TW200521836A - Automatic firmware configuration system and method for baseboard management controller - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an automatic firmware configuration system for baseboard management controller (BMC), which includes the following steps of: first packaging a hardware module, an interface module, a command module, a SDR module, and an OEM module by types; then, generating a configuration file, and separating each module into independent directories; initializing and generating an empty Makefile file; reading the contents of the configuration file; when user selects an option of one module, checking the configuration file and dynamically displaying the options of related modules on the interface; recording the related options in the Makefile file; and finally generating BMC firmware data. The present invention could flexibly manage hardware information, and automatically complete the configuration of BMC firmware.

Description

200521836

[Technical field to which the invention belongs] The present invention relates to a system and method for automatic firmware configuration, and more particularly, to a system and method for automatic firmware configuration of a board management controller that complies with I PM I specifications. [Previous technology] One of the main problems faced by enterprises in the new economic era is not only to ensure uninterrupted operation of application systems, but also to continuously reduce operating costs. Whoever can better control the cost of network management will be at the forefront of competition. " Market demand determines the development direction of technology and industry. Some major manufacturers in the industry have joined forces since 1997 to enter the research and development of intelligent server management. Their starting point is to solve the problem of low Z of server hardware management. After several years of hard work, the IPMI-1 (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) standard was introduced in 2001. A Hui, IPMI is a new generation of common interface standards that enables intelligent hardware management. Users can use I PM I to monitor the physical health characteristics of the server, such as temperature, voltage, fan operating status, power supply, and chassis intrusion, to provide information for system management, recovery, and asset management. The π wisdom of IPM technology comes from a management microcontroller. In a host system, this controller is called MC (Baseboard

Management Controller ’). BMC can be used to provide the wisdom of smart platform management. The interface between the management software of the control system and the platform management hardware 'provides autonomous monitoring, event recording, and recovery control functions, and can be used as system management software, I? 〇 and I CMB Interface gate

Page 5 200521836 V. Description of Invention (2) "-Use of Tao. BMC has its own power supply and automatically monitors system health. If any controlled unit is found to be abnormal, $ can take immediate action, such as logging an event, alarm, automatic shutdown or restart. Associated with the BMC is a set of passive memory used to store sensor data (Sensor Data Records' SDR), system event log files, and some unit information such as serial numbers and parts and tribute messages. I PM 丨 transfers information to the management microcontroller by specifying a general-purpose, streamlined, message-based interface to separate software and hardware information. In normal times, BMC collects information about system health and system status, and can perform corrective actions when serious events occur. Generally, the system health monitoring function is implemented by using Philips' I 2 C digital sensors (such as [μ 7 5, L Μ 8 5, LM84, LM86), which can monitor different system voltages, temperatures, and Fan speed. BMC uses active polling to find out if there are sensors out of range. In order to make the monitoring work effective, the BMC can be configured according to different thresholds. For example, when the BMC detects that the temperature exceeds a certain alarm threshold, it will increase the fan speed. If the correction is not enough, the temperature will exceed another emergency threshold. At this time, the BMC will cut off the system power, record the event process and pass the LAN or serial The modem sends a message to the remote terminal. The BMC is composed of many modules, which are closely related to the hardware. There are numerous connections between the two modules. In the BMC configuration process, you need to select the motherboard hardware chip, then select the corresponding driver module, select ^ required ^ interface, command, SDR, OEM command, combine the various modules to compile the BMC. At present ’there is no suitable configuration tool, the BMC configuration process is only

Page 6 200521836

Month b is completed by hand. Because it is completely based on people, Gu is easy to make mistakes, and is inefficient, and some hidden error helmet methods are low, the bed attendant is found in time, and the quality helmet method is guaranteed. Therefore, how to provide a loan ..... The automatic configuration system p for the early BMC body of i BMC has become an urgent problem for the industry. Putting a spear ... wonder: Summary of content] To solve the above problem, Tomyoshi provides an automatic configuration system of a substrate management controller to flexibly manage the rational configuration of the hardware BMC firmware.

The invention provides a moving body automatic configuration system for a substrate management controller, which includes a hardware option module and stores optional hardware options for supporting management of different hardware environments. Select the corresponding hardware; the interface option module stores the available communication interface options to support different communication interfaces. The user can choose the corresponding communication interface according to the actual needs; the command option module stores the available communication interfaces. Optional command options to support the command set of the IPMI specification. 'Users can select the corresponding command according to actual needs; sensor information

Sensor Data Record (SDR) module, used to configure various types of SDR, users can input or select according to actual needs; 0EM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) module, used to

OEM commands and interfaces for configuration; configuration files that record the association and restrictions of each option of each module; Make fi 1 e audit generation module to generate Makef through the configuration file according to the user's choice丨 丨 e file; BMC Wei blade body generation module, used to generate BMC body data in the compilation environment + according to the user's choice and Makef 丨 le slot case.

Page 7 200521836 V. Description of the invention (4) The present invention further provides a method for automatically configuring the firmware of the substrate management controller. 'First, the hardware, interface, command, sdr, and OEM data required by the BMC are classified into hardware by class. Module, interface module, command module, SDR module and 0E crew; then generate a configuration file based on the associations and restrictions between the modules and separate each module into separate directories; initialize and generate an empty Makefile broadcast; read the configuration file content and list the tree list; when the user selects an option in a module, check the association and restricted content in the configuration file; dynamically display the association on the interface according to the configuration file Module options, and the associated options are recorded in the Make fi 1 e slot; finally, according to the user's choice and the current Makef slot, the BMC dynamic data is generated in the compilation environment. By encapsulating and setting the hardware, interface, command, SDR, and 0 EM data required by the BMC and setting associations, the present invention can flexibly manage each hardware module, adapt to various needs, and provide a unified calling interface for each module. Flexible hardware replacement, even standard configuration templates can be imported, and configuration can be modified based on them, which improves productivity. [Embodiment] The present invention provides a firmware automatic configuration system for a substrate management controller, which is used to flexibly manage hardware information and automatically complete a reasonable configuration of BMC. As shown in FIG. 1, it is a BMC server of the present invention. Schematic diagram of the automatic configuration system, which includes a hardware option module 1 〇1, an interface option module 1 0 2, a command option module 1 0 3, a sensor data record (sens 〇r Data Record ' SDR) weight group 104, 10EM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) module 105, a configuration file 106, a

Page 8 200521836 V. Description of the invention (5)

Makefile broadcast case generation module 107, a BMC moving body generation module 108. Among them, the hardware option module stores selectable hardware options for supporting management of different hardware environments. Users can choose the corresponding hardware according to actual needs; interface option module 丨 〇2 storage There are optional communication interface options to support different communication interfaces. The user can choose the corresponding communication interface according to the actual needs. The command option check group 1 0 3 stores the optional command options to support II. The user can select the corresponding command according to the actual needs. The sensor lean recording module j 〇4 is used to configure various types of SDR. The user can = input or choose by himself; 〇EM mode Group ι〇5 is used to configure two rows of 〇em 2; configuration file 106 records each-module = slope = user's t and restrictions; Make f 1 1 e slot case generation module 1 0 7 MC Wei blade body generation module 108 is used ;; Si II = Generate Makefile slot case; ^ ^ ^ ^ is used to generate BMC firmware data in the editing environment according to the user's choice and Makefile case. Please refer to Figure 2, Weitaihuan # Configuration Method Flow®. First, first, you need to use the \ ^ substrate management tool, auto-command, S_, and _data. The relationship and restrictions between the steps Γ ΐ step 2G1); then according to the model into a separate project, and each module is divided into

, Initialize and generate a * fe AA case (step 203); read the list of matching patterns (step 2 04); Zhetian * yangyang system combined 91 ^ ^ S & f ^ ^ Φ E, Tian When the user selects an option in a module, check the associations and restrictions in the case (step 2 0 5) according to the 200521836 V. Description of the invention (6) The configuration file dynamically displays the association on the interface Module options, and record the associated options on the Makef i le file (step 2 06); finally, according to the user's choice and the current Makef i le audit case, generate BMC dynamic data in the compilation environment (step 2 0 7). The configuration file 106 of the present invention may be a single file created uniformly for all modules, or may be divided into a hardware option module 1 0, an interface option module 102, a command option module 103, The SDR module 104 and the OEM module 105 are provided separately. The embodiments of the method are explained in terms of separate settings.

The information contained in the configuration file includes the current module name, dependent module locations and module names, associated module locations and module names, and restrictions. According to the present invention ', various supported hardware, interfaces, commands, etc. can be packaged in a unified form in advance to ensure no conflicts and omissions. As shown in FIG. 3 ', it is a schematic structural diagram of a hardware option module mentioned in the present invention. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an interface option module mentioned in the present invention. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a command option module mentioned in the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of an SDR module according to the present invention.

In the embodiment of the present invention, each module is divided into a single directory, such as the hardware model directory 2168, the interface directory kcs, lan, the command directory command, the SDR directory sdr, and the OEM directory oem. A configuration file Config is set in the parent directory, and its content is the current module name ’dependent module location, module name, associated module location, module name, restrictions, etc.

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Into an empty Makef i le V. Invention Description (7)

After the configuration system of the present invention is started, the file ′ is then read for each item. When the user selects one of the items = 士 on & lg file, list the tree column

Conf ig file, find out the dependents of the μ-term, correlative board group, and reflect it in the display public dynamics. At the same time,. F · 1々 μ μ ^ * 丨 The items on Ding are recorded on the Makef 1 le file. Each configuration file contains at least the current module name, dependent module settings, associated module names and locations. There are also special stops. The form of the stand-alone SDR configuration file is as follows: '// General field [Modu1eName] n Namen = str: sdr.c [DepModu1e] MNamen = str: xxxx ”Position” = str: xxxx [ RelatedModule] " Name " = str: xxxx M Posititon11 = str: xxxx // The following is a detailed description of the SDR table [Bytel 2]

ByteNumber1 丨 Two dword: 12

Page 11 200521836 V. Description of the invention (8) "BitLength 丨 '= dword: 8' 丨 FieldNamef, = str: Sensor Capabilities MDescription " = str: [7] lb = Ignore sensor if Entity is not present or disabled [6] 1 b = Auto Re-arm Support [5: 4] 0 Ob = No hysteresis 0 1 b = hysteresis is readable 10b = readable and set tab 1e llb ^ Fixed, unreadable, hysteresis [3: 2] 0 Ob = no thresholds 0 1 b = thresho1ds are readable

1 Ob = readab1e and settable 1 1 b = F i xed and unreadable [1: 0] 0 Ob = per threshold / discrete- state event enable / disable control 01b = entire sensor only 10b = global disable only 11b = no events MReferTableM = str: NULL " DetailNumber " = dword: 5 < Deta i11 >

丨, Detail "= dword: ln DetaiIDes " = str: Ignore sensor nFromn = dword: 7 丨, Length '丨 = dword: l MOn = str: ignore sensor if Entity is not present or disabled n ln = str: don't ignore sensor t

Page 12 200521836 V. Description of the invention (9) [Rea 1 at i on] M RByteNumber " = dword: 34 nRFrom !, = dword: 7 " RLength " = dword: 3 MRValue " = string: 010 < Detai12 > " Detailn = dword: 2

M Detai1DesM = str: Sensor Auto Re-arm Support 丨, Fromn = dword: 6 nLength " = dword: l M0 !, = str: no (manual) " lf, = str: yes (auto) < Detai 1 3 > 丨, Detail1 丨 = dword: 3

M DetaiIDes " = str: Sensor Hysteresis Support 1 丨 From 丨 丨 = dword: 5 M Lengthff = dword: 2 n 0 0 " = str: N o hysteresis 丨 丨 01n Two str: hysteresis is readable, 10 丨 丨 two str: hysteresis is readable and settable n ll,! = str: Fixed, unreadable, hysteresis < Deta i 1 4 > nDetailn = dw〇rd: 4 f, Detai IDes " = str: Sensor Threshold Access

Page 13 200521836 V. Description of the Invention (ίο)

Support n F r 〇m " = dw 〇rd: 3 " Length "two dword: 2 " 0 0 !! = str: η o thresholds n 01M = str: thresholds are readable!, 10, f = str: reserved n11M = str: Fixed, unreaadble, thresholds. < Detai 1 5 > ”Detailn = dword: 5

" DetailDesn = str: Sensor Event Message Control Support '丨 From "= dword: 1 n Length1 丨 = dword: 2 M 0 0 = str: per threshold / discrete-state event enab1e / di sab 1e control 丨 丨 01 丨 丨= str: entire sensor only n10n = str: global disable only 1 1, f = str: η o evnets from sensor

In this way, after the user completes a field in the SDR, the present invention will inform the user of the specific meaning of the filled value according to the C ο nfig file of the SDR, and the associated field specified in the Con fig file Assignment, in this way, can ensure the correctness of the internal logic of the SDR table. At the same time, inform the user of this operation.

Page 14 200521836 V. Description of the invention (11) The makefile is a common method for many compilers, including the compiler under Windows NT, to maintain compilation information. The main and most basic function of the Make tool is to use makef i 1 e files to describe the interrelationships between the source programs and automatically maintain the compilation. The make f i 1 e file needs to be written according to a certain syntax. The file needs to explain how to compile each original archive and link to generate an executable file, and it is required to define the dependencies between the original broadcasts. ~ The Makefi 1 e audit case of the present invention is automatically created & when the system is started, and modified when the specific module is selected, for example, after selecting i 2 <, it will be added to the Makefil e case: OBJ = obj / di2c.o \ obj / EEProm.o \ obj / IPMB, o \ obj / ADM1029.ο \ obj / LanSmb.ο Of course 'these contents' are specified in the i 2 c C ο η fig file. In the case of one module, 'read its own module, dependent modules ^, ° module from the corresponding Conf ig file at the same time, write Makef 丨 1 e " like, when deleting a module, delete related information. With the application of the automatic configuration system provided by the present invention, BMC configuration can be performed conveniently, quickly, and quickly. As shown in FIG. 7, it is not intended for the present invention. Just intuitively select a piece of hardware, for example, directly choose to call 1 8 @ 曰 耶 片 (After selecting a piece of hardware in a list, and the

200521836 V. Description of the invention (12) | The interface associated with the hardware will appear in the next list), similarly, | Next, you only need to intuitively select an interface, such as selecting] (cs interface, only intuitive Select the required command, such as Global, Event, Sel, Watch dog commands, etc. For the SDR table, how to use the present invention, to fill in an SDR Typel sensor, you need to fill in the 64 hexadecimal digits manually. , 丨 For programmers, it is not easy to understand, it is easy to make mistakes and omissions, and, 丨 ^: Its ^ some bits and some bits are related to each other. For example, I " " does not support entity instances, Then the following enti1: y bytes must be adjusted accordingly, which is very complicated. However, you need to fill in the details, refer to Figure 8, which is a schematic diagram of the SDR configuration wizard. Inherent and non-examined rules, and ensure that there is no error in the generation of the byte filling and editing, can be reported intuitively to complete this 64 completion, the ㈣ configuration group can automatically, qG 罝 fast according to the previous settings Correctness. The above description is not intended to limit the present invention; "It is only the preferred embodiment of the invention, and the equalization of" transformation: Shi Yanwei "is to apply for the application of the patent model No. 1 in accordance with this creation, All are covered by the scope of the creation patent. Page 16 200521836 Brief Description of Drawings Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the BMC Wei blade automatic configuration system of the present invention; Figure 2 is a flowchart of the method of automatic configuration of the baseboard management controller firmware of the present invention Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a hardware option module according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of an interface option module according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a command option module structure according to the present invention Schematic diagram; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the SDR module according to the present invention; Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the configuration interface of the present invention; and Figures 8-1 and 8-2 are schematic diagrams of the SDR configuration wizard provided by the present invention.

[Illustration of graphical symbols] 101 hardware option module 1 0 2 interface option module 1 0 3 command option module 104 sensor data recording module 105 OEM module 106 configuration file 107 Makef i le slot generation module 108 BMC firmware generation module

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Claims (1)

200521836 6. Scope of patent application 1. A firmware automatic configuration system for the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), which is used to flexibly manage hardware and hardware information and automatically complete the reasonable configuration of the BMC. The system includes: The hardware option module 'stores optional hardware options to support the management and management of different hardware environments. Users can select the corresponding hardware according to actual needs.' An interface option module stores available hardware options. The selected communication interface option is used to support different communication interfaces. The user can choose the corresponding communication interface according to the actual needs. A command option module stores optional command options to support the I PM I standard. Command collection, users can choose the corresponding command according to actual needs; a Sensor Data Record (SDR) module is used to configure various types of SDR, users can input or select according to actual needs; a 0EM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) module for configuring OEM commands and interfaces; A configuration file records the association and limitation of each option of each module. A Makefile eaves generation module is used to generate a Makefil e file through the configuration slot according to the user's choice; and a BMC blade body A generating module is used to generate MC Wei blade data in the compilation environment according to the user's choice and the Makef 1 le coffin case. 2. The firmware of the baseboard management controller as described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application > dynamic configuration system, where: 窣 Hardware option module, interface option module, command line Page 18 200521836 VI. Patent Application Scope Option modules, SDR modules and OEM modules are divided into separate directories. 3. The firmware automatic configuration system of the substrate management controller as described in the first item of the scope of the patent application, wherein the configuration file can be the hardware option module, interface option module, command option module, SDR module, and OEM module. 4. The firmware automatic configuration system of the baseboard management controller as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the information contained in the configuration file includes the current module name, the location of the dependent module and the module name, and the associated module Group location and module name, restrictions. 5. A method for automatic configuration of a baseboard management controller (BMC), which is used to flexibly manage hardware information and automatically complete the reasonable configuration of the BMC. The method includes: changing the hardware used by the BMC , Interface, command, SDR, and OEM data are divided into hardware modules, interface modules, command modules, SDR modules, and OEM modules by category; generate a configuration file based on the associations and restrictions between the modules and Each module is divided into separate directories; initialize and generate an empty Makefil e slot; read the configuration file content and list the tree list; when the user selects an option in a module, check the configuration file Association and restriction content; dynamically display the options of the associated module on the interface according to the configuration file, and record the associated options in the Makefi 1 e slot; and according to the user's selection and the current Makef ile slot Generated in the compilation environment Page 19 200521836 6. Scope of patent application BMC Wei blade body information. 6. The firmware automatic configuration method of the substrate management controller as described in item 5 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the information contained in the configuration file includes the current module name, the location of the dependent module and the module name, and the associated module Group location and module name, restrictions. 7. The method for automatic firmware configuration of the board management controller as described in item 5 of the scope of patent application, which further includes the step of deleting the corresponding content from the Makefi 1 e case when the user deletes a module option. . 8. The firmware automatic configuration method for the substrate management controller as described in item 5 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the configuration file may be the hardware option module, interface option module, command option module, SDR module, and OEM module. Page 20