JPH1097440A - Electronic computer diagnosing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance self-diagnostic when the power of an electronic computer is turned on and to improve reliability more by performing recovery processing by analyzing the diagnostic result of a main electronic computer through a sub-electronic computer. SOLUTION: When a CPU test detects an error, a diagnosis result transferring part 115 is called. The part 115 of a main electronic computer 100 transfers a diagnostic result to a sub-electronic computer 120. Thus, large capacity can be secured with regard to the storage area for diagnostic data by storing the diagnostic result of the computer 100 in a diagnostic result storage area 135 of the computer 120. Next, a diagnostic program 133 of the computer 120 diagnoses error information. Whether recovery processing is needed or not is checked based on the diagnostic result of the error information and when the recovery processing is needed, a recovery processing part 134 of the computer 120 performs recovery processing of the computer 100.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a computer diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing a computer, and more particularly, to starting up a PC server class computer equipped with a large capacity memory and a large number of I / O devices. The present invention relates to a technique which is effective when applied to an electronic computer diagnostic device for diagnosing hardware.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional computer system, a ROM is used.
The diagnostic program stored in the computer or the diagnostic program loaded by the ROM program performs the initial diagnosis and initial setting of the hardware of the computer only when the power of the computer is turned on.

The self-diagnosis for performing the initial diagnosis and initial setting of the hardware of the conventional computer is a process executed only when the power of the computer is turned on or when the computer is reset.

In the conventional self-diagnosis of a computer, the occurrence of a parity error in a memory is detected by hardware, or an operating software monitors an error status generated by an I / O device when an I / O device is accessed. In general, a method of processing an error detected along with a hardware access operation by software is performed by software.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional electronic computer. 4, reference numeral 401 denotes a CPU; 402, a main memory; 403, a cache memory;
/ O controller, 405 is a hard disk, 406 is a floppy disk, 407 is a keyboard, 408 is a display device, 409 is a non-volatile memory, 410 is B
The IOS-ROM 411 is a host bus, 412 is a local bus, 413 is a system bus, and 414 is a self-diagnosis program.

As shown in FIG. 4, a conventional computer has a C
PU 401, main memory 402, cache memory 403, I / O controller 404, hard disk 405, floppy disk 406, keyboard 407, display device 408, nonvolatile memory 409, BIOS-ROM 410, host Bus 4
11, a local bus 412, and a system bus 413
And a self-diagnosis program 414.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in the conventional computer, a diagnosis process is performed at the time of start-up processing by a self-diagnosis program 414 stored in a BIOS-ROM 410 having a limited capacity.

A conventional computer includes a CPU 401 for performing calculations, and a main memory 40 for storing data.
2. Cache memory 40 for speeding up memory access
3. I / O controller 404 for controlling I / O devices, nonvolatile memory 409 for data storage, and BIOS-ROM 4 for storing self-diagnosis program 414
It consists of 10 hardware components.

The I / O controller 404 of the conventional computer includes a hard disk 405 for storing an OS and other programs and data, a floppy disk 406 for storing and exchanging programs and data, and a keyboard 407 as an input device. And a display device 408 which is an output device.

A CPU 401, a main memory 402, and a cache memory 403 of a conventional computer are connected by a host bus 411, and an I / O controller 404, a nonvolatile memory 409, and a BIOS-ROM 410 connect high-speed I / O devices. It is connected to a host bus 411 via a local bus 412 and a system bus 413 connecting basic I / O devices and the like.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a diagnosis process of a conventional electronic computer.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional diagnostic processing of an electronic computer, the procedure of the diagnostic processing when the power of the electronic computer is turned on and the startup processing is performed is shown.

When the power of the conventional computer is turned on, the BIOS-ROM of the computer is turned on as shown in FIG.
The self-diagnosis program 414 stored in 410 is started to be executed by the CPU 401 at the same time when the power is turned on, and the self-diagnosis program 414 performs steps 501 and 50 after initializing the minimum necessary hardware.
4. Step 507, Step 510 and Step 51
In the processing of 3, the diagnosis of each component of the hardware is started.

For example, after writing data of a specific pattern to the main memory 402 and reading it, it is confirmed whether the same value can be read, a diagnostic command is issued to a keyboard controller for controlling the keyboard 407, or a floppy disk is used. The seek of the head of the disk 406 is performed to check whether the head moves correctly, and processing such as issuing a diagnostic command to the hard disk controller that controls the hard disk 405 is performed.

In the conventional computer diagnostic processing, if an error occurs in any of these tests, the process proceeds to step 503 and the like, a buzzer indicating that an error has occurred, a message indicating that an error has occurred, or a message indicating that an error has occurred. Is displayed on a display device 408 such as a CRT or an LCD,
An error code indicating that an error has occurred has been written in the nonvolatile memory 409.

In the conventional computer diagnostic processing, an area for storing error information is not sufficiently secured.
It is difficult to store a lot of error information,
Since the size of the self-diagnosis program 414 is limited, it is not possible to add an error information analysis function or the like, analyze the error information obtained in the diagnosis processing, and perform the error processing based on the analysis result.

As a conventional technique for self-diagnosis of the above-mentioned conventional computer, "SystemBIOSfor IBM P
cs, Compatibles, and EISA
Computers "(Published by Addison Wes
ley, ISBN 0-201-57760-7) 9
There is an example as described on page 5 to page 101.

[0018]

The present inventor has found the following problems as a result of studying the above prior art.

That is, in an electronic computer for constructing a large-scale system, it is important to maintain the reliability of the electronic computer system.

In particular, a CSS (Client) constructed from a small computer using a PC server class computer
In Server System, although the reliability of the server computer itself is significantly inferior to that of a large computer, such an electronic computer system requires computer resources such as memory and I / O devices mounted on the server computer. Many.

In the diagnosis of the hardware of these electronic computers, the diagnosis processing is performed by a diagnosis program stored in a ROM when the power is turned on. However, a diagnosis program loaded by a ROM program having a limited capacity or a ROM program is used. In this case, there is a problem that sufficient analysis of the diagnosis result and recovery processing of the computer according to the result cannot be sufficiently performed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of enhancing a self-diagnosis at the time of turning on the power of a computer and realizing a more reliable computer system.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

[0024]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Among the inventions disclosed by the present application, the outline of a representative one will be briefly described.
It is as follows.

That is, in a computer diagnostic apparatus for diagnosing a main computer by a sub-computer, a self-diagnosis result of transferring a self-diagnosis result of the main computer to a storage device or a sub-computer separable from the main computer. Transfer means, diagnostic result storage means for storing the self-diagnosis result of the main computer transferred by the self-diagnosis result transfer means, and analysis of the self-diagnosis result stored in the diagnosis result storage means. Recovery processing means for performing recovery processing.

In the computer diagnostic apparatus, the self-diagnosis result of the self-diagnosis performed by the main computer when the main computer starts up is transferred to the sub-computer by the self-diagnosis result transfer means, and the transferred diagnosis result is transferred to the sub-computer. The diagnostic result is stored in the diagnostic result storage means, and the failure is analyzed based on the stored diagnostic result.

In the computer diagnostic device, the diagnostic result at the time of starting the main computer is transferred to another storage device separable from the main computer by the self-diagnosis result transfer means. After being separated from the main computer and connected to the sub-computer, the transferred diagnosis result may be stored in the diagnosis result storage means, and failure analysis may be performed based on the stored diagnosis result.

Next, the recovery processing means performs recovery processing of the main computer on the basis of the analysis result, thereby obtaining a complicated failure analysis which cannot be realized by a diagnostic program in a ROM having a limited capacity of the main computer. In addition, the main computer can perform recovery processing according to the content of the failure.

Since the information of the diagnosis result is stored in a storage device different from the storage device provided in the main computer main body or in a storage device provided in the sub computer, the diagnosis result of the main computer is stored. In this way, it is possible to easily perform processing such as creating and referring to statistical occurrence information of errors, and transferring the information to another computer to execute detailed diagnosis.

As described above, in the computer diagnostic device,
Since the statistical occurrence information of the error can be grasped, it is possible to automatically perform the recovery processing of the computer based on the statistical occurrence information of the error.

In the computer diagnostic apparatus, before the main computer enters an irrecoverable error state, it is stored in the main computer as preventive maintenance based on statistical occurrence information of the error. Data backup and replacement of problematic hardware in the main computer.

As described above, according to the electronic computer diagnostic apparatus, since the auxiliary computer analyzes the diagnostic result of the main computer and performs the recovery process, the self-diagnosis when the power of the electronic computer is turned on is enhanced. It is possible to realize a more reliable computer system.

[0033]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An electronic computer diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a main computer is diagnosed by a sub computer in the electronic computer diagnostic apparatus of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a computer diagnostic device according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, 100 is a main computer, 101 is a CPU, 102 is a main memory,
103 is a cache memory, 104 is an I / O controller, 105 is a hard disk, 106 is a floppy disk, 107 is a keyboard, 108 is a display device, 109 is a non-volatile memory, and 110 is a BIOS-RO.
M and 111 are host buses, 112 is a local bus, 11
3 is a system bus, 114 is a self-diagnosis program, 11
5 is a diagnostic result transfer unit, 120 is a secondary computer, 121 is a CPU, 122 is a main memory, 123 is an I / O controller, 124 is a hard disk, 125 is a floppy disk, 126 is a keyboard, 127 is a display device, and 128 is non-volatile Memory, 129 is a host bus,
130 is a system bus, 131 is a data transfer interface, 132 is a control interface, 133 is a diagnostic program, 134 is a recovery processing unit, and 135 is a diagnostic result storage area.

As shown in FIG. 1, the computer diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment comprises a main computer 100, a CPU 101,
The main memory 102, the cache memory 103, and the I
/ O controller 104, hard disk 105,
A floppy disk 106, a keyboard 107, a display device 108, a non-volatile memory 109,
An IOS-ROM 110, a host bus 111, a local bus 112, a system bus 113, a self-diagnosis program 114, a diagnosis result transfer unit 115, a sub computer 120, a CPU 121, a main memory 122,
I / O controller 123 and hard disk 124
, Floppy disk 125 and keyboard 126
, A display device 127 and a nonvolatile memory 128
, A host bus 129, a system bus 130, a data transfer interface 131, a control interface 132, a diagnostic program 133, and a recovery processing unit 13.
4 and a diagnosis result storage area 135.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the electronic computer diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, the main electronic computer 100 and the auxiliary electronic computer 120 that perform processing according to the purpose of the user are connected to the data that transfers the diagnostic results. They are connected by a transfer interface 131 and a control interface 132 that performs recovery processing of the main computer 100.

The main computer 100 of the computer diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a CPU 101 for performing calculations,
Main memory 102 for storing data, cache memory 103 for accelerating memory access, I / O controller 104 for controlling I / O devices, nonvolatile memory 109 for data storage, and transferring the diagnostic results to sub-computer 120 BIOS-ROM 11 for storing self-diagnosis program 114 including diagnosis result transfer unit 115
It is made up of hardware parts called 0.

The I / O controller 104 of the main computer 100 of the computer diagnostic device of the present embodiment includes:
Hard disk 105 for storing OS and other programs and data, floppy disk 106 for storing and exchanging programs and data, keyboard 107 as an input device, and display device 10 as an output device
8 are connected.

The CPU 101, main memory 102, and cache memory 103 of the main computer 100 of the computer diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment are connected by a host bus 111, and an I / O controller 104 and a nonvolatile memory 109
And the BIOS-ROM 110 are connected to the host bus 1 via a local bus 112 for connecting high-speed I / O devices and a system bus 113 for connecting basic I / O devices and the like.
11 is connected.

The inside of the sub-computer 120 of the computer diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment includes a CPU 121 for performing calculations,
Hardware such as a main memory 122 for storing data, an I / O controller 123 for controlling I / O devices, and a non-volatile memory 128 having a diagnostic result storage area 135 for storing diagnostic results transferred from the main computer 100 It consists of parts.

The I / O controller 123 of the sub-computer 120 of the computer diagnostic device according to the present embodiment includes:
Hard disk 124 for storing OS and other programs and data, floppy disk 125 for storing and exchanging programs and data, keyboard 126 as an input device, and display device 12 as an output device
7 is connected.

The CPU 121 and the main memory 122 of the sub computer 120 of the computer diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment are connected by the host bus 129, and the I / O controller 12
3 and the nonvolatile memory 128 are connected to the host bus 11 via a system bus 130 for connecting basic I / O devices and the like.
1 connected.

In a conventional computer, a BIOS-ROM
Self-diagnosis program 114 stored in 110
However, when a test corresponding to each component is performed and an error is detected, recovery processing such as storage of error information or retry is performed within the range of hardware resources of the computer.

However, in the conventional computer diagnostic processing, since the error information storage area of the computer is small,
If the problem of not being able to store a sufficient amount of error information and the analysis of the stored error information and the recovery processing based on it are performed by the self-diagnosis program 114 of the computer, the processing of the computer becomes complicated. As the startup time of the computer becomes longer, the BIOS-ROM 110
However, there is a problem that the self-diagnosis program 114 becomes large.

In the computer diagnostic apparatus of this embodiment, the self-diagnosis program 114 stored in the BIOS-ROM 110 of the main computer 100 performs a self-diagnosis of the main computer 100 and transmits the result to the data transfer interface 131. Only the data is transferred to the sub-computer 120 via the
0, perform data analysis, and if necessary, control the main computer 10 via the control interface 132.
0 recovery processing is performed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of error information of the computer diagnostic device of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, 2
01 is a time stamp, 202 is an error code, 203
Is attached data.

As shown in FIG. 2, the error information of the computer diagnostic device according to the present embodiment has a time stamp 201, an error code 202, and ancillary data 203.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the error information of the computer diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment, a time stamp 201 indicating the date and time when the error occurred, an error code 202 indicating the type of the error occurred, and It defines a format consisting of ancillary data 203 for storing detailed information / impossible information of the error that has occurred.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the computer diagnostic device of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the computer diagnostic device of the present embodiment, the main computer 100 and the sub computer 12
0 indicates that the power is turned on at the same time.
When the power is turned on, first, in step 301, the self-diagnosis program 114 of the main computer 100 is executed.
Performs a CPU test.

In the process of step 302, the main computer 1
The self-diagnosis program 114 of 00 checks whether an error has occurred in the CPU test performed in the processing of step 301.

As a result of checking whether or not an error has occurred in the process of step 302, if an error has occurred in the CPU test performed in the process of step 301, the diagnosis result transfer unit 115 is called.

The diagnosis result transfer section 11 of the main computer 100
5 is a process of step 320, in which the error C
Data transfer interface 1 for PU test diagnosis results
The data is transferred to the sub-computer 120 via 31.

This data transfer interface 131
May be a serial transfer interface such as RS232c, a parallel transfer interface such as Centronics, or a LAN interface.

Next, in the process of step 304, the self-diagnosis program 114 of the main computer 100 performs a memory test.

In the processing of step 305, the main computer 1
The self-diagnosis program 114 of 00 checks whether an error has occurred in the memory test performed in the processing of step 304.

As a result of checking whether or not an error has occurred in the process of step 305, if an error has occurred in the memory test performed in the process of step 304, the diagnosis result transfer unit 115 is called.

The diagnosis result transfer unit 11 of the main computer 100
5 is a process of step 320, in which the diagnosis result of the memory test in which the error has occurred is transmitted to the data transfer interface 1;
The data is transferred to the sub-computer 120 via 31.

In the same manner, the self-diagnosis program 114 of the main computer 100 performs a keyboard test, a floppy disk test and a hard disk test in the same manner.
If an error occurs, the diagnosis result transfer unit 115 transfers the diagnosis result to the sub-computer 120.

In the processing of step 330, the secondary computer 1
Reference numeral 20 denotes a diagnostic result storage area 135 in which the diagnostic result transferred by the diagnostic result transfer unit 115 of the main computer 100 is stored.
To be stored.

The transferred data is stored in the secondary computer 1
The data is stored in a non-volatile area such as a non-volatile memory 128 or a hard disk 124 which does not disappear even when the power supply of the apparatus is turned off.

As described above, by storing the diagnosis result of the main computer 100 in the diagnosis result storage area 135 of the sub computer 120, a much larger capacity is secured for the storage area of the diagnostic data as compared with the conventional method. can do.

Next, in the processing of step 331, the diagnostic program 133 of the sub-computer 120 analyzes the error information stored in the diagnostic result storage area 135.

In the process of step 332, it is checked whether or not the recovery process is necessary from the analysis result of the error information. If the recovery process is necessary, the process proceeds to step 333.

In the processing of step 333, the secondary computer 1
The recovery processing unit 134 of the control interface 13
2 to perform a recovery process of the main computer 100.

For example, when a timeout error occurs in the hard disk 105 of the main computer 100 or when a seek error occurs in the floppy disk 106,
By resetting the main computer 100 and starting the initial diagnosis process again from the beginning, it is possible to deal with a temporary failure.

In this case, the sub computer 120 controls the main computer 100 using the control interface 132.

The control interface 132 is, for example, an I / OCHK for resetting the CPU reset signal and the NMI signal of the main computer 100 and the system bus 113.
A signal can be considered.

In the case where an error frequently occurs in the hard disk 105, a warning message prompting replacement of the hard disk 105 is issued on the display device 127 of the sub-computer 120, thereby causing a failure that cannot be actually recovered. Preventive maintenance can be carried out to prevent such a situation.

For example, if the total number of diagnostic errors of the hard disk 105 exceeds 10 times, a warning message can be issued, and when the total number of diagnostic errors reaches 20 times, the operation of the main computer 100 is forced using the control interface 132. It is possible to stop.

It can also be said that a warning is issued when the frequency of occurrence of an error becomes one or more times a week.

As described above, in the computer diagnostic apparatus according to the present embodiment, the number of errors, the transition of the frequency of occurrence,
Judging from the occurrence time and the like, the most appropriate recovery processing can be performed.

As described above, the diagnostic result storage area 135 of the computer diagnostic device of the present embodiment stores the main computer 10
Because it is separated from 0, it is possible to copy only this part of the information to another storage medium and take it out,
Failure analysis becomes easier.

Further, the sub-computer 120 can refer to the diagnosis result storage area 135 to determine a failure handling method based on the error occurrence status so far and deal with it.

The processing can be defined in any way by preparing a program on the sub-computer 120 side, and such a program can be defined by another program such as the hard disk 124 or the floppy disk 125 of the sub-computer 120. It can be stored in a storage medium that can be read and written by an electronic computer.

Further, the error information stored in the diagnosis result storage area 135 of the sub-computer 120 can be used to determine the cause of the failure.

Further, in the computer diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, not only the self-diagnosis at power-on but also the main computer 1
Even during the operation of 00, when an unrecoverable error occurs, the main computer 100 returns to the NMI (Non Maskable I / O).
terrupt) and SMI (System Mana)
The error processing can be performed by generating a “Geometric Interrupt”.

By transferring the error information to the sub-computer 120 in the same manner as in the initial diagnosis, recovery processing can be performed in accordance with the error information in the same manner as in the above-described initial diagnosis.

As described above, according to the electronic computer diagnostic apparatus of the present embodiment, the sub computer analyzes the diagnosis result of the main computer and performs the recovery process. It is possible to enhance the diagnosis and realize a more reliable computer system.

As described above, the present invention has been specifically described based on the above embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it is needless to say that various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. It is.

[0081]

The effects obtained by the representative ones of the inventions disclosed in the present application will be briefly described as follows.

That is, since the sub computer analyzes the diagnosis result of the main computer and performs the recovery processing, the self diagnosis at the time of turning on the power of the computer is strengthened, and a more reliable computer system is realized. It is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a computer diagnostic device of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of error information of the computer diagnostic device according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the computer diagnostic device of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional computer.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a diagnosis process of a conventional computer.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: main computer, 101: CPU, 102: main memory, 103: cache memory, 104: I / O
Controller 105 hard disk 106 floppy disk 107 keyboard 108 display device 109 non-volatile memory 110 BIO
S-ROM, 111: host bus, 112: local bus, 113: system bus, 114: self-diagnosis program, 115: diagnosis result transfer unit, 120: sub-computer,
121: CPU, 122: Main memory, 123: I /
O controller, 124 hard disk, 125 floppy disk, 126 keyboard, 127 display device, 128 nonvolatile memory, 129 host bus, 130 system bus, 131 data transfer interface, 132 control interface, 13
3 diagnostic program, 134 recovery processing unit, 135 diagnostic result storage area, 201 time stamp, 202
Error code, 203: attached data, 401: CPU,
402: main memory, 403: cache memory, 4
04 ... I / O controller, 405 ... Hard disk,
406: floppy disk, 407: keyboard, 4
08: display device, 409: nonvolatile memory, 4
10: BIOS-ROM, 411: Host bus, 412
... local bus, 413 ... system bus, 414 ... self-diagnosis program.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A computer diagnostic device for diagnosing a main computer by a sub computer, wherein the self diagnosis result of transferring the self diagnosis result of the main computer to a storage device or a sub computer separable from the main computer. Transfer means, diagnostic result storage means for storing the self-diagnosis result of the main computer transferred by the self-diagnosis result transfer means, and analysis of the self-diagnosis result stored in the diagnosis result storage means. A computer diagnostic apparatus comprising: a recovery processing unit that performs a recovery process.