Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/ – Input/output data processing – Input/output access regulation
Reexamination Certificate
2003-02-07
2004-11-09
Huynh, Kim (Department: 2182)
Electrical computers and digital data processing systems: input/
Input/output data processing
Input/output access regulation
C710S316000, C709S221000, C711S157000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06816927
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a method and a system for automatic updating of an access path to the system disk of a hardware perimeter of computer resources during launching of an operating activity on this perimeter.
More precisely, the method and the system relate to configurable systems of computer resources which are adapted to:
configure several perimeters intended to be activated simultaneously or successively, each perimeter including:
a central processing unit formed by one or several calculation cells of a multi-cell computer platform,
resources common to the whole of the platform of which at least a system disk is connected to the central processing unit via addressable means for interconnection of the platform to the system disk, and
a working memory containing the access path used during the activation of the perimeter in order to launch an operating system contained in the system disk, this access path being composed of an upper part defining the hardware elements to be run through in order to reach the interconnection means from the processing unit, this upper part being solely a function of the processing unit used in this perimeter, and a lower part defining the hardware elements to be run through in order to reach the system disk from the interconnection means, this lower part being solely a function of the position of the system disk with respect to the interconnection means,
define an operating activity capable of being launched successively on several different perimeters, the activity bringing together software means to be utilised in order to carry out this activity, these software means including at least one operating system capable of managing the hardware resources of the perimeter on which the activity is to be launched.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
At the present time one of the main lines of development of computer hardware and/or systems concerns the implementation of a maximum flexibility of the configurable computer resources to the advantage of a user having significantly reduced computer resources locally.
In the current configurable or reconfigurable computer systems, as shown in
FIG. 1
, a multi-cell computer platform PF is used. The multi-cell platform PF is formed by a plurality of calculation cells C
kj
including at least one central processing unit and local working memories of which one is a non-volatile memory known as a NVRAM memory. The working memories of each cell include in particular a start-up program or BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) program and an access path to a system disc containing an operating system capable of managing a calculation cell or a group of calculation cells. On starting of the cell or the group of cells, the access path is used by the BIOS program to recognise the location of the system disk containing the operating system to be loaded and launched. The access path is usually stored in the NVRAM memory.
In the configurable or reconfigurable systems such as are shown in
FIG. 1
, there are resources common to the all of the cells of the platform. These common resources include bulk memories, among them in particular system disks and data disks. The data disks include for example application software to be executed and/or data to be processed. By way of example, in
FIG. 1
the common resources include a data disk DD
1
containing application software L
1
, a system disk DS
1
containing an operating system OS
1
, a data disk DD
2
containing application software L
2
and a disk system DS
2
containing an operating system OS
2
.
In order to ensure maximum flexibility of these systems, the common resources are connected to the platform PF by addressable interconnection means MI in accordance with a SAN (Storage Area Network) architecture. These interconnection means MI are intended to permit access to the common resources from any cell or group of cells configures on the platform PF. Thus a data disk can be accessed from a cell C
kj
in a given configuration of the platform PF, then subsequently by a cell C
kj+1
within the framework of a different configuration of the platform. Such interconnection means MI are therefore capable of permitting all of the cells of the platform to access the common resources without it being necessary for this purpose to carry out any rewiring operation.
Finally, the configurable or reconfigurable computer systems also include an administration tool MT which permits a user to bring together the computer hardware resources in perimeters of computer resources P
1
intended to execute operating activities A
i
. Within the context of the configurable or reconfigurable systems, the term “operating activity” designates all of the software means necessary in order to implement a function which a user of the system wishes to carry out. Examples of such functions are, for example, the establishment of pay slips or the generation of lists of clients to contact. An activity therefore includes at least one operating system capable of managing the hardware computer resources of the platform. As the function required by the user is not generally met by the operating system by itself, an operating activity commonly has in addition one or several items of application software intended to be executed on the operating system in order to carry out the functions required by the user. Here, an activity A
1
includes the software L
1
and the operating system OS
1
.
Each perimeter P
i
is formed by a group of cells C
kj
and a part of the common resources such as a data disk and at least one system disk. It is possible in these systems to define several perimeters P
i
. For example, in
FIG. 1
two perimeters P
1
and P
2
have been configured. The perimeter P
i
, delimited by a first dotted line, includes a first group of cells, the data disk DD
1
and the system disk DS
1
. The perimeter P
2
, delimited by a second dotted line, includes a second group of cells separate from the first group of cells, the data disk DD
2
and the system disk DS
2
.
When two perimeters such as the perimeters P
1
and P
2
of
FIG. 1
each use material resources separate from those of the other perimeter, they can be executed simultaneously on the same platform. In the opposite case, they must be executed successively on the platform PF.
Such systems correspond to systems or machines which are usually designated by the term of partition machines. They normally permit the installation and execution simultaneously or successively of different operating activities A
i
in different perimeters of the platform. Nevertheless, when such an installation is carried out it is not generally possible for one and the same operating activity executed in a first perimeter to be transferred simply to a different perimeter without reinstallation or physical manipulation. In fact, the execution context of the operating activity containing for example the different environment variables necessary for starting or restarting the operating activity is saved, at least in part, in the local working memories of the perimeter. This is the case in particular for the access path to the system disk. Thus a user currently has two solutions available when he wishes to relaunch the activity A
1
hitherto executed in the perimeter P
1
in the new perimeter P
2
. The first solution consists of physically replacing the system disk DS
2
of the perimeter P
2
by the system disk DS
1
of the perimeter P
1
. At the end of the physical manipulation, the access path stored in the NVRAM memory of the perimeter P
2
does indeed correspond to an access path to the system disk DS
1
.
The second solution consists of carrying out a reinstallation operation of the system disk of the perimeter P
2
in order to replace the access path currently stored in the local NVRAM memory of the perimeter P
2
by a corresponding new access path to the system disk DS
1
. However, irrespective of the solution adopted in order to include the system disk of the activity A
1
in a new perimeter, the operations are long and tedious.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The inve
Bull S.A.
Huynh Kim
Kondracki Edward J.
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