TW201525681A - BIOS maintenance method - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a BIOS (basic input/output system) maintenance method. A remote management console obtains a first BIOS configuration from a first memory of a server through a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the server, the first memory coupled with the BMC. The first BIOS configuration is remotely modified, and saved back to the first memory through the BMC. A BIOS of the server loads the modified first BIOS configuration to operate.

Description

Basic input and output system maintenance method

The present invention relates to a server technology, and more particularly to a method for maintaining a basic input/output system (BIOS) of a server.

When the server is powered on, its basic input/output system performs power-on self-test (POST), which is designed to initialize various components on the motherboard to provide a minimum operating environment for the operating system. The basic input/output system needs to load its settings during initialization, such as the boot device sequence used to provide the operating system, whether to enable specific functions on the motherboard, and so on. Usually, the basic input and output system settings need to be modified at the local end to enter the setup menu of the basic input/output system. This is troublesome, especially when a batch of servers needs to be maintained, the operation will be more difficult. .

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a method of maintaining a basic input/output system through a remote management terminal.

The present invention provides a basic input/output system maintenance method, the steps comprising: a remote management terminal through a server management controller of a server Obtaining a first setting of a basic input/output system from a first storage body of the server, the first storage system is coupled to the baseboard management controller; remotely modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system; And storing the modified first input/output system first setting to the first storage body; and a basic input/output system of the server loading the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to operate.

In an embodiment, the step of loading, by the basic input/output system, the modified first setting of the basic input/output system comprises: obtaining, by the base management controller, the modified basic in the first storage body The first setting of the input/output system; the basic input/output system writes the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to a second storage body of the server; the server is restarted; and the basic input/output system reads The first setting of the modified basic input/output system in the second bank is loaded to load the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to operate. In an embodiment, the second storage body pre-stores a basic setting of the basic input/output system, and the basic input/output system writes the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to the second storage system to be modified. The first setting of the basic input output system covers the second setting of the basic input/output system in the second bank. In one embodiment, the basic input output system performs the second setting of the basic input output system to operate before the step of restarting the server. In an embodiment, the step of restarting the server includes the remote management terminal controlling the server to restart by using the baseboard management controller.

In an embodiment, the first storage body stores a verification value corresponding to the first setting of the basic input/output system, and the basic input output system maintenance method further includes updating the verification value to correspond to the modified basic input and output. The first setting of the system.

In an embodiment, the remote management terminal obtains the first setting of the basic input/output system from the first storage medium through the baseboard management controller, and the base management controller receives an information acquisition instruction from the remote management terminal; The substrate management controller reads the first setting of the basic input/output system in the first bank and transmits the first setting of the basic input/output system to the remote management terminal according to the information acquisition instruction.

In an embodiment, the step of remotely modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system comprises: displaying the first setting of the basic input/output system in a display form on a display interface of the remote management terminal; and modifying the display interface in the display interface Basic input and output system first setting. In an embodiment, the display form is a mapping table, and the step of modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system in the display interface comprises: a user modifying the content of the mapping table on the display interface to implement the basic input and output The first setting of the system is modified.

In one embodiment, the second memory is a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) memory wafer.

In summary, the remote management terminal sends an information acquisition instruction to the baseboard management controller, and modifies the basic input backed by the baseboard management controller. The first setting of the output system, the basic input/output system can load the modified first setting of the basic input/output system, and realize the maintenance and modification of the setting data of the input and output system by the remote management terminal, which is very convenient.

The above description of the present invention and the following description of the embodiments are intended to illustrate and clarify the spirit and principles of the invention and to provide further explanation of the scope of the invention.

1‧‧‧Server

10‧‧‧Basic input and output system

11‧‧‧First memory bank

12‧‧‧Second storage

14‧‧‧Base Management Controller

16‧‧‧Communication module

2‧‧‧Remote management

21‧‧‧Display interface

1 is a high level block diagram of a server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a partial flow chart of a basic input/output system maintenance method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a partial flow chart of a basic input/output system maintenance method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

The detailed features of the present invention are described in the following description, which is sufficient for any skilled person to understand the technical contents of the present invention and to implement it, and according to the contents disclosed in the specification, the patent application scope and the drawings, any familiarity The related objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. The following examples are intended to further illustrate the invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

See Figure 1. 1 is a high level block diagram of a server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the server 1 includes a basic input/output system 10, a substrate management controller 14, a communication module 16, a first bank 11, and a second bank 12. The communication module 16 can be a wired or wireless network interface card (NIC). The baseboard management controller 14 is coupled to the remote management terminal 2 through the communication module 16 and the network, and the remote management terminal 2 can include The interface 21 is displayed. The first bank 11 is coupled to the substrate management controller 14 by a busbar such as an I ² C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) or an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface), and the second bank 12 is coupled to the basic input/output system 10. For convenience of description, the server 1 may include a central processing unit, a random access memory (such as a DIMM (dual in-line memory module)), a heat dissipation module, and a power supply. A hard disk, a disk array (such as a RAID (redundant array of independent disks)) card, and a sensor for the aforementioned hardware are not shown in FIG.

As a processing core of the IPMI, the substrate management controller 14 monitors a plurality of sensors in the server 1 to grasp and automatically report operating conditions such as temperature and power supply stability in the server 1. The substrate management controller 14 can also control the on/off of the servo 1. The first bank 11 and the second bank 12 may be non-volatile such as flash memory or other types of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Non-volatile storage element. In the present embodiment, the second bank 12 is a static but battery-filled complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) static random memory. A static random-access memory (SRAM), that is, a CMOS memory chip, is dedicated to storing setting information of the basic input/output system 10.

The operation of the basic input/output system 10 involves a central processing unit and a dedicated read-only memory. The read-only memory stores the machine code that the CPU first reads through its program counter when the server 1 is powered on. The central processor executes this machine code to function as a basic input/output system 10. In general, the basic input output system 10 can be viewed as a complete separate functional block. The basic input/output system 10 can be coupled to the substrate management controller 14 in a low pin count (LPC) bus bar. Generally, the basic input/output system 10 loads its settings from the second bank 12 (the second setting of the basic input/output system). In the present invention, the basic input/output system 10 can access the first bank through the substrate management controller 14. 11 stored backup settings (basic input and output system first setting).

Please refer to Figure 2 in conjunction with Figure 1. 2 is a partial flow chart of a basic input/output system maintenance method according to an embodiment of the present invention, in particular, a step in which the substrate management controller 14 acquires, modifies, and restores the first setting of the basic input/output system. As shown in FIG. 2, in step S201, the substrate management controller 14 receives an information acquisition command from the remote management terminal 2 via the communication module 16. The remote management terminal requests the baseboard management controller 14 for the setting information of the basic input/output system that is of interest or to be modified by the information acquisition command. In step S203 The baseboard management controller 14 transmits the first setting of the basic input/output system according to the information acquisition command through the communication module 16, and the first setting of the basic input/output system is taken from the first storage body 11. The user then remotely modifies the basic input/output system first setting in step S205. Specifically, the remote management terminal 2 can display the first setting of the basic input/output system on the display interface 21 for the user to modify. In an embodiment, the first setting of the basic input/output system is displayed in the form of a mapping table, and the user can modify the first setting of the basic input/output system by modifying the content of the mapping table on the display interface 21. In step S207, the modified basic input/output system first setting is transmitted via the network and communication module 16, and is stored back to the first storage body 11 through the substrate management controller 14. In one embodiment, when the information acquisition command is not known by the baseboard management controller 14 or is not supported by the basic input/output system 10, the baseboard management controller 14 may ignore the command or return an error via the communication module 16. The basic input/output system 10 loads the modified basic input/output system first setting in step S209.

It is worth mentioning that, in an embodiment, any access to the second setting of the first or basic input/output system comprises calculating the verification value by setting a bit string for confirming the setting median. The correctness and credibility of the yuan. The verification value can be a simple checksum or a hash value, such as a function of a series of cyclic redundancy check (CRC). The present invention considers the verification value to be an inherent component of the setting of the access basic input/output system 10, and is not limited to being performed by the basic input/output system 10, the baseboard management controller 14, or the remote management terminal 2.

Please refer to Figure 3 in conjunction with Figure 1. 2 is a partial flow chart of a basic input/output system maintenance method according to an embodiment of the present invention, in particular, a step of loading and setting the basic input/output system 10 before and after the server 1 is restarted. As shown in FIG. 3, before the server 1 is restarted, the basic input/output system 10 loads the second setting of the basic input/output system from the second storage body 12 to operate in step S301, that is, before the restarting, the servo The setting data of the basic input/output system executed by the device 1 during the operation is the second setting of the basic input/output system. Steps S303 to S309 are extensions of step S209 in Fig. 2 . In step S303, the basic input/output system 10 obtains the first setting of the modified basic input/output system in the first bank 11 through the substrate management controller 14. In step S305, the basic input/output system 10 writes the acquired basic input/output system first setting into the second storage body 12, overwriting the second basic input/output system second setting of the second storage body 12. After the server 1 is restarted in step S307 (for example, the remote management terminal 2 controls the server 1 to be restarted through the baseboard management controller 14), the basic input/output system 10 reads from the second storage body 12 in step S309. The basic input and output system written in S305 is first set and loaded to operate.

In summary, the remote management board management controller obtains the first setting of the basic input/output system through the baseboard management controller, and then modifies and restores it to the first storage body, and the basic input/output system loads the modified basic input/output system. The first setting, so as to achieve the purpose of modifying the basic input/output system setting information directly through the remote management terminal other than the server, the present invention provides For the user to read and modify the basic input and output system settings from the non-local end, the basic input and output system can be maintained remotely, and the user can maintain the basic input and output system through the remote management terminal without entering the server room. The convenience is increased. When there are multiple servers that need to maintain and modify the basic input/output system setting data, the application of the present invention will be more effective. The remote management terminal is connected to multiple servers for maintenance and modification of the basic input/output system setting data. .

Although the present invention has been disclosed above in the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. It is within the scope of the invention to be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Please refer to the attached patent application for the scope of protection defined by the present invention.

Claims (10)

A basic input/output system maintenance method includes: a remote management terminal obtains a basic input/output system first setting from a first storage body of the server through a baseboard management controller of a server, the first storage system coupling Connecting to the baseboard management controller; remotely modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system; storing, by the baseboard management controller, the modified first input and output system first setting to the first storage body; and one of the server The basic input/output system loads the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to operate. The basic input/output system maintenance method according to claim 1, wherein the step of loading the modified basic input/output system first setting by the basic input/output system comprises: obtaining, by the basic input/output system, the base management controller a first setting of the basic input/output system modified in a bank; the basic input/output system writes the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to a second bank of the server; the server is restarted And the basic input/output system reads the modified first setting of the basic input/output system in the second bank to load the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to operate. The basic input/output system maintenance method according to claim 2, wherein the second storage body pre-stores a basic input/output system second setting, and the basic input/output system writes the modified first setting of the basic input/output system The second storage system overwrites the second setting of the basic input/output system in the second bank with the modified first setting of the basic input/output system. The basic input/output system maintenance method according to claim 3, wherein the basic input/output system loads the second setting of the basic input/output system to operate before the step of restarting the server. The basic input/output system maintenance method according to claim 2, wherein the step of restarting the server comprises the remote management terminal controlling the server to be restarted through the baseboard management controller. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1, wherein the first storage body stores a verification value corresponding to the first setting of the basic input/output system, and the basic input/output system maintenance method further comprises updating the verification value, Corresponding to the modified first basic input and output system first setting. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining, by the remote management terminal, the first setting of the basic input/output system from the first storage body through the base management controller comprises: the baseboard management controller The remote management terminal receives an information acquisition instruction; The substrate management controller reads the first setting of the basic input/output system in the first bank and transmits the first setting of the basic input/output system to the remote management terminal according to the information acquisition instruction. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1, wherein the step of remotely modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system comprises: displaying the basic input/output system first in a display form on a display interface of the remote management end Setting; and modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system on the display interface. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 8, wherein the display form is a mapping table, and the step of modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system in the display interface comprises: a user modifying the mapping table in the display interface The content to implement the modification of the first setting of the basic input/output system. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1, wherein the second memory is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor memory wafer.