Amazon Technologies, Inc.

Alex Levin

Ron Diamant

Georgy Machulsky

Ihab Bishara

Barak Wasserstrom

Christopher James BeSerra

James Christopher Sorenson

Saar Gross

Ziv Harel

Erez Tsidon

Aditya Bhalla

David Ben-Dror

Jinesh Varia

Bhadri Pani

Idan Aharoni

Or Yochanan

Gary Lee Szilagyi

Evgeny Khanin

Michael Butler Fortin

Daniel Elkaslassy

Benita Bose

Sergei Shtern

A technology is described for managing network communication device software capabilities. An example method may include sending a connection request from a network communication device electronically to a service provider environment. Software capabilities for the network communication device may be verified from the service provider environment. A software capabilities modification instruction for the network communication device may be received from the service provider environment. The software capabilities of the network communication device may be modified based on the software capabilities modification instruction.

Software capabilities management from a service provider environment

A debugging tool, such as may take the form of a software daemon running in the background, can provide for the monitoring of utilization of access mechanisms, such as Direct Memory Access (DMA) mechanisms, for purposes such as debugging and performance improvement. Debugging tools can obtain and provide DMA utilization data, as may include statistics, graphs, predictive analytics, or other such information. The data can help to pinpoint issues that have arisen, or may arise, in the system, and take appropriate remedial or preventative action. Data from related DMAs can be aggregated intelligently, helping to identify bottlenecks where the individual DMA data might not. A debugging tool can store state information as snapshots, which may be beneficial if the system is in a state where current data is not accessible. The statistics and predictive analytics can also be leveraged to optimize system-performance.

Debugging of memory operations

Disclosed herein are techniques for enabling device communication in a secure environment. In one example, a system comprises a storage in a server, a first component in the server, the first component being isolated in a secure environment in the server, and an entry point device authorized to access the first component via the secure environment. The entry point device may receive a request to access the first component. The entry point device may store a notification in a region of the storage accessible by the first component, wherein the notification is to be read by the first component from the storage to set the first component to an operation mode. The entry point device may store operation data in the storage, wherein the operation data is to be acquired by the first component from the storage to control an operation of the first component in the operation mode.

Communication with components of secure environment

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for securing executable code for execution with a processor using a trusted platform module (TPM). In one example of the disclosed technology, a method of decrypting executable code for execution includes measuring values stored in a CPU boot ROM and measuring second values for executable code stored in non-volatile memory, storing the resulting measurement value in a TPM platform configuration register. The PCR value is used to unseal a key stored in non-volatile memory of the TPM, which key is used to decrypt executable code for execution. Security can be further enhanced by destroying the values stored in the PCR by performing additional measurement operations with the TPM PCR used to generate the measurement value.

Maintaining keys for trusted boot code

A technology is described for a device diagnosis station. The device diagnosis station may be configured to identify an electronic device physically connected to the device diagnosis station, evaluate an operational state of the electronic device by executing testing instructions configured to test the functionality of the electronic device and collect operational state information for the electronic device. The device diagnosis station may be configured to determine the operational state of the electronic device and execute recovery instructions to restore the electronic device to an improved state when a recoverable error is detected. The device diagnosis station may be configured to initiate a device return procedure for the electronic device when a non-recoverable error state is detected.

Device diagnosis

A technology is described for managing device performance capabilities. An example method may include connecting a physical device electronically to a service provider environment using a computer network and identifying performance capabilities of the physical device at the service provider environment via the connection. A request may be received at the service provider environment to upgrade the performance capabilities of the physical device and an authorization may also be received at the service provider environment for the upgrade. The performance capabilities of the physical device may be upgraded by sending an upgrade instruction from the service provider environment to the physical device to unlock additional performance capabilities based on the authorization. The performance capabilities of the physical device may later be downgraded to by disabling the additional performance capabilities of the physical device.

Device capabilities management from a service provider environment

Configuration snapshots can be obtained from various connected devices, such as network interface cards or hardware offload devices, to determine whether the configuration matches expected values. If discrepancies are determined then the appropriate values can be automatically applied to those devices. For each type and version of device, there can be a set of expected configuration values, or a golden model of configuration, that is determined and stored. The models can also be used to test updated configuration values, as the new values can be pushed to a subset of devices and the impact on performance determined. If acceptable performance improvement is detected, or another such target achieved, then the golden model can be updated with the new values and those values can be pushed out to the remainder of the devices.

Dynamic configuration management

A technology is provided for changing a hardware capability of an internet capable device. A hardware capability of an internet capable device is restrained to a first limit based on a first configuration definition. A second configuration definition is requested to change the first limit set by the first configuration definition from a service provider environment. A second configuration definition is received from the service provider environment at the internet capable device. The hardware capability of the internet capable device are changed to a second limit based on the second configuration definition.

Changing hardware capabilities of a device

A smart add-in card can be leveraged to perform testing on a host server computer. The add-in card can include an embedded processor and memory. Tests can be downloaded to the add-in card to test analog features of a communication bus between the host server computer (motherboard) and the add-in card. In a particular example, a PCIe communication bus couples the motherboard to the add-in card and the tests can test a connection or communication link negotiated between the add-in card and another device using the PCIe communication bus. The tests can be developed to test errors that are typically difficult to test without the use of special hardware. However, the smart add-in card can be a simple Network Interface Card (NIC) that resides on the host server computer during normal operation and is used for communication other than error testing.

Communication link testing

Approaches for testing memory devices, such as DRAMs, are described that can quickly identify various potential storage issues. The memory space for a device can be divided into subspaces that can be tested concurrently. A starting address is determined for each memory sub-space, and addresses are identified that are within a Hamming distance of the starting address, where a single Hamming distance or multiple Hamming distances can be used. Once a list of addresses is generated, a test pattern can be written to, and read from, the corresponding addresses. Differences from the expected pattern can be indicative of problems with the memory device, whether before user deployment or while storing live data. If there are specific problems suspected, targeted testing can be utilized that does not test the entirety of the memory space.

Memory device testing

Data within a file system may be protected using a key rotation scheme. The key rotation scheme may include a data key and a metadata key. The data key may be used to encrypt data portions of the file system while the metadata key may be used to encrypt the metadata of the file system. The metadata key may be generated based at least in part on a user input and may be rotated at the end of a key rotation interval.

File system encryption with key rotation

A network device includes a processor coupled to network interface circuitry and cryptographic circuitry. The network interface circuitry is configured to couple the network device to a local computer communication network. The processor is configured to generate an encryption key based on a hardware specific value recorded in the network device, and apply the cryptographic circuitry and the encryption key to encrypt files for storage in an Internet storage system coupled to a remote computer communication network, and present the encrypted files stored, by the processor, in the Internet storage system, to a computing device coupled to the network device via the local computer communication network, as a storage system attached to the local computer communication network.

Network device with virtual private file system

The following description is directed to the use of encryption by a computing system. In one example, a method can include determining whether information associated with a logical address is stored unencrypted within an on-chip memory of an integrated circuit or whether the information associated with the logical address is stored encrypted within an off-chip memory external to the integrated circuit. When the information is not stored unencrypted within the on-chip memory and is stored encrypted within the off-chip memory: a page associated with the logical address can be retrieved from the off-chip memory containing the encrypted information; the retrieved page can be decrypted to generate unencrypted information; and the unencrypted information can be stored in a frame of the on-chip memory.

Using encryption within a computing system

An electronic system includes a secret value (e.g., an encryption key) which is used for its intended purpose after which the address translations in the system's memory management unit are modified to prevent further access to the secret value. The address translation modifications also include modification of a translation for the memory management unit itself thereby preventing further modification of the address translations. The secret value cannot again be accessed until the system is reinitialized, but the address translations are modified during each system initialization so that the secret value is only usable for its intended purpose during the initialization process. In other implementations, the system modifies mappings between physical addresses and hardware components to preclude further access to the secret value.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Alex Levin