JPH0812647B2 - Peripheral device test method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing system including a central processing unit, a main storage device, a channel control device, and an I / O device, and more particularly to a plurality of I / O devices. The present invention relates to a test method for peripheral devices that enables efficient testing of O devices.

[Conventional technology]

In the test for the purpose of evaluation and maintenance of the information processing system, various I / O devices connected to the information processing system must be efficiently operated in multiple operations and the intended test must be performed in a short time.

For this reason, this kind of test is generally performed by using a scheduler that manages the boot order of I / O devices and an I / O control table that stores state information of each I / O device.

As a conventional technique for testing such an I / O device, for example, JP-A-60-72037 and JP-A-60-112.
Techniques described in Japanese Patent No. 165, etc. are known. These conventional techniques test the I / O device sequentially according to the I / O control table corresponding to the I / O device, or test the I / O device by determining any one by using a random number. Is to do.

[Problems to be Solved by the Present Invention]

When testing a recent information processing system in which the number of I / O devices tends to increase, the conventional technique of performing the above-described sequential test is one in which a plurality of I / O devices in the same channel are tested. In the test on the first floor, the I / O devices in the higher order in the channel are sequentially tested, and the busy I / O devices are not tested. End the test without performing the I / O device test, and again during the next test,
Start the test from the host I / O device. As a result, in this conventional technique, the test frequency increases as the I / O device located at the head of the I / O device group connected to the channel increases, and conversely, the test for the lowest I / O device is performed. It has a problem that it may not be performed at all. In addition, the conventional technology that provides services using random numbers reduces the multiplicity due to the processing, reduces the system utilization efficiency, and ensures that all test items for each I / O device are consumed in a short time. There is a problem that can not be expected.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art,
An object of the present invention is to provide a test method for peripheral devices such as I / O devices that can perform reliable service to all I / O devices in a short time without reducing the multiplicity.

[Means for solving problems]

According to the invention, said object comprises a central processing unit, a main memory unit, a channel control unit, and I / O via a channel.
In an information processing system that tests various peripheral devices such as devices, the I / O device that corresponds to multiple channels one-to-one and is the first I / O device to be tested is shown. A channel control table having an I / O priority service pointer and one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of I / O devices
An I / O control table having I / O test frequency information indicating the test frequency of the device, and at the time of testing the I / O device, after determining one of the channel tables, the I / O priority service pointer indicates The I / O device is tested sequentially from the I / O control table, and during this test, the I / O priority service pointer is the smallest among a plurality of I / O devices connected to the same channel. This is accomplished by rewriting to show the I / O control table with I / O test frequency information.

[Action]

The I / O priority service pointer provided in the channel control table always indicates the I / O device with the lowest test frequency among the I / O devices connected to the channel. Therefore, at the beginning of the I / O equipment test, the schedule
The test can be started from the I / O device designated by the priority service pointer, and all I / O devices connected to the same channel can be equally serviced in a short time.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a method for testing a peripheral device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an information processing system to which the peripheral device testing method of the present invention is applied, and FIG.
Connection diagram of I / O device and one-to-one correspondence table, Fig. 3 is a block diagram of channel control table and I / O control table,
FIG. 4 is a schedule chart of the scheduler for explaining the operation of the present invention. 1 to 3, 1 is a central processing unit, 2 is a main memory, 3 is a channel controller, 31-
3n is a channel, 311 to 31n are I / O controllers, 3111 to 31nn are I
/ O device, T31 to T3n are channel control tables, T3111 to T31
nn is I / O control table, 41 is channel address, 42 is I / O
Priority service pointers, 43 and 52 are I / O service counters, 44 is a channel control table pointer, 51 is an I / O device address, and 53 is an I / O control table pointer.

As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing system to which the present invention is applied includes a plurality of I / O devices 3111 to 311n, 3121 to 312n, ...
... A plurality of I / O control devices 311 to 31 to which 31n1 to 31nn correspond, respectively.
connected to n and these I / O controllers 311 to 31n are channels
It is configured to be connected to the channel control device 3 via 31 and further connected to the central processing unit 1 and the main storage device 2. An I / O control device and an I / O device are connected to the channels 32 to 3n similarly to the channel 31, but they are omitted for convenience of description.

Channels 31 to 31 constituting the computer system shown in FIG.
Channel control tables T31 to T3n and I / O control tables T3111 to T31nn created for 3n and I / O devices 3111 to 31nn
Are connected to each other in a loop as shown in FIG. 2 by pointers provided inside, respectively. The channel control table T31 and the I / O control tables T3111 to T31nn are the channels and the I / O devices. Are connected so as to have the same configuration as the connection of.

Channel control tables T31 to T3n and I / O control table T31
The structure of 11 to T31nn is shown in FIG. 3, and the channel control table T31 to T3n shows the channel address 41 and I / O device necessary for checking whether or not the channel is operable by the channel command. I / O required for priority testing
Priority service pointer 42, initial value allX “FF” required to switch this I / O priority service pointer 42 efficiently
I / O service counter 43 having (maximum value), and channel table pointer indicating the next channel control table
It is composed of 44. I / O control table T3111 to T31nn
Is an I / O device address 51, an I / O service counter 52 having an initial value all0 indicating the number of times the address device can be tested as service frequency information, and an I / O control table pointer 53 indicating the next I / O control table. It is configured to include.

The I / O control tables T3111 to T31nn shown in FIG. 2 described above.
1 does not match the connection configuration including the I / O devices 3111 to 31nn and the I / O control devices 311 to 31n in FIG.
The I / O device address 51 in the O control table includes the address of the I / O control device to which each I / O device is connected, and both have the same connection configuration.

The operation of the embodiment of the present invention thus constructed will be described below.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in the figure.

(1) First, prior to starting the test of the I / O device, the head channel table is obtained, and it is checked whether or not the channel is operable by using the channel command word (processes S1, S2).

(2) If the channel is operable, the I / O control table indicated by the I / O priority service pointer in the channel control table corresponding to the channel is obtained, and the I / O
The control flag in the control table is used to determine whether or not to execute the test for the I / O device. That is, I / O
If the device is in operation or if the resulting check is unprocessed, the test is not performed (process S3, S4).

(3) If the test conditions are met, prepare for the test such as creating channel command words and data, execute I / O commands to execute the test, and perform various tests of the I / O device. Perform (process S5).

(4) If the test is successful, the I / O in the I / O control table
The service counter 52 is updated (processing S6, S8).

(5) If the test cannot be accepted due to being busy, the I / O priority service pointer in the channel control table is set to the I
The value of the I / O service counter 43 in the channel control table and the relevant I / O to determine whether to direct to the I / O control table.
The value of the I / O service counter 52 in the control table is compared (processing S6, S7).

(6) If the value of the I / O service counter in the I / O control table is small, the value of the I / O service counter 52 is set to the I / O service counter 43 in the channel control table.
And the I / O priority service pointer 42 is switched to the 1 / O control table (process S9, S11).

(7) Whether the test succeeds or fails, the next I / O control table is obtained by the I / O control table pointer 53, and all I / O control tables connected to the same channel control table are obtained. The above-mentioned processing S4 and subsequent steps are repeatedly executed until the test of the I / O device shown is completed (processing S12,
S13, S4 ……).

(8) All channels connected to one channel control table
When the processing of the I / O control table is completed, the next channel table is obtained by the channel control table pointer 44,
The processing of all the channel control tables is ended by repeatedly executing the processing S2 and the subsequent steps (processing S14, S15, S2 ...
…).

The above-mentioned operations are
It is repeatedly executed as necessary or at predetermined time intervals. By the processes S7 to S11, a plurality of I's connected to the channel
Of the / O devices, the priority service pointer is switched so that the I / O device with the lowest test frequency is tested first, so in the next operation, the I / O device with the lowest test frequency will be processed in step S3. It is possible to test the / O device with priority.

The configuration and operation of one embodiment of the present invention has been described above.
The I / O service counters 43 and 52 in the channel control table and the I / O control table shown in FIG. 3 may be used as the accumulated information of the I / O test time. In this case, the I / O service counters of the processes S7, S9, S10 in the flowchart of FIG.
It will be replaced by the accumulated information of I / O test time,
The process S8 is a process of saving the I / O test time, and is a process of accumulating the I / O test time when the end of the I / O operation is detected.

Further, the I / O control table shown in FIG. 2 does not necessarily need to form a loop, and may be any one that allows a single round of test with a scheduler.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the I / O device having the least test frequency among the plurality of I / O devices connected to the channel is preferentially tested in the next test. / O
Since it is set as a device and the sequential test is performed from the I / O device with the lowest test frequency at the next test, it is almost even for all I / O devices in a short time. It is possible to perform the intended test, which is very effective in confirming the normality of the information processing system and shortening the failure detection time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an information processing system to which the peripheral device testing method of the present invention is applied, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a connection diagram of O-devices and tables corresponding to one-to-one correspondence, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a channel control table and an I / O control table, and FIG. 1 ... Central processing unit, 2 ... Main storage unit, 3 ... Channel control unit, 31-3n ... Channel, 311-31n ... I / O control unit, 3111-31nn ... I / O unit, T31 ~ T3n …… Channel control table, T3111 to T31nn …… I / O control table, 4
1 …… Channel address, 42 …… I / O priority service pointer, 43,52 …… I / O service counter, 44 …… Channel control table pointer, 51 …… I / O device address, 53 …… I
/ O control table pointer.

Front page continued (72) Inventor Ken Oga 1 Horiyamashita, Horiyamashita, Hadano, Kanagawa Pref., Inside the Kanagawa Plant, Hiritsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (72) Hisashi Tamaru, 1st, Horiyamashita, Hadano, Hadano, Kanagawa 72) Inventor Tate Yamamoto 1st Horiyamashita, Hadano City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An information processing system, comprising a central processing unit, a main memory unit, and a channel control unit, for testing various peripheral devices such as I / O devices via channels, corresponding to a plurality of channels in a one-to-one correspondence. And the I / O connected to that channel
A channel control table with an I / O priority service pointer that points to the first I / O device to test in the device, and
An I / O control table that has one-to-one correspondence with an I / O device and has I / O test frequency information indicating the test frequency of the I / O device,
During testing of the I / O device, after determining one of the channel control tables, the I / O device is tested sequentially and sequentially from the I / O control table indicated by the I / O priority service pointer. , The I / O priority service pointer,
A test method for a peripheral device, which is rewritten to show an I / O control table having the smallest I / O test frequency information among a plurality of I / O devices connected to the same channel.