Hardware System Control Processor for Bare Metal Resource Management

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing information handling systems face limitations in dynamically allocating and managing computing resources to efficiently provide computer-implemented services, often requiring control plane entities and incurring performance penalties.

Innovation Solution

A system control processor manages and presents computing resources as bare metal resources to processors, allowing for dynamic instantiation and operation of composed information handling systems without the need for control plane entities, enabling unified security, manageability, and resource management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If control plane entities are used to manage computing resources, then resource management capability is improved, but system performance deteriorates due to performance penalties

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource management capabilityVSAvoidsystem performance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the control plane entity from the system architecture and replaces it with a hardware system control processor. This removal eliminates the performance penalties associated with software-based control plane entities while maintaining resource management capabilities through dedicated hardware control mechanisms.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The hardware system control processor acts as an intermediary between the hardware resources and compute resource sets. It provides a dedicated hardware-based mediation layer that manages resource allocation and presentation without the overhead of software-based control plane entities, thus improving performance while maintaining management capability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If hardware resources are dynamically allocated to multiple compute resource sets, then resource utilization efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveresource utilization efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The hardware system control processor is designed with multi-functionality to manage diverse hardware resources (storage, networking, computing) and serve multiple compute resource sets. This universal controller consolidates what would otherwise require multiple specialized controllers, reducing system complexity while enabling efficient dynamic resource allocation across multiple tenants.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service through automated resource allocation and management by the hardware system control processor. The controller automatically presents appropriate hardware resources to compute resource sets based on allocation policies, eliminating the need for manual configuration and reducing operational complexity while maximizing resource utilization.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If bare metal resources are presented to compute resource sets, then performance is improved, but security and manageability control are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveperformanceVSAvoidsecurity and manageability control

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The hardware system control processor serves as a trusted intermediary between bare metal resources and compute resource sets. It presents hardware resources as bare metal to maintain performance while simultaneously enforcing security policies and management controls at the hardware level, thus preserving both performance and control without requiring software-based virtualization layers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

4Adaptability or versatility

If composed information handling systems are instantiated dynamically, then service flexibility is improved, but resource allocation overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice flexibilityVSAvoidresource allocation overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The hardware system control processor performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring and presenting hardware resources to compute resource sets before actual workloads are executed. This advance preparation enables rapid dynamic instantiation of composed information handling systems without incurring significant allocation overhead during runtime, thus improving service flexibility while minimizing time loss.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11704159B2System and method for unified infrastructure architecture

Publication Date: 2023.07.18 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

An information handling system for instantiating a composed information handling includes hardware computing resources. The hardware computing resources includes a compute resource set that includes computing resources including a processor and a memory, and a hardware resource set including resources distinct from the compute resource set. The information also includes a hardware system control processor adapted to present a portion of the hardware resource set to a compute resource set of the composed information handling system as bare metal resources.