TWI514131B - Method of starting computing system - Google Patents

Description

Computer system startup method

The present invention provides a method for starting a computer system, and more particularly to a method for starting a computer system that can solve a system abnormality caused by an AC power failure.

A Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) manages the entire system through separate interfaces, such as system state detection and event filtering, power management, recording event occurrence time, and system response control, and through the network or sequence. I will tell the manager. In addition, the baseboard management controller provides an intelligent platform management bus (IPMB) to communicate with external management controllers.

In the process of Power-on self-test (POST), the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) will send the system date and time to the baseboard management controller, and the baseboard management controller will The date and time are stored in a Real Time Clock (RTC) register, and the value in the real-time clock register is automatically updated over time to maintain a correct value. After upgrading the firmware of the baseboard management controller online, during the startup phase of the baseboard management controller, the baseboard management controller retrieves this value from the real-time clock register as its own time. In this way, the subsequent substrate management controller can ensure that the time stamp of the work record is correct when the event log is recorded.

After the system is doing AC power cycle, the value in the real-time clock register becomes an incorrect date and time after the AC power is turned off. Although the substrate tube The controller takes some filtering measures on the values stored in the real-time clock register, but this filtering mechanism does not guarantee that all erroneous values can be filtered. Thus, during the startup phase of the baseboard management controller, it is possible for the baseboard management controller to read this erroneous value as its own time.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method for solving system anomalies in a computer system.

The invention discloses a computer system startup method, the computer system comprising a substrate management controller, the startup method comprising starting the substrate management controller, wherein the substrate management controller comprises a real-time clock register; the substrate management control Loading a real time clock driver, wherein the real time clock driver is used to activate a real time clock function; after the real time clock driver is loaded, checking a real time clock of the real time clock register of the baseboard management controller Enable a field; if the state of the real-time clock enable field is disabled, enable a real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register and clear a time stamp of the real-time clock register; The baseboard management controller acquires the timestamp from the real time clock register; and if the timestamp is later than a predetermined time, the baseboard management controller is started.

In an embodiment, if the status of the real-time clock enable field is enabled, the baseboard management controller directly obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register.

In an embodiment, if the timestamp is earlier than a preset time, the timestamp is set to the preset time, and the baseboard management controller is started.

In an embodiment, after the startup of the baseboard management controller is completed, the computer system starts a system boot self-test (POST), and a basic input/output system (BIOS) transmits a system time to the baseboard management controller, the substrate The management controller stores the system time in the real time The timestamp is updated in the clock register.

In an embodiment, the startup of the substrate management controller is an activation of an AC power supply of the computer system, and the initial value of the time stamp in the real-time clock register is a random time, and the real-time clock enabling column The bit is preset to disable, the base management controller is activated, the baseboard management controller loads the real-time clock driver, and after the real-time clock driver is loaded, checks a real-time clock of the real-time clock register of the baseboard management controller. The enabling field, because the real-time clock enabling field is preset to be disabled, enabling the real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register and setting the time stamp of the real-time clock register to a random time Clearing, the baseboard management controller acquires the timestamp from the real-time clock register, and the timestamp is earlier than the preset time, the timestamp is set to the preset time, and the baseboard management controller is started. .

In an embodiment, since the time stamp is set to the preset time, the baseboard management controller records the event log by using the preset time.

In one embodiment, the startup of the baseboard management controller is a restart in the case where the computer system maintains power to the baseboard management controller, the real-time clock enablement field is enabled, and the baseboard management controller is directly The timestamp is obtained from the real-time clock register, and the timestamp is later than the preset time. For the correct time, the baseboard management controller records the event log with the correct timestamp.

In an embodiment, the startup of the substrate management controller is a restart of the substrate management controller after a firmware of the substrate management controller is updated, and the real-time clock enabling field is enabled. The baseboard management controller directly obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register. The timestamp is later than the preset time. For the correct time, the baseboard management controller records the event log with the correct timestamp.

In an embodiment, the preset time is 0:00 on January 1, 1970.

In an embodiment, when the status of the real-time clock enabling field is disabled, the field value is 0, and the status of the real-time clock enabling field is 1 when the field value is enabled, the real-time clock is updated. When the status of the field is disabled, the field value is 0. The status of the real-time clock update field is 1 when the field is enabled.

10‧‧‧ Process

100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118 ‧ ‧ steps

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a process of an embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of a startup process 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The boot process 10 is for use in a computer system and includes a baseboard management controller. The startup process 10 includes the following steps: Step 100: Start.

Step 102: Start the baseboard management controller, wherein the baseboard management controller includes a real-time clock register.

Step 104: The baseboard management controller loads a real time clock drive, wherein the real time clock driver is used to activate a real time clock function.

Step 106: After the real-time clock driver is loaded, check whether the value of a real-time clock enable field EN of the real-time clock register is "1"? If yes, go to step 108; if no, go to step 116.

Step 108: The baseboard management controller acquires a timestamp from the real time clock register.

Step 110: Set the value of the real-time clock enable field EN to "1".

Step 112: Determine whether the time stamp obtained is earlier than January 1, 1970? If yes, go to step 114; if no, go to step 118.

Step 114: Set 0 o'clock on January 1, 1970 as the time of the baseboard management controller.

Step 116: Enable a real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register and clear the time stamp of the real-time clock register.

Step 118: End.

According to the process 10, after the real-time clock driver is loaded, the value of the read real-time clock enabling field EN is “0” to judge whether the base management controller is started because the AC power is turned off, the power is re-powered, or read. The value of the real-time clock enable field EN is "1" to determine whether the baseboard management controller is started because of a reboot or a substrate management controller online update. When the baseboard management controller starts after re-powering after the AC power is turned off, and the real-time clock driver download is completed, the real-time clock function is disabled. That is, the timestamp in the real-time clock register is erroneous. A real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register is enabled in step 116, and a time stamp of the real-time clock register is cleared, and the baseboard management controller obtains the clear from the real-time clock register. This timestamp prevents the baseboard management controller from reading the wrong timestamp. On the other hand, when the base management controller is started up because of a reboot or a substrate management controller online update, and the real-time clock driver download is complete, the real-time clock function is enabled. Therefore, the timestamp in the real-time clock register is correct, and the baseboard management controller can directly obtain a plurality of timestamps. Since the baseboard management controller counts from 0:00 on January 1, 1970 to how many seconds it is now, the timestamps before 0:00 on January 1, 1970 are all wrong times. In this case, the baseboard management controller sets its own time to 0 on January 1, 1970, which means that the baseboard management controller does not know the real time and waits for the time transmitted by the basic input/output system when the system is powered on.

In short, in the embodiment of the present invention, after the real-time clock driver is loaded, before obtaining the time stamp in the real-time clock register, a more reasonable judgment is made to determine whether the time stamp stored in the real-time clock register is correct. . Reserved if the timestamp is correct, or cleared if the timestamp is incorrect. In this way, the base management controller can read the incorrect date and time in the real-time clock register due to the power failure of the AC power supply.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the startup method of the present invention includes activating a substrate management controller, and the substrate management controller includes a real-time clock register; the substrate management controller loads a real time clock drive, wherein the The real-time clock driver is used to activate a real-time clock function; after the real-time clock driver is loaded, a real-time clock enablement field of the real-time clock register of the baseboard management controller is checked; if the real-time clock enables the field When the state is disabled, a real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register is enabled and a time stamp of the real-time clock register is cleared; the base management controller obtains from the real-time clock register The timestamp; and if the timestamp is later than a predetermined time, the baseboard management controller is started. Further, if the status of the real-time clock enabling field is enabled, the baseboard management controller directly obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register; if the timestamp is earlier than a preset time, Setting the time stamp to the preset time, the baseboard management controller is started. After the baseboard management controller is started, the computer system starts a system boot self-test (POST), and a basic input/output system (BIOS) transmits a system time to the baseboard management controller, and the baseboard management controller uses the system time. The timestamp is updated by saving in the real time clock register. The startup of the baseboard management controller is initiated after an AC power supply of the computer system, and the initial value of the timestamp in the real-time clock register is a random time, and the real-time clock enabling field is preset to be disabled. Activating the baseboard management controller, the baseboard management controller loading the real-time clock driver, and after the real-time clock driver is loaded, checking a real-time clock enablement field of the real-time clock register of the baseboard management controller, The real-time clock enabling field is preset to be disabled, enabling the real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register and clearing the time stamp of the real-time clock register for random time, the substrate management The controller obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register, and the timestamp is earlier than the preset time, then the time is The time stamp is set to the preset time, and the baseboard management controller is started up. Since the time stamp is set to the preset time, the baseboard management controller records the event log by using the preset time. The startup of the baseboard management controller is a restart in the case where the computer system maintains power to the baseboard management controller, the real-time clock enablement field is enabled, and the baseboard management controller directly stores the real-time clock The time stamp is obtained in the device, and the time stamp is later than the preset time. For the correct time, the baseboard management controller records the event log with the correct time stamp. The startup of the baseboard management controller is a restart of the baseboard management controller after the firmware of the baseboard management controller is updated, and the real-time clock enablement field is enabled, and the baseboard management controller directly The timestamp is obtained in the real-time clock register, and the timestamp is later than the preset time. For the correct time, the baseboard management controller records the event log with the correct timestamp. The preset time is 0:00 on January 1, 1970. The status of the real-time clock enabling field is 0 when the field is disabled, and the field value of the real-time clock enabling field is 1 when enabled, and the status of the real-time clock update field is forbidden. When the field value is 0, the status of the real-time clock update field is 1 when the field is enabled.

In summary, after the real-time clock driver is loaded, the embodiment of the present invention determines whether the startup of the baseboard management controller is caused by the power failure after the AC power is turned off, or because the substrate management is restarted. The controller is either updated online. Then, depending on the situation, it is decided whether to process the date and time stored in the real-time clock register.

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.

10‧‧‧ Process

100, 102, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 114, 116, 118 ‧ ‧ steps

Claims (10)

A method for starting a computer system, the computer system comprising a substrate management controller, the startup method comprising: starting the substrate management controller, wherein the substrate management controller comprises a real-time clock register; the substrate management controller loading a real time clock driver, wherein the real time clock driver is used to activate a real time clock function; after the real time clock driver is loaded, checking a real time clock enablement of the real time clock register of the baseboard management controller a field; if the state of the real-time clock enable field is disabled, enabling a real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register and clearing a time stamp of the real-time clock register; the substrate The management controller obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register; and if the timestamp is later than a predetermined time, the baseboard management controller is started. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 1, wherein if the state of the real-time clock enabling field is enabled, the baseboard management controller directly acquires the timestamp from the real-time clock register. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 1, wherein if the time stamp is earlier than a preset time, the time stamp is set to the preset time, and the baseboard management controller is started. The booting method of the computer system according to claim 1, further comprising: after the baseboard management controller is started, the computer system starts a system boot self-test (POST), and a basic input/output system (BIOS) transmits a system time to the a baseboard management controller that stores the system time in the real time clock register to update the timestamp. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 3, wherein the startup of the baseboard management controller is an activation of an alternating current power supply of the computer system, and the initial value of the timestamp in the real-time clock register is a random Time, the real-time clock enabling field is preset to be disabled, the base management controller is activated, the baseboard management controller loads the real-time clock driver, and after the real-time clock driver is loaded, checking the real-time of the baseboard management controller a real-time clock enabling field of the clock register, wherein the real-time clock enabling field is preset to be disabled, enabling the real-time clock update field of the real-time clock register and the real-time clock register The time stamp of the random time is cleared, and the baseboard management controller acquires the time stamp from the real time clock register, and the time stamp is earlier than the preset time, and the time stamp is set to the preset time. The baseboard management controller is started up. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 5, wherein the substrate management controller records the event log by using the preset time period because the time stamp is set to the preset time. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 2, wherein the activation of the baseboard management controller is a restart in the case where the computer system maintains power to the baseboard management controller, and the real-time clock enabling field is enabled. a state, the baseboard management controller directly obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register, the timestamp is later than the preset time, and the base management controller uses the correct timestamp to record the event log. . The method for starting a computer system according to claim 2, wherein the startup of the baseboard management controller is a restart of the baseboard management controller after a firmware of the baseboard management controller is updated, and the real-time clock is enabled. The field is enabled, and the baseboard management controller directly obtains the timestamp from the real-time clock register, the timestamp being later than the preset time, At the correct time, the baseboard management controller records the event log with the correct timestamp. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 3, wherein the preset time is 0:00 on January 1, 1970. The method for starting a computer system according to claim 1, wherein the field value of the real-time clock enabling field is 0 when the field is disabled, and the field of the real-time clock enabling field is when the field is enabled. The value is 1, and the status of the real-time clock update field is 0 when the field is disabled. The status of the real-time clock update field is 1c when the field value is enabled.