Interrupt Handler Upgrade via BMC and BIOS Flash Without Downtime
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for upgrading interrupt handling programs in computer systems require shutdown and restart, leading to system downtime when privilege code issues arise.
Innovation Solution
A method for seamless upgrade of interrupt handling programs, utilizing a baseboard management controller (BMC) to store and overwrite the interrupt handling program in BIOS Flash, send upgrade signals, and execute the upgrade program without shutting down the system, allowing immediate effectiveness of the upgraded program.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the privilege code of the interrupt handling program is modified or upgraded, then the program functionality is improved, but the system must shut down and restart, causing system downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The interrupt handling program is segmented into a BIOS Flash storage portion and a CPU execution portion. The BIOS Flash stores multiple version of the interrupt handling program, and the CPU executes the program from a different memory location (DX register) rather than directly from BIOS Flash. This segmentation allows the program to be upgraded in BIOS Flash without requiring system restart, as the CPU continues executing from the existing location while the new version is prepared in storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The new interrupt handling program is prepared and stored in BIOS Flash before the upgrade operation. The system maintains a pointer (DX register) that points to the current execution location in memory. When upgrade is needed, the new program is already in place in BIOS Flash, and the CPU simply needs to redirect execution to the new version without shutting down, as the preliminary storage action is completed in advance.
2Reliability
If the interrupt handling program is upgraded online without shutdown, then system continuity is maintained, but the complexity of the upgrade mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The DX register serves as an intermediary pointer between the BIOS Flash storage location and the CPU execution location. Instead of directly modifying the execution memory during runtime (which would be complex and risky), the system uses DX as a mediator to point to the current program version in BIOS Flash. The upgrade mechanism simply needs to update the pointer in DX to reference the new version, avoiding the need for complex runtime memory manipulation while maintaining system continuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The interrupt handling program is copied multiple times into BIOS Flash at different locations, creating versioned copies of the program. The CPU executes a copy from BIOS Flash through the DX pointer rather than executing directly from the original location. This copying approach allows the system to switch between versions by changing the pointer, avoiding the need for complex in-place modification mechanisms while ensuring system continuity during upgrades.
Data Source
AI summary
The present application provide a method for seamless upgrade of an interrupt handling program and a computer system, belonging to the field of data processing. The method includes responding, by a baseboard management controller (BMC), to an upgrade operation for an interrupt handling program to be upgraded, and acquiring the interrupt handling program to be upgraded and upgrade parameters; storing, by the BMC, the interrupt handling program to be upgraded in basic input output system (BIOS) Flash according to the upgrade parameters, overwriting a historical interrupt handling program corresponding to the interrupt handling program to be upgraded in the BIOS Flash, and sending an upgrade interrupt signal to an interrupt handler; starting, by the interrupt handler, an interrupt upgrade program and acquiring the upgrade parameters, moving the interrupt handling program to be upgraded in the BIOS Flash to a physical memory address according to the upgrade parameters, and overwriting a historical interrupt handling program corresponding to the interrupt handling program to be upgraded to be regarded as a new interrupt handling program. The present application aims to upgrade the interrupt handling program online.