's a PROM
Has a low read / write speed, but can retain data even when it is offline, while the RAM cannot retain data without power supply, but has a high read / write speed. Because it is.

In such a conventional technique, if defective data exists in the PROM, the R copied after online is copied.
The firmware in AM will also be defective. Therefore, once the PROM data becomes defective, the P
If the ROM data is used, it cannot be reused unless the firmware in the PROM in the information processing device is restored to normal, and the PROM is replaced or EEPRO is replaced.
When M is used, the EEPROM of the information processing apparatus must be rewritten and reused in a portion that does not affect startup.

This is because, in the case of a storage device such as a RAM used during normal operation, data correction and error detection are performed by using an ECC or a parity function in order to relieve a malfunction due to garbled data. It is a general method to partially correct a code failure such as when a temporary failure occurs, but a storage device such as a PROM that is not read or written during normal operation does not have such a function, and an element in the PROM is not used. This is because there is a possibility that there will be data defects that are not corrected due to the destruction of the.

As a technique for solving the above-mentioned problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei.
As described in JP-A-336642,
It is known that the ROM is duplicated and used as an active system and a standby system. That is, the same firmware is usually written in the two EEPROMs, the active system and the standby system. Then, if the work to write the modified new firmware to the active system occurs, if a failure such as a power failure occurs during this writing work and the active firmware is destroyed, the firmware before modification is stored. By using the standby EEPROM that is used,
The old type firmware is once brought into the online state, and the firmware is rewritten again to avoid the above-mentioned unusable state.

[0006]

However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-336642 described above, when the firmware of the active EEPROM is destroyed, the information processing apparatus can be used as usual until the information processing apparatus becomes usable. This method is used when a fault-tolerant system configuration is performed because time loss occurs such as detection of a defective EEPROM in the active system, copying from the standby firmware to RAM, and recovery of the active EEPROM. But it wasn't enough.

The present invention aims to improve reliability as compared with the prior art. Specifically, an object of the present invention is to reduce the time loss for the recovery of the EEPROM by confirming the normality of the firmware in the information processing device. Another object of the present invention is to confirm the normality of the firmware in the information processing device without affecting the normal operation of the system.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an information processing system when the firmware in a programmable read-only storage device becomes defective online and is subsequently copied from the programmable read-only storage device to a normal operating storage device. In order to prevent the memory from becoming unusable, it has means for confirming the normality of the programmable read-only storage device while online. The means is, for example, a comparator for comparing the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device in the information processing device with the firmware on the side copied to the normal operation storage device, and the instruction of this comparison, in the case of a mismatch. And a control unit that gives an instruction to write the firmware file to the programmable read-only storage device from a file device outside the information processing device.

Further, since the above-mentioned means compares the storage device which is normally operated and the programmable read-only storage device, the normal operation is affected during the comparison.
Therefore, in addition to the normal operation storage device, has a backup storage device having a firmware having the same contents as the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device,
Programmable read-only storage of a firmware file from a file device outside the information processing device when there is a discrepancy with the comparator that compares the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device and compares these, and instructions for this comparison A control unit that gives an instruction to write to the device realizes a means for performing comparison without affecting normal operation.

Further, in the above means, the firmware file is read from the file device outside the information processing apparatus, so that the normal operation is affected. Therefore, there are N backup storage devices having the same firmware as the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device in the information processing device, or the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device is (N + 1) overlapped, and these Comparing the two, the instruction of the main comparison, and the comparison result in the case of a mismatch indicates the rewriting from the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device on the majority side to the programmable read-only storage device on the minority side. The control unit is provided with means for confirming the normality of data without affecting normal operation.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION According to the present invention, data is held by a programmable read-only storage device during offline operation, and this information processing device is operated from the programmable read-only storage device to the in-use storage device upon power-on. The present invention relates to an information processing device that copies and uses firmware for operating.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of such a first embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 1 of FIG. 1 includes a programmable read-only storage device 102 that holds firmware for operating the information processing apparatus 1 while offline, and a case where the information processing apparatus 1 is online. An operating-use storage device 104 that is a storage device that is used by copying the above firmware from the programmable read-only storage device 102, and a firmware in the programmable read-only storage device 102 and a operating-use storage device 104. When the comparison start instruction and the comparison result do not match with the comparator 103 for comparing the above, the firmware file is read from the file device (not shown) outside the information processing device 1 and written in the programmable read-only storage device 102. Is configured by the control unit 101 that instructs

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
The control unit 101 causes the programmable read-only storage device 102 to hold the firmware during offline, and copies the firmware from the programmable read-only storage device 102 to the in-use storage device 104 at system startup. Further, the control unit 101 gives an instruction to start the comparison between the two storage devices 102 and 104 via the signal line 112, and the read data is the signal lines 113, 1
It is input to the comparator 103 via 16 and compared. At this time, if all the data are normal, the process ends there, and if there is inconsistent data, the same firmware as the programmable read-only storage device 102 is read from the file device via the external bus 11 and the programmable read is performed. Rewrite to the dedicated storage device 102.

By doing all this online, the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device 102 becomes defective online and the opportunity to use the data in the programmable read-only storage device 102 next arises. Dedicated storage device 10
When copying from No. 2 to the in-use storage device 104, it is possible to prevent that the in-use storage device has defective data and cannot be used by the information processing device.

Referring now to FIG. 2, which illustrates a second embodiment of the present invention, the present embodiment is a programmable read-only storage that holds firmware for operating the information processing device 2 while offline. A device 202, a storage device 204 used during operation that is a storage device that is used to copy the firmware from the programmable read-only storage device 202 when the information processing device 2 is online, and a program simultaneously with the copying. A backup storage device 205 that is copied from the read-only storage device 202 and used as a backup, a comparator 203 that compares the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device 202 with the firmware in the backup storage device 205, and an instruction to start comparison. And if the comparison results do not match, Read the file from the processing unit 2 out of the file system, a programmable read-only memory measures 2
Control unit 201 for instructing writing to 02 and 205
Composed by.

In FIG. 2, the programmable read-only storage device 202 and the backup storage device 205 are used for the sake of clarity, but the programmable read-only storage device 202 has a capacity of 2 As a doubling, it is also possible to hold dual firmware in advance and compare the firmware with each other.

In the present embodiment, the firmware having the same contents as the programmable read-only storage device 202 is copied from the programmable read-only storage device 202 to the in-use storage device 204 at system startup, and at the same time, the backup storage device 205. Also make a copy. Then, the control unit 201 instructs the start of comparison between the programmable read-only storage device 202 and the backup storage device 205 by the signal line 212, and the read data is input to the comparator 203 via the signal lines 214 and 215. Be compared. At this time, if all the data are normal, the processing ends there. If there is inconsistent data, the same firmware as that of the programmable read-only storage device 202 is read from the file device via the external bus 21, and the signal line 213 is read. Rewrites to both programmable read-only storage 202 and backup storage 205.

In this embodiment, the backup storage device 20
By providing No. 5, since the storage device used during operation 204 is not used during comparison, it has the meaning that the load on normal operation during comparison can be eliminated.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the third embodiment of the present invention. The information processing apparatus 3 includes a programmable read-only storage device 302 that holds firmware for operating the information processing apparatus 3 while offline.
A storage device 304 used during operation that is a storage device that is used to copy the firmware from the programmable read-only storage device 302 when the information processing device 3 is online, and a programmable read-only storage device that is available at the same time as the copying. Two backup storage devices 305, 30 which are copied from the device 302 and used as backups
Programmable read-only storage device 302 having 6
Internal firmware and backup storage device 305, 3
Comprised of a comparator 303 that compares the firmware in 06 with the majority logic, and a control unit 301 that instructs the minority storage device to copy the firmware in the majority storage device when the comparison start and the comparison result do not match. To be done.

In FIG. 3, the programmable read-only storage device 302 and the backup storage devices 305, 3 are shown.
Although only the configuration in the case of triplexing by 06 is described,
It is also possible to have N (N ≧ 3) backup storage devices and have a storage device of (N + 1) configuration. further,
In place of the configuration of FIG. 3, a programmable read-only storage device 3 having a capacity of three times or more is used according to the same concept as in FIG.
A configuration is also possible in which the duplicated firmware is held in advance in 02 and compared.

In this embodiment, the programmable read-only storage device 3 is loaded with the same firmware as the programmable read-only storage device 302 at the time of system startup.
02 is copied to the storage device 304 used during operation, and simultaneously to two backup storage devices 305 and 306. Then, the control unit 301 controls the programmable read-only storage device 302 and the backup storage device 305,
The signal line 312 indicates the start of comparison in 306, and the read data is input to the comparator 303 via the signal lines 314, 315, 316. In the comparator 303, the above-mentioned read data are compared by the majority logic, and if all the data are normal, the processing ends there. If there is inconsistent data, which storage device is the majority side and that storage device is Control unit 30 via the signal line 311 from the minority side
1, and the control unit 301 rewrites the firmware in any storage device corresponding to the storage device on the majority side to all the storage devices on the minority side via the signal line 313 based on the result. .

In this embodiment, the backup storage device 30
By having a plurality of backup storage devices such as 5, 306, it becomes possible to perform everything from comparison to rewriting when inconsistent data occurs in the information processing device 3.
Since it is not necessary to read the firmware from the file device, it is possible to check the normality of the programmable read-only storage device without affecting normal operation. In this case, it is not taken into consideration because it is unlikely that a plurality of storage devices will fail at the same time.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be explained. The information processing apparatus 4 of FIG. 4 holds firmware for operating the information processing apparatus 4 in the EEPROM 402 when it is offline, starts up the information processing apparatus, and outputs a signal when the information processing apparatus 4 goes online. The firmware is copied from the EEPROM 402 to the RAM 404 as a storage device used during operation via a line 414.

In normal operation, the information processing device 4 is operated using the firmware on the RAM 404. And
As a method of confirming the normality of the firmware of the EEPROM 402, a timer 406 for regularly performing this confirmation is operated. That is, when a certain time elapses, the timer 406
Notifies the control unit 401 of this through a signal line 416. The control unit 401 that has received the instruction issues an instruction to start comparison through the signal line 412, the firmware in the EEPROM 402 is input to the comparator 403 via the signal line 414, and the backup RAM 405 is input to the comparator 403 via the signal line 415. It

The comparator 403 compares the firmware of both memories and checks whether or not inconsistent data is included. If all match, the fact is reported to the control unit 401 via the signal line 411, the processing is terminated, and waits until the next timer 406 gives an instruction. If unmatched data is included, the unmatched data is reported to the control unit 401 via the signal line 411. And the control unit 40
1 reads the firmware file from the external file device 42 via the external bus 41, and the EEPROM 4
02 and the backup RAM 405 are instructed to perform rewriting.

As described above, by periodically confirming the normality of the EEPROM 402 by the timer 406, it is possible to detect and correct a latent data defect in the EEPROM 402.

In FIG. 4, the backup RAM 40
Although only one 5 is provided, it is also possible to provide a plurality of backup RAMs for comparison by majority logic as shown in FIG.
Of course, it is possible to integrate them.

In the case of an information processing device that is online for a long time, such as a fault tolerant system, the present invention provides E
The EPROM has not been used for a long time, and it provides a particularly effective means for a system in which a data defect in the EEPROM is likely to be latent.

[0029]

As a first advantage of the present invention, it is possible to detect and correct a data defect in the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device while online. The reason is that it is possible to compare the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device with the firmware in the in-use storage device in advance to detect and correct the data defect while online.

The second effect is that, in addition to the first effect, comparison for confirming the normality of firmware data can be performed without affecting normal operation. The reason is that it is possible to perform comparison for confirming normality between the programmable read-only storage device and the backup storage device by using the backup storage device separately from the in-use storage device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, 3, 4 Information processing device 101, 201, 301, 401 Control unit 102, 202, 302 Programmable read-only storage device 103, 203, 303, 403 Comparator 104, 204, 304 Operating-use storage device 205 , 305, 306 Backup storage device 402 EEPROM 404 RAM 405 Backup RAM

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 12/16 G06F 9/06

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A programmable read-only storage device and an in-use storage device are provided, and when the information processing device is offline, the programmable read-only storage device holds firmware, and when the information processing device is started up, A storage device in an information processing device that copies the firmware of the programmable read-only storage device to the operating-use storage device and operates by using the firmware in the operating-use storage device during operation of the information processing device. In a normality checking device, a comparator for comparing the firmware held in each of the programmable read-only storage device and the in-use storage device, a comparison instruction to the comparator, and a comparison result of the comparator. If there is a discrepancy between the A control unit for performing an instruction to write from yl device to the programmable read-only memory is provided, wherein the programmable read-only memory to maintain the validity of the firmware in the device and wherein the storage device normal verification device. 2. A programmable read-only storage device and an operating-use storage device, wherein the programmable read-only storage device holds firmware when the information processing device is off-line, and when the information processing device is started up. In an information processing device that copies the firmware of the programmable read-only storage device to the operating-use storage device and operates by using the firmware in the operating-use storage device during operation of the information processing device In the storage device normality checking device, a backup storage device having firmware equivalent to the firmware in the programmable read-only storage device, a ratio of the firmware held by the programmable read-only storage device and the backup storage device, respectively. And a comparison instruction for the comparator, and when the comparison result of the comparator does not match, the programmable read-only storage device stores a file equivalent to the firmware from an external file device. A storage device normality confirmation device, characterized in that a control unit for instructing writing to each of the backup storage device is provided, the validity of the firmware is maintained, and the comparison confirmation is performed independently of the normal operation. 3. A programmable read-only storage device and a storage device used during operation, firmware is held in the programmable read-only storage device when the information processing device is offline, and the information processing device is started up. In the information processing device, the firmware of the programmable read-only storage device is copied to the operating-use storage device, and is operated by using the firmware in the operating-use storage device during operation of the information processing device. In the storage device normality confirmation device,
And backup storage device at least N with the firmware equivalent firmware of the programmable read-only memory in the apparatus (N is 2 or more), the programmable read-only memory and said N backup storage device The program having the firmware on the minority side by the majority logic when the comparator for comparing the respective held firmware and the comparison instruction to the comparator, and the comparison result of the comparator do not match. Controllable read-only storage device, or the backup storage device is provided with a control unit for instructing to write the programmable read-only storage device having the firmware on multiple sides or the firmware of the backup storage device. Storage device And maintaining the effectiveness of the N backup storage device in all of the firmware,
In addition, a storage device normality confirmation device characterized by performing this processing independently of normal operation. 4. The storage device normality confirmation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the comparison is performed periodically. 5. The storage device normality confirming device according to claim 2, wherein the backup storage device is integrally realized by the programmable read-only storage itself. 6. The backup storage device is a single RA.
4. The storage device normality confirmation device according to claim 2, wherein the storage device normality confirmation device is integrally realized by M. 7. An information processing device comprising the storage device normality confirmation device according to claim 1, 2.