Display switching system based on UEFI firmware

Abstract

The invention relates to a UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) firmware-based display switching system, which comprises a hardware part and a firmware part, the hardware part comprises a mainboard module based on a Feiteng D2000CPU (Central Processing Unit) + X100 bridge chip, the mainboard module carries an independent BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) management module, a main control chip of the BMC module is AST2600, a display controller and an extensible VGA (Video Graphics Array) interface are arranged in the BMC module, and the firmware part is connected with the mainboard module. The display information is transmitted to the remote monitoring machine through the external expansion management network to realize remote display; meanwhile, the main board module expands a DVI display interface for local display through a DP interface of the X100 bridge chip; according to the firmware part, the display switching function is achieved mainly through deep customization of UEFI firmware, the firmware part of the display switching system is composed of a peripheral detection module, a driving execution module, a console module and an NVRAM module, data transmission channels are opened through deep customization among all the modules, and the display switching system is simple in structure, convenient to operate and high in practicability under the condition of not depending on a hardware switching circuit. The use requirement for flexible switching of multiple display devices under the condition that multiple display devices coexist is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of display switching of a main control platform, and in particular to a display switching system based on UEFI firmware. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid iteration of Feiteng Loongson CPU, it has been widely used in many fields such as transportation, energy, office, etc. According to different CPU spectrum, it is also used in various device forms such as servers, desktops, embedded systems, etc.; according to different application scenarios and customer needs, various requirements are also put forward for the display function of the main control device. For example, the server field can be divided into local and remote display requirements, and the desktop field can be divided into integrated graphics and independent graphics display requirements. In some application scenarios, multiple display requirements are required to coexist, and flexible switching is required according to business needs.

[0003] Since the main control platform is generally equipped with only one display peripheral, when multiple display peripherals exist at the same time, conflicts often occur during UEFI loading of the display driver, resulting in problems such as screen offset and black screen. Based on the above situation, the flexible switching function for multiple display needs has put forward higher requirements for equipment manufacturers. It is necessary to focus on how to achieve flexible switching of display functions when there are multiple display peripherals on the hardware platform to meet users' various display usage requirements.

[0004] In view of the above technical problems, a display switching system based on UEFI firmware is proposed. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a display switching system based on UEFI firmware. It does not require additional hardware costs such as an MCU and a switching chip for controlling the switching on the motherboard, and can realize the switching between the local integrated display DVI interface and the remote KVM over IP display based on the VGA interface, thereby solving the display switching problem from the software level. The invention can be widely used in various main control platforms such as Feiteng and Loongson, and can meet customers' needs for flexible switching of multiple display requirements under the condition that multiple display devices coexist on the hardware platform.

[0006] The present invention solves the technical problem by the following technical solutions:

[0007] A display switching system based on UEFI firmware, including a hardware part and a UEFI firmware part, wherein the hardware part includes a mainboard module based on Feiteng D2000 CPU+X100 bridge chip, the mainboard module has an independent BMC management module onboard to realize remote display monitoring, and the mainboard module extends a DVI display interface through the DP interface of the X100 bridge chip as a local display;

[0008] The UEFI firmware part realizes the display switching function by deeply customizing the UEFI firmware, and is composed of a peripheral detection module, a driver execution module, a console module and an NVRAM module.

[0009] Furthermore, it also includes VGA interface hardware for remote display. Feiteng D2000 CPU expands independent BMC module through PCIE X1 bus. The main control chip of BMC module is AST2600, with built-in display module and extended VGA interface. Display information is transmitted to remote monitoring machine through external expansion management network to synchronize display information.

[0010] Local DVI display interface hardware, Feiteng D2000 CPU expands the X100 bridge chip through the PCIE X8 bus. The X100 bridge chip has a built-in display module and can expand the DP interface. The DP display information is converted into DVI display information through the external video conversion chip CS5263 for local display.

[0011] Furthermore, the UEFI firmware part, starting from system power-on, goes through the stages of "security verification", "EFI early initialization", "driver execution environment", "boot device selection", and "early operating system loading".

[0012] Furthermore, the peripheral detection module, after the computer hardware is initialized, the detection module bus service starts to traverse the hardware devices. When the peripheral detection module only detects one of the peripherals, the X100 integrated display or the AST2600 display, it will automatically load the corresponding display driver in the driver execution module; when it is detected that two display peripherals coexist, it will read the "driver enable switch" information set by the user and stored in the "NVRAM module" before this startup; if the enable switch state is "ON", the X100 integrated display driver is loaded, if it is "OFF", the AST2600 display driver is loaded.

[0013] Furthermore, the driver execution module, the deeply customized UEFI adopts a modular design architecture, presenting the drivers of the two types of display devices in the form of "module". The driver execution module will execute the display driver of the corresponding display device according to the detection results of the peripheral detection module or the "drive enable switch" information in the "NVRAM module".

[0014] Furthermore, the console module is customized and developed in the console module, and a secondary menu bar "DISPLAY control" switch is added to the original human-computer interaction interface.

[0015] Furthermore, the NVRAM module, NVRAM serves as a storage medium for UEFI, saves UEFI configuration information, reads the settings in NVRAM when the computer starts, opens an information transmission channel between the console module and the NVRAM module, transmits the setting information of the "DISPLAY control" switch through the console module and stores it in NVRAM, and reads the user's configuration information at the last shutdown or restart when the computer is turned on next time, and loads the corresponding display driver.

[0016] The advantages and positive effects of the present invention are:

[0017] 1. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware of the present invention can realize the switching between the local integrated display DVI interface and the remote KVM over IP display based on the VGA interface without adding additional hardware costs such as MCU and switching chip for controlling the switching on the mainboard, thereby solving the display switching problem from the software level. The present invention can be widely used in various main control platforms such as Feiteng and Loongson, and can meet the customer's demand for flexible switching of multiple display needs under the condition that multiple display devices coexist on the hardware platform.

[0018] 2. The display switching system of the present invention is based on UEFI firmware. By adding a display switching switch in the human-computer interaction interface in the UEFI firmware, the display switching function is realized without affecting the single display device situation. The design is flexible and customizable.

[0019] 3. The display switching system of the present invention is based on UEFI firmware, and the proposed architecture has a certain versatility and can be extended to other main control platforms. It is a universal implementation idea.

[0020] 4. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware of the present invention can effectively realize the switching between the local integrated display DVI interface and the remote KVM over IP display based on the VGA interface through verification. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 To remotely display the VGA interface block diagram;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of the local DVI interface;

[0023] Figure 3 This is the UEFI boot architecture diagram;

[0024] Figure 4 To display the switching principle block diagram;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a workflow diagram of the display switching system based on UEFI firmware;

[0026] Figure 6This is the effect diagram for the "DISPLAY control" switch. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention is further described in detail below through specific examples. The following examples are only illustrative and not restrictive, and the protection scope of the present invention cannot be limited thereto.

[0028] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, a display switching system based on UEFI firmware includes a hardware part and a UEFI firmware part.

[0029] Hardware:

[0030] It is mainly used as a verification platform for display switching systems based on UEFI firmware. Specifically, it is a motherboard module based on Feiteng D2000CPU+X100 bridge chip. The module has an independent BMC management module onboard and has KVM over IP function to achieve remote display monitoring. At the same time, the module extends the DVI display interface through the DP interface of the X100 bridge chip as a local display. The hardware block diagram of the remote display VGA interface is as follows Figure 1 As shown, Feiteng D2000 CPU expands the independent BMC module through PCIE X1 bus. The main control chip of the BMC module is AST2600, with a built-in display module and an expandable VGA interface. The display information is transmitted to the remote monitoring machine through the external management network for display information synchronization.

[0031] The hardware block diagram of the local DVI display interface is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, Feiteng D2000 CPU expands X100 bridge chip through PCIE X8 bus. X100 bridge chip has built-in display module, which can expand DP interface. Through external video conversion chip CS5263, DP display information is converted into DVI display information for local display.

[0032] UEFI firmware part:

[0033] like Figure 3 As shown in the figure, UEFI firmware acts as a "bridge" between computer hardware devices and operating systems. Starting from the system power-on, it mainly goes through several stages, such as "security verification", "EFI initialization", "driver execution environment", "boot device selection", and "operating system loading pre-stage". The deeply customized UEFI in this case adopts a modular design architecture. The core idea of ​​this invention is to customize the display switching function based on UEFI. The display switching principle block diagram is shown in the figure. Figure 4 As shown:

[0034] Peripheral detection module: When the computer hardware is powered on and key hardware such as the CPU memory is initialized, the detection module bus service begins to traverse the hardware devices. We call this the peripheral detection process. When the peripheral detection module detects only one of the peripherals, the X100 integrated graphics or the AST2600 display, it will automatically load the corresponding display driver in the driver execution module; when it is detected that two display peripherals coexist, it will read the "driver enable switch" information set by the user and stored in the "NVRAM module" before this startup; if the enable switch state is "ON", the X100 integrated graphics driver is loaded, if it is "OFF", the AST2600 display driver is loaded.

[0035] Driver execution module: The deeply customized UEFI in this case adopts a modular design architecture, which presents all peripheral drivers in the form of "modules". In the present invention, the two display drivers, X100 and AST2600, need to be independently configured in the UEFI architecture in the form of "modules". The driver execution module will execute the display driver of the corresponding display device according to the detection results of the peripheral detection module or the "drive enable switch" information in the "NVRAM module".

[0036] Console module: The present invention deeply customizes and develops the console module, opens an information transmission channel between the console module and the NVRAM module, and adds a secondary menu bar "DISPLAY control" switch to the original human-computer interaction interface. The feature of the present invention is that after the user changes the state of the "DISPLAY control" switch in the human-computer interaction interface and saves it, the setting can be effective after restarting, such as Figure 6 shown.

[0037] NVRAM module: NVRAM, as a storage medium of UEFI, can effectively save UEFI configuration information for a long time. When the computer starts, the settings in NVRAM will be read to determine the initialization parameters and startup sequence of the hardware. In the present invention, the setting information of the "DISPLAY control" switch is transmitted through the console module and stored in NVRAM. When the computer is turned on next time, the user's configuration information at the last shutdown or restart is read to load the corresponding display driver.

[0038] The workflow diagram of the display switching system based on UEFI firmware is as follows Figure 5 shown.

[0039] The present invention is based on the display switching system of UEFI firmware. By deeply customizing the UEFI firmware, a display switching switch is added to the human-computer interaction interface to realize the display switching function. At the same time, it does not affect the single display device situation, and the design is flexible and customizable. The proposed architecture has a certain versatility and can be extended to other main control platforms. It is a general implementation idea. It has been verified that the switching between the local integrated display DVI interface and the remote KVM over IP display based on the VGA interface can be effectively realized.

[0040] The display switching system based on UEFI firmware of the present invention can realize the switching between the local integrated display DVI interface and the remote KVM over IP display based on the VGA interface without adding additional hardware costs such as MCU and switching chip for controlling the switching on the mainboard, thereby solving the display switching problem from the software level. The invention can be widely used in various main control platforms such as Feiteng and Loongson, and can meet customers' needs for flexible switching of multiple display needs under the condition that multiple display devices coexist on the hardware platform.

[0041] Although the embodiments and drawings of the present invention are disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various substitutions, changes and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents disclosed in the embodiments and drawings.

Claims

1. A display switching system based on UEFI firmware, characterized in that: It includes a hardware part and a UEFI firmware part. The hardware part includes a motherboard module based on Feiteng D2000 CPU + X100 bridge chip. The motherboard module has an independent BMC management module onboard to realize remote display monitoring. The motherboard module extends the DVI display interface through the DP interface of the X100 bridge chip as a local display. The UEFI firmware part realizes the display switching function by deeply customizing the UEFI firmware, and is composed of a peripheral detection module, a driver execution module, a console module and an NVRAM module.

2. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes VGA interface hardware for remote display. Feiteng D2000 CPU expands independent BMC module through PCIE X1 bus. The main control chip of BMC module is AST2600, with built-in display module and extended VGA interface. Display information is transmitted to remote monitoring machine through external management network for display information synchronization. Local DVI display interface hardware, Feiteng D2000 CPU expands the X100 bridge chip through the PCIE X8 bus. The X100 bridge chip has a built-in display module and can expand the DP interface. The DP display information is converted into DVI display information through the external video conversion chip CS5263 for local display.

3. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware according to claim 1, characterized in that: The UEFI firmware part, starting from the system power-on, goes through the stages of "security verification", "EFI early initialization", "driver execution environment", "boot device selection", and "early operating system loading".

4. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware according to claim 1, characterized in that: The peripheral detection module, after the computer hardware is initialized, the detection module bus service starts to traverse the hardware devices. When the peripheral detection module only detects one of the peripherals, the X100 integrated display or the AST2600 display, it will automatically load the corresponding display driver in the driver execution module; when it is detected that two display peripherals coexist, it will read the "driver enable switch" information set by the user before this startup and stored in the "NVRAM module"; if the enable switch state is "ON", the X100 integrated display driver is loaded, if it is "OFF", the AST2600 display driver is loaded.

5. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driver execution module, the deeply customized UEFI adopts a modular design architecture, presents the drivers of the two types of display devices in the form of "module", and the driver execution module will execute the display driver of the corresponding display device according to the detection results of the peripheral detection module or the "driver enable switch" information in the "NVRAM module".

6. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware according to claim 1, characterized in that: The console module is customized and developed in the console module, and a secondary menu bar "DISPLAY control" switch is added to the original human-computer interaction interface.

7. The display switching system based on UEFI firmware according to claim 1, characterized in that: The NVRAM module, NVRAM as a storage medium of UEFI, saves the configuration information of UEFI, reads the settings in NVRAM when the computer starts, opens an information transmission channel between the console module and the NVRAM module, transmits the setting information of the "DISPLAY control" switch through the console module and stores it in NVRAM, and reads the user's configuration information when the computer is shut down or restarted last time the computer is turned on and started next time, and loads the corresponding display driver.

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