Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
  • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
  • G06F3/0602—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems specifically adapted to achieve a particular effect
  • G06F3/0604—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management
  • G06F3/0607—Improving or facilitating administration, e.g. storage management by facilitating the process of upgrading existing storage systems, e.g. for improving compatibility between host and storage device
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
  • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
  • G06F3/0628—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems making use of a particular technique
  • G06F3/0629—Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems
  • G06F3/0632—Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems by initialisation or re-initialisation of storage systems
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
  • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
  • G06F3/0628—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems making use of a particular technique
  • G06F3/0638—Organizing or formatting or addressing of data
  • G06F3/0644—Management of space entities, e.g. partitions, extents, pools
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/06—Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers, e.g. RAID, emulated record carriers or networked record carriers
  • G06F3/0601—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems
  • G06F3/0668—Interfaces specially adapted for storage systems adopting a particular infrastructure
  • G06F3/0671—In-line storage system
  • G06F3/0673—Single storage device
  • G06F3/0679—Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]

Definitions

• This invention relates generally to processor-based systems using semiconductor memory as their primary, non-volatile, re -programmable storage medium.
• processor-based systems may be provided which do not use as their non-volatile storage medium, a hard disk drive.
• a hard disk drive provides a convenient non-volatile storage medium that stores most of the information which the user desires to maintain permanently. This may include among other things, the operating system, application software, files and data, as examples.
• the information that is stored in the hard disk drive may be transferred for execution to system memory which conventionally is a volatile memory.
• hard disk drives provide a very high capacity, relatively quick storage medium.
• hard disk drives take more space and use more power than non- volatile semiconductor memories.
• re-programmable, nonvolatile semiconductor memories are used as the primary storage system for processor-based systems. These semiconductor memories store the panoply of information normally stored in hard disk drives including operating systems.
• FLASH memories utilized as primary non-volatile storage media for processor-based systems use FLASH memories. These FLASH memories may be re-programmed without user intervention using well known on-board capabilities. These memories are generally accessed using row and column addresses. Thus, the memories are generally monolithic in that the location of files and other data in that memory is generally stored outside the memory. While this system has worked well with relatively simple embedded processor-based systems, as the demands on the processor-based systems increase, this simple storage system may be inadequate to handle some desired functions. Thus, there is a need for an improved way of using non-volatile re-programmable semiconductor memories as the primary nonvolatile file system for processor-based systems.
• a method of organizing stored information on a non- volatile, re-programmable semiconductor memory includes partitioning the memory into a plurality of partitions, each having a defined address. A defined address for one partition is stored in another partition.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic depiction of a client/server system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 2 is a depiction of the memory architecture of the storage device shown in Fig. 1;
• Fig. 3 is a depiction of a memory architecture of a BIOS and recovery operating system used in the system shown in Fig. 2;
• Fig. 4 is a flow chart for implementing software for re-loading operating systems in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
• Fig. 5 is a depiction of a memory architecture for the primary operating system shown in Fig. 2;
• Fig. 6 is a hardware implementation of the client shown in Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the FLAT shown in Fig. 5.
• a client/server computer system 10, shown in Fig. 1, may include one or more servers 18 that may be coupled over a network 16 to one or more clients 12.
• Each client 12 may have a storage device 14.
• the client 12 may be a processor-based system such as a desktop computer system, a handheld computer system, a processor-based television system, a set top box, an appliance, a thin client, a cellular telephone, or the like.
• the network 16 may be any of a variety of networks including a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless network, a home network or an internetwork such as the Internet.
• LAN local area network
• MAN metropolitan area network
• WAN wide area network
• wireless network a home network or an internetwork such as the Internet.
• the client 12 may permanently store its operating system on a reprogrammable storage device 14
• the storage device 14 may conventionally be a hard disk d ⁇ ve or a FLASH memory
• the client 10 can access the network 16 and the server 18 in order to obtain an uncorrupted or updated operating system and automatically re-load the new operating system onto the storage device 14
• the storage de ⁇ ce 14 may be electrically reprogrammed
• the storage device 14 may also act as the BIOS memory for the client 12 m one embodiment of the invention While conventionally the BIOS memory is a read only memory (ROM), by using a re- programmable memory, the operating system as well as the BIOS code may be updated or replaced when corrupted, as will be explained hereinafter In other embodiments a conventional BIOS ROM may be used in addition to the storage device 14
• a va ⁇ ety of FLASH memo ⁇ es are available for implementing the storage device 14, such as Intel's StrataFlashTM brand memory
• One advantageous memory is the 28F64OJ5 eight megabyte FLASH array available from Intel Corporation This memory includes a plurality of 128 kilobyte blocks Each block may be data protected so that it may not be erased or overwritten In other words, data protection may be selectively applied to one or more of a plurality of blocks in the memory
• the BIOS may be stored in one or more data protected blocks in the FLASH memory Likewise, the recovery operating system may be stored in one or more blocks that are also data protected In one embodiment, the BIOS may be stored in two 128 kilobyte blocks and the recovery operating system may use two 128 kilobyte blocks The remainder of the memory may be utilized to store the p ⁇ mary operating system and a file system Additional information about FLASH memo ⁇ es may be found in the "FLASH Memory" Databooks, January 1998, Order No 2108830-017 available from Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, California
• the memory architecture of the storage device 14 may include addressable locations for a BIOS and recovery operating system 20 and a p ⁇ mary operating system 22
• the p ⁇ marv operating system may be a general purpose operating system such as Microsoft Windows® 98 or CE, Linux, or the BE operating systems, as examples
• the p ⁇ mary operating system may also be a real time operating system (RTOS) such as the PalmOS
• RTOS real time operating system
• the BIOS and recovery operating system 20 operates in cases where the primary operating system 22 is corrupted or needs updating
• the recovery operating system 20 may be an operating system of a reduced size which includes basic, essential BIOS functions and the limited software needed to obtain a new primary operating system
• a "recovery operating system” is an operating system that is responsible for updating and/or obtaining a replacement for a p ⁇ mary operating system
• the recovery operating system 20 includes a kernel 26, a network interface controller (NIC) d ⁇ vers 30 and a network stack 28
• the kernel 26 is the core of the recovery operating system 20
• the stack 28 may include the User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol (UDP/IP), T ⁇ vial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP), Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and the boot strap protocol (BOOTP) (These protocols may be found at www letf org/rfc html )
• the recovery operating system 20 may also include the operating system recovery and update application software 24
• a FLASH d ⁇ ver 34 and BIOS services 35 may also be included
• the FLASH d ⁇ ver is used to w ⁇ te a new p ⁇ mary operating system to the FLASH memory, where a FLASH memory is used as the storage device 14
• the hardware interface 36 interfaces the software layers with a hardware motherboard
• the recovery operating system 22 may be st ⁇ pped down as much as possible to conserve memory If possible, the kernel 26 may be reduced to only that code which is necessary to implement its recovery and update functions
• One kernel which is particularly applicable is the LINUX kernel
• the LINUX kernel includes an X-based kernel configuration utility called make xconfig This utility provides a graphical user interface to facilitate selecting the elements of the kernel and the operating system That is, the LINUX operating system allows the user to answer a se ⁇ es of questions, posed through a graphical user interface, indicating whether particular functionalities are desired The code for de- selected functionalities may then be excluded As a result, a relatively t ⁇ mmed down operating system may be readily developed, without access to object code
• the system may reboot, thereby resolving the e ⁇ or
• a watchdog timer in the CMOS memory keeps a count of unsuccessful attempted reboots If that number exceeds a threshold level (e g three), the recovery operating system may be invoked
• the system attempts to reboot it checks the CMOS memory re-boot count and automatically boots the recovery operating system if the re-boot count threshold is exceeded
• the recovery operating system 20 is started so that a new version of the primary operating system image may be fetched
• the recovery operating system 20 may also acquire operating system updates This may be done in a number of ways
• the user may request an update, thereby setting a separate update bit in the CMOS memory
• an operating system provider may broadcast a message to its users indicating that an update is available The user systems that receive the message may have their update bit automatically set in CMOS memory
• the recovery and update application software 24 may be configured so that the update is automatically acquired at a predicted low usage time For example, if the system detects that the update bit is set, indicating an update is desired, the system may wait until the middle of the night to automatically download the update
• the recovery operating system m may communicate through the network interface controller and the network 16 to fetch a new version of the p ⁇ mary operating system image This may be done by accessing another device in the same network or in another example, accessing the desired operating system over the Internet
• the system is rebooted When the system reboots the p ⁇ mary operating system, the p ⁇ mary operating system resets the update bit m CMOS memory
• an analysis of the stored operating system may determine that the operating system is corrupted For example, du ⁇ ng booting a checksum analysis may be undertaken If the stored operating system is corrupted, a recovery bit may be set m the CMOS memory and the boot aborted The next time a boot is attempted, the recovery bit is identified, and the system boots to the recovery operating system
• recovery and update application software 24 begins by checking the storage device 14 as indicated in diamond 40 Upon power up, after going through the power on self test (POST), the start-up code checks the p ⁇ mary operating system image in the memory 14 for checksum errors If there is an error, the system boots the recovery operating system 20 and launches the recovery application An e ⁇ or code may a ⁇ se because the operating system image is corrupted or one of the recovery or update flags are set. The recovery flag may be set, for example, because of a defect in the operating system. The update flags may be set, for example, because a time period has elapsed for an old primary operating system or because the user has indicated a desire to obtain an upgrade. Thus, after applying the checksum as indicated in block 42, the primary operating system is booted as indicated in block 44 if the checksum indicates a valid operating system. Otherwise, the recovery operating system is booted as indicated in block 46.
• POST power on self test
• start-up code which is part of the BIOS, sets the recovery bit in the CMOS memory if appropriate.
• the start-up code may also include the code for counting the number of times a reboot has been attempted and for storing information about the number of attempted reboots.
• the application 24 may initiate a request over the network to the server 18 for an operating system download (block 48), in one embodiment of the present invention.
• an operating system download (block 48), in one embodiment of the present invention.
• the recovery bit is then cleared, as indicated in block 50, and the system reboots as indicated in block 52.
• the system boots into the primary operating system and performs it usual functions.
• the memory architecture of a portion of the storage device 14 storing the primary operating system 22, shown in Fig. 5, has, at the lowest memory address, a checksum or cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field 96. Above the checksum field 96 is a field 98 which indicates the number of entries in a FLASH allocation table (FLAT) 100.
• FLASH allocation table partitions the FLASH memory portion 22 and allows multiple code and data images to be stored in the storage device 14. This in turn allows multiple boot loaders to exist within the FLASH memory for booting different operating system images.
• the BIOS selects which boot loader to load and execute based on the status of the recovery bit, as described above.
• the boot loader 102 for loading the primary operating system is stored above the flash allocation table 100.
• the kernel 104 or core of the primary operating system Above the boot loader 102 is the kernel 104 or core of the primary operating system.
• the primary operating system kernel may be the same or different from the kernel utilized by the recovery operating system. For example, while LINUX may be used for the recovery operating system, Windows® CE could be used in one embodiment for the primary operating system.
• Above the kernel 104 is a file system 106.
• the FLASH allocation table 100 includes one entry for each item stored in the FLASH memory portion 22 including the items stored in the file system 106.
• the file system 106 includes files, directories and information used to locate and access operating system files and directories.
• Each item contained in the FLASH allocation table includes information about the software version, the flags, the data offsets, the length of the data and its load address.
• the version number just keeps track of which version of software was loaded in a particular memory 14.
• the data offset determines where, in the FLASH memory, an entry is located.
• the flag field has information about the nature of the respective entries.
• the least significant bit of the flag field includes information about the status of the cyclic recovery check (CRC). This in effect tells the BIOS whether a CRC must be calculated.
• the next most significant bit includes the block type.
• the block types include "boot” which indicates a boot loader, "kernel" or "file system”.
• this flag field tells where, in random access memory, to load the boot loader out of the FLASH memory. An additional area in the flag field may be reserved for other information.
• a boot loader or bootstrap loader loads and passes control to another loader program which loads an operating system.
• a set top computer systems works with a television receiver.
• the client 12 may include a processor 65 coupled to an accelerated graphic board (AGP) chipset 66.
• AGP accelerated graphic board
• the Accelerated Graphic Port Specification, Rev. 2.0 is available from Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, California.
• the chipset 66 may be coupled to system memory 68 in the accelerated graphics port bus 70.
• the bus 70 in turn may be coupled to a graphic accelerator 72, also coupled to a video or television receiver 73.
• a portion 75 of system memory 68 may be implemented by a memory integrated circuit which is adapted to save system data.
• the CMOS includes the real time clock (RTC), which keeps the time of day.
• RTC real time clock
• the recovery and update bits are stored in the CMOS memory at predefined locations.
• the chipset 66 may also be coupled to a bus 74 that receives a television tuner/capture card 76.
• the card 76 may be coupled to a television antenna 78 which may also be a satellite antenna or a cable connection as additional examples.
• An interface to a network 16 such as a modem interface connection to the Internet or a network interface controller connection to a computer network may also be provided.
• a bridge 80 may in turn be coupled to another bus 84 which supports a serial input/output interface 86 and a memory interface 94.
• the interface 86 may be coupled to a modem 88 or a keyboard 92.
• the interface 94 may couple the FLASH memory 14 storing the recovery operating system and BIOS 20 and the primary operating system 22.
• the bridge 80 may be the 82371 AB PCI ISA IDE Xcelerator (PIIX4) chipset available from Intel Corporation. Thus, it may include a general purpose input/output pins (GP[I,O]).
• the chipset may be set up so that it sees only a certain number of lines of BIOS at any one time.
• the primary operating system and the recovery operating system are stored in FLASH memory, they may be accessed in the same way as the BIOS memory is accessed.
• the FLASH memory that is accessed is considerably larger than a BIOS memory, it may be desirable to use other techniques to allow accessing all of the memory stored in the FLASH.
• One technique for doing this in processors from Intel Corporation is to use the GP[I,O] pins, for example on the PIIX4 device. These pins can be coupled to the pins responsible for developing the signals reading the BIOS.
• FLASH memory reading may be bank switched to sequentially read the entire memory.
• FLAT to allow multiple code and data images to be stored in FLASH memory, begins on power up or system reset with the BIOS executing and performing system initialization and Power on Self Test activities (block 110).
• the contents of the FLASH memory may be validated by checking the CRC stored at field 96 in the FLASH memory, as indicated in block 112.
• the BIOS selects the boot loader (block 114) to execute by scanning the FLAT and selecting the entry marked as the boot loader.
• the boot loader uses the FLAT to find where in the FLASH memory the primary operating system is located (block 116), loads the operating system at the appropriate address in system memory (block 118) and starts its execution (block 120).
• the BIOS may continue to be independent from the operating system.
• the operating system dependencies can reside in the boot loader.
• the boot loader allows a conventional computer operating system to reside in FLASH memory. While the present invention has been illustrated in connection with an embodiment wherein the primary operating system and the recovery operating system are stored in a storage device such as a FLASH memory, other re-programmable storage devices may be utilized as well. In the case of FLASH memory, given cu ⁇ ent economies, the memory is relatively expensive and mirroring is generally not used. Thus, the use of the recovery operating system in connection with FLASH memories is particularly advantageous.
• the present invention may be utilized in connection with other configurations.
• the recovery operating system may also be included on the hard disk drive.
• the BIOS may continue to be stored in a BIOS ROM in such cases, if desired.
• the recovery operating system may actually be provided on an external or removable memory, such as a compact disc ROM (CD-ROM).
• CD-ROM compact disc ROM
• the user may simply load the CD-ROM into a CD-player.
• a processor executes the recovery operating system off of the CD-ROM, and then uses the recovery and update application software to update and replace the primary operating system.
• This approach offers advantages over providing the full operating system in disk form since the use of a compact recovery operating system facilitates updates. That is, the compact recovery system may be quickly loaded and used to acquire updates. Otherwise, a full operating system would need to be provided in disk form to each user, for each update, so that the user can then acquire the updates.
• the present invention has been described with respect to a client/server environment, the present invention is available to a variety of other environments.
• the present invention may be implemented on a server in a client/server environment.
• it is applicable to stand-alone computer systems including processor-based systems that are battery powered.
• the present invention may provide an update or replacement functionality using available wired or wireless communication links.
• a system which may be temporarily hard wire linked to a desktop computer, such as a PalmPilot personal digital assistant, the recovery operating system may communicate with the desktop to obtain a new operating system.
• upgrades may be obtained using a variety of wireless communication links including radio and cellular telephone links.
• new operating systems may be achieved using these communication links as well
• the recovery application software can not be programmed with information about additional locations which contain future updates
• that broadcast may also include information about how to automatically acquire the desired updates This information may then be used by the recovery application software
• the system user is oblivious to the operation of the recovery operating system
• the recovery operating system works in the background making the p ⁇ mary operating system to appear to the user to be more robust

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• 1999
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