TWI497288B - Bios maintenance method - Google Patents

Description

Basic input and output system maintenance method

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

When the server is powered on, its basic input/output system performs power-on self-test (POST), which is designed to initialize various components on the motherboard to provide a minimum operating environment for the operating system. The basic input/output system needs to load its settings during initialization, such as the boot device sequence used to provide the operating system, whether to enable specific functions on the motherboard, and so on. The basic input/output system acts as the core firmware of the server. If the correct settings cannot be accessed, the server will not work at all. In practice, this setting may be corrupted, cleared, or not compatible with the basic input/output system for various reasons, such as changing the setting format when the basic I/O system itself performs an error or updates the version.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a method for maintaining basic input/output system settings by utilizing the characteristics of the base station management control module in the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) independently of the central processing unit.

The invention provides a basic input and output system maintenance method, and the steps thereof The method includes: starting a server; determining whether a first input/output system stored in a first bank of the server is valid; if the first setting of the basic input/output system is invalid; a basic input of the server The output system loads a basic input/output system default setting; determines whether a second input/output system stored in a baseboard management control module of the server is valid; and if the basic input/output system second setting is valid, The second setting of the basic input/output system is stored to the first bank. In an embodiment, if the second setting of the basic input/output system is invalid, the foregoing step further includes storing the basic input/output system default setting to the baseboard management control module. In an embodiment, the foregoing step further includes storing a verification value that is set by default in the basic input/output system to the baseboard management control module.

In an embodiment, the foregoing step further comprises: if the basic input and output The first setting of the system is valid, and determining whether a flag is set in the first storage body indicates that the setting of the basic input/output system needs to be modified; if the flag is set in the first storage body, modifying the basic input Outputting the first setting of the system; and storing the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to the baseboard management control module, and clearing the flag in the first storage body.

In an embodiment, the foregoing steps further include: the basic input and output The system obtains a first verification value of the first setting of the basic input/output system; the basic input/output system acquires a second verification value of the second setting of the basic input/output system from the substrate management control module; if the first storage body The flag is not provided, and the first verification value is determined to be the same as the second verification value; if the first verification value is the same as the first And determining whether the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid; and if the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid, storing the second setting of the basic input/output system to the first storage body. In an embodiment, if the second setting of the basic input/output system is invalid, the foregoing step further includes storing the first setting of the basic input/output system to the baseboard management control module, and the basic input/output system loads the basic input and output. The first setting of the system. In an embodiment, if the first verification value is the same as the second verification value, the basic input output system loads the first setting of the basic input/output system.

In an embodiment, the foregoing step further comprises: reopening the server And the basic input/output system loads the second setting of the basic input/output system stored to the first bank from the first bank.

In an embodiment, the first storage system complementary metal oxide A semiconductor (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor, CMOS for short) memory wafer.

In summary, the basic input and output system of the present invention is first and second Setting a verification value, and in some embodiments, a mechanism for determining the validity of the basic input/output system, the basic input/output system can select the storage unit that is originally used to store its settings to load the basic input/output system. A setting, or loading the second setting of the basic input/output system from the baseboard management control module. In other embodiments, the basic input/output system can further back up the settings used by the baseboard management control module depending on whether the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid and the presence of a flag in the first bank.

The above description of the present invention and the following description of the embodiments are The spirit and principle of the invention are set forth and illustrated, and further explanation of the scope of the invention is provided.

1‧‧‧Server

10‧‧‧Basic input and output system

11‧‧‧First memory bank

12‧‧‧Second storage

13‧‧‧Base Management Control Module

14‧‧‧Base Management Controller

16‧‧‧Read-only memory

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

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

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

See Figure 1. 1 is a high level block diagram of a server in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the server 1 includes a basic input/output system 10, a first bank 11, a substrate management control module 13, and a read-only memory bank 16. The basic input/output system 10 can be coupled to the substrate management controller 14 in a low pin count (LPC) bus bar. The first bank 11 and the read-only bank 16 are coupled to the basic input/output system 10. For convenience of explanation, in practice, the server 1 may still include a central processing unit, mainly for the memory used by the central processing unit. Body (such as a DIMM (dual in-line memory module), a heat dissipation module, a power supply, a hard disk, a disk array (such as a RAID array) card, and a sensor for the aforementioned hardware Etc. etc. are not shown in Figure 1.

The substrate management control module 13 includes a baseboard management controller (BMC) and a second storage body 12. The second bank 12 is a non-volatile memory bank. The baseboard management controller 14 is the core of the smart platform management interface, and monitors multiple sensors in the server 1 to grasp and automatically report the operating conditions such as temperature and power stability in the server 1, and can control the server 1 Power on and off. The second bank 12 is coupled to the substrate management control module 14 by a busbar such as an I ² C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) or an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface). In this embodiment, the second bank 12 serves as a substrate management control module. A storage unit of 13 for storing a second setting of the basic input/output system. The first bank 11 and the second bank 12 may be non-volatile such as flash memory or other types of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Sexual storage components. In one embodiment, the first bank 11 is a volatile but battery-equipped complementary metal oxide semiconductor memory wafer dedicated to storing basic input and output system setting information.

The operation of the basic input output system 10 involves a central processing unit and another dedicated storage unit. The dedicated memory bank can be a read-only memory bank 16 for storing the machine code and/or a set of at least the CPU processor first read through the program counter when the server 1 is powered on. Base The basic input/output system of this input/output system 10 is set by default. The central processor executes the aforementioned machine code to function as the basic input/output system 10. In general, the basic input output system 10 can be viewed as a complete separate functional block.

It is worth mentioning that, in an embodiment, any access to the first, second or default settings of the basic input/output system comprises calculating the verification value by setting it as a bit string for confirmation setting. The correctness and credibility of the median. The verification value may be a simple checksum or a hash value, such as a cyclic redundancy check verification value obtained by a function of a series of cyclic redundancy check (CRC). The present invention considers the verification value to be an inherent component of the settings of the basic input/output system 10, and is not limited to being performed by the basic input/output system 10, the substrate management controller 14, or other circuits on the motherboard. In addition, since any process of accessing the first, second or default settings of the basic input/output system may be abnormally interrupted, for example, the parameter setting command is incomplete or the substrate management control module 13 loses power, etc., in an embodiment, A bank 11, a second bank 12, and a read-only bank 16 have a validity flag associated with their stored settings, indicating that the previous valid deposit of the settings has been completed, or that the deposited settings are valid. of.

Please refer to Figure 2 in conjunction with Figure 1. 2 is a flow chart showing a method of maintaining a basic input/output system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, after the server 1 is powered on (S201), in step S203, the basic input/output system 10 determines whether the first setting of the basic input/output system is valid. If the first setting of the basic input/output system is valid, step S205 is performed. If the basic input and output system is the first setting If it is invalid, then in step S215, the basic input/output system 10 loads the basic input/output system default settings. Specifically, step S215 may include the basic input/output system 10 importing the basic input/output system default settings into the first bank 11 and loading the basic input/output system default settings in the first bank 11. In step S217, the basic input/output system 10 determines (through the substrate management control module 14) whether the second setting of the basic input/output system in the second bank 12 is valid. If the second setting of the basic input/output system is invalid, the basic input/output system 10 stores the default settings of the basic input/output system to the substrate management control module 13 in step S219, calculates the verification value of the default setting of the basic input/output system, and stores the value. To the substrate management control module 13. Specifically, the basic input/output system 10 stores the basic input/output system default settings and the verification values thereof to the second storage body 12 of the baseboard management control module 13 through the substrate management controller 14, and the basic input and output system default settings of the writes are overwritten. The second setting of the original basic input/output system in the second bank 12 is removed. If the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid, the basic input/output system 10 performs step S213 to obtain the second setting of the basic input/output system through the substrate management controller 14, and stores the second setting of the basic input/output system to the first storage body 11 The basic input/output system default setting loaded in step S215 in the first bank 11 is overwritten. Subsequently, the basic input/output system 10 loads the second setting of the basic input/output system, continuing the initialization of the other components of the server 1.

In step S205, the basic input/output system 10 determines whether a flag is set in the first bank to indicate that its setting should be modified. This flag may be the user interface of the basic input/output system 10 or the access to the basic input and output system in the operating system. The tool of 10 is set up in response to an external operation, and indicates that the setting information of the basic input/output system 10 in the first bank is to be modified. In step S223, the basic input/output system first setting in the first bank is modified by the basic input/output system 10, for example, can be modified and saved through a BIOS setup interface. The S225 basic input/output system 10 stores the modified basic input/output system first setting to the substrate management control module 13. Specifically, the basic input/output system 10 transmits the modified basic input/output system through the substrate management controller 14 first. The setting is stored in the second bank 12, and the second setting of the original basic input/output system of the second bank 12 is overwritten by the first setting of the modified basic input/output system. The basic input/output system 10 clears the flag in step S227, and the user interface or utility can respond to its operator.

If the first setting of the basic input/output system is valid and the flag is not set, the basic input/output system 10 obtains the first verification value of the first setting of the basic input/output system in the first storage body 11 in step S206, and the first verification value may be It is calculated by the basic input and output system 10. The basic input/output system 10 acquires the second verification value of the second setting of the basic input/output system in the substrate management control module 13 in step S207. Specifically, the basic input/output system 10 acquires the second verification value of the second setting of the basic input/output system in the second bank 12 through the substrate management controller 14. In step S209, the basic input/output system 10 determines whether the first and second settings of the basic input/output system are the same according to whether the first and second verification values are the same. If they are the same, it means that there is no change or abnormality in server 1, basic input and output. The system 10 can load the basic input/output system first setting from the first bank 11 in step S233 following the normal boot process. If it is different, the basic input/output system 10 determines (via the substrate management controller 14) whether the second setting of the basic input/output system in the second bank 12 is valid in step S211. Steps S211 and S217 are similar. If the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid, the basic input/output system 10 performs step S213, and the second setting of the basic input/output system overwrites the first setting of the basic input/output system in the first bank 11. If the second setting of the basic input/output system is also invalid, in step S229, the basic input/output system 10 loads the first setting of the basic input/output system from the first bank 11, and sets the setting to the substrate management in step S231. Control module 13. Specifically, the basic input/output system 10 stores the basic input/output system first setting to the second bank 12 (as a basic input/output system second setting) through the substrate management controller 14.

In an embodiment, the substrate management control module 13 maintains a parameter correspondence table in the second storage body 12 for indicating which one of the second settings of the second input of the second input/output system is stored in the second storage body 12. Block. Specifically, the substrate management controller 14 may open a block dedicated to the second setting of the basic input/output system in the second storage body 12, and the parameter correspondence table describes the first to the first few bytes (byte) in the block. Is a certain parameter of a certain hardware, and what possible values of this parameter. When the machine code of the basic input/output system 10 is updated such that the parameter amount in the first or default setting of the basic input/output system is increased or decreased relative to the second setting of the basic input/output system, the presence of the correspondence table facilitates the transmission of the basic input/output system 10. The baseboard management controller 14 seamlessly accesses the values that the common parameters are backed up.

In summary, the first and second settings of the basic input/output system of the present invention have verification values, and in an embodiment, a mechanism is provided to determine the validity thereof, and the basic input/output system can be selected according to the startup stage. The first setting of the basic input/output system is loaded by the bank originally used to store its settings, or the second setting of the basic input/output system is loaded from the baseboard management control module. In other embodiments, the basic input/output system can further back up the settings used by the baseboard management control module depending on whether the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid and the presence of a flag in the first bank. The invention introduces the IPMI substrate management control module into the maintenance work of the basic input/output system, so that the latter can take backup, reply default or normal loading through a series of judgments, which is sufficient for the basic input/output system and various basic server operations thereof. Set active or passive variations.

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

Claims (10)

A basic input/output system maintenance method includes: starting a server; determining whether a first setting of a basic input/output system stored in a first storage body of the server is valid; if the first setting of the basic input/output system is invalid, A basic input/output system of the server loads a basic input/output system default setting; determines whether a second input/output system stored in a baseboard management control module of the server is valid; and if the basic input/output system The second setting is valid, and the second setting of the basic input/output system is stored to the first storage body. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1, further comprising: if the first setting of the basic input/output system is valid, determining whether a flag indication is provided in the first storage body, the setting of the basic input/output system needs to be modified. If the flag is set in the first storage body, modifying the first setting of the basic input/output system; and storing the modified first setting of the basic input/output system to the baseboard management control module, and clearing the first This flag in the bank. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 2, further comprising: the basic input/output system obtaining a first verification value of the first setting of the basic input/output system; The basic input/output system obtains a second verification value of the second setting of the basic input/output system from the substrate management control module; if the flag is not provided in the first storage body, determining the first verification value and the first Whether the verification value is the same; if the first verification value is different from the second verification value, determining whether the second setting of the basic input/output system is valid; and if the basic setting of the basic input/output system is valid, the basic input/output system The second setting is stored to the first bank. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 3, further comprising: storing the first setting of the basic input/output system to the baseboard management control module if the second setting of the basic input/output system is invalid. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 4, further comprising: if the basic setting of the basic input/output system is invalid, the basic input/output system loads the first setting of the basic input/output system. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 3, further comprising: if the first verification value is the same as the second verification value, the basic input/output system loads the first setting of the basic input/output system. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1 or 3, further comprising: restarting the server; and loading, by the basic input/output system from the first storage body, the basic stored to the first storage body Input and output system second setting. The basic input/output system maintenance method as described in claim 1 further includes: If the second setting of the basic input/output system is invalid, the basic input/output system default setting is stored to the baseboard management control module. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 8, further comprising: storing a verification value set by default in the basic input/output system to the baseboard management control module. The basic input/output system maintenance method of claim 1, wherein the first storage system is a complementary metal oxide semiconductor memory wafer.