Dell Products Inc.

Sanjay Rao

Divya Vijayvargiya

Yogesh Prabhakar Kulkarni

Sundar Dasar

Charles D Stracener

Sanjeev Dambal

Weijia Zhang

Vigneswaran Ponnusamy

Pritesh Francis Prabhu

Diwahar Natarajan

Hai T Phung

Anand Narayanan

Mukund Purshottam Khatri

Chitrak Gupta

Rama Rao Bisa

Deepaganesh Paulraj

Sushma Basavarajaiah

Mahesh Babu Ramaiah

Rajib Saha

Ajay Shenoy

Jon Vernon Franklin

Sandesh Hadhimane Balakrishna

Chieng-Hwa Lin

Chandran Venkatachalam

Methods and systems for managing operation of data processing systems are disclosed. To manage operation of the data processing systems, the data processing systems may present unified communication and management systems. The unified communication and management systems may be used to manage the operation of any number of management controller embedded devices hosted by the data processing systems. The unified communication and management systems may allow for communication with and management of the management controller embedded devices without requiring that the management systems directly interact with the management controller embedded devices.

System and method for managing management controller embedded devices

In one or more embodiments, one or more systems, one or more methods, and/or one or more processes may determine that the staged job needs to be executed by a baseboard management controller (BMC) while an information handling system (IHS) is held in a power-on self-test; create a hybrid job associated with the staged job; reboot the IHS; launch an IHS firmware application in a pre-boot IHS firmware environment; provide, to the BMC, a command to execute a first portion of the hybrid job; obtain, by the BMC, an authentication key; provide, by the BMC, the authentication key to the non-volatile storage device; execute, by the BMC, the first portion of the hybrid job to configure the non-volatile storage device; and execute, by the IHS firmware application, the second portion of the hybrid job to poll the baseboard management controller for a result status of configuring the non-volatile storage device.

System and method of configuring a non-volatile storage device

An information handling system may include a host system, a management controller configured to provide out-of-band management of the information handling system, and a network interface including a network interface storage resource. The management controller may be configured to: receive, from the host system, information relating to installation of a network interface operating system; transmit the information to the network interface; and cause the network interface to install the network interface operating system onto the network interface storage resource.

Smart network interface controller operating system deployment

A support information provisioning system a support device, an external device; and a customer device. The customer device includes an external connector and a remote access controller device that is coupled to the external connector. In situations where the customer device is experiencing at least one customer device issue that prevents the customer device from provisioning support information related to the operation of the customer device, the remote access controller device operates to detect that the external device has been connected to the external connector and, in response, automatically cause new support information about that customer device to be generated. When the external device is subsequently connected to the support device, it may then provide that new support information to the support device for analysis.

Support information provisioning system

A key retrieval system includes a management system and a managed system that is coupled to the management system through a network. The managed system includes a managed device, a management system configuration storage, a remote access controller device that stores a management system configuration for the management system in the management system configuration storage and provides a key management client subsystem that is configured to use the management system configuration to access the management system. The managed system also includes a BIOS. The BIOS detects an event that triggers unlocking the managed device. The BIOS determines that the remote access controller device is unavailable and, in response, retrieves the management system configuration and accesses the management system using the management system configuration. The BIOS then retrieves the locking key from the management system and unlocks the managed device using the locking key.

Key recovery system

A memory log retrieval and provisioning system includes a server device that is coupled to a support system via a network. The server device includes a memory device having at least one memory log. A memory log retrieval and provisioning subsystem is coupled to the memory device, and determines that a memory log retrieval event has occurred in the server device. In response to determining that the memory log retrieval event has occurred, the memory log retrieval and provisioning subsystem automatically retrieves the at least one memory log from the memory device without receiving user instructions subsequent to detecting the memory log retrieval event. The memory log retrieval and provisioning subsystem then automatically transmits the at least one memory log through the network to the support system without receiving user instructions subsequent to automatically retrieving the at least one memory log.

Memory log retrieval and provisioning system

A remote access controller support system includes a first server device that includes a first remote access controller that is coupled to a support system and a client device through an out-of-band network connection. The first remote access controller detects a server device event at the first server device. The first remote access controller correlates the event with a stored server device event and determines a recommended action associated with the stored server device event. The first remote access controller causes, via the out-of-band network connection, the recommended action to be displayed on a display device of the client device.

Remote access controller support system

A remote access controller support system includes a second server device that includes a second remote access controller that is coupled to a support system through an out-of-band network and coupled to a first remote access controller through a remote access controller network. The second server device registers and enrolls, using the second remote access controller and via communications through the out of-band-network, the second remote access controller with the support system by providing a second service tag. The second server device retrieves, using the second remote access controller and via communications with the first remote access controller through the remote access controller network, a first service tag from the first remote access controller and provides, using the second remote access controller and through the out of-band-network, the first service tag to the support system to enroll the first remote access controller with the support system.

Remote access controller support registration system

A software update system includes a chassis housing a plurality of component, an Operating System (OS) engine that is configured to provide an OS, and a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC). The BMC is coupled to each of the plurality of components, as well as to the OS engine via an OS-to-BMC interface. The BMC retrieves a software update catalog that includes a plurality of software updates, and identifies OS software updates that are included in the plurality of software updates in the software update catalog, and component software updates that are included in the plurality of software updates in the software update catalog. The BMC provides the OS software updates to the OS engine via the OS-to-BMC interface, and the OS engine provides the OS software updates for the OS. The BMC then provides the component software updates for the plurality of components.

Software update system

Log storage and retrieval systems include a chassis housing a first motherboard with a first Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) and a first remote access controller device located on the first motherboard and coupled to the first SPI. An off-motherboard SPI storage device is connected to the first SPI, and when the first remote access controller device determines that log entries have been generated, it automatically copies the log entries to the off-motherboard SPI storage device via the first SPI. A second motherboard includes a second SPI that couples to the off-motherboard SPI storage device when the second motherboard replaces the first motherboard in the chassis. A second remote access controller device located on the second motherboard and coupled to the second SPI will then retrieve the log entries that were automatically copied to the off-motherboard SPI storage device, and send the log entries through a network to a support device.

Server event log storage and retrieval system

An automated firewall-compliant customer support resolution provisioning system includes a customer support system coupled to a customer device. The customer support system receives a first secure request from the customer device that identifies an event in the customer device and, in response, sends a first secure response through a firewall subsystem to the customer device within a first timeout period enforced by the firewall subsystem. The customer support system then determines event resolution information for the event. Subsequent to the first timeout period and based on the first secure response, the customer device sends a second secure request to the customer support system requesting the event resolution and the customer support system sends the event resolution information through the firewall subsystem to the customer device within a second timeout period enforced by the firewall subsystem. The customer device then utilizes the event resolution information to address the event.

Automated firewall-compliant customer support resolution provisioning system

Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) and a first remote access controller device located on the first motherboard and coupled to the first SPI. An off-motherboard SPI storage device is connected to the first SPI, and when the first remote access controller device determines that log entries have been generated, it automatically copies the log entries to the off-motherboard SPI storage device via the first SPI. A second motherboard includes a second SPI that couples to the off-motherboard SPI storage device when the second motherboard replaces the first motherboard in the chassis. A second remote access controller device located on the second motherboard and coupled to the second SPI will then retrieve the log entries that were automatically copied to the off-motherboard SPI storage device, and send the log entries through a network to a support device.

Systems and methods that may be implemented to provide a plug-in architecture framework to allow extension of server management functionalities in a unified extension firmware interface ('UEFI') environment using available remote access controller memory space. The disclosed systems and methods may be implemented to provide a hardware and software interface to allow use of a plug-in framework in the embedded system management that may be run under the BIOS firmware and the UEFI environment. The disclosed systems and methods may also be implemented to provide a server management architecture that may be modified and enhanced over time, and/or that may also be employed to extend availability of the server management framework to third parties, as well as to extend support to original equipment manufacturer ('OEM') servers.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Sanjay Rao