TW201721426A - Method for testing a computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for testing a computer system includes activating an operation system of the computer system and selecting a first number of cores of the computer system by a basic input/output system interface program. After selecting the first number of cores and rebooting the computer system, if the first number of cores of the computer system have been enabled and a second number of cores of the computer system have not being selected yet, select the second number of cores of the computer system by the basic input/output system interface program. After selecting the second number of cores and rebooting the computer system, if the second number of cores of the computer system have been enabled and no more cores have not been selected, determine that the computer system has passed the test.

Description

How to check the computer system

The present invention relates to a method of inspecting a computer system, and more particularly to a method for automatically inspecting a computer system using a basic input/output system interface program.

In addition to being closely related to R&D technology, the success of the product requires a large number of tests to ensure the stability of the product, especially for high-stability, high-reliability technology products such as industrial instruments, mobile devices, workstations, personal computers. Or products such as servers, etc., the standards for quality control testing are more stringent. However, in the prior art, the complete quality control test process may take a lot of time and needs to be assisted by human resources. For example, when testing the number of computing cores of a computer system can be normally controlled, first enter the basic input and output system to select the number of computing cores to be detected, and then reboot into the operating system to check whether the number of cores of the computer system is correct, and then Manually reboot into the basic input and output system to select the next number of computing cores to be detected, then reboot into the operating system to check whether the number of cores in the computer system is correct... and so on until the number of all computing cores is checked. . Such an inspection process requires not only a large amount of time, but also manpower to operate on site, which makes it difficult to conduct quality control tests.

Even because of the pressure of manpower and time, many factory production lines cannot conduct quality control tests for all products, and only a small number of samples can be taken for quality control testing, which is not enough to complete the quality control test.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for inspecting a computer system. The method for inspecting a computer system includes an operating system for starting a computer system. In the operating system, all specific module functions of the computer system are selected through a basic input/output system interface program. The computer system is rebooted to enable all the specific module functions of the computer system and start the operating system. In the operating system, the value of the specific Model-Specific Register (MSR) corresponding to each specific module function is recorded. In the operating system, the first specific module function of all the specific module functions of the computer system is selected through the basic input/output system interface program, so that the computer system is restarted to disable the first specific module function and start the operating system. After the first specific module function is disabled, the value of the first specific module register corresponding to the first specific module function has been updated correspondingly, and all the specific module functions of the computer system still have not yet When the second specific module function is checked, the second specific module is selected via the basic input/output system interface program. a function of restarting the computer system to disable the second specific module function and starting the operating system, and after the second specific module function is disabled, the second specific module corresponding to the second specific module function is temporarily stored The value of the device has been updated correspondingly, and the computer system has passed the check when there is no other module function that has not been checked.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for inspecting a computer system. The computer system includes a plurality of computing cores. The method for inspecting the computer system includes starting an operating system of the computer system, and selecting a computer system through the basic input/output system interface program in the operating system. The number of the first computing core, the number of the first computing core is not greater than the total number of the plurality of computing cores, so that the computer system is restarted to start the operating system, after selecting the first computing core number and restarting the operating system, the plurality of computing cores The computing core corresponding to the first computing core number is enabled, and the computer system still has the second computing core number not yet selected, and the second computing core number is selected via the basic input/output system interface program, and the second computing core The number is not greater than the total number of the plurality of computing cores, so that the computer system is restarted to start the operating system, and after selecting the second computing core number and restarting the operating system, the plurality of computing cores already correspond to the second computing core. The core of the number of operations is enabled, and the electricity When the system no longer has not yet been selected number of core operation, it is determined by examining the computer system.

1 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computer system 100 includes a processor 110. The computer system 100 can start a basic input/output system (BIOS), a general operating system, and a basic input/output system interface program through the processor 110. The basic input/output system interface program can be used for the manufacture of the basic input/output system. The interface program provided by the manufacturer, such as the program AMI SCE Utility provided by American Megatrends Inc. (AMI). The basic input/output system interface program is compatible with the basic input/output system of the computer system 100. Therefore, through the basic input/output system interface program, the computer system 100 can be modified in the operating system after the startup of the operating system. System parameters that can be modified in the system.

The processor 110 has a plurality of specific module functions, and the user can arbitrarily select whether to enable some or all of the specific module functions. For example, the user can select whether to enable the cache memory or the buffer memory, and select the enabled memory size. The various options provided by the processor 110 to the user correspond to different specific module functions. In order to be able to know whether a particular module function is normally enabled or disabled, the processor 110 can include a plurality of specific module registers. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the processor 110 includes specific Model-Specific Registers (MSRs) 120A, 120B, and 120C, and the specific module registers 120A, 120B, and 120C respectively correspond to the processing. The specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C of the device 110.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the values of the particular module registers 120A, 120B, and 120C have a specific relationship with the particular module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C, and may be defined by the manufacturer of the processor 110. Therefore, if the values of the specific module registers 120A, 120B, and 120C are compared with the corresponding relationships defined by the manufacturer of the processor 110, it can be known that the processor 110 enables or disables the specific module functions 130A, 130B. And the status of 130C.

In other words, under normal circumstances, when the computer system 100 changes the specific module function 130A from enable to disable or from disable to enable, the specific module corresponding to the specific module function 130A is temporarily stored. The value of the device 120A will also change accordingly. Therefore, by checking whether the value of the particular module register 120A is changed, it can be known whether the computer system 100 is successfully disabled or enables the specific module function 130A. Similarly, by checking if the value of a particular module register 120B or 120C has changed, it is also known whether the computer system 100 successfully disabled or enabled a particular module function 130B or 130C.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 200 of inspecting computer system 100. Method 200 includes steps S210 through S274.

S210: Start an operating system of the computer system 100;

S220: in the operating system, select all the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C of the computer system 100 via the basic input/output system interface program;

S230: Reboot the computer system 100 to enable all of the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C of the computer system 100 and activate the operating system;

S232: If the computer system 100 can normally boot into the operating system, then proceeds to step S240, otherwise proceeds to step S274;

S240: Record, in the operating system, values of the specific module registers 120A, 120B, and 120C corresponding to each of the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C;

S250: in the operating system, select any specific module function that is still enabled in all the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C of the computer system 100 via the basic input/output system interface program;

S260: Reboot the computer system 100 to disable the specific module function selected in the previous step and start the operating system;

S262: If the computer system 100 can normally boot into the operating system, then proceeds to step S264, otherwise proceeds to step S274;

S264: If the value of the specific module register corresponding to the selected module function has been correspondingly updated, then proceeds to step S270, otherwise proceeds to step S274;

S270: If all the specific module functions 130A, 130B and 130C of the computer system 100 still have a specific module function that has not been disabled, then proceed to step S250, otherwise proceed to step S272;

S272: determining that the computer system 100 passes the inspection;

S274: It is determined that the computer system 100 has not passed the inspection.

Method 200 can be used to check whether computer system 100 is functioning properly for each particular module function. For example, when the computer system 100 is inspected by the method 200, the operating system of the computer system 100 can be started in step S210, and all the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C of the computer system 100 are selected through step S220. If the computer system 100 is functioning properly, the selected particular module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C will be enabled after being rebooted in step S230. If the computer system 100 cannot boot into the operating system normally, it is determined in step S232 to proceed to step S274, indicating that the computer system 100 has not passed the inspection.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the computer system 100 starts its basic input/output system before starting the operating system, and in step S220, the basic input/output system interface program used by the computer system 100 is associated with the computer system 100. The basic input/output system is compatible, so through the basic input/output system interface program, the computer system 100 can modify the system parameters that can be modified in the basic input/output system in the operating system after starting the operating system.

In step S240, the values of the specific module registers 120A, 120B, and 120C are recorded, so that when the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C are disabled in the subsequent steps, the specific module can be The values of the registers 120A, 120B, and 120C are compared with the values recorded in step S240 to determine whether the values of the particular module registers 120A, 120B, and 120C are correspondingly updated.

In step S250, the user can select any of the specific module functions that are still enabled in all of the specific module functions 130A, 130B, and 130C of the computer system 100 via the basic input/output system interface program. For example, a specific one can be selected. Module function 130A. In order to disable the selected special module function 130A, the computer system 100 will be rebooted and the operating system will be activated in step S260. Similarly, if the computer system cannot be booted into the operating system at this time, it is determined in step S262 to proceed to step S274, indicating that the computer system 100 has not passed the check. If the computer system 100 is normally booted into the operating system and the specific module function 130A is disabled, then in step S264, it is further checked whether the value of the specific module register 120A corresponding to the specific module function 130A has been Correspondingly updated, that is, after the specific module function 130A is disabled, the value of the specific module register 120A is compared with the value of the specific module register 120A recorded in step S240, if both Different, it means that the value of the specific module register 120A has been updated correspondingly. In some embodiments of the present invention, the computer system 100 can also compare the specific module register 120A with the corresponding relationship defined by the manufacturer of the processor 110 to confirm that the value of the specific module register 120A has been correctly verified. Updated. If the value of the specific module register 120A is not updated correspondingly, it means that the computer system 100 may not be able to properly control the specific module function 130A, and thus it is determined that the computer system 100 has not passed the check.

If the value of the specific module register 120A has been updated correspondingly, it is further checked in step S270 whether there is still a specific module function that has not been checked, since the specific module functions 130B and 130C have not been checked yet, Method 200 repeats steps S250 through S270. In some embodiments, the user can select specific module functions 130B and 130C in sequence, and confirm that the values of the specific module registers 120B and 120C can be updated correspondingly. After confirming that the computer system 100 can operate normally and control the specific module functions 130B and 130C, if there is no specific module function in the computer system 100 that has not been checked, it is finally determined in step S270 to proceed to step S272 to indicate that the computer System 100 passes the inspection.

According to the method 200, the computer system 100 can select all the specific module functions of the computer system 100 through the basic input/output system interface program in the operating system without switching to the basic input/output system during the restarting process, so the computer system 100 Steps S210 to S270 can be performed according to the code written in advance, and the function of the computer system 100 is automatically checked. In other words, the method 200 can avoid the difficulty of the quality control test caused by the prior art because of the large amount of time and manpower required.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a computer system 300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computer system 300 includes a processor 310. The computer system 300 can activate a basic input/output operation system (BIOS), a general operating system, and a basic input/output system interface program through the processor 310. The basic I/O system interface program is a programming program provided by the manufacturer of the basic I/O system, such as the program AMI SCE Utility provided by American Megatrends Inc. (AMI). The basic input/output system interface program is compatible with the basic input/output system of the computer system 300. Therefore, through the basic input/output system interface program, the computer system 300 can be modified in the operating system after the startup of the operating system. System parameters that can be modified in the system.

. Through the basic input/output system interface program, the computer system 300 can modify the system parameters that can be modified in the basic input/output system in the operating system after starting the operating system.

The processor 310 has a plurality of computing cores 320A, 320B, 320C, and 320D, and the user can arbitrarily select the number of enabled computing cores 320A, 320B, 320C, and 320D. For example, the user may choose to enable only one of the computing cores 320A, 320B, 320C, and 320D, or three of the computing cores 320A, 320B, 320C, and 320D. Of course, the number of computing cores selectable by the user is not greater than the total number of computing cores 320A, 320B, 320C, and 320D of the processor 310, and may not be less than 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, the user can only select the number of computing cores. 1 to 4. Under normal circumstances, after the user selects the number of computing cores to be enabled, and after rebooting, only a corresponding number of computing cores will be enabled in the processor 310, and the computer system 300 can still maintain normal operation.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a method 400 of inspecting computer system 300. The method 400 can be used to check whether the computer system 300 is capable of properly selecting the number of operational cores to be enabled and whether it can function properly with the number of different computing cores enabled. Method 400 includes steps S410 through S454.

S410: Starting the operating system of the computer system 300

S420: In the operating system, select a number of computing cores of the computer system 300 that have not been selected through the basic input/output system interface program;

S430: Reboot the computer system 300 to start the operating system;

S432: If the computer system 300 can normally boot into the operating system, then proceeds to step S440, otherwise proceeds to step S454;

S440: in the operating system, check whether only the operating core corresponding to the selected number of operating cores is enabled, and if so, proceeds to step S450, otherwise proceeds to step S454;

S450: If the computer system 300 has a number of computing cores that have not been selected, proceed to step S420, otherwise proceed to step S452;

S452: determining that the computer system 300 passes the inspection;

S454: It is determined that the computer system 300 has not passed the inspection.

When the computer system 300 is inspected by the method 400, the operating system of the computer system 300 can be started in step S410, and the number of computing cores in the computer system 300 that have not been selected is selected through the basic input/output system interface program in step S420. For example, the user may first select the number of computing cores to be 1, that is, to set the number of computing cores enabled in the computer system 300 to 1. If the computer system 300 is functioning properly, the computer system 300 should be able to reboot and normally start the operating system in step S430. If the computer system 100 cannot boot into the operating system normally, it is determined in step S432 to proceed to step S454, indicating that the computer system 300 has not passed the inspection.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the computer system 300 activates its basic input/output system before starting the operating system, and in step S420, the basic input/output system interface program used by the computer system 300 is associated with the computer system 300. The basic input/output system is compatible, so through the basic input/output system interface program, the computer system 300 can modify the system parameters that can be modified in the basic input/output system in the operating system after starting the operating system.

In addition, if the computer system 300 is operating normally, only one of the computing cores 320A, 320B, 320C, and 320D of the processor 310 will be enabled after being restarted, and the others are disabled. In S440, if the number of operational cores enabled in the computer system 300 is actually different from the number of operational cores 1 selected in step S420, the determination proceeds to step S454, indicating that the computer system 300 has not passed the check. On the other hand, if the number of operational cores enabled in the computer system 300 is actually the same as the number of operational cores 1 selected in step S420, the process proceeds to step S450.

In step S450, it is further checked whether there are any number of operation cores that have not yet been selected. Since the number of operation cores 2, 3, and 4 have not been checked, the method 400 repeats steps S420 to S450. In some embodiments, the user can sequentially select the number of computing cores to be 2, 3, and 4, and confirm whether a corresponding number of computing cores are actually enabled in the computer system 300. After confirming that the computer system 300 can operate normally after enabling various numbers of computing cores, that is, the number of computing cores that have not been selected in the computer system 300, finally, in step S450, it is determined to proceed to step S452. Indicates that the computer system 300 has passed the inspection.

According to the method 400, the computer system 300 can select the number of computing cores that the computer system 300 desires to be enabled in the operating system through the basic input/output system interface program, without switching to the basic input/output system during the reboot process, so the computer The system 300 can perform steps S410 to S450 according to the previously written code and achieve the function of automatically checking the computer system 300. In other words, the method 300 can avoid the difficulty of the quality control test caused by the prior art because it requires a lot of time and manpower.

In some embodiments, when the user selects the number of computing cores of the processor 310 to be 0, the computer system 300 actually enables all the computing cores by default, so by setting the number of computing cores to 0, The total number of operational cores included in the processor 310 can be known by checking the number of operational cores that the computer system 300 actually enables. Therefore, if the method 400 is to be flexibly applied to each of the different computer systems, the step of obtaining the total number of computing cores of the processor 310 may be added before step S420, thus ensuring that the method 400 can check the processor 310. The number of possible computing cores.

In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, the computer system 300 can also support the Hyper Threading (HT) function, that is, each of the computing cores of the processor 310 integrates two logical processing units. In other words, if the computer system 300 displays the number of enabled computing cores before the computer system 300 enables the super-threading function, the computer system 300 actually enables the super-threading function, and then the computer system 300 shows that the number of enabled cores will change from 4 to 8.

For the case where the computer system 300 can support the hyper-thread function, the steps of enabling the hyper-thread function of the computer system 300 are performed before the step S420 of the method 400, and in the subsequent step S440, it is checked whether there is only corresponding to When the operation core of the selected number of operation cores is enabled, it is checked whether the operation core having twice the number of selected operation cores is enabled, that is, the method 400 can be used to check that the computer system 300 is enabled to perform the super-thread function. After the operation is normal. For example, after the super-thread function of the computer system 300 is enabled, if the number of operation cores is selected to be 1 in step S420, then in a normal case, in step S440, the computer system 300 is actually enabled. The number of computing cores should be twice that of 1. In other words, if the number of operational cores that the computer system 300 is actually enabled in step S440 is not two, the method 400 proceeds to step S454, indicating that the computer system 300 has not passed the check.

In addition, in some embodiments of the present invention, before the super-thread function of the computer system 300 is enabled, steps S420 to S450 may be performed to determine whether the computer system 300 can pass the check, and confirm that the computer system 300 can normally Selecting the number of computing cores to be enabled, and enabling the super-threading function of the computer system 300 after the normal operation of the number of different computing cores is enabled, and then repeating steps S420 to S450 to determine whether the computer system 300 is Can pass the check if the super-thread function is enabled.

In summary, the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can select an item to be checked by the computer system 300 through the basic input/output system interface program in the operating system without switching to the process of restarting. The basic input and output system, so that the steps of the method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can be executed according to the code prepared in advance, and the function of the computer system can be automatically checked, thereby avoiding the quality control of the prior art due to the large amount of time and manpower required. Difficulties. The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

100, 300‧‧‧ computer system
110, 310‧‧‧ processor
120A, 120B, 120C‧‧‧Specific module register
130A, 130B, 130C‧‧‧ specific module functions
320A, 320B, 320C, 320D‧‧‧ computing core
200, 400‧‧‧ method
S210 to S274, S410 to S454‧‧

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of inspecting the computer system of Figure 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a computer system according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of inspecting the computer system of Figure 3.

200‧‧‧ method

Steps S210 to S274‧‧

Claims (10)

A method for inspecting a computer system, comprising: starting an operating system of the computer system; selecting, in the operating system, all of the specific module functions of the computer system via a basic input/output system interface program; causing the computer system to be turned back on The operating system can be activated by all the specific module functions of the computer system; in the operating system, the value of the specific Model-Specific Register (MSR) corresponding to each specific module function is recorded; In the operating system, a first specific module function of all the specific module functions of the computer system is selected through the basic input/output system interface program; the computer system is restarted to disable the first specific module function and Starting the operating system; after the first specific module function is disabled, the value of the first specific module register corresponding to one of the first specific module functions has been correspondingly updated, and the computer system When there is still a second specific module function that has not been checked in all the specific module functions, the basic input/output system interface program is selected. The second specific module function; causing the computer system to be rebooted to disable the second specific module function and to activate the operating system; and after the second specific module function is disabled, corresponding to the second specific When the value of the second specific module register has been updated correspondingly, and the computer system has no other specific module functions that have not been checked, it is determined that the computer system passes the check. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 1, further comprising: after the first specific module function is disabled, and corresponding to the first specific module function of the first specific module register When the value is not updated correspondingly, it is determined that the computer system fails the inspection; or after the second specific module function is disabled, and the second specific module register corresponding to the second specific module function When the value of the value is not updated correspondingly, it is determined that the computer system has not passed the check. The method for checking a computer system according to claim 1, wherein: the value of the first specific module register has been updated correspondingly, and the value of the first specific module register is different from the The value of the first specific module register when all the specific module functions of the computer system are enabled; and the value of the second specific module register has been updated correspondingly to the second specific module The value of the register is different from the value of the second specific module register when all of the specific module functions of the computer system are enabled. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 1, further comprising: starting a basic input/output system (BIOS) of the computer system before starting the operating system of the computer system, wherein the basic The input/output system interface program is an interface program compatible with the basic input/output system of the computer system. A method for inspecting a computer system, the computer system comprising a plurality of computing cores, the method comprising: starting an operating system of the computer system; in the operating system, selecting one of the computer systems via a basic input/output system interface program a computing core quantity, the number of the first computing core is not greater than a total number of the computing cores; restarting the computer system to start the operating system; after selecting the first computing core number and restarting the operating system, The operating core corresponding to the number of the first computing core is enabled in the computing core, and the computer system still has a second computing core number that has not been selected, and the first input/output system interface program selects the first a second operation core quantity, the second operation core quantity is not greater than the total number of the operation cores; restarting the computer system to start the operation system; and selecting the second operation core quantity and restarting the operation system After that, the operation core has an operation corresponding to the number of the second operation core When the heart is enabled, and the computer system has not yet been selected is no longer the number of core operation, which is determined by examining the computer system. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 5, wherein: the computing cores corresponding to the number of the first computing cores are enabled in the computing cores, and the first operations are already in the computing cores. The core of the core of the operation core is enabled; and the core of the operation core corresponding to the number of the second operation core is enabled, and the operation core of the number of the second operation core is already in the operation core Was enabled. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 6, further comprising: after selecting the number of the first computing cores and restarting the operating system, the number of enabled computing cores in the computing cores and the first operation When the number of cores is different, it is determined that the computer system fails the inspection; or after selecting the second computing core number and restarting the operating system, the number of enabled computing cores in the computing cores and the second computing core When the quantity is different, it is determined that the computer system has not passed the inspection. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 5, further comprising: enabling a Hyper Threading (HT) function of the computer system before selecting the first computing core quantity; wherein: the computing core An operation core corresponding to the number of the first operation cores is enabled, and an operation core having twice the number of the first operation cores in the operation cores is enabled; and the operation cores are already An operational core having a number corresponding to the second operational core is enabled, and an operational core having twice the number of the second operational cores in the operational cores is enabled. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 8, further comprising: after selecting the number of the first computing cores and restarting the operating system, the number of enabled computing cores in the computing cores and the first operation When the number of cores is different, it is determined that the computer system fails the inspection; or after selecting the second computing core number and restarting the operating system, the number of enabled computing cores in the computing cores is the same as the number When the number of the two computing cores is different, it is determined that the computer system has not passed the check. The method for inspecting a computer system according to claim 5, further comprising: starting a basic input/output system (BIOS) of the computer system before starting the operating system of the computer system, wherein the basic The input/output system interface program is an interface program compatible with the basic input/output system of the computer system.