TW201606649A - Device and method for updating firmware of rack mountable server system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for updating firmware of rack mountable server system is disclosed herein and suited to update a firmware of an update-needed chip module by a control chip module. The method comprises the following steps of: transmitting a plurality of packets constituting a renewed firmware to the update-needed chip module by the control chip module,; transmitting a command of verifying the plurality of packets to the update-needed chip module by the control chip module; acquiring a plurality of verification messages, corresponding to the plurality of packets, from the update-needed chip module by the control chip module; and determining whether all of the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are correct or not, by the control chip module, thereby making sure whether the plurality of packets received by the update-needed chip module are wrong or not.

Description

Firmware update method and device for rack server system

The present invention relates to the field of server architecture, and more particularly to a firmware update method for a rack server system and a device thereof, which are suitable for updating a firmware of a wafer module to be updated via a control chip module.

At present, the server is widely used by various enterprises. In addition to the application of international network and telecommunication services, the scope of development is also deeper into the lives of ordinary people, such as finance, finance, online banking, etc., which must rely on the servo. Powerful computing power.

There are many types of servers available today, and the more common ones are rack servers and tower servers. Among them, the rack server is an optimized structure of the tower server, and its design purpose is mainly to minimize the occupation of the server space. In general, the rack server has a width of 19 inches and a height of U (1U = 44.45 mm). There are usually several standard servers such as 1U, 2U, 4U, and 5U. In order to improve the application level of the current server substrate, system vendors typically design the server substrate to be compatible with various types of systems (eg, 1U, 2U, and 4U).

The motherboard in the server rack system contains a variety of embedded chips (such as Cortex-M3 or Cortex-4 chips as control chips, power-consuming chips, etc.) The wafers all require firmware to work together. If the firmware of the above chip needs to be updated after the server rack system is shipped, the method can be updated via a Rack Management Controller (RMC) installed in the server rack. . The rack management controller includes an ARM9 chip and runs on an embedded Linux system. When it is necessary to update the firmware of the embedded chip of one of the motherboards in the server rack system, the firmware file is read by the rack management controller, and the firmware file is decomposed into a plurality of packets and sent to the wafer to be updated. . In the conventional update method, each time a packet is sent, the rack management controller waits for the return of the wafer, and checks whether the packet CRC is correct, and if it is correct, the next packet is sent. Therefore, the firmware of the wafer is currently updated relatively slowly and takes a long time.

In view of this, it is highly desirable to provide a new firmware update method or apparatus for a rack server system to solve the above problems.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for updating a firmware of a rack server system, which can effectively solve the problem that the firmware is slow and time-consuming to be updated in the prior art, thereby saving a large amount of update time and making the update tough. The speed of the body has increased dramatically.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a firmware update method for a rack server system, which is suitable for updating a firmware of a wafer module to be updated via a control chip module, the control chip module being a rack type a rack management controller of the server system, the rack server system including at least one server connected to the rack management controller, the at least one server including the wafer module to be updated, the rack management control The method of controlling the booting and shutting down of the at least one server includes: sending, by the control chip module, a plurality of packets that can form a new firmware to the wafer module to be updated; Group sends a verification that And receiving, by the control chip module, a plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets, and determining, by the control chip module, the plurality of packets Whether the corresponding plurality of verification messages are all correct, to confirm whether the plurality of packets received by the wafer module to be updated are in error.

In an optional embodiment, the step of determining, by the control chip module, whether the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are correct comprises: if the verification message is incorrect, further comprising: step a, And sending, by the control chip module, the packet corresponding to the error verification message to the chip module to be updated; and step b, obtaining, by the control chip module, resending from the chip module to be updated to the chip module to be updated a verification message corresponding to the packet of the group; step c, determining, by the control chip module, whether the verification message corresponding to the packet resent to the chip module to be updated is correct; if correct, the control chip module is resent to the There is no error in updating the packet of the wafer module; if not, the steps a, b, and c are performed cyclically until there is no erroneous verification message in the verification message obtained by the control chip module from the wafer module to be updated.

In an optional embodiment, before the step of transmitting the plurality of packets forming the updated firmware to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module, the method further includes updating the toughness via the control chip module. The body is decomposed into the plurality of packets.

In an optional embodiment, the step of determining, by the control chip module, whether the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are correct comprises: if the plurality of verification messages are correct, the chip module to be updated There were no errors in the received packets.

In an alternative embodiment, the wafer module to be renewed is a wafer having a firmware, and the wafer having the firmware is disposed on a motherboard of a server.

In an optional embodiment, before the step of transmitting the plurality of packets forming the updated firmware to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module, the method further includes: sending an update via the control chip module Starting a command to the wafer module to be updated; obtaining, by the control chip module, an operation status message from the wafer module to be updated; determining, by the control chip module, whether the operation status message is a first operation state, if not The wafer module to be updated is switched to the first operating state.

In an optional embodiment, after the step of sending an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module, the method further comprises: waiting for receiving from the to-be-updated chip module via the control chip module. a running status message; if the waiting time exceeds a predetermined first time threshold, the control chip module resends an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module, and records the number of times the update start command is resent .

In an optional embodiment, after the step of resending an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module and recording the number of times of resending the update start command, the control chip module further includes: via the control wafer module The group judges whether the number of times of resending the update start command is greater than a preset maximum number of retransmission times; if so, stops the operation of updating the firmware.

In an optional embodiment, after the step of the control chip module that does not have an erroneous verification message in the verification message obtained from the chip module to be updated, the method further includes: sending a completion via the control chip module Updating the firmware command to the to-be-updated wafer module; obtaining, by the control chip module, a response to complete the firmware update from the wafer module to be updated, the wafer module to be updated has been marked as a firmware update success state .

Another object of the present invention is to provide a firmware updating device suitable for use via A control chip module updates a firmware of the chip module to be updated, the control chip module is a rack management controller of a rack server system, and the rack server system includes connecting the rack management At least one server of the controller, the at least one server includes the chip module to be updated, the rack management controller can control power on and off of the at least one server, and the firmware update device comprises: a packet sending module And sending, by the control chip module, a plurality of packets that can form an updated firmware to the to-be-updated chip module; and the verification message requesting module is connected to the packet transmission module for using the control chip module Sending a command for verifying the plurality of packets to the to-be-updated chip module; the verification message acquisition module is coupled to the verification message requesting module for obtaining the plural number from the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module a plurality of verification messages corresponding to the packets; and a verification message determining module connected to the verification message acquisition module for determining the plurality of packets via the control chip module Should all of the plurality of verification message is correct, to confirm that the chip module to be updated receives the plurality of packets for errors.

In an optional embodiment, the firmware update device further includes: a packet retransmission module, connected to the verification message judging module, configured to verify that the verification message is incorrect in the plurality of verification messages, by using the control The chip module resends the packet corresponding to the error verification message to the chip module to be updated; the verification message retrieving module is connected to the packet retransmission module for updating from the control chip module The chip module obtains a verification message corresponding to the packet resent to the chip module to be updated; the verification message re-judging module is connected to the verification message retrieving module, and is configured to be resent to the device via the control chip module. Whether the verification message corresponding to the packet of the chip module to be updated is correct, and when the verification message is incorrect, the packet retransmission module is called.

In an alternative embodiment, the wafer module to be renewed is a wafer having a firmware, and the wafer having the firmware is disposed on a motherboard of a server.

In an optional embodiment, the firmware update device further includes: an update start command sending module, configured to send an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; And the update start command sending module is configured to obtain an operation status message from the to-be-updated chip module via the control chip module; the operation state determination module is connected to the operation state acquisition module for The control chip module determines whether the running status message is in a first operating state, and if not, the wafer module to be updated is switched to the first operating state.

In an optional embodiment, the firmware update device further includes: a waiting receiving module, configured to wait for receiving an operation status message from the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and update the start command retransmission mode The control chip module re-sends an update start command to the to-be-updated chip module, and records the time when the waiting for receiving time exceeds a preset first time threshold. The number of times the update start command was resent.

In an optional embodiment, the firmware update device further includes: a retransmission count determination module, configured to determine, by the control chip module, whether the number of times of resending the update start command is greater than a preset maximum number of retransmissions The value, if it is, stops the operation of updating the firmware.

In an optional embodiment, the firmware update device further includes: an update requesting module, configured to send a command to update the firmware to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and complete the update response The module is connected to the completion update request module for obtaining a response to complete the firmware update from the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module, and the wafer module to be updated has been marked as a firmware update success. status.

An advantage of the present invention is that the firmware update side of the rack server system The method and the device thereof can effectively solve the problem that the conventional technology updates the firmware of the chip slowly and takes a long time, thereby saving a large amount of update time and increasing the speed of updating the firmware, so as to further improve the efficiency of the upgrade work.

400‧‧‧Rack Server System

410‧‧‧Control chip module

420‧‧‧ wafer module to be updated

430‧‧‧Film with firmware

500‧‧‧ firmware update device

501‧‧‧Update Start Command Sending Module

502‧‧‧waiting receiving module

503‧‧‧Update Start Command Resend Module

504‧‧‧Retransmission judgment module

505‧‧‧Run state acquisition module

506‧‧‧Operating state judgment module

510‧‧‧Packet sending module

520‧‧‧Verification Message Request Module

530‧‧‧Verification Message Acquisition Module

540‧‧‧Verification Message Judgment Module

551‧‧‧Package reissue module

552‧‧‧Verification message retrieving module

553‧‧‧Verification message re-judging module

561‧‧‧ Complete update request module

562‧‧‧Complete update response module

S101, S103, S105, S110, S120, S130, S140, S151, S153, S155, S161, S163, S211~S219, S311~S317‧‧

1 is a flow chart showing a specific implementation procedure of a firmware update method of a rack server system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the message interaction of the firmware update method of the conventional rack server system.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the message interaction of the firmware update method of the rack server system according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a server in which a firmware update device is located in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the firmware updating apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The specific implementation of the firmware update method and apparatus of the rack server system provided by the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1 is a flow chart showing a specific implementation procedure of a firmware update method of a rack server system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the present invention provides a firmware update method for a rack server system, which is suitable for updating a firmware of a wafer module to be updated via a control chip module. In this embodiment, the control chip module is a rack management controller (Rack Management Controller) of a rack server system. RMC), firmware update of the wafer to be updated with the firmware of the wafer module. The rack server system includes at least one server connected to the rack management controller, the at least one server includes the wafer module to be updated, and the rack management controller can control the booting of the at least one server Shut down. The rack management controller has an ARM series of chips (e.g., an ARM9 chip) and runs an embedded Linux system, but does not limit the scope of the claimed invention. In other embodiments, the control chip module can also be a substrate management controller of a server, the substrate management controller can control the startup and shutdown of the server, and the server includes the wafer module to be updated. In addition, the wafer module to be updated is a wafer having a firmware, and the wafer having the firmware is disposed on a motherboard of a server. The wafer module to be updated can control a control wafer of a fan speed, or a wafer that can calculate power consumption, and the like. The rack management controller decomposes the obtained firmware for update into a plurality of packets for subsequent transmission to the node that needs to be updated.

The firmware update method of the rack server system of the present invention includes the following steps: Step S101, sending an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and step S103, via the control chip module Obtaining an operation status message from the to-be-updated wafer module; step S105, determining, by the control chip module, whether the operation status message is a first operation state, and if not, switching the wafer module to be updated to the first operation a state in which a plurality of packets that can form a new firmware are sent to the chip module to be updated via the control chip module; and in step S120, a command to verify the plurality of packets is sent to the control chip module. The chip module to be updated is obtained; in step S130, the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are obtained from the to-be-updated chip module via the control chip module; and in step S140, the plurality of packets corresponding to the plurality of packets are determined by the control chip module Whether the plurality of verification messages are all correct, to confirm whether the plurality of packets received by the wafer module to be updated are in error; step S151 Via the control The chip module resends the packet corresponding to the error verification message to the chip module to be updated; and in step S153, the packet sent from the chip module to be updated to the chip module to be updated is obtained through the control chip module. Corresponding verification message; in step S155, determining, by the control chip module, whether the verification message corresponding to the packet resent to the chip module to be updated is correct; if correct, the control chip module is resent to the chip module to be updated There is no error in the packet of the group. If it is not correct, steps S151, S153, and S155 are performed until the control chip module does not have an error verification message in the verification message obtained from the chip module to be updated; step S161, through the control The chip module sends a command to complete the firmware update to the wafer module to be updated; and in step S163, a response of the firmware update is obtained from the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module, the wafer die to be updated The group has been marked as a firmware update success status.

The above steps will be described in further detail below.

In step S101, the control chip module sends an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module to attempt to establish a physical connection with the wafer module to be updated. The wafer module to be updated is a wafer having a firmware, and the wafer having the firmware is disposed on a motherboard of a server. The update start command includes information such as the first address of the updated firmware application, the size of each packet, and the number of packets. When the update start command is sent, it indicates that it is ready to start updating the firmware, and waits for the reply of the wafer module to be updated.

In step S103, after the wafer module to be updated receives the update start command, the control chip module waits to receive an operation status message returned from the wafer module to be updated, and the operation status message is set to be The current running state of the motherboard to which the wafer module belongs is updated, including bootcode and runtime. The bootcode running state is used to update the firmware operation, and the runtime running state is used for the normal operation of the motherboard.

In step S105, the control chip module determines whether the running status message is in a first operating state (ie, a state in which the firmware can be updated, such as a bootcode running state), if it is set in the wafer module to be updated. When the current running state of the motherboard to which the chip belongs is the runtime running state, it automatically switches to the bootcode running state, so as to prepare for the subsequent update firmware. That is, the bootcode running state can update the firmware, and the runtime running state cannot update the firmware. It should be noted that, if the control chip module determines that the waiting for receiving time exceeds a preset first time threshold, the control chip module resends an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module, and records the re The number of times the update start command was sent. Further, the control chip module determines whether the number of times of resending the update start command is greater than a preset maximum number of retransmission times, and if so, stops the operation of updating the firmware. In order to ensure the efficiency of the firmware update operation, in the embodiment of the present invention, a maximum number of retransmission times is set, for example, three times. If the number of times of resending the update start command exceeds three times, the physical connection is stopped, that is, the update is stopped. Firmware operation. The above steps S101 to S105 are optional steps for causing the control chip module to attempt to establish a physical connection with the wafer module to be updated. The control chip module can not be successfully physically connected with the chip module to be updated for the first time due to environmental factors (such as the network environment), thereby allowing the control chip module to try multiple times and to be updated. The chip module establishes a physical connection.

In the step S110, a plurality of packets that can form a new firmware are sent to the chip module to be updated via the control chip module, and a plurality of packets containing the updated firmware are sent to the chip to be updated continuously without interruption. Module until the plurality of packets are sent. Before the step of transmitting the plurality of packets forming the updated firmware to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module, further comprising decomposing the updated firmware into the complex via the control chip module Several packets. When the wafer module to be updated (such as the firmware of the embedded chip of any motherboard in the server rack system) needs to be updated, the control chip module first reads the updated firmware, and then the firmware is removed. It is divided into a plurality of packets to be sent to the wafer module to be updated after preparation. In the embodiment of the present invention, the control chip module first sends a command to update the firmware (for example, the SET FW IMAGE command) to the chip module to be updated, and then starts to continuously transmit the plurality of updates including the firmware. The packet of the body is given to the chip module to be updated (ie, the boot code of the chip to be updated) until the plurality of packets are sent to ensure that the package of the firmware is quickly and reliably transmitted.

In step S120, a command for verifying the plurality of packets is sent to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module to verify whether the plurality of packets received by the wafer module to be updated are correct (due to the transmission process) The packet may be in error). When the update firmware is split into a plurality of packets for transmission, the CRC (ie, Cyclic Redundancy Check abbreviation, Cyclic Redundancy Check) verification of the transmitted plurality of packets is required to ensure that the updated firmware is transmitted. Integrity and reliability. In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of verification messages of the plurality of packets are obtained by transmitting a command for verifying the plurality of packets (for example, a CHECK FW IMAGE command) to the to-be-updated wafer module. At the same time, it has been found that the conventional technology causes the current firmware firmware to be updated slowly and takes a long time. In the firmware update method of the conventional rack server system, the control chip module sends one packet at a time. Waiting for the wafer module to be updated, waiting for the wafer module to be updated (ie, the wafer set in the wafer module to be updated) to return a CRC message of a single transmitted packet, and then controlling the chip module to check the CRC of the single packet. If the message is correct, if it is correct, the next packet will be sent in turn, and if it is not correct, the single packet will be resent. Since each packet needs to wait for the response of the chip module to be updated after each packet is sent, There are more packets (that is, the firmware is larger), so it takes a longer waiting time, which causes the conventional technology to update the chip firmware slowly and takes a long time. In the embodiment of the present invention, the control chip module will not wait for the response of the wafer module to be updated after sending one packet, but continuously send all the packets in a row without interruption, and then check the Multiple CRC messages (including correct and erroneous CRC messages) for multiple packets.

In step S130, a plurality of verification messages of the plurality of packets returned from the to-be-updated wafer module are received via the control chip module.

In step S140, it is determined, by the control chip module, whether the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are all correct. If one of the verification messages is incorrect, it indicates that the corresponding packet is in error. If not, the control chip module further sends a command to re-update the firmware (for example, RE-SET FW IMAGE command) to the wafer module to be updated, and retransmits the error packet to the wafer to be updated. Module, the specific steps are as follows.

After the step S140, the method further includes: in step S151, re-distributing all the erroneous packets corresponding to the erroneous verification message to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and step S153, from the control chip module And the verification, by the control chip module, whether the verification message corresponding to the packet resent to the to-be-updated chip module is correct; If it is correct, the control chip module re-sends the packet to the chip module to be updated without error. If not, the steps S151, S153, and S155 are performed cyclically until the control chip module is obtained from the wafer module to be updated. There is no wrong verification message in the verification message (ie, multiple verification messages are all correct).

Steps S151, S153, and S155 are performed through loops to ensure the plurality of seals The package is correct, that is, the updated firmware obtained by the wafer is correct. In addition, in the process of resending all the erroneous packets in one time, the number of retransmitted packets is the maximum value of the currently erroneous packet, and waits for a response. For example, if there are three packets that are erroneous in total, the three erroneous packets are uniformly transmitted again, and one response is waited for. In the prior art, the number of resend packets is the accumulated value of the number of packets currently erroneous, and waits for multiple responses. For example, if there are 3 packets in total, the first packet will be retransmitted for the first time, and the first response will be awaited, the second packet will be retransmitted the second time, and the second response will be awaited. The third packet is retransmitted and waits for the third response. Therefore, the present invention can effectively solve the step of cumbersomely waiting for the response of the wafer module to be updated in the process of transmitting a plurality of packets, thereby saving a lot of time and improving the firmware update speed.

After the step S155, the method further includes: step S161, sending a command to complete the firmware update to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and step S163, from the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module In response to obtaining a firmware update, the wafer module to be updated has been marked as a firmware update success state.

After the plurality of verification messages of the plurality of packets are all correct, the control chip module sends a command to complete the firmware update (for example, the COMPLETE command) to the wafer module to be updated. After receiving the command to update the firmware, the to-be-updated chip module updates the firmware identifier (for example, flag=1, indicating that the firmware update is successful, and the identifier is also used for switching the bootcode/runtime running state, so the identifier is also This can be referred to as a switch mode flag, and the firmware update application is executed, and then a response to complete the firmware update is returned to the control chip module. In the process of executing the firmware update application, two preferred methods are provided. One way is that the chip set in the chip module to be updated first receives all the packets in the dynamic random access memory (RAM). The set is then written to the read-only memory (ie ROM) to update the firmware. Another way is to store the packet in the RAM while writing it to the ROM, thereby completing the operation of updating the firmware. After receiving the response of the completed update firmware from the wafer module to be updated, the control chip module indicates that the firmware update has been completed. It should be noted that after the motherboard to which the wafer to be updated is attached is restarted, the firmware identifier is automatically checked. If flag=1 is found, it will automatically switch to the runtime running state.

An embodiment will be provided below, and the firmware updating method of the rack server system and the firmware updating method of the conventional rack server system according to the present invention will be further described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

Figure 2 is a diagram showing the message interaction of the firmware update method of the conventional rack server system. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the message interaction of the firmware update method of the rack server system according to the present invention.

Referring to Figure 2, it is assumed that it takes 1 second to send a packet, 1S to wait for a response, and 10 packets to be sent.

Step S211: Send the first packet to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module.

Step S212: Send a packet verification message command to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module.

Step S213: Receive a verification message of the first packet via the control chip module.

Step S214: judging whether the verification message is correct via the control chip module, and if correct, sending the second packet.

Step S215: Send the Nth packet to the chip to be updated via the control chip module Module, where N is less than 10.

Step S216: Send a verification message command of the Nth packet to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module.

Step S217: Receive the verification message of the Nth packet via the control chip module.

Step S218: determining, by the control chip module, whether the verification message of the Nth packet is correct, and if not, resending the Nth packet.

Step S219: It is determined again by the control chip module whether the verification message of the Nth packet is correct, and if correct, the N+1th packet is sent.

Therefore, as can be seen from the above flow, if there is no error packet in the process of transmitting 10 packets, it takes about 20 seconds. In the case of an error of 1 packet, it takes about 20 seconds + 1 second + 1 second (ie 22 seconds). In the case of an error of 2 packets, it takes about 20 seconds + 2 seconds + 2 seconds (ie 24 seconds). In the case of an error of 3 packets, it takes about 20 seconds + 3 seconds + 3 seconds (ie 26 seconds). In the case of an error of N packets, it takes about 20 seconds + N seconds + N seconds (ie 20 seconds + 2N seconds).

Next, referring to FIG. 3, it is assumed that it takes 1 second to sequentially transmit 10 packets, 1S for waiting for response, and 10 packets to be transmitted in total.

Step S311: Send 10 packets to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module.

Step S312: Send a verification message command of 10 packets to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module.

Step S313: Receive a verification message of 10 packets via the control chip module.

Step S314: determining, by the control chip module, that the verification message of the ten packets is If it is correct, if three packets are found to be incorrect, the three packets that have failed will be resent for the first time.

Step S315: It is determined again by the control chip module whether the verification message of the three packets that are in error is correct. If it is correct, it indicates that the firmware transmission is completed. If the verification message of two packets is still found to be incorrect, an error will occur. The 2 packets are resent for the second time.

Step S316: It is determined again by the control chip module whether the verification message of the two packets that are in error is correct. If it is correct, it indicates that the firmware transmission is completed. If the verification message of one packet is still found to be incorrect, an error will occur. The first packet is resent for the third time.

Step S317: It is determined again by the control chip module whether the verification message of the one packet of the error is correct. If it is correct, it indicates that the transmission of the firmware is completed.

Therefore, as can be seen from the above flow, if there is no error packet in the process of transmitting 10 packets, it takes about 2 seconds (assuming that the time for transmitting one packet is equivalent to the time for transmitting 10 packets at the same time. In practice, considering the size of the packet's own data and the network environment, the time to send 10 packets at the same time should be slightly larger than the time to send 1 packet. When the first packet error occurs, it takes about 2 seconds + 1 second + 1 second (that is, 4 seconds). When there is a packet error in the second time, it takes about 4 seconds + 1 second + 1 second (that is, 6 seconds). When there is a packet error in the third time, it takes about 6 seconds + 1 second + 1 second (that is, 8 seconds). When there is a packet error at the Nth time, it takes about 2N seconds + 1 second + 1 second (ie 2N + 2 seconds).

Therefore, as can be seen from the above, in the process of resending all erroneous packets in one time, the number of retransmitted packets is the maximum value of the currently erroneous packets, and waits for a response. In the prior art, the number of resend packets is the accumulated value of the number of packets currently erroneous, and waits for multiple responses. Thus, the present invention can effectively solve the problem of sending In the process of multiple packets, the module to be updated is cumbersomely responsive to this step, thereby saving a lot of time and improving the firmware update speed.

Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a server in which a firmware update device is located in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The firmware update apparatus 500 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, is adapted to update a firmware of a wafer module 420 to be updated via a control wafer module 410. In the embodiment, the control chip module 410 is a rack management controller of the rack server system 400, and performs firmware update on the wafer 430 to be updated with the firmware of the wafer module 420. The rack server system 400 includes at least one server (not shown) connected to the rack management controller, and the at least one server includes the wafer module 420 to be updated, and the rack management controller can control The at least one server is powered on and off. The rack management controller has an ARM series of chips and runs an embedded Linux system, but does not limit the scope of the invention. In other embodiments, the control chip module 410 can also be a substrate management controller of a server (not shown), and the substrate management controller can control the startup and shutdown of the server, and the server includes The wafer module 420 to be updated. In addition, the wafer module 420 to be updated is a firmware wafer 430 disposed on a motherboard (not shown) of a server.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the firmware updating apparatus in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 4, the firmware update apparatus 500 includes a packet sending module 510, a verification message requesting module 520, a verification message obtaining module 530, and a verification message determining module 540. In an embodiment of the invention, the firmware updating device 500 can be disposed in the control chip module for performing firmware update on at least one of the at least one motherboard of the server rack system. In other embodiments, the firmware update device 500 can also be disposed in the server rack. In other devices of the system, the firmware is updated on at least one of the at least one motherboard. Of course, the firmware updating device 500 may also be an independent individual.

The packet sending module 510 is configured to send, by the control chip module 410, a plurality of packets that can form a new firmware to the wafer module 420 to be updated. In an embodiment of the present invention, the firmware update apparatus 500 first sends a command to update the firmware to the to-be-updated wafer module 420, and then starts transmitting a plurality of packets containing the updated firmware to the standby without interruption. The wafer module 420 is updated. The bandwidth of the transmission channel between the control chip module 410 and the chip module 420 to be updated is limited, and the size of the transmission data is limited. Therefore, the firmware is split into a plurality of packets and then sent until the complex number The packets have been sent.

The verification message requesting module 520 is connected to the packet sending module 510 for transmitting a command for verifying the plurality of packets to the to-be-updated wafer module 420 via the control chip module 410. Since the update firmware is split into multiple packets for transmission, it is necessary to perform CRC verification on the transmitted multiple packets to ensure the integrity and reliability of the transmitted firmware.

The verification message obtaining module 530 is connected to the verification message requesting module 520 for obtaining a plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets from the to-be-updated wafer module 420 via the control chip module 410.

The verification message determining module 540 is connected to the verification message obtaining module 530, and is configured to determine, by the control chip module 410, whether the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are all correct, to confirm the chip module to be updated. The 420 received the plurality of packets is in error.

The firmware update apparatus 500 further includes: a packet retransmission module 551, a verification message retrieving module 552, and a verification message re-judgment module 553. The packet retransmission module 551 is connected to the verification message determining module 540, and is configured to verify that the verification message is incorrect in the plurality of verification messages. The packet corresponding to the erroneous verification message is resent to the to-be-updated wafer module 420 via the control chip module 410. That is, after the control chip module 410 obtains the plurality of verification messages of the plurality of packets, if the verification message of the plurality of packets is found to have an error, the firmware update device 500 unifies all the erroneous packets. Resend to the wafer module 420 to be updated. The verification message retrieving module 552 is connected to the packet retransmission module 551 for obtaining, by the control chip module 410, the packet that is resent to the to-be-updated wafer module 420 from the to-be-updated wafer module 420. Verify the message. The verification message re-judging module 553 is connected to the verification message re-acquisition module 552, and is configured to determine, via the control chip module 410, whether the verification message corresponding to the packet re-sent to the to-be-updated chip module 420 is correct. When the message is incorrect, the packet retransmission module is called. That is, in the process of uniformly resending all the erroneous packets, if there are still errors in the plurality of verification messages of the plurality of packets, the erroneous packets are continuously resent to the to-be-updated chip module. 420, until it is verified that all of the plurality of packets are correct.

In the process of resending all the erroneous packets in one time, the number of retransmitted packets is the maximum value of the currently erroneous packet, and waits for a response. The conventional technique is to resend the accumulated number of packets whose number of packets is currently erroneous, and wait for multiple responses. Therefore, the present invention can effectively solve the cumbersome waiting response in the process of transmitting a plurality of packets, thereby saving a lot of time and improving the firmware update speed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the firmware update apparatus 500 further includes an update start command sending module 501, an operating state obtaining module 505, and an operating state determining module 506. The update start command sending module 501, the running state obtaining module 505, and the running state determining module 506 are optional components.

The update start command sending module 501 is configured to pass the control chip. The module 410 sends an update start command to the wafer module 420 to be updated. An attempt is made to establish a physical connection with the wafer module 420 to be updated by sending an update start command. At the same time, the update start command includes information such as the first address of the updated firmware application, the size of each packet, and the number of packets. When the update start command is sent, it indicates that it is ready to start updating the firmware, and waits for the response of the wafer module 420 to be updated.

The operating state acquisition module 505 is configured to obtain an operation status message from the to-be-updated wafer module 420 via the control chip module 410. In the embodiment of the present invention, the running state obtaining module 505 is connected to a retransmission number determining module 504 (described in detail below), and in other embodiments, the running state obtaining module 505 can directly update with The start command transmission module 501 is connected (as shown by the dashed line connection in Fig. 5). The operating state determining module 506 is connected to the operating state obtaining module 505 for determining whether the running status message is a first operating state via the control chip module 410, and if not, the chip module to be updated 420 switches to the first operating state.

The firmware update apparatus 500 further includes the following optional components: a wait receiving module 502, an update start command retransmission module 503, and a retransmission count determining module 504.

The waiting receiving module 502 is connected to the update start command sending module 501 for waiting to receive an operating status message from the to-be-updated chip module 420 via the control chip module 410. After the wafer module 420 to be updated receives the update start command, the wafer module 420 to be updated returns the current running state of the motherboard to which the wafer set in the wafer module 420 to be updated belongs, including bootcode and runtime. In the running state, the bootcode running state is used to update the firmware operation, and the runtime running state is used for the working of the motherboard. The control chip module 410 determines whether the running status message is a preset first operating state (eg, a bootcode operating state). If the current operation of the motherboard to which the wafer set in the wafer module 420 to be updated belongs When the status is runtime, it automatically switches to the bootcode running state to prepare for subsequent firmware updates.

The update start command retransmission module 503 is connected to the standby receiving module 502, and the control chip module 410 resends an update start command if the waiting time exceeds a preset first time threshold. The wafer module 420 to be updated is updated, and the number of times the update start command is resent is recorded.

The retransmission count determination module 504 is connected to the update start command retransmission module 503, and is configured to determine, via the control chip module 410, whether the number of times of resending the update start command is greater than a preset maximum number of retransmission times. If yes, stop updating the firmware. The firmware update device 500 attempts to establish a physical connection with the to-be-updated wafer module 420. Since it may be affected by environmental factors (such as a network environment), the firmware update device 500 cannot be guaranteed to be associated with the wafer module to be updated for the first time. The group 420 successfully establishes a physical connection, thus allowing the firmware update device 500 to attempt to establish a physical connection with the wafer module 420 to be updated multiple times. In order to ensure the efficiency of updating the firmware, a maximum number of retransmissions is set, for example, three times. If the number of re-sends the update start command exceeds three times, the physical connection is stopped, that is, the firmware update operation is stopped.

The firmware update apparatus 500 may further include the following optional components: a completion update request module 561 and a completion update response module 562. The completion update request module 561 is configured to send a command to complete the firmware update to the to-be-updated wafer module 420 via the control chip module 410.

The completion update response module 562 is connected to the completion update request module 561, and obtains a response to complete the firmware update from the wafer module 420 to be updated via the control chip module 410. The wafer module 420 to be updated has been Marked as a firmware update success status. That is, when set in After the wafer in the wafer module 420 to be updated receives the command to update the firmware, the chip updates the firmware identifier (for example, flag=1, indicating that the firmware update is successful, and the identifier is also used for the bootcode/runtime operation state. The switch, so the flag may also be referred to as a switch mode flag, and the firmware update application is executed, after which a response to complete the firmware update is returned to the control die module 410.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make some improvements and retouching without departing from the principles of the present invention. It is considered as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Steps S101, S103, S105, S110, S120, S130, S140, S151, S153, S155, S161, S163‧‧

Claims (16)

A firmware update method for a rack server system is adapted to update a firmware of a wafer module to be updated via a control chip module, wherein the control chip module is a rack of a rack server system a management controller, the rack server system includes at least one server connected to the rack management controller, the at least one server includes the wafer module to be updated, and the rack management controller can control the at least one servo The method includes the following steps: sending, by the control chip module, a plurality of packets that can form a new firmware to the chip module to be updated; and transmitting, by the control chip module, a verification of the plurality of And a plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are obtained from the to-be-updated chip module by the control chip module; and determining, by the control chip module, the plurality of packets Whether the plurality of verification messages are all correct to confirm whether the plurality of packets received by the wafer module to be updated are in error. The firmware update method of the rack server system of claim 1, wherein the step of determining, by the control chip module, whether the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are correct comprises: if any The verification message is incorrect, and further includes the following steps: Step a, resending the packet corresponding to the error verification message to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and step b, from the control chip module Updating the chip module to obtain a verification message corresponding to the packet resent to the chip module to be updated; Step c, determining, by the control chip module, whether the verification message corresponding to the packet resent to the chip module to be updated is correct; if correct, the control chip module resending the packet to the chip module to be updated without error If not, the steps a, b, and c are performed cyclically until there is no erroneous verification message in the verification message obtained by the control chip module from the wafer module to be updated. The firmware update method of the rack server system of claim 1, wherein before the step of transmitting a plurality of packets forming a new firmware to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module, Further comprising decomposing the updated firmware into the plurality of packets via the control chip module. The firmware update method of the rack server system of claim 1, wherein the step of determining, by the control chip module, whether the plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets are correct comprises: if the plural If the verification message is correct, there is no error in each packet received by the wafer module to be updated. The firmware update method of the rack server system of claim 1, wherein the wafer module to be updated is a firmware wafer, and the firmware wafer is disposed on a motherboard of a server. on. The method for updating a firmware of a rack server system according to claim 1, wherein before the step of transmitting a plurality of packets forming a new firmware to the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module, The method includes: transmitting, by the control chip module, an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module; and obtaining, by the control chip module, an operation status message from the to-be-updated wafer module; The control chip module determines whether the running status message is in a first operating state, and if not, the wafer module to be updated is switched to the first operating state. The firmware update method of the rack server system of claim 6, wherein after the step of sending an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module, the method further comprises: via the control chip The module waits to receive an operation status message from the to-be-updated chip module; and if the waiting time exceeds a predetermined first time threshold, the control chip module resends an update start command to the to-be-updated chip Module, and records the number of times the update start command was resent. The firmware updating method of the rack server system of claim 7, wherein the control chip module resends an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module, and records the number of times of resending the update start command. After the step, the method further includes: determining, by the control chip module, whether the number of times of resending the update start command is greater than a preset maximum number of retransmission times; if yes, stopping the operation of updating the firmware. The firmware update method of the rack server system of claim 2, wherein after the step of controlling the chip module from the verification message obtained by the wafer module to be updated does not have an error verification message, further The method includes: transmitting, by the control chip module, a command to complete firmware update to the to-be-updated wafer module; and obtaining, by the control chip module, a firmware for completing the firmware from the to-be-updated wafer module In response, the wafer module to be updated has been marked as a firmware update success state. A firmware update device is configured to update a firmware of a wafer module to be updated via a control chip module, wherein the control chip module is a rack management controller of a rack server system, and the rack controller The server system includes at least one server connected to the rack management controller, the at least one server includes the wafer module to be updated, and the rack management controller can control startup and shutdown of the at least one server, the toughness The body update device includes: a packet sending module, configured to send, by the control chip module, a plurality of packets that can form an updated firmware to the chip module to be updated; and the verification message requesting module is connected to the packet sending module And sending, by the control chip module, a command for verifying the plurality of packets to the to-be-updated chip module; and the verification message acquisition module is connected to the verification message requesting module for using the control chip module to The chip module to be updated obtains a plurality of verification messages corresponding to the plurality of packets; and the verification message determining module is connected to the verification message acquisition module for System chip module determines whether the plurality of packets of a plurality of verification message corresponding to all correct, to confirm that the chip module to be updated, the plurality of received packets for errors. The firmware update device of claim 10, further comprising: a packet retransmission module, connected to the verification message judging module, configured to verify that the verification message is incorrect in the plurality of verification messages, via the control chip The module resends the packet corresponding to the error verification message to the to-be-updated chip module; the verification message retrieving module is connected to the packet retransmission module for receiving the chip to be updated via the control chip module The module obtains a packet pair that is resent to the wafer module to be updated And the verification message re-judging module is connected to the verification message re-sending module, and is configured to determine, by the control chip module, whether the verification message corresponding to the packet re-sent to the to-be-updated chip module is correct, When the verification message is incorrect, the packet retransmission module is called. The firmware update device of claim 10, wherein the wafer module to be updated is a firmware wafer, and the firmware wafer is disposed on a motherboard of a server. The firmware update device of claim 10, further comprising: an update start command sending module, configured to send an update start command to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and an operation state acquisition module, And the update start command sending module is configured to obtain an operation status message from the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and the operation state determination module is connected to the operation state acquisition module for The control chip module determines whether the running status message is in a first operating state, and if not, the wafer module to be updated is switched to the first operating state. The firmware update device of claim 13 further includes: a waiting receiving module for waiting to receive an operation status message from the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and updating the start command retransmission mode The control chip module re-sends an update start command to the to-be-updated chip module, and records the time when the waiting for receiving time exceeds a preset first time threshold. The number of times the update start command was resent. For example, the firmware update device of claim 14 further includes: The retransmission count determining module is configured to determine, by the control chip module, whether the number of times of resending the update start command is greater than a preset maximum number of retransmission times, and if so, to stop the operation of updating the firmware. The firmware update device of claim 11, further comprising: completing an update request module, configured to send a command to update the firmware to the to-be-updated wafer module via the control chip module; and complete the update response The module is connected to the completion update request module for obtaining a response to complete the firmware update from the wafer module to be updated via the control chip module, and the wafer module to be updated has been marked as a firmware update success. status.