RTC State Restoration via Single Backup Power Source
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer platforms with multiple hosts face challenges in efficiently maintaining and restoring RTC device states during primary power outages, as they often require multiple secondary stored energy sources, which increase costs and space requirements.
Innovation Solution
A single secondary stored energy source is used to maintain and restore RTC device states through a back-up system that includes non-volatile storage, a ToB timer, an update controller, and a restore controller, allowing for efficient tracking and restoration of time and calendar dates across multiple RTC devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple secondary stored energy sources are used to maintain RTC device states for multiple hosts, then the reliability of RTC state maintenance is improved, but the cost and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple RTC device states into a single shared secondary stored energy source (battery). Instead of dedicating one battery per RTC device, the system uses one battery to power a single RTC device that maintains time state information for multiple hosts, thereby reducing the total number of batteries required while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The single RTC device served by the secondary stored energy source performs multiple functions by maintaining time state information for multiple different hosts. This multi-functional approach allows one RTC device and one battery to replace what would traditionally require multiple RTC devices and multiple batteries, resolving the contradiction between reliability and quantity
2Ease of manufacture
If a single secondary stored energy source is used to maintain multiple RTC devices, then cost and space efficiency are improved, but the complexity of tracking and restoring time states increases
Solution Approach 1:
Before a power loss occurs, the system snapshots the time state information from the RTC device to non-volatile storage. This preliminary action ensures that when power is restored, the system can quickly restore the time state without complex calculations, reducing the apparent complexity of the restoration process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a management controller as an intermediary that handles the complexity of tracking and managing time states for multiple hosts. This controller mediates between the single RTC device and multiple hosts, managing snapshots and restorations, thereby isolating the complexity within a dedicated component rather than distributing it across the entire system
3Productivity
If RTC device states are restored after primary power outage, then the productivity of system operation is improved, but time is lost during the restoration process
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary snapshots of RTC time states to non-volatile storage before power outages occur. This advance preparation allows for rapid restoration by simply reloading the snapshot data when power returns, rather than requiring complex time calculations and synchronizations, thereby minimizing restoration time and maximizing productivity
Data Source
AI summary
A process includes, responsive to a primary power source being enabled, receiving, from a real time clock (RTC) device of a computer platform, an indication of a first time. Responsive to the primary power source being enabled, the process includes storing first data in a first non-volatile storage of the computer platform representing a snapshot of the first time and repeatedly updating the snapshot to cause the snapshot to track the first time. Responsive to the primary power source being disabled to begin a power outage, the process includes providing, by a timer of the computer platform powered by a secondary power source, a timer output that represents an accumulated time that corresponds to the power outage. The process includes restoring a state of the RTC device responsive to the primary power source being reenabled to end the power outage. The restoration includes, based on the accumulated time and the snapshot, determining a second time, and storing second data in the RTC device that represents the second time.