TWI731515B - Computer system and boot controlling method for storage apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A computer system and a boot controlling method for storage apparatus are provided. The computer system includes a storage apparatus and a firmware interface. The storage apparatus is configured with a reserved space, and the reserved space is used for storing metadata related to the boot setting of the rapid storage technology (RST) mode. In a boot procedure, the firmware interface accesses the metadata in the reserved space of the storage apparatus in response to the RST mode. In addition, firmware interface stores partition information in the space other than the reserved space in response to the advanced host controller interface (AHCI) mode. Accordingly, after the switching between the two modes, the boot procedure can be successful.

Description

Computer system and boot control method for storage device

The present invention relates to a storage technology, and particularly relates to a computer system and a boot control method for a storage device.

Globally Unique Identifiers (GUID) hard disk partition table (GUID Partition Table, GPT) is the structure and layout standard of hard disk partition table supported by most operating systems (OS) today, and It also complies with the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) standard (which can be used to replace the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) of a personal computer). This partition table will cut a 32-bit (bits) space for storing logical block address (LBA) space and master boot record (MBR). In the MBR hard disk, partition information is directly stored in the master boot record (MBR) (the master boot record may also store the operating system's startup program). In the GPT hard disk, the location information of the partition table is stored in the GPT header. Based on compatibility considerations, the first sector of the hard disk is still used for MBR storage, followed by the primary GPT header (Primary GPT Header). In order to reduce the risk of damage to the partition table, a copy of the partition table (for example, the Secondary GPT Header) is stored in the last space of the hard disk.

Nowadays, the BIOS of most mainstream systems such as personal computers and servers adopt the UEFI standard. When the system is booted, the BIOS will read and write the master boot record sector of the hard disk. This means that the system needs to be extra careful in accessing magnetic sectors. Unfortunately, if the files in the sector are damaged, the system will not be able to boot. Normally, this situation does not happen to the computer system under normal use, and the operating system especially protects these sectors. Therefore, ordinary users should not easily visit these sectors. Inevitably, if the hard disk is viewed through other operating systems or other systems, then all sectors will be in a glance, and it is not difficult for users to access it further.

At present, the chipset mode (mode) supported by personal computer systems includes AHCI mode, Rapid Storage Technology (RST) Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) mode, RST Premium (and Optane) )mode. The latter two are Intel's support for RAID and Optane memory/storage modes, and these functions can be supported by embedding its pre-operating system (PreOS) driver through the BIOS code. It is worth noting that in the RST mode, the PreOS driver will start to take over the leadership of the entire boot when the BIOS is initialized, and will behave differently from the AHCI mode in order to access the sector in response to the special design of the device. .

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of access to a storage device in the boot process in two modes of the prior art. Please refer to Figure 1. The Boot Partition of different chipset modes is the same, and the Boot Partition is mainly in accordance with the unified format of the operating system specifications. The AHCI or RST driver AHCI, RST does not create its own boot partition format, and after the boot BIOS is initialized, it will autonomously search for the master boot record MBR and the main GPT information M_GPT. It is worth noting that the RST mode shown in Figure 1 adds an Intel metadata partition compared to the AHCI mode. This partition does not belong to the format of the GPT specification, but Intel requires equipment manufacturers (Original Equipment Manufacturers, OEM) to cut a partition for the metadata of the disk assembly information to be stored in RST mode. Therefore, the boot process in RST mode should be before the main boot process is loaded, and the driver will check the metadata to ensure that the hard disk is assembled correctly before proceeding to the next boot action.

If the metadata does not exist or is damaged, the boot will fail in RST mode. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of access to the storage device in the boot process in two modes of the prior art. Referring to FIG. 2, after booting and BIOS initialization (steps S201, S203, S211, S213), the storage device driver checks the device information, and after confirming that it is correct, it reports to the logical block address space available to the BIOS (step S205). Next, the BIOS will read the master boot record according to the GPT specification to perform subsequent boot operations (step S207). The biggest difference between the RST mode and the AHCI mode is that the RST driver will check the OEM's special reserve for the metadata space to write and read the assembly information between the hard disk (step S215), and after confirming that the assembly information is correct The accessible space is reported to the BIOS (step S217), and the BIOS will read the master boot record (step S219). However, in order to avoid the assembly information being read or rewritten by the system, the RST driver only reports the total capacity minus the space of its metadata partition to the BIOS.

It is worth noting that if the system is switched from the RST mode to the AHCI mode, the AHCI mode does not recognize the Intel metadata partition, so the driver will still report the system's complete and readable LBA space normally. At this time, the BIOS will write the secondary GPT (Secondary GPT) information S_GPT into the last position of the LBA, and cause the Intel metadata to be overwritten. After that, if you switch back to RST mode, the system will not be able to boot. Therefore, it is recorded in the regulations that when special devices (Optane or RAID storage) are used, the system defaults to RST mode and cannot switch to AHCI mode arbitrarily. Otherwise, the problem of hard disk damage will not be held responsible. However, computer products for users usually support both AHCI and RST modes. Most users will switch arbitrarily under unknown circumstances, resulting in a situation where they cannot be turned on, and even causing users to return the product.

In view of this, the embodiments of the present invention provide a computer system and a boot control method for a storage device, providing reserved space for storing metadata used in a fast storage technology mode, and switching between different modes will not affect booting.

The computer system of the embodiment of the present invention includes but is not limited to a storage device and a firmware interface. The storage device is configured with reserved space. This reserved space stores metadata, and the metadata is related to the boot settings in the fast storage technology mode. The firmware interface is coupled to the storage device. In the boot process, reflecting the fast storage technology mode, the firmware interface accesses the metadata in the reserved space of the storage device. In response to the advanced host controller interface mode, the firmware interface stores the partition information in a space other than the reserved space in the storage device.

On the other hand, the boot control method for the storage device in the embodiment of the present invention includes but is not limited to the following steps: providing a storage device. The storage device is configured with reserved space, this reserved space stores metadata, and this metadata is related to the boot setting in the fast storage technology mode. Responding to the fast storage technology mode, access the metadata in the reserved space to the storage device. In response to the advanced host controller interface mode, the partition information is stored in a space other than the reserved space in the storage device.

Based on the above, the computer system and the boot control method for the storage device of the embodiment of the present invention provide a reserved space that is not affected by the advanced host controller interface mode for the fast storage technology mode. The metadata related to the boot setting is Can be stored in this reserved space without being overwritten abnormally. In this way, any switch between the two modes can complete the booting of the computer system smoothly.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of components of a computer system 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 3, the computer system 100 includes but is not limited to a firmware interface 130 and a storage device 150.

The firmware interface 130 can be any type of fixed or removable random access memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), or flash memory. The firmware interface 130 can be a Basic Input Output System (BIOS), an Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), or other types of interfaces that record firmware programs system.

In one embodiment, the firmware interface 130 stores RST and AHCI driver programs to perform operations in the RST mode and AHCI mode on the storage device 150, respectively. In another embodiment, the firmware interface 130 stores a pre-operating system driver to perform operations required for the boot process on the storage device 150 or other devices.

It is worth noting that the foregoing operation may be executed by the processor (not shown) of the computer system 100 after loading the corresponding program code from the firmware interface 130 into the system memory, or may be processed through a specific chip. The embodiment of the present invention does not Be restricted.

The storage device 150 is coupled to the firmware interface 130. The storage device 150 can be any type of traditional hard disk (Hard Disk Drive, HDD), solid-state drive (SSD) or similar components or a combination of the above components Storage.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the storage space of the storage device 150 includes a reserved space 155. For example, FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the storage space SS of the storage device 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the reserved space RS may be an over-provisioning (OP) or other types of partitions, and may be preset by the storage device 150 when it leaves the factory or configured by the user after it leaves the factory.

The reserved space 155 can be hidden and/or the file system of the operating system or a specific driver will restrict its access behavior. Generally, users' general files (for example, music, videos, documents, etc.) are not stored in the reserved space 155. The reserved space 155 can store data or files such as device information, configuration settings, and/or cache content of the storage device 150. Subsequent examples will further illustrate its use.

It should be noted that the reserved space RS shown in FIG. 4 is located in the last partition of the storage space SS. However, in other embodiments, the position of the reserved space RS in the storage space SS may be changed.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the operation process of the embodiment of the present invention, a number of embodiments will be given below to describe in detail the boot process of the storage device 150 in the embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, various components and modules of the computer system 100 will be used to describe the method according to the embodiment of the present invention. Each process of the method can be adjusted accordingly according to the implementation situation, and it is not limited to this.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a boot control method for the storage device 150 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment of the present invention will separately describe the booting procedures for the storage device 150 in the two modes. Referring to FIG. 5, in response to the rapid storage technology (RST) mode, the firmware interface 130 can access the metadata in the reserved space 155 to the storage device 150 (step SS). Specifically, this metadata is related to the boot settings in RST mode. For example, hard disk assembly information, or other RST related information. After the firmware interface 130 obtains complete and correct metadata, the boot process in the RST mode can be successfully completed (for example, continue to report the boot partition, read the partition table information, etc.). It should be noted that access to the reserved space 155 in the embodiment of the present invention is restricted. This restriction may be for specific drivers, firmware programs, applications, or command access, or other forms of restrictions, permissions, or protection. In the RST mode, the reserved space 155 can be accessed by the firmware interface 130 to read the metadata related to the RST. The detailed flow will be explained below.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a boot procedure for RST mode according to an embodiment of the present invention. Please refer to FIG. 6, after the computer system 100 is booted (step S610, which may be by pressing the boot button, remote booting, or other booting methods), the firmware interface 130 (using BIOS as an example, but may also be other interface systems) is initialized To execute the booting procedure (step S620). The firmware interface 130 can determine whether the storage device 150 supports the extended space function (step S630). This extended space function is related to the existence of reserved space 155. In one embodiment, the firmware interface 130 reads corresponding parameters from the storage device 150 through an identify device command. The corresponding parameters include the extended LBA feature and the extended logical block bit. The address is related to whether to support the extended space function.

For example, FIG. 7 is an example illustrating the corresponding parameters of the identification device command. Please refer to FIG. 7, among the corresponding parameters of the identification device command, a fixed location that is not defined in the existing specification is uniformly defined as an extended logical block address function ELF. If the value of the extended logical block address function ELF at this location is 0, it means that the storage device 150 does not support this function (for example, the reserved space 155 is not configured or the RST-related metadata is not stored in the reserved space 155, etc. ). If this location has a value (for example, 1, 3 or other values), it means that the storage device 150 supports this function (for example, the reserved space 155 has been configured or the RST-related metadata has been stored in the reserved space 155, etc.), and This value represents the space available for system expansion (for example, the size of the reserved space 155 or the size of metadata, etc., and may be calculated in megabytes (MB) or other space units).

It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the indication of the extended space function can also be in other positions in the identification device parameters, and the value definitions thereon can be changed according to requirements. In another embodiment, the firmware of the storage device 150 can also be defined with other commands for the firmware interface 130 to inquire whether it supports the extended space function.

Referring to FIG. 6, if the extended space function is supported, the firmware interface 130 sends an access command to the storage device 150. The access command may be a vendor specific command (Vendor specific command), and the pre-operating system (PreOS) of the firmware interface 130 can request the storage device 150 to extract the accessible space (or, the storage device) through this access command. After the 150 leaves the factory, a certain size of space (for example, 10, 20, or 50 MB, etc.) is reserved). After the storage device 150 receives the access command, it responds to the physical address (ie, the location where the metadata is stored in the storage space of the storage device 150) that can be read by the firmware interface 130 according to the access command. This method can effectively protect the reserved space 155 to be read only in RST mode. This access command can be regarded as the key to authorized reading. Therefore, the storage device 150 needs to support this access command, and after receiving the access command, its firmware will respond to the firmware interface 130 with the accessible location space in the storage device 150. Then, the firmware interface 130 analyzes the reported corresponding parameters (ie, the aforementioned physical address) (step S640), and the reserved space 155 can be accessed.

It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the physical address of the reserved space 155 may also be stored in the corresponding parameter of the identification device command, or other locations.

Then, the firmware interface 130 can obtain the RST-related metadata from the reserved space 155 according to the extracted physical address (step S650). The space defined by Intel for storing metadata is about 10MB, and the reserved space 155 usually occupies 7% to 28% of all storage space, so the reserved space 155 is sufficient to store metadata without causing additional impact . Taking the space configuration of FIG. 4 as an example, the reserved space RS can store the metadata MD related to the RST. Then, according to the metadata, the boot partition can be reported to the firmware interface 130 (step S660).

In this way, the product manufacturer does not need to cut an extra space from the storage space of the storage device 150 in the RST mode for it to access the metadata. When the system is in RST mode, the driver can independently create space for storing its metadata. Of course, the only access permission can be only for RST related drivers. When the reserved space 155 is restricted to access, the user's misuse and damage to its metadata can be avoided.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 5, in response to the AHCI mode, the firmware interface 130 stores the partition information in a space other than the reserved space 155 in the storage device 150 (step S530). Specifically, in the AHCI mode, the AHCI driver of the firmware interface 130 cannot/disable to determine whether the storage device 150 supports the extended space function (for example, does not check the extended logical block address function), and will not further write The data is accessed in the reserved space 155 or from the reserved space 155 to access the metadata related to the RST. Therefore, information such as secondary GTP information or other partition-related information will not cover the data in the reserved space 155. In addition, in the AHCI mode, the space that the storage device 150 reports to the firmware interface 130 will exclude the reserved space 155. Therefore, the firmware interface 130 only records partition information in locations other than the reserved space 155.

Taking the space configuration of FIG. 4 as an example, the firmware interface 130 will write the secondary GPT information (Secondary GPT information) S_GPT in the last LBA in the storage space. That is, the last position in the writable space (the space other than the reserved space RS). In this way, even if the AHCI mode is switched back to the RST mode, the data (for example, the metadata MD) stored in the reserved space RS can be read smoothly because it is not covered by the secondary GPT information S_GPT.

In summary, the computer system and the boot control method for the storage device according to the embodiments of the present invention store metadata related to the RST mode in the reserved space of the storage device. This reserved space can be requested by the RST driver or specific access commands to access the stored metadata, but the AHCI driver does not arbitrarily access this reserved space. In this way, the user can switch between RST and AHCI modes arbitrarily, and can successfully complete the boot process.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent application scope.

AHCI: AHCI driver RST: RST driver MBR: Master Boot Record M_GPT: Main GPT information S_GPT: Secondary GPT information S201~S207, S211~S217, S510~S530, S610~S660: steps 100: computer system 130: Firmware interface 150: storage device 155, RS: reserved space SS: storage space MD: Metadata ELF: extended logical block address function

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of access to a storage device in the boot process in two modes of the prior art. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of access to the storage device in the boot process in two modes of the prior art. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of components of a computer system according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a storage space of a storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a boot control method for a storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a boot procedure for a fast storage technology mode according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 is an example illustrating the corresponding parameters of the command of the recognition device.

S510~S530: steps

Claims (10)

A computer system including: A storage device configured with a reserved space, wherein the reserved space stores metadata, and the metadata is related to the boot setting in a Rapid Storage Technology (RST) mode; and A firmware interface, coupled to the storage device, where, in a boot process, In response to the fast storage technology mode, the firmware interface accesses the metadata in the reserved space to the storage device; and In response to an Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI) mode, the firmware interface stores a partition information of the storage device in a space other than the reserved space in the storage device. For the computer system described in claim 1, wherein the firmware interface sends an access command, and the storage device responds to the location of the metadata in the storage device according to the access command. For example, the computer system described in claim 1, wherein the firmware interface determines whether the storage device supports an extended space function, and the firmware interface responds to supporting the extended space function to access the reserved space, The function of the extended space is related to the existence of the reserved space. The computer system described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, wherein the firmware interface reads corresponding parameters through an identify device command, and the corresponding parameters include an extended logical block address (LBA) function (Extended LBA feature), and the extended logical block address is related to whether the extended space function is supported. Such as the computer system described in item 3 of the scope of patent application, in which In response to the advanced host controller interface mode, the firmware interface does not determine whether the storage device supports the extended space function. A boot control method for a storage device, including: Provide a storage device, wherein the storage device is configured with a reserved space, the reserved space stores metadata, and the metadata is related to the boot setting in a fast storage technology mode; In response to the fast storage technology mode, access the metadata in the reserved space to the storage device; and In response to an advanced host controller interface mode, a partition information of the storage device is stored in a space other than the reserved space in the storage device. The boot control method for a storage device as described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, wherein the step of accessing the metadata in the reserved space to the storage device includes: Send an access command; and According to the access command, the location of the metadata in the storage device is responded. The boot control method for a storage device as described in item 6 of the scope of patent application, wherein the step of accessing the metadata in the reserved space to the storage device includes: Determine whether the storage device supports an extended space function; The reserved space is accessed in response to supporting the function of the extended space, wherein the function of the extended space is related to the existence of the reserved space. The boot control method for a storage device described in item 8 of the scope of patent application, wherein the step of determining whether the storage device supports the extended space function includes: The corresponding parameter is read through the identification device command, the corresponding parameter includes an extended logical block address function, and the extended logical block address is related to whether the extended space function is supported. The boot control method for storage device described in item 8 of the scope of patent application further includes: In response to the advanced host controller interface mode, it is not determined whether the storage device supports the extended space function.

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