International Business Machines Corporation

Nicholas Ollerich

Eric J Campbell

Christopher W Steffen

Chad M Albertson

Curtis Carl Wollbrink

Kevin O'Connell

Provided is a damper system for an electronic equipment rack. The damper system may include an electronic equipment rack, a battery back-up unit, and a plurality of rails disposed within the electronic equipment rack. The battery back-up unit is slidably secured to the plurality of rails and tuned to dampen seismic oscillations of the electronic equipment rack during an earthquake. The battery back-up unit is also able to provide power to the electronic equipment disposed in the rack during a power outage.

Damper for an electronic equipment rack

Provided is a method for collecting sensor data using time-domain reflectometry (TDR). A primary device transmits a TDR signal to a first sensor. A reflected signal is received in response to the transmitted TDR signal. The reflected signal is analyzed to determine an impedance of the first sensor. Based on the impedance of the first sensor, a sensor value for the first sensor is determined.

Time-domain reflectometry protocol for sensors

A system and method for pairing two devices for secure communications. A user selects a first device to pair with a second device. The first and second devices have the ability to securely communicate with each other through the use of encrypted communications. An encryption key is written to the first device and then burned into the encryption module on the first device. A third device is selected to pair with the first device. A second encryption key is written to the first device and then burned into the encryption module.

Secure pairing of devices

A system and method of securely controlling a device from another device. The user of the device attempts to modify the device in some way. In response to the attempted modification a request is generated and sent to a controlling device. The request includes information related to the desired modification. The controlling device analyzes the request and a determination on how to respond to the request is made. This response is encrypted at the controlling device and transmitted to the device. The device then decrypts the response and implements the indicated response to the request. The encryption and decryption keys are burned into the corresponding devices such that information needed to decrypt the response is not transmitted to the device.

Secure modification of controlled devices

A system and method to tie a removable component to a host device. A first pairing key is stored into a security module on a host device such as a server rack. A removable component is inserted into the server rack for the first time. In response to this first insertion the first pairing key is burned into the removable component using a plurality of physically modifiable internal components. The server rack/security module receives a request form the removable component to operate on the server rack, the request includes a burned in pairing key. The security module compares the received pairing key with the first pairing key and permits operation of the removable component in response to a match between the received pairing key and the first pairing key.

Pairing devices for enhanced security

A system and method for pairing two devices for secure communications. A user selects a first device to pair with a second device. The first and second devices have the ability to securely communicate with each other through the use of encrypted communications. An encryption key is written to the first device and then burned into the encryption module on the first device. A corresponding decryption key is written to the second device and then is burned into the decryption module of the second device.

A system and method for providing a secure image load. The system includes a microcontroller. The microcontroller has a plurality of physically modifiable internal components (PMIC). Each of the plurality of PMICs can only be modified one time. The system further includes an image loader configured to load a boot image from the memory of the microcontroller, and a checksum calculator configured to calculate a checksum value for the boot image. The system further includes a checksum burner configured to modify the plurality of PMICs to create a binary representation of the checksum value for the image. A checksum value is calculated for the image. This checksum value is written to the microcontroller. The value is burned into the microcontroller using the PMICs. Further, responses to the checksum mismatch are burned into the microcontroller using the PMICs that are present in the microcontroller.

Secure embedded microcontroller image load

A system and method for providing content to a user outside of a home region. A portable device displays content to a user through a network connection. A home content provider provides content to the portable device from the home region. Some of the content provided is region restricted content. A location verifier determines that the portable device and the user are both physically located within the home region. The location verifier issues to the user a location token when the user and the portable device are in the home region. A token verifier verifies the location token when the user requests the region restricted content outside of the home region. The token verifier further instructs the home content provider to provide region restricted content to the user when the user has the location token.

Content access based on location token

A lock system and method for alerting a user or other entity that a lock has been or is being tampered with is disclosed. The lock includes at least one enhanced security pin that is electrically isolated from the rest of the lock. When the lock picker attempts to pick the lock a portion of the enhanced security pin contacts either the plug or the outer casing of the lock to complete a circuit with an alert component. The completion of the circuit causes the alert component to generate an alert signal that can be observed by the user or other entity.

Lock bypass detection

Detecting an attempted theft of information stored in an RFID-enabled card, including: receiving, by a theft detection module, a transaction request, the transaction request including RFID-enabled card information; determining, by the theft detection module, that the RFID-enabled card information is mock card information, wherein mock card information is provided to an RFID reader by an RFID tag exterior to an RFID shield of an RFID-enabled card security enclosure responsive to an RFID request directed at the security enclosure; and responsive to determining that the RFID-enabled card information is mock card information, initiating, by the theft detection module, one or more security actions.

Detecting an attempted theft of information stored in an RFID-enabled card

A method of forming an multi-chip carrier that includes providing a trace structure using an additive forming method. The method includes forming a metal layer on a trace structure to provide electrically conductive lines. A dielectric material may then be formed on the electrically conductive lines to encapsulate a majority of the electrically conductive lines. The ends of the electrically conductive lines that are exposed through the upper surface of the dielectric material provide a top processor mount location and the ends of the electrically conductive lines that are exposed through the sidewalls of the dielectric material provide a sidewall processor mount location.

Trace/via hybrid structure multichip carrier

Low latency corrupt data tagging on a cross-chip link including receiving, from the cross-chip link, a control flit comprising a virtual channel identifier for an incoming data flit; storing the virtual channel identifier in a data pipeline and a bad data indicator (BDI) pipeline; receiving, from the cross-chip link, the incoming data flit into the data pipeline; moving, based on the virtual channel identifier in the data pipeline, the data flit from the data pipeline into an entry in a virtual channel queue corresponding to the virtual channel identifier; receiving, from the cross-chip link, a BDI for the data flit into the BDI pipeline; and moving, based on the virtual channel identifier in the BDI pipeline, the BDI for the data flit from the BDI pipeline into an entry in a BDI array corresponding to the entry in the virtual channel queue storing the data flit.

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Rochester, MN, United States of America

Nicholas Ollerich