CN103685405B - Network service system and the method updating firmware thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A network service system and its method for updating firmware. The network service system includes multiple servers, at least one power distribution unit and a general controller. The plurality of servers are divided into at least one group, wherein each server includes at least one functional unit. Each power distribution unit is connected to a group of servers. The general controller is connected to each power distribution unit, and is used to manage the server through the power distribution unit. Wherein, when the general controller judges that the firmware of one of the functional units needs to be updated, the controller sends a firmware update command and updates the firmware network address to the power distribution unit corresponding to this functional unit, so that the power distribution unit notifies the substrate in the server whose firmware needs to be updated The management controller obtains updated firmware from the update firmware network address, and then performs a firmware update operation on the functional units whose firmware needs to be updated.

Description

Network service system and method for updating firmware

technical field

The present invention relates to a network service system, and in particular to a network service system which manages the firmware update operation of a server through a power distribution unit.

Background technique

With the vigorous development of computer technology and the Internet, cloud computing applications are becoming more and more common. In the cloud computing network, users do not need to know the location of the computing infrastructure (infrastructure) and other details, that is, they can use the resources provided by the cloud computing for computing, data access and storage. By using other computer resources in the cloud network, devices with low computing power (such as mobile phones) can use these resources to process data, so that they can use functions that can only be performed by computers with high computing power (such as servers). In addition, users can access services provided by other service providing devices (such as audio and video, etc.) through the server to obtain more diversified services.

Generally speaking, in a cloud computing network, a Rack Management Controller (RMC) and a server can communicate through a network connection, so that the server can directly access updated firmware on the RMC. However, in order to facilitate the management of the server, the RMC only communicates with the power distribution unit (Power Distribution Unit, PDU), which makes the operation of updating the firmware of the server must be adjusted.

Contents of the invention

In view of the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a network service system and its firmware update method, so that the controller only needs to send the update firmware network address to the power distribution unit, and then the server can be controlled by the power distribution unit to manage the server. update operation.

The invention provides a network service system, which includes multiple servers, at least one power distribution unit and a general controller. The plurality of servers are divided into at least one group, wherein each server includes at least one functional unit. Each power distribution unit is respectively connected to a group of servers. The master controller is connected to at least one power distribution unit for managing the servers through the power distribution unit. Wherein, when the general controller determines that the firmware of one of the functional units of the server needs to be updated, the controller sends a firmware update command and updates the firmware network address to the power distribution unit corresponding to the group where the server is located, so that the power distribution unit notifies that the firmware needs to be updated The baseboard management controller in the server obtains updated firmware from the update firmware network address, and the baseboard management controller performs a firmware update operation on the functional units whose firmware needs to be updated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the power distribution unit judges whether the server where the functional unit whose firmware needs to be updated is located includes a baseboard management controller, and if it is judged that the baseboard management controller is not included, the power distribution unit notifies the general controller of an error message.

In an embodiment of the present invention, if the power distribution unit determines that the server where the functional unit whose firmware needs to be updated is located includes a baseboard management controller, it will notify the general controller to start the firmware data service, and notify the baseboard management controller to update Firmware network address to obtain updated firmware.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the general controller is a rack management controller.

From another point of view, the present invention provides a method for updating firmware, which is suitable for the general controller in the network service system. The method includes determining whether firmware of a functional unit of one of the servers needs to be updated. Next, when the firmware of one of the functional units of the server needs to be updated, send the firmware update command and update the firmware network address to the power distribution unit corresponding to the group where the server is located, so that the power distribution unit notifies the base board management in the server whose firmware needs to be updated The controller goes to the update firmware network address to obtain updated firmware. Afterwards, the baseboard management controller performs a firmware update operation on the functional units whose firmware needs to be updated.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the step of judging whether the firmware of one of the functional units of the server needs to be updated, it further includes judging whether the server where the functional unit whose firmware needs to be updated is located includes a baseboard management controller. If the baseboard management controller is not included, the power distribution unit notifies the general controller of an error message.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after it is determined that the server where the functional unit whose firmware needs to be updated includes a baseboard management controller, it further includes and notifies the baseboard management controller to obtain updated firmware from an update firmware network address.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the firmware update network address is a file transfer protocol server network address of the controller.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the update firmware server corresponding to the update firmware network address includes at least one type of update firmware.

Based on the above, in the network service system and its firmware update method provided by the present invention, through the management of the server by the power distribution unit, in the operation of updating the firmware of the server, the controller only needs to send the update firmware network address to the power distribution unit. Can. Then, after the power distribution unit forwards the updated firmware network address to the server, the components in the server can obtain the updated firmware according to the updated firmware network address, so that the components that need to be updated can perform firmware update operations.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more comprehensible, the following specific embodiments are described in detail together with the accompanying drawings.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for updating firmware according to an embodiment of the invention.

[Description of main component symbols]

100: Network service system

110: master controller

120_1, 120_2: power distribution unit

130_1_1～130_1_P, 130_2_1～130_2_Q: server

ADR: update firmware network address

FUC: Firmware Update Command

S210～S230: steps

detailed description

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In addition, wherever possible, elements/components/symbols with the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and embodiments to represent the same or similar parts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network service system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the network service system 100 includes a general controller 110, power distribution units (Power Distribution Unit, PDU) 120_1 and 120_2, and servers 130_1_1˜130_1_P and 130_2_1˜130_2_Q (P, Q are positive integers). The power distribution units 120_1 and 120_2 are respectively connected to a group of servers, that is, the power distribution unit 120_1 is connected to the servers 130_1_1˜130_1_P, and the power distribution unit 120_2 is connected to the servers 130_2_1˜130_2_Q. The general controller 110 is connected to the power distribution units 120_1 and 120_2 for managing the servers 130_1_1 - 130_1_P and 130_2_1 - 130_2_Q through the power distribution units 120_1 and 120_2 . Wherein, the servers 130_1_1˜130_1_P and 130_2_1˜130_2_Q respectively include functional units for performing specific functions.

In this embodiment, the general controller 110 may regularly or irregularly check the server providing updated firmware to obtain information about updated firmware. In addition, after the general controller 110 obtains the information of the updated firmware, it can compare the version of the updated firmware with the firmware version of the functional units currently managed by the general controller 110 .

The general controller 110 may be a rack management controller (Rack Management Controller, RMC). For example, when the general controller 110 determines that the firmware of the functional units in the server 130_1_1 needs to be updated, the general controller 110 sends the firmware update command FUC and the updated firmware network address ADR to the power distribution unit 120_1, and controls the power distribution unit 120_1 Forward it to, for example, a baseboard management controller (BMC) in the server 130_1_1, so that it can obtain the updated firmware according to the update firmware network address ADR. Then, the baseboard management controller can perform a firmware update operation on the functional units whose firmware needs to be updated.

In one embodiment, after obtaining the updated firmware, the general controller 110 may store the updated firmware on its own server such as a File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and generate the updated firmware network address ADR accordingly. In this way, the baseboard management controller on the server 130_1_1 can obtain the updated firmware according to the updated firmware network address ADR. In addition, since the firmware types and versions of components in the servers 130_1_1˜130_1_P may be different, the update firmware server corresponding to the update firmware network address ADR may include at least one type of update firmware to supply various components on different servers. The type of firmware required.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the baseboard management controller can be used to manage functional units such as complex programmable logic devices (Complex Programmable Logic Device, CPLD). For example, when the general controller 110 judges that the firmware of the CPLD on the server 130_1_1 needs to be updated, the general controller 110 can update the firmware network address ADR (such as the FTP server network address in the general controller 110) to the power distribution The unit 120_1 is then forwarded by the power distribution unit 120_1 to the BMC on the server 130_1_1. After the BMC receives the updated firmware network address ADR, it can obtain (that is, download) the updated firmware accordingly, and can jointly test the action group ( Joint TestAction Group, JTAG) specifications to update the firmware of the CPLD.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the power distribution unit can determine whether the server whose firmware needs to be updated includes a component that can obtain the updated firmware according to the updated firmware network address ADR. For example, when the general controller 110 determines that the firmware of the server 130_1_2 needs to be updated, and sends the updated firmware network address ADR to the power distribution unit 120_1, the power distribution unit 120_1 can determine whether the server 130_1_2 includes, for example, a BMC component. When the power distribution unit 120_1 judges that the server 130_1_2 does not include a BMC component, the server 130_1_2 cannot obtain the updated firmware through the BMC at this time according to the update firmware network address ADR, so the power distribution unit 120_1 notifies the general controller with an error message 110 This firmware update operation cannot be performed. And when the power distribution unit 120_1 determines that the server 130_1_2 includes BMC components, the power distribution unit 120_1 can notify the general controller 110 to start the firmware data service, and notify the baseboard management controller to obtain the updated firmware from the update firmware network address

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for updating firmware according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 2 , the method for updating firmware in this embodiment is applicable to the network service system 100 in FIG. 1 , and the detailed steps of the method for updating firmware are described below with each device in FIG. 1 :

First, the general controller 110 judges whether the firmware of the functional units of the servers 130_1_1~130_1_P and 130_2_1~130_2_Q need to be updated (step S210). Next, when the functional unit firmware of one of the servers 130_1_1~130_1_P and 130_2_1~130_2_Q (for example, the server 130_1_1) is judged by the general controller 110 to be updated, the general controller 110 sends a firmware update command FUC and an update firmware network address ADR to the power distribution unit 120_1 corresponding to the server 130_1_1. Afterwards, the general controller 110 makes the power distribution unit 120_1 notify the BMC in the server whose firmware needs to be updated (ie, the server 130_1_1 ) to obtain updated firmware according to the updated firmware network address ADR (step S220 ). After the BMC acquires the updated firmware, it can perform firmware update operations on the functional units whose firmware needs to be updated (step S230).

To sum up, in the network service system and its firmware update method provided by the present invention, through the management of the server by the power distribution unit, in the operation of updating the firmware of the server, the controller only needs to send the update firmware network address to the power supply Allocate units. Then, after the power distribution unit forwards the update firmware network address to the server, the components (such as BMC) located in the server can obtain the update firmware according to the update firmware network address, so that the functional units that need to update the firmware can perform firmware update operate.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with the embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the appended claims.

Claims (12)

1. a network service system, including:

Multiple servers, are divided into least one set, and the most each described server includes at least one functional unit；

At least one power distribution unit, each described power distribution unit connects one group of the plurality of server respectively；And

Master controller, at least one power distribution unit described in connection, in order to by described power distribution unit to the plurality of clothes Business device is managed；

Wherein, judge that the firmware of the functional unit of one of them of the plurality of server needs to update when described master controller Time, described master controller sends firmware and updates instruction and update the firmware networks address institute that extremely described server place group is corresponding State power distribution unit, the substrate management control in making described power distribution unit notice firmware need the described server updated Device obtains the firmware updated to described renewal firmware networks address, and by described baseboard management controller, firmware is needed renewal Described functional unit carries out firmware and updates operation.

2. network service system as claimed in claim 1, it is characterised in that described renewal firmware networks address is described master control The ftp server network address of device processed.

3. network service system as claimed in claim 1, it is characterised in that described power distribution unit judges at firmware needs Whether the server at the described functional unit place updated includes described baseboard management controller, if judging not comprise described substrate Management Controller, the most described power distribution unit notifies described master controller error messages.

4. network service system as claimed in claim 3, it is characterised in that if described power distribution unit judges to need at firmware The server at described functional unit place to be updated includes described baseboard management controller, then notify that described master controller starts Firmware data services, and notifies that described baseboard management controller obtains the firmware updated to described renewal firmware networks address.

5. network service system as claimed in claim 1, it is characterised in that the renewal that described renewal firmware networks address is corresponding Firmware server includes the renewal firmware of at least one class.

6. network service system as claimed in claim 1, it is characterised in that described master controller is Shelf Management Controller.

7. the method updating firmware, is suitable to network service system, and described network service system includes

Multiple servers, are divided into least one set, and the most each described server includes at least one functional unit；

At least one power distribution unit, each described power distribution unit connects one group of the plurality of server respectively；And

One master controller, at least one power distribution unit described in connection, in order to by described power distribution unit to the plurality of Server is managed

Described method includes:

Judge that the firmware of the functional unit of one of them of the plurality of server is the need of renewal；

When the firmware of the functional unit of one of them of the plurality of server need update time, send firmware update instruction and Update the firmware networks address described power distribution unit that extremely described server place group is corresponding, make described power distribution unit lead to Know that the baseboard management controller in the described server that firmware needs update obtains renewal to described renewal firmware networks address Firmware；And

Needed the described functional unit updated to carry out firmware in firmware by described baseboard management controller and update operation.

8. method as claimed in claim 7, it is characterised in that described renewal firmware networks address is the literary composition of described master controller The part transfer protocol server network address.

9. method as claimed in claim 7, it is characterised in that judging the function list of one of them of the plurality of server After the firmware of unit is the need of the step updated, further include:

Judge to need whether the server at the described functional unit place updated includes described baseboard management controller at firmware, if Judging not comprise described baseboard management controller, the most described power distribution unit notifies described master controller error messages.

10. method as claimed in claim 9, it is characterised in that when judging to need the described functional unit institute of renewal at firmware Server include described baseboard management controller after, further include:

And notify that described baseboard management controller obtains the firmware updated to described renewal firmware networks address.

11. methods as claimed in claim 7, it is characterised in that the renewal firmware clothes that described renewal firmware networks address is corresponding Business device includes the renewal firmware of at least one class.

12. methods as claimed in claim 7, it is characterised in that described master controller is Shelf Management Controller.