TWI483125B - Baseboard management controller recovery system and using method of the same - Google Patents

Description

Baseboard management controller recovery system and method of use thereof

The present invention relates to a baseboard management controller (BMC) recovery system, and more particularly to a substrate management control recovery system applied to a terminal device and a method for using the same.

The Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) is widely used in terminal devices such as computers. It manages the interface between the management software of the terminal device system and the platform management hardware by running a firmware file, and can actively provide the interface. The terminal device system has soft/hard system status monitoring, event logging, automatic warning, and automatic system control (such as power off). For example, the BMC can instantly monitor abnormal voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds in a computer system to determine if the monitored data exceeds a preset range.

Since the BMC plays an important role in the terminal equipment, the designer also puts forward higher requirements for the stability and recoverability of the BMC itself. When the BMC is working abnormally, the BMC needs to be restored by modifying, modifying, or calling the firmware file of the BMC. However, the conventional BMC firmware update method is mostly based on the operating system, and a specific BMC recovery program needs to be written for different operating systems. Obviously, this method is too dependent on the operating system in practical applications, and the flexibility is poor, which makes the recovery process of BMC more complicated.

In view of the above, it is necessary to provide a substrate management controller recovery system that facilitates BMC recovery.

In addition, it is also necessary to provide a method of using the above substrate management controller recovery system.

A substrate management controller recovery system that restores a normal operation by calling a firmware file to a baseboard management controller, the baseboard management controller recovery system including a BIOS unit, a south bridge, and a multiplexer, the BIOS unit Sending a test signal to the baseboard management controller through the south bridge, and sending a control signal to the multiplexer through the south bridge, so that the multiplexer strobes the BIOS unit or the baseboard management controller, and when the multiplexer strobes the baseboard management controller, the BIOS The unit reads the firmware file and burns the firmware file to the baseboard management controller through the south bridge and the multiplexer.

A method for using a baseboard management controller recovery system includes the following steps: a BIOS unit sends a test command to a baseboard management controller; if the baseboard management controller does not respond after transmitting the test command for more than a predetermined number of times, the BIOS unit determines the baseboard management controller The operation is abnormal. If the baseboard management controller responds, the BIOS unit continues to send the test command; the BIOS unit sends a control signal to the duplexer to establish an electrical connection between the baseboard management controller and the south bridge through the duplexer; the BIOS unit will be the firmware file. Burn to the baseboard management controller.

The above-mentioned substrate management controller recovery system sets a multiplexer in the south bridge and the substrate management controller, and causes the BIOS unit to send a control signal to the multiplexer to strobe the substrate through the multiplexer when the substrate management controller operates abnormally. Manage the controller and burn the firmware file to restore the baseboard management controller to normal operation. The baseboard management controller recovery system does not need to write a specific BMC recovery program, has less dependence on the operating system, is flexible in use, and has a simple hardware structure, and is convenient for the baseboard management controller to resume normal operation.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate management controller recovery system 100 of the present invention is applied to a terminal device such as a computer. The baseboard management controller recovery system 100 includes a BMC 10, a South Bridge 20, a storage module 30, and a BIOS (Basic Input). Output System) unit 40 and multiplexer 50 (multiplexer).

The BMC 10 is used to control an interface between the management software of the terminal device and the platform management hardware. The BMC 10 includes a low pin count (LPC) interface 12, a control module 14 and a BMC flashing in sequence. Memory 16. The control module 14 is electrically connected to the BIOS unit 40 through the south bridge 20 to communicate with each other, thereby facilitating the BIOS unit 40 to detect whether the BMC 10 is abnormal. The BMC flash memory 16 is used to process the newly programmed firmware file, thereby causing the abnormally working BMC10 to resume normal operation.

The south bridge 20 is electrically connected to the LPC interface 12 of the BMC 10 through an LPC bus bar. The storage module 30 can be a storage device such as a hard disk of a terminal device, a CD player or an external USB device, and a firmware file for restoring the normal operation of the BMC 10 is pre-stored therein.

The BIOS unit 40 is electrically connected to the south bridge 20 to send test commands to the control module 14 of the BMC 10 through the south bridge 20. In this embodiment, the time required for the BIOS unit 40 to communicate with the BMC 10 is T1, and the time required for the BMC 10 to start is T2. The BIOS unit 40 sends a test command to the control module 14 every T1+T2 interval. If the test command is sent to the control module 14 for more than a predetermined number of times (for example, three times or more), and the control module 14 does not respond, it is determined that the BMC 10 is abnormal, and the BMC 10 recovery operation is required. At this time, the BIOS unit 40 will go to the south bridge. 20 sends a general purpose input/output (GPIO) signal. At the same time, the BIOS unit 40 is electrically connected to the storage module 30 to read the firmware file in the storage module 30, and is burned to the BMC flash memory 16 of the BMC 10 through the south bridge 20 and the multiplexer 50. The BIOS unit 40 includes a BIOS flash memory 42. The BIOS flash memory 42 is electrically connected to the south bridge 20 through the multiplexer 50 to be under the control of the south bridge 20 and the central processing unit (not shown) of the terminal device. Start/restart the BIOS system.

The multiplexer 50 includes an input 52 and an output 54, 56. The input terminal 52 of the multiplexer 50 is electrically connected to the south bridge 20 through a serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus bar to receive the GPIO control signal transmitted by the BIOS unit 40 through the south bridge 20. The output terminals 54 and 56 are used to strobe the BIOS flash memory 42 or the BMC flash memory under the control of the multiplexer 50. Specifically, when the multiplexer 50 receives the GPIO control signal, the output terminal is controlled. 54 is disconnected from the BIOS flash memory 42 and the control output 56 is electrically connected to the BMC flash memory 16 to burn the firmware file to the BMC flash memory 16; After being completely burned to the BMC flash memory 16, the multiplexer 50 receives another GPIO control signal to control the output 56 to disconnect from the BMC flash memory 16 while controlling the output terminal 54 and the BIOS. The flash memory 42 establishes an electrical connection to restart the BIOS system.

The method for using the substrate management controller recovery system 100 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 2, which includes the following steps:

Step S1: The BIOS unit 40 is started, and the output end 54 of the multiplexer 50 establishes an electrical connection with the BIOS flash memory 42;

Step S2: Waiting for the firmware file of the BMC to start normally;

Step S3: The BIOS unit 40 sends a test command to the control module 14 of the BMC 10 through the south bridge 20 and the LPC bus bar at intervals T1 + T2;

Step S4: The control module 14 of the BMC 10 receives the test command and responds. If the BIOS unit 40 sends the test command to the BMC 10 for more than a predetermined number of times (for example, three times or more), and the control module 14 does not respond, the BMC 10 is determined. The operation is abnormal, and step S5 is performed; otherwise, return to step S3;

Step S5: The BIOS unit 40 sends a GPIO signal to the multiplexer 50 through the south bridge 20 to control the output 54 of the multiplexer 50 to be disconnected from the BIOS flash memory 42 while the output terminal 56 and the BMC flash. The memory 16 establishes an electrical connection;

Step S6: The BIOS unit 40 reads the firmware file that can restore the normal operation of the BMC 10 from the storage module 30, and burns the firmware file into the BMC flash memory 16 through the south bridge 20 and the multiplexer 50;

Step S7: The BIOS unit 40 sends the GPIO control signal to the multiplexer 50 again, so that the multiplexer 50 controls the output terminal 56 to be electrically disconnected from the BMC flash memory 16, and simultaneously controls the output terminal 54 and the BIOS flash memory. The body 42 establishes an electrical connection;

Step S8: The BMC 10 restores and restarts the operating system, at which time the BIOS unit 40 is also restarted, and returns to step S2 to re-detect the BMC 10.

It can be understood that during the recovery and restart of the operating system by the BMC 10, the BIOS unit 40 can stop sending test commands to save system resources.

The substrate management controller recovery system 100 of the present invention sets the multiplexer 50 and transmits the GPIO control signal to the multiplexer 50 by using the BIOS unit 40 to control the multiplexer 50 to gate the BMC flash memory 16, thereby toughening The file is burned into the BMC flash memory 16 to restore the BMC10 to normal operation. The baseboard management controller recovery system 100 does not need to write a specific BMC recovery program, has less dependence on the operating system, and has a simple hardware structure, and the recovery process of the BMC10 is simple.

In summary, the present invention complies with the requirements of the invention patent and submits a patent application according to law. The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and equivalent modifications or variations made by those skilled in the art will be covered by the following claims.

100. . . Baseboard management controller recovery system

10. . . Baseboard management controller

12. . . LPC interface

14. . . Control module

16. . . BMC flash memory

20. . . South Bridge

30. . . Storage module

40. . . BIOS unit

42. . . BIOS flash memory

50. . . Multiplexer

52. . . Input

54, 56. . . Output

1 is a functional block diagram of a substrate management controller recovery system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

2 is a flow chart of a method for performing a recovery operation by the substrate management controller shown in FIG. 1.

100. . . Baseboard management controller recovery system

10. . . Baseboard management controller

12. . . LPC interface

14. . . Control module

16. . . BMC flash memory

20. . . South Bridge

30. . . Storage module

40. . . BIOS unit

42. . . BIOS flash memory

50. . . Multiplexer

52. . . Input

54, 56. . . Output

Claims (10)

A substrate management controller recovery system that restores a normal operation of a substrate management controller by calling a firmware file to a substrate management controller, wherein the substrate management controller recovery system includes a BIOS unit, a south bridge, and a multiplexer The BIOS unit sends a test signal to the baseboard management controller through the south bridge, and sends a control signal to the multiplexer through the south bridge, so that the multiplexer strobes the BIOS unit or the baseboard management controller, and when the multiplexer strobes the baseboard management control In the case of the device, the BIOS unit reads the firmware file and burns the firmware file to the baseboard management controller through the south bridge and the multiplexer. The substrate management controller recovery system of claim 1, wherein the multiplexer comprises an input end, and the input end of the multiplexer is electrically connected to the south bridge through the serial peripheral interface bus. The substrate management controller recovery system of claim 1, wherein the BIOS unit comprises a BIOS flash memory, the substrate management controller comprises a substrate management controller flash memory, and the multiplexer The second output terminal is configured to strobe the BIOS flash memory or the substrate management controller flash memory under the control of the multiplexer. The substrate management controller recovery system of claim 1, wherein the substrate management controller comprises a low pin count interface, and the south bridge passes the pin count bus and the low pin count of the base management controller The interface is electrically connected. The substrate management controller recovery system of claim 1, wherein the substrate management controller recovery system comprises a storage module, the storage module is electrically connected to the BIOS unit, and the firmware file is stored in Inside the storage module. The substrate management controller recovery system of claim 5, wherein the storage module is a hard disk, a CD player or a USB. A method of using a substrate management controller recovery system according to any of claims 1-6, comprising the steps of:
The BIOS unit sends a test command to the baseboard management controller;
If the baseboard management controller does not respond after sending the test command for more than a predetermined number of times, the BIOS unit determines that the baseboard management controller is abnormal, and if the baseboard management controller responds, the BIOS unit continues to send the test command;
The BIOS unit sends a control signal to the duplexer to establish an electrical connection between the baseboard management controller and the south bridge through the duplexer;
The BIOS unit burns the firmware file to the baseboard management controller. The method of using the substrate management controller recovery system of claim 7, wherein the step of the BIOS unit sending the test command to the baseboard management controller further comprises the step of waiting for the firmware file to start normally. The method for using the substrate management controller recovery system according to claim 7, wherein the step of the BIOS unit to burn the firmware file to the substrate management controller further comprises the BIOS unit transmitting the control to the duplexer again. The step of signalling to establish an electrical connection between the BIOS flash memory and the south bridge through the duplexer. The method for using a substrate management controller recovery system according to claim 9, wherein the BIOS unit sends a control signal to the duplexer to establish an electrical property between the BIOS flash memory and the south bridge through the duplexer. The step of connecting also includes the steps of the baseboard management controller to recover and restart the operating system.