Dell Products Inc.

Dell Inc.

Wei G Liu

Mark W Shutt

Mukund Purshottam Khatri

Ching-Lung Chao

Juan Francisco Diaz

Karl Rasmussen

Sudhir Vittal Shetty

Marshal F Savage

Lei Wang

Jianwen Yin

Prashanth Giri

Quy Hoang

Prakash Nara

Charles E Rose

Madhav Karri

Alberto David Perez Guevara

Murali Manohar Shanmugam

Santosh Kumar

Sanjeev Singh

Po-Yu (Smith) Cheng

Elie Antoun Jreij

Anand Prakash Joshi

Austin Patrick Bolen

Paul W Vancil

Krishnaprasad Koladi

William Carl Munger

Po-Yu Cheng

Gobind Vijayakumar

William A Moyes

Richard Louis Holmberg, Jr

PoYu Cheng

Rhushabh Bhandari

Jayanth Raghuram

Andy Butcher

Tzu-Hsiu Tsai

Fernando Antonio Garcia Castillo

Benjamin Andrew Martinez

Timothy Michael Lambert

Sumanth Vidyadhara

Michael Emery Brown

Yogesh Prabhakar Kulkarni

Akkiah Choudary Maddukuri

Arun Muthaiyan

Jason Matthew Young

Sundar Dasar

Babu Krishna Chandrasekhar

Kyle Eric Cross

Charles Terrence Perusse, Jr

Alan Jacob Brumley

Vinod Parackal Saby

Wai-Ming Richard Chan

Theodore Stratton Webb

James E Dailey

Doug E Messick

Manoj Sharad Gujarathi

Weimin Pan

Hsin-Chieh Wang

Alaa A Yousif

Satyajit Dipakbhai Desai

Richard L Holmberg

Rui Shi

Michael D Christensen

Karthik Venkatasubba

Samer El-Haj-Mahmoud

Ganesh Kuppuswamy Viswanathan

Brian Dale Schneider

Yu-Hsuan Chou

Yu-Hsuan Yang

Yi-Shu Hung

Murugan Sekar

Kevin W Deike

Po Yu Cheng

Alberto D Perez Guevara

Huy Quang Pham

Donald L Harton

Nelson Cheng

Glen Brian McGonagle

Keungsik Kim

Hamid Javanpour

Ryan W Putman

An information handling system collects system configuration information during a boot process, and builds a bifurcation table for root ports of the information handling system. The system also initiates a bifurcation of the root ports in parallel to loading an operating system of the data processing unit, and disables one of the root ports that is associated with the data processing unit. In response to determining that the operating system of the data processing unit has finished loading, the system enables the root port associated with the data processing unit. The bifurcation of the root port associated with the data processing unit is performed later when a peripheral component interconnect-express endpoint associated with the data processing unit is ready.

Boot time reduction for an information handling system with a data processing unit

Methods and systems for managing the operation of data processing systems are disclosed. A data processing system may include a computing device that may enter various operating states by performing various types of startups. The startups may include use of code bases for which the computing device may not inherently be able to validate. To reduce risk of using the code bases, the computing device may perform processes to validate the code bases prior to using the code bases. Additionally, the computing devices may limit the types of interfaces that may be established during the startups while allowing other types of interfaces to be established to provide startup flexibility.

System and method for flexible startup of data processing systems

Disclosed methods for managing two or more information handling systems receive administrator preferences for a job to be scheduled ton each system and assign time slots, based on the administrator preferences, for performing the job on each system. The time slots are assigned in a manner that avoids or minimizes time slot overlap. Job requests are created for each system wherein each job request includes or otherwise indicates a scheduled time slot for executing the job.

Systems and methods for asynchronous job scheduling among a plurality of managed information handling systems

An information handling system includes a memory, a basic input/output system (BIOS), and a baseboard memory controller (BMC). The memory stores a current BMC reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) driver. The BIOS receives a firmware update release. The firmware update release includes a first BMC RAS driver. The BIOS stores the first BMC RAS driver in a predetermined location of the memory. The BMC reads the first BMC RAS driver from the memory. The BMC also determines whether a first version of the first BMC RAS driver is different than a second version of a second BMC RAS version loaded in the BMC. In response to the first and second versions being different, the BMC loads the first BMC RAS driver.

Baseboard memory controller (BMC) reliability availability and serviceability (RAS) driver firmware update via basic input/output system (BIOS) update release

Methods and systems for managing the operation of data processing systems are disclosed. A data processing system may include a computing device that may enter various operating states by performing various types of startups. The startups may include use of code bases for which the computing device may not inherently be able to validate. To reduce risk of using the code bases, the computing device may perform processes to validate the code bases prior to using the code bases. The processes may include obtaining security information for a portion of the code base from a trusted source, and using the security information to validate portions of the code base ahead of use of the portions to complete startups.

System and method for efficient secured startup of data processing systems

An information handling system may detect whether each one of a plurality of peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) slots is populated or unpopulated, and update a PCIe bus configuration map to indicate whether each of the PCIe slots is populated. The system may also allocate PCIe bus resources to each of the PCIe slots based on the PCIe bus configuration map, wherein the allocating of the PCIe bus resources includes prioritizing populated PCIe slots over unpopulated PCIe slots.

Dynamic allocation of peripheral component interconnect express bus numbers

An information handling system includes multiple dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) and a basic input/output system (BIOS). The DIMMs form a memory system of the information handling system. The BIOS begins a system boot of the information handling system, and performs a first memory reference code training. Based on the first memory reference code training, the BIOS discovers a bad DIMM of the DIMMs, and stores information associated with the bad DIMM. The BIOS reboots the information handling system. During the reboot, the BIOS retrieves the information associated with the bad DIMM. The BIOS disables a slot associated with the bad DIMM. In response to the slot being disabled, the BIOS performs a second memory reference code training. Based on the second memory reference code training, the BIOS downgrades the memory system to a closest possible DIMM population.

Dual in-line memory module map-out in an information handling system

In one or more embodiments, one or more systems, one or more methods, and/or one or more processes may receive a first license associated with a first amount of physical storage to permit an operating system (OS) and/or a hypervisor to utilize; initialize a data structure with first information associated with the first amount of the physical storage; retrieve the first information associated with the first amount of the physical storage from the data structure; receive a second license associated with a second amount of the physical storage, greater than the first amount, to permit the OS and/or the hypervisor to utilize; update the data structure with second information associated with the second amount of the physical storage; receive a notification associated with the second amount of the physical storage; and retrieve the second information associated with the second amount of the physical storage from the data structure.

System and method of managing available memory of an information handling system

An initialization geo-locking system includes a chassis housing a location determination subsystem and an initialization management subsystem. During an initialization process that begins in response to receiving initialization power, the initialization management system determines that geo-locking is activated and, in response, causes power to be provided to the location determination subsystem and then subsequently identifies a first current location determined by the location determination subsystem. The initialization management subsystem then determines whether the first current location determined by the location determination subsystem corresponds to an authorized initialization location stored in the initialization management subsystem and, if so, halts the initialization process while, if not, allows the initialization process to complete.

Initialization geo-locking system

An information handling system includes a BIOS and a service processor. The BIOS may generate, during a POST, a secret key that includes a symmetric key and a HMAC key and transmits the secret key to the service processor via an high-speed communication interface. After the POST, the BIOS transmits an SMI message that includes an encrypted message and a first hash value of the encrypted message. The encrypted message is encrypted using the symmetric key and the first hash value of the encrypted message is calculated using the HMAC key. The service processor calculate a second hash value of encrypted message based on the HMAC key and verify the encrypted message by comparing the first hash value and the second hash value. After a successful verification, the service processor decrypts the encrypted message and transmits a response to the BIOS.

Secure high-speed communication interface between a basic input and output system and a service processor

An initialization data memory space allocation system includes a memory system having a memory space that includes an initialization data bucket that reserves a contiguous subset of the memory space for initialization data. Each initialization engine that is coupled to the memory system is configured during initialization operations to allocate, for that initialization engine, a portion of the contiguous subset of the memory space reserved by the initialization data bucket, and then store initialization data in that portion of the contiguous subset of the memory space reserved by the initialization data bucket. A runtime engine that is coupled to the memory system is configured, during runtime operations, to claim the contiguous subset of the memory space reserved for initialization data by the initialization data bucket for runtime data, and store runtime data in at least a portion of the contiguous subset of the memory space.

Initialization data memory space allocation system

In one or more embodiments, one or more systems, one or more methods, and/or one or more processes may retrieve a first hash value of a key manifest public key from a one time programmable memory medium; determine a second hash value of the key manifest public key; retrieve a third hash value of an initial boot block from the boot policy manifest; determine a fourth hash value of the initial boot block; determine that the third hash matches the fourth hash value; execute the initial boot block; validate subordinate certificates with a root certificate; determine firmware hash values respectively from the firmware volumes; decrypt signatures respectively associated with the firmware volumes to obtain respective decrypted signatures, in which the signatures are decrypted with public encryption keys of the respective subordinate certificates; determine that the firmware hash values respectively match the decrypted signatures; and execute the firmware volumes.

System and method of authenticating firmware for an information handling system

A BIOS/OS key provisioning system includes an NVMe storage device coupled to a server device via a network. The server device includes an operating system engine and a BIOS engine. Subsequent to a current initialization of the server device and prior to an immediately subsequent initialization of the server device, the BIOS engine retrieves a key from a key storage subsystem and stores the key in a BIOS memory subsystem. When the BIOS engine receives a current key request that identifies the key from the operating system engine and determines that the key stored in the BIOS memory system has not previously been accessed subsequent to the current initialization and prior to the subsequent initialization, it provides the key from the BIOS memory subsystem to the operating system, and prevents the key from being provided from the BIOS memory subsystem in response to any subsequent key request.

BIOS/OS key provisioning system

In one or more embodiments, one or more systems, one or more methods, and/or one or more processes may read configuration information that indicates utilization of a custom information handling system firmware IHSFW image by an information handling system (IHS); provide the custom IHSFW image and a signature of the custom IHSFW image to a processor of the IHS; decrypt the signature of the custom IHSFW image to obtain a hash value of the custom IHSFW image; determine a test hash value of the custom IHSFW image; determine if the hash value matches the test hash value; if the hash value matches the test hash value, boot a custom IHSFW from the custom IHSFW image; and if the hash value does not match the test hash value, boot another IHSFW from another IHSFW image stored by a non-volatile memory medium of the IHS.

System and method of utilizing multiple information handling system firmware on an information handling system

In one embodiment, a method for managing a smart network interface controller includes: sending a request for estimated resource requirements associated with the smart network interface controller to a baseboard management controller of the information handling system, the estimated resource requirements indicating estimated system resources likely to be required by emulated devices of the smart network interface controller; receiving the estimated resource requirements from the baseboard management controller; initializing the estimated system resources based on the estimated resource requirements; enumerating system resources for one or more additional devices of the information handling system; determining that the smart network interface controller is in a ready state; identifying actual resource requirements associated with the smart network interface controller indicating actual system resources required by the emulated devices of the smart network interface controller; and enumerating the actual system resources for the emulated devices of the smart network interface controller.

Managing a smart network interface controller (NIC) of an information handling system

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Wei G Liu