CN110413320B - Server device and method for changing firmware setting in real time - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a server device and a method for changing firmware settings in real time. The method includes: performing a boot-up initialization procedure of the server device through a baseboard management control unit according to a first firmware setting parameter configuration A firmware setting of the server device, after configuring the firmware setting in the baseboard management control unit via a central processing unit, sends a second firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter to the power-on initialization procedure. The baseboard management control unit and the central processing unit control the baseboard management control unit to reset in the power-on initialization process after sending the second firmware setting parameters to the baseboard management control unit, and the baseboard management control unit in the power-on initialization process after the reset Reconfigure the firmware settings according to the second firmware setting parameters.

Description

Server device and method for changing firmware settings in real time

【Technical field】

The present invention is a server device, especially a server device having the function of changing its firmware settings in real time.

【Background technique】

Generally speaking, a server generally includes a number of different control components such as a baseboard controller (BMC) and a basic input output system (BIOS). Usually, after the server receives AC power, the BMC first executes the BMC firmware. The server starts to operate according to the firmware settings of the BMC and provides and controls the functions of the server corresponding to the settings of the BMC firmware until the mainboard of the server receives the power on command, and the central processing unit ( CPU) will start the boot process by executing the BIOS program, that is, the power-on self-test (POST) process. Similarly, the CPU also provides and controls the server response by executing the BIOS program and matching the BIOS firmware settings. Regarding the functions set by the BIOS firmware, generally, the BMC and the CPU can provide and control the same functions of the server by executing the BMC firmware and the BIOS firmware respectively and matching the corresponding firmware settings respectively. However, since the BMC and CPU are configured with different firmware settings of the BMC and BIOS firmware respectively to provide and control the same functions of the server, the BMC and BIOS firmware settings are stored in different components, and the BMC and BIOS firmware settings are stored in different components. The CPU provides and controls the same function on the server and the control time is different. Furthermore, the firmware settings of the BMC and BIOS can be changed at different times respectively. The problem of inconsistency in the control of the firmware that controls the same function is set at different control times.

[Content of the invention]

The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a server device capable of controlling the firmware settings of the same function at different control times with consistent control and a method for changing the firmware settings in real time.

To solve the above technical problems, a server device includes a baseboard management control unit and a central processing unit. The baseboard management control unit is used for configuring a first firmware setting of the server device according to the first firmware setting parameters during a boot-up initialization procedure of the aforementioned server device. The central processing unit is used for sending a second firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit in the same boot initialization procedure after the baseboard management control unit configures the first firmware setting , and the central processing unit controls the baseboard management control unit to reset in the same boot initialization process, so that the baseboard management control unit reconfigures the first firmware device according to the second firmware setting parameters in the same boot initialization process after the reset Certainly.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, a method for real-time changing firmware settings suitable for a server device includes: setting parameters according to a first firmware during a boot-up initialization procedure of the aforementioned server device via a baseboard management control unit Configuring a first firmware setting of the server device, sending a parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter in the same boot initialization procedure after configuring the first firmware setting in the baseboard management control unit via a central processing unit The second firmware setting parameters are sent to the baseboard management control unit, the central processing unit controls the baseboard management control unit to reset in the same boot initialization procedure after sending the second firmware setting parameters to the baseboard management control unit, and the baseboard management control unit The first firmware settings are reconfigured according to the second firmware setting parameters in the same boot initialization procedure after the reset.

Compared with the prior art, the server device and the method for changing firmware settings in real time of the present invention, according to an embodiment of the server device and the method for changing firmware settings in real time of the present invention, the central processing unit can Change the firmware parameters matched with the firmware settings in the boot initialization procedure and control the baseboard management control unit to reset in the same boot initialization procedure of the server device, so that the firmware settings controlled by the baseboard management control unit are matched. Changes to firmware parameters can take effect immediately. There is no need to wait for the server device to perform a cold reset or perform multiple warm resets, and the changed firmware settings take effect after the server device performs another boot initialization process. This reduces the waiting time for resetting the server device to change firmware settings.

【Description of drawings】

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of a server device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for changing firmware settings in real time according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of another embodiment of a method for changing firmware settings in real time according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the method for changing firmware settings in real time as illustrated in FIG. 3 .

【Detailed ways】

Referring to FIG. 1 , the server device 1 includes a baseboard management control unit 11 and a central processing unit 12 , and the baseboard management control unit 11 is coupled to the central processing unit 12 . The baseboard management control unit 11 is used to configure a firmware setting (hereinafter referred to as the first firmware setting) of the server apparatus 1 in a boot-up initialization procedure of the server apparatus 1 , and the central processing unit 12 can control the baseboard management control in real time The unit 11 reconfigures the aforementioned first firmware settings in the same boot initialization procedure.

In detail, please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together, after the server device 1 is started, the server device 1 enters the boot-up initialization process, the baseboard management control unit 11 is started, and the baseboard management control unit 11 first performs a boot-up initialization process according to a The firmware setting parameter (hereinafter referred to as the first firmware setting parameter for convenience of description) configures the first firmware setting (step S01 ). Next, the central processing unit 12 is activated, and the central processing unit 12 sends another firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter in the same boot initialization procedure after the baseboard management control unit 11 configures the first firmware setting (hereinafter referred to as the second firmware setting parameter) to the baseboard management control unit 11 (step S02 ). Next, the central processing unit 12 controls the baseboard management control unit 11 to reset in the same power-on initialization process (step S03 ). After the reset, the baseboard management control unit 11 performs the same power-on initialization process on the server device 1 according to the second firmware configuration. Reconfigure the configured first firmware settings by setting parameters (step S04). Therefore, the baseboard management control unit 11 can change the first firmware setting according to different firmware setting parameters in the same boot-up initialization process, and the baseboard management control unit 11 does not need to wait until the server device 1 completes the initialization process Then perform a cold reset or multiple warm resets before the changed first firmware setting takes effect, which can reduce the need to wait for changing the firmware setting parameters corresponding to the first firmware setting The waiting time for resetting the server device 1 after the initialization process is completed, and the user of the server device 1 can quickly control the firmware settings of the baseboard management control unit 11 through the central processing unit 12 during the boot initialization process Change and match different firmware setting parameters.

In this embodiment, the aforementioned first firmware setting parameter includes at least one parameter value, that is, the first firmware setting parameter may include a single parameter value or a plurality of parameter values, and the second firmware setting parameter also includes At least one parameter value is included, that is, the second firmware setting parameter can also include a single parameter value or a plurality of parameter values. After the central processing unit 12 sends the second firmware setting parameter including a single parameter value or a plurality of parameter values to the baseboard management control unit 11 , the baseboard management control unit 11 and the central processing unit 12 have the same firmware setting parameter.

In this embodiment, the central processing unit 12 can send the second firmware setting parameters to the baseboard management control unit 11 through an intelligent platform management interface (Intelligent Platform Management Interface; IPMI) in step S02, and in step S03 The reset of the baseboard management control unit 11 can also be controlled through the aforementioned smart platform management interface. Moreover, the baseboard management control unit 11 has a reset pin belonging to the low pin count (LPC) bus, and the central processing unit 12 can control the baseboard management control through the reset pin belonging to the low pin count bus The unit 11 performs a soft reset.

In this embodiment, the server device 1 further includes a BIOS memory 14. The BIOS memory 14 is coupled to the central processing unit 12. The BIOS memory 14 stores data including parameters that have been changed from the first firmware to the aforementioned second firmware. The BIOS code of the setting parameters, the central processing unit 12 executes the aforementioned BIOS code, so as to configure the second firmware setting corresponding to the first firmware setting according to the second firmware setting parameter in the boot-up initialization procedure, wherein, by The first firmware setting parameter is changed to the above-mentioned second firmware setting parameter. The first firmware setting parameter originally stored in the BIOS memory 14 is changed to the second firmware setting parameter and stored in the BIOS memory 14. The central processing unit 12 reads the BIOS memory 14 in step S02 to obtain the The second firmware sets the parameters.

Further, please refer to FIG. 3 , which is a flow chart of another embodiment of the method for changing firmware settings in real time according to the present invention, since the startup time of the central processing unit 12 in the boot initialization procedure is later than The startup time of the baseboard management control unit 11. After the baseboard management control unit 11 configures the first firmware setting according to the first firmware setting parameters, the central processing unit 12 will first determine the second firmware corresponding to the first firmware setting Whether the first firmware setting parameter corresponding to the firmware setting is changed (step S05 ). If the first firmware setting parameters corresponding to the second firmware setting have not changed (determined as “No”), the central processing unit 12 continues to execute other boot initialization procedures (step S06 ) without executing steps S02 and S03 ; On the other hand, if the parameter of the first firmware setting corresponding to the second firmware setting is changed (determined as "Yes"), and the second firmware setting is matched with the corresponding first firmware setting When the parameters are changed to the aforementioned second firmware setting parameters, the central processing unit 12 starts to execute steps S02 and S03 to send the changed second firmware setting parameters to the baseboard management control unit 11, and the server device 1. Only control the baseboard management control unit 11 to reset in the case of no reset or shutdown and restart, that is, control the baseboard management control unit 11 to reset in the same boot initialization process, and the reset baseboard management control unit 11 will be The first firmware setting of the server device 1 is configured according to the latest second firmware setting parameters after the change in the same boot-up initialization process, so that in the boot-up initialization process of the server device 1, when the central processing unit 12 is used to configure The first firmware setting parameter corresponding to the second firmware setting of the first firmware setting is changed to the second firmware setting parameter, and the baseboard management control unit 11 is triggered to also use it to configure the first firmware The first firmware setting parameter of the firmware setting is changed to the second firmware setting parameter, so that the baseboard management control unit 11 also configures the first firmware setting of the server device 1 with the second firmware setting parameter. , and the central processing unit 12 transmits the second firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit 11 for changing the second firmware setting parameter corresponding to the firmware setting of the baseboard management control unit 11 under the condition that the server device 1 does not reset or shut down and restart , that is, it can take effect in the same boot initialization procedure.

For example, if the first firmware setting parameters corresponding to the second firmware setting are stored in the BIOS memory 14, if the user of the server device 1 uses the aforementioned BIOS setting to configure the second firmware The first firmware setting parameter matched with the setting is modified to the second firmware setting parameter, and the central processing unit 12 determines in step S05 the first firmware setting parameter stored in the BIOS memory and corresponding to the second firmware setting. A firmware setting parameter is changed to a second firmware setting parameter. At this time, the central processing unit 12 sends the changed second firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit 11 and controls the baseboard management control unit 11 to reset.

In this embodiment, the aforementioned first firmware setting and second firmware setting are the BMC firmware setting and the firmware setting of the BIOS code executed by the CPU, respectively, and the first firmware setting and the first firmware setting are The second firmware setting is a display function corresponding to the manufacturer information of the server device 1, so the aforementioned first firmware setting parameters and second firmware setting parameters are executed for the BMC firmware setting parameters and the CPU respectively. The firmware setting parameter of the BIOS code is the display setting parameter corresponding to the display setting of the aforementioned manufacturer information. 1, the server device 1 further includes a display unit 13, the display unit 13 is coupled to the baseboard management control unit 11, and the baseboard management control unit 11 can control the display unit 13 to display a manufacturer information. In step S01 , the baseboard management control unit 11 can control the display unit 13 to display a manufacturer information (hereinafter referred to as the first manufacturer information) corresponding to the first firmware setting parameters according to the first firmware setting parameters, and reset the Then in step S04, the display unit 1 is controlled according to the second firmware setting parameter sent by the central processing unit 12 to display another manufacturer information (hereinafter referred to as the second firmware setting parameter, which is different from the first manufacturer information) corresponding to the second firmware setting parameter. information for the second manufacturer). Therefore, the user of the server device 1 can modify the firmware setting parameters of the BIOS code of the server device 1, that is, the BIOS settings, so as to change the control unit 11 by the baseboard management unit 11 in real time during the boot initialization process by the central processing unit 12. For the display of the controlled manufacturer information, the baseboard management control unit 11 can control the display unit 13 to display the changed second manufacturer information after it is warmly reset.

Further, please refer to FIG. 1 , the display unit 13 is further coupled to the central processing unit 12 , and the central processing unit 12 can also control the manufacturer information displayed by the display unit 13 . Here, please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 in combination. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the method for changing firmware settings in real time as illustrated in FIG. 3 . After the server device 1 is started, the server device 1 Entering the boot initialization procedure, since the startup time of the central processing unit 12 is later than the startup time of the baseboard management control unit 11, the central processing unit 12 controls the display unit 13 to display the first manufacturer information in the baseboard management control unit 11 in step S011 (step S011). S011) and then control the display unit 13 to display the second manufacturer information corresponding to the setting parameters of the second firmware (step S07), and the second manufacturer information is different from the first manufacturer information, so the central processing unit 12 controls the display unit 13 After displaying the second manufacturer information, it is determined that the first firmware setting parameter has been changed to the second firmware setting parameter, and the second firmware setting parameter is sent to the baseboard management control unit 11 (step S02 ), and the The baseboard management control unit 11 enables the baseboard management control unit 11 to control the display unit 13 to display the second manufacturer information (step S041 ) immediately after the server device 1 is reset in the same power-on initialization procedure, so that the display unit 13 displays consistent manufacturer information.

In this embodiment, the display interface of the display unit 13 may be a VGA interface, a DVI interface or an HDMI interface. Moreover, the manufacturer information displayed by the display unit 13 may be the brand information of the server device 1 , or the brand information of the manufacturer of the server device 1 , such as its brand logo (logo).

In this embodiment, the aforementioned first firmware setting and second firmware setting are functions for setting a static Internet Protocol Address (Static Internet Protocol Address) correspondingly connected to the baseboard management control unit 11. , and the first firmware setting parameter and the second firmware setting parameter are two static IP addresses set corresponding to the static IP addresses. Based on this, in the boot-up initialization procedure of the server device 1, the baseboard management control unit 11 firstly configures its static IP address setting to have the first static IP address according to the first firmware setting parameter in step S01. address, and then the central processing unit 12 sends the second firmware setting parameters to the baseboard management control unit 11 in step S02, so that the baseboard management control unit 11 resets the server device 1 in the same boot initialization procedure Set its static internet protocol address to have a second static internet protocol address. Finally, the baseboard management control unit 11 can then send the second static Internet protocol address to other units in the server device 1 in the form of broadcast, so that the changed second static Internet protocol address takes effect. Based on this, the user can also use the central processing unit 12 to change the static IP address setting of the baseboard management control unit 11 in real time during the boot-up initialization procedure of the server device 1 .

To sum up, according to an embodiment of the server device and the method for changing firmware settings in real time of the present invention, the central processing unit can change the firmware parameters matched with the firmware settings when the server device performs the boot-up initialization procedure, and The control baseboard management control unit is reset during the same boot initialization procedure of the server device, so that the change of the firmware parameters controlled by the firmware setting of the baseboard management control unit can take effect immediately, without waiting for the server device to cool down. Reset or perform multiple warm resets to make the changed firmware settings take effect after the server device performs another boot initialization process, which can reduce the need to reset the server device to change the firmware settings. waiting time.

The above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention. should be included within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims (6)

1. A server apparatus, comprising:

a baseboard management control unit, which is used for configuring a first firmware setting of the server device according to a first firmware setting parameter in a starting initialization program of the server device;

a central processing unit, for sending a second firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit in the startup initialization program after the baseboard management control unit configures the first firmware setting, and the central processing unit controls the baseboard management control unit to perform soft reset in the startup initialization program, so that the baseboard management control unit reconfigures the first firmware setting according to the second firmware setting parameter in the startup initialization program after reset, wherein after the server device is powered on, the starting time of the central processing unit is later than that of the baseboard management control unit; and

a display unit, which is used for displaying a first manufacturer information corresponding to the first firmware setting parameter under the control of the baseboard management control unit when the baseboard management control unit configures the first firmware setting according to the first firmware setting parameter, and for displaying a second manufacturer information corresponding to the second firmware setting parameter and different from the first manufacturer information under the control of the baseboard management control unit when the baseboard management control unit reconfigures the first firmware setting according to the second firmware setting parameter;

and the central processing unit controls the display unit to display the second manufacturer information according to the second firmware setting parameter after the baseboard management control unit controls the display unit to display the first manufacturer information, and sends the second firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit after the display unit displays the second manufacturer information.

2. The server apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a BIOS memory storing one of the first firmware setting parameter and the second firmware setting parameter collocated with a second firmware setting corresponding to the first firmware setting;

the CPU judges whether the first firmware setting parameter collocated with the second firmware setting is changed into the second firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter in the starting-up initialization program, and when the first firmware setting parameter collocated with the second firmware setting is changed into the second firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter, the CPU sends the second firmware setting parameter to the substrate management control unit.

3. The server apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first firmware configuration and the second firmware configuration are static IP address configurations for connecting to the BMC, and the first firmware configuration parameter and the second firmware configuration parameter are two different static IP addresses.

4. A method for changing firmware setting in real time is suitable for a server device, and is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

configuring a first firmware setting of the server device according to a first firmware setting parameter in a boot initialization procedure of the server device through a baseboard management control unit to control a display unit to display a first manufacturer information corresponding to the first firmware setting parameter;

after the first manufacturer information is displayed on the display unit through a central processing unit, the display unit is controlled to display second manufacturer information corresponding to second firmware setting parameters according to the second firmware setting parameters different from the first firmware setting parameters, the second manufacturer information is different from the first manufacturer information, and after the server device is powered on, the starting time of the central processing unit is later than that of the substrate management control unit;

the central processing unit sends the second firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit in the starting initialization program after the baseboard management control unit configures the first firmware setting;

the central processing unit controls the baseboard management control unit to perform soft reset in the starting initialization program after sending the second firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit; and

the baseboard management control unit reconfigures the first firmware setting according to the second firmware setting parameter in the boot initialization program after soft reset so as to control the display unit to display the second manufacturer information corresponding to the second firmware setting parameter.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein before the CPU sends the second firmware configuration parameter to the BMC, the method further comprises:

the CPU determines whether a first firmware configuration parameter associated with a second firmware configuration corresponding to the first firmware configuration stored in a BIOS code has been changed to a second firmware configuration parameter different from the first firmware configuration parameter in the boot initialization program; and

when the first firmware setting parameter collocated with the second firmware setting is changed into the second firmware setting parameter different from the first firmware setting parameter, the central processing unit starts to send the second firmware setting parameter to the baseboard management control unit.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first firmware setting and the second firmware setting are static IP address settings for connecting to the BMC, and the first firmware setting parameter and the second firmware setting parameter are different two static IP addresses.

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