International Business Machines Corporation

Benjamin Russell Grimes

David Benson Rhoades

Gregory Brian Pruett

Scott Neil Dunham

Gregory William Dake

Edward Stanely Suffern

William Joseph Piazza

Richard Bealkowski

Michael Robert Turner

Simon C Chu

Antonio Abbondanzio

Dhruv Manmohandas Desai

Edward Stanley Suffern

William W Buchanan, Jr

Peter Thomas Donovan

Christopher D Cerbini

Doyle Stanfill Cronk

Charles Richard Dart, Ii

Paul Brian Tippet

Jillian Lynn Kaufman

Aspects for detection and correction of entrance into an improper master boot record (MBR) state in a computer system are described. The aspects include providing a proxy MBR at a predetermined location on a storage device of a computer system to provide a proxy MBR. The proxy MBR is then utilized during a restart operation. An original MBR maintained at an original location on the storage device is then utilized during a reboot operation when the utilization of the proxy MBR is unsuccessful.

Method and system for detection and correction of entrance into an improper MBR state in a computer system

A remote control application is loaded and executes on a service processor independent from a main processor within a remotely managed system, prior to power on for the main processor. The remote control application grabs and packetizes video data from the remotely managed system for transmission to the remote console via a TCP/IP connection transport layer, and receives keyboard/mouse signals in the same manner for insertion into the remotely managed systems's keyboard/mouse controller(s) as though originating from locally attached peripherals. The service processor also feeds up a Java applet for displaying the video data and capturing keyboard/mouse actions through a browser at the remote console. Remote control is thus enabled from power up of the main processor continuously through operating system load by the main processor with a single user interface, a single connection, and no special utility requirements at the remote console.

Seamless computer system remote control

A system and method for determining an active service processor from two or more redundant service processors in the system. The system typically includes two management modules and at least one managed subsystem such as a server blade. Each management module includes a service processor and control logic. The control logic is configured to receive various status signals from the service processor and to generate a control signal based thereon. The control signal is provided, via an interconnect plane, to determination logic on each managed subsystem. The determination logic receives a control signal from each management module and generates a switch signal based on the state of the control signals. The switch signal controls switching logic configured to receive bus signals from the service processors on each management module. Based on the control signal, one of the service processor bus signals is provided to managed instrumentation on the managed subsystem. The management module control logic is generally configured to maintain the control signal in its current state if the active processor is determined to be functional. The control logic is further configured to alter the control signal state if the active service processor is determined to be non-functional. A transition in the control signal typically generates a fail-over event that causes the switching logic on the managed subsystems to switch from the previously active service processor to the previously inactive or standby service processor as the source of service processor signals.

Fail-over control in a computer system having redundant service processors

A paperless printing system for storing and displaying documents produced by print facilities of a data processing system comprises a docking station in communication with a printer port of the data processing system. The docking station receives, from the data processing system, printer data that defines one or more documents. A portable viewer that is removably coupled with the docking station receives the printer data from the docking station. A rewritable memory within the portable viewer stores the printer data. One or more controls on the portable viewer respond to operator manipulation by causing the portable viewer to utilize the printer data to display a desired portion of the one or more documents at least when the portable viewer is not coupled with the docking station and not in communication with the data processing system. In an illustrative embodiment, the system also includes a printer driver in the data processing system that is associated with the paperless printer. An operating system in the data processing system responds to an invocation of a print function of an application by utilizing the printer driver to generate the printer data.

Method and system for printing documents to a reusable medium

A system, method, and program for establishing modem communication between a master computer system and a plurality of slave computer systems coupled to a common serial communication channel are disclosed. An unique identification number (UIN) is assigned to each slave computer system. The slave system modems are initialized to a 'receive mode.' The master computer system directs a session request to the slave computer systems through the common serial communication channel. All slave computer systems receive and respond to the session request by changing each of the modems to the 'answer mode.' After all the slave computer systems respond, the master computer system requests communication with a particular slave computer system among the plurality of slave computer systems. The master computer system uses the UIN to establish communication with the particular slave computer system by sending a request from the master computer system specifying the UIN of the particular slave computer system. After the master computer system requests communication with the particular slave computer system, communication is maintained between the master computer system and only the particular slave computer system by maintaining the modem for the particular slave computer system in the &#x201c;answer mode&#x201d; and switching the modems for all other slave computer systems to the &#x201c;receive mode.&#x201d; After communication is established between the master computer system and the particular slave computer system, the master computer system controls the particular slave computer system by issuing commands.

System, method, and program for establishing modem communication between a master computer system and a plurality of slave computer systems through a common serial communication channel

The present invention provides a method and system for providing a reset after an operating system (OS) hang condition in a computer system, the computer system including an interrupt handler not accessible by the OS. The method includes determining if an interrupt has been generated by a watchdog timer; monitoring for an OS hang condition by the interrupt handler if the interrupt has been generated and after it is known that the OS is operating; and resetting the OS if a device driver within the OS has not set a bit in a register, the bit for indicating that the OS is operating. The method and system in accordance with the present invention uses existing hardware and software within a computer system to reset the OS. The present invention uses a method by which a critical hardware watchdog periodically wakes a critical interrupt handler of the computer system. The critical interrupt handler determines if the OS is in a hang condition by polling a share hardware register that a device driver, running under the OS, will set periodically. If the critical interrupt handler does not see that the device driver has set the register bit, it will assume the OS has hung and will reset the system. In addition, the critical interrupt handler will store the reset in non-volatile memory. The reset can be logged into the system error log. Because the method and system in accordance with the present invention uses existing hardware and software within the computer system, instead of requiring an additional processor, it is cost efficient to implement while also providing a reset of the OS without human intervention.

System using an OS inaccessible interrupt handler to reset the OS when a device driver failed to set a register bit indicating OS hang condition

A method for managing a memory address space in a memory system, the memory system having multiple block address translation entries, each entry defining a portion of the memory address space, including the steps of determining that a received virtual address references a portion of the memory address space not defined by any of the block address translation entries, reallocating at least one of the block address translation entries to define a portion of the memory address space including the received virtual address, and providing a physical address matching the virtual address by using the reallocated block address translation entries. In addition, an apparatus for managing a memory address space in a memory system, the memory system having multiple block address translation entries, each entry defining a portion of the memory address space, including apparatus for determining that a received virtual address references a portion of the memory address space not defined by any of the block address translation entries, apparatus for reallocating at least one of the block address translation entries to define a portion of the memory address space including the received virtual address, and apparatus for providing a physical address matching the virtual address by using the reallocated block address translation entries.

Method and apparatus for dynamically controlling address space allocation

Provides management tools for a System Owner to assure that a personal computer system is secured against access by an unauthorized user by foreclosing the possibility of circumventing system's security protection during an I/O ROM scan. The POST code is designed to prompt for the proper security password prior to allowing any adapter ROM utility to be run. An interrupt service routine will detect key strokes during adapter ROM scan and prior to passing control to the adapter ROM for handling of the keyboard interrupt. Prior to the ROM Scan for the system, the POST code detects whether or not C2 Security is enabled. On some systems, the C2 functionally may not be used and, the system does not consider password protection for the adapter Utilities. If however, the C2 functionality of the system is enabled, the POST code will continue to enable the password protection for the ROM Scan. Once the interrupt service routine is established the ROM scan will begin. Once the ROM Scan is complete, the interrupt service routine will be unchained from the system, and progress will continue through POST.

Password protecting ROM based utilities in an adapter ROM

A computer system which includes a page mode memory in which a particular piece of data is accessed by first supplying a page or row address, then supplying a column address. These addresses are input to the memory by row address strobe (RAS) signals and column address strobe (CAS) signals. The RAS signals are determined by comparing input CPU addresses with row starting address information stored in registers, each of which corresponds to a memory socket in which a memory module may be installed. An algorithm is described for initializing the memory and its memory controller, including a determination of the starting address information.

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Zebulon, NC, United States of America

Benjamin Russell Grimes