OS Partition Upgrade Indexing for Flexible Version Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing operating system upgrading methods for customized systems result in large quantities of combined upgrade packages, leading to inflexible version management and potential incomplete loading issues during upgrades.
Innovation Solution
An operating system upgrading method that merges manifest information from multiple upgrade installation packages to selectively upgrade specific sub-partitions, creating an index to ensure accurate data loading, and uses a virtual A/B upgrade solution with cow files to manage dynamic partitions efficiently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the current operating system upgrading solution is used for customized operating systems, then the entire customized operating system can be upgraded, but a large quantity of combined upgrade packages are generated leading to inflexible version management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the operating system into multiple independent partitions (system partition, product partition, vendor partition, etc.) that can be upgraded separately. Each partition has its own upgrade package, allowing selective upgrading without requiring combination of multiple packages. This resolves the contradiction by enabling flexible version management through independent partition upgrades while reducing the complexity of managing combined upgrade packages.
2Adaptability or versatility
If selective upgrade of specific storage areas is implemented, then upgrade flexibility improves, but incomplete loading issues may occur during upgrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by creating an index file before the upgrade process that records the locations and metadata of all partitions both before and after upgrading. This index is updated during the upgrade process to track which partitions have been upgraded. This preliminary indexing ensures that during system loading, the complete and accurate partition information is available, preventing incomplete loading issues while maintaining selective upgrade capability.
3Reliability
If traditional upgrade methods are used, then full system upgrades are achieved, but system restarts are frequently required reducing productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the operating system into multiple independent partitions that can be upgraded separately without requiring full system restarts. The A/B partition mechanism allows one partition to be upgraded while the other remains active, enabling continuous system operation during upgrades. This segmentation approach maintains upgrade completeness while significantly improving productivity by eliminating frequent full system restarts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a dynamic partition switching mechanism where the system can switch between A and B partitions during upgrades. The active partition continues to run while the other partition is being upgraded, and the system can dynamically switch between them. This dynamic approach ensures complete upgrades while maintaining system availability and reducing the need for full restarts, thereby improving upgrade efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of this application provide an operating system upgrading method, an electronic device, a storage medium, and a chip system, and relate to the field of computer technologies, to upgrade a combination of a plurality of sub-partitions in an operating system, so that various upgrading requirements are flexibly met. The method includes: obtaining a first upgrade installation package and a second upgrade installation package, where the first upgrade installation package includes first data, the first data includes partition information of a first sub-partition, the second upgrade installation package includes second data, and the second data includes partition information of a second sub-partition; obtaining a plurality of third description groups based on third data and a plurality of second description groups, where the third data includes the partition information of the first sub-partition and the partition information of the second sub-partition, and the plurality of third description groups include description groups respectively corresponding to the first sub-partition, the second sub-partition, and a third sub-partition; and restarting an electronic device, reading values of address entries in the plurality of third description groups, and loading data in a dynamic partition based on the values of the address entries in the plurality of third description groups.