Software Filtering of Redundant Sideband Bus Communications
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Information Handling Systems (IHS) face issues with bus communication failures, leading to inoperable states and compromised monitoring and management functions due to the inability to process messages quickly, resulting in dropped messages and ineffective management.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for maintaining communication with managed devices in IHS using a remote access controller, which configures sideband management connections via primary and secondary bus connections, detects inoperable states, and transfers messages using Direct Memory Access (DMA) operations to ensure message delivery and filtering of Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) messages.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single bus connection is used for device management communications, then the system structure is simple, but the communication reliability deteriorates when the bus becomes inoperable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication path by implementing separate primary and secondary bus connections (PCIe bus and I2C bus) for device management communications. This segmentation allows the system to isolate failures to one bus while maintaining communication through the other, directly resolving the contradiction between communication reliability and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the communication parameter by switching between different bus types (PCIe to I2C or vice versa) when a failure is detected. This parameter change enables the system to adapt to failure conditions and maintain communication reliability without permanently increasing structural complexity.
2Productivity
If message processing speed is increased to prevent buffer overflow, then the productivity improves, but the system becomes more susceptible to communication failures under high load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements beforehand cushioning by establishing a standby secondary bus connection that is ready to immediately take over if the primary bus fails. This preparatory measure cushions against communication failures that may occur under high message processing loads, allowing the system to maintain high productivity without sacrificing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the secondary bus with its own protocol handling) that mediates communication when the primary bus becomes unstable. This intermediary allows the system to continue processing messages at high speeds while isolating the instability to the failed primary bus.
3Reliability
If multi-packet messages are transmitted over a single bus, then the data transmission efficiency is high, but message loss occurs when the bus becomes inoperable during transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the message transmission path into primary and secondary bus routes. When a bus becomes inoperable during multi-packet message transmission, the system can switch to the other segmented path to complete the transmission, ensuring message delivery completeness without requiring complex retransmission protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-configuring both primary and secondary bus connections with their respective protocol handlers before transmission begins. This allows the system to quickly switch between paths during transmission without requiring complex real-time protocol negotiation, maintaining message integrity while managing protocol complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Sideband device management bus messages are filtered using software operations in order to minimize dropped messages and to maintain the bus in an operable state. Redundant sideband device management buses are utilized in order to provide fail-over transmission of messages in scenarios where one of the buses becomes inoperable. Multi-packet messages are transmitted to managed devices via the sideband bus connections. If an inoperable state is detected in a sideband bus connection during transmission of a multi-packet message, the portion of the multi-packet message not received by the managed device is transmitted via a redundant sideband bus connection with the managed device. Software filtering of bus transactions utilizes a circular DMA buffer for storing all incoming transactions. Transactions of interest are copied to buffers associated with specific endpoints for processing.