Remote access to a local hard drive

• US 20060075144A1
• Filed: 09/24/2004
• Published: 04/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Cromer, Daryl Carvis, Locker, Howard, Springfield, Randall Scott, Challener, David Carroll
• Application Number:
  US10/949,550
• Publication Number:
  US 20060075144A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/250
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

A method and system for remotely controlling a hard drive on a local computer. A NIC includes a Port Selector under the control of a NIC processor. Access to the hard drive is selectively afforded to either the local computer or to a remote computer by the Port Selector. Preferably, the method and system permit remote access to a local hard drive even if the local computer is disabled, due to causes including, but not limited to, system failure, lost power or corrupted data on the hard drive.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a Central Processing Unit (CPU);

a Network Interface Card (NIC) including;

a NIC processor,

a port selector under the control of the NIC processor, the port selector having;

a first input port,

a second input port, and

an output port coupled to a hard drive, and

an interface to a network; and

a core chipset logically coupling the CPU to the NIC, the core chipset including a client input/output (I/O) bus host, wherein the network interface is coupled to the first input port and the client I/O bus host is coupled to the second input port, such that the NIC processor is capable of selectively logically coupling the hard drive exclusively to either the network or the processor via the port selector.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the NIC further comprises:

a NIC Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) host coupled to the port selector; and

a NIC network to SATA transfer logic coupling the NIC SATA host to the network, wherein a data packet from the network is converted into a SATA format before being selectively sent to the hard drive via the NIC SATA host and the port selector.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the client I/O bus host is a client SATA host that is SATA compliant.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the hard drive is pre-programmed with a Drive Control mode of operation, wherein the hard drive can receive data over an SATA bus from either the client SATA host or the NIC SATA host.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the hard drive is capable of Direct Memory Access (DMA) from either the client SATA host or the NIC SATA host.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the NIC processor is capable of receiving a remote control command from a remote computer, the remote control command instructing the NIC processor to disable the second input port and enable the first input port, wherein data communication with the hard drive is exclusively with the remote computer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein after a pre-determined period of time from when the remote control command was received by the NIC processor, the first input port is disabled and the second input port is enabled to re-establish exclusive data communication between the hard drive and the client SATA host.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein after a pre-determined number of data packets have been received by the NIC SATA host from the remote computer, the first input port is disabled and the second input port is enabled to re-establish exclusive data communication between the hard drive and the client SATA host.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the NIC further comprises a Wake-On-LAN (WOL) logic capable of receiving a remote signal to turn on a power supply.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising disabling the first input port and enabling the second input port after the NIC processor has received a pre-determined number of data packets from the remote computer.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the remote control command is encrypted in accordance with a Hashed Message Authentication Code (HMAC).

10. A method comprising:

coupling a local computer to a Network Interface Card (NIC);

coupling a port selector in the NIC to a hard drive, the port selector having;

a first input port coupled to a network,

a second input port coupled to a local client computer, and

an output port coupled to the hard drive;

receiving a remote control command at a Network Interface Card (NIC) processor from a remote computer coupled to the network; and

in response to determining that the remote control command is valid, enabling the first input port and disabling the second input port, wherein the remote computer has exclusive access to the hard drive.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the port selector is controlled by a NIC processor located in the NIC.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising disabling the first input port and enabling the second input port after a pre-determined period of time from when the NIC processor received the remote control command.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

sending, from the NIC to the client computer, a request for an authentication of the remote control command, the request for the authentication including a randomly generated number.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising sending the requested authentication, the authentication including the randomly generated number sent in the request for the authentication to prevent a replay of the remote control command.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising repairing the hard drive using software sent from the remote computer to the hard drive.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the NIC is able to function independently of the local computer, such that the remote computer can communicate data packets to the hard drive even when the local computer is disabled.

20. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein the NIC is able to function independently of the local computer, such that the remote computer can communicate data packets to the hard drive even when the local computer is disabled.

19. A computer program product, residing on a computer usable medium, the computer program product comprising:

program code for coupling a local computer to a Network Interface Card (NIC);

program code for coupling a port selector in the NIC to a hard drive, the port selector having;

a first input port coupled to a network,

a second input port coupled to a local client computer, and

an output port coupled to the hard drive;

program code for receiving a remote control command at a Network Interface Card (NIC) processor from a remote computer coupled to the network; and

program code for, in response to determining that the remote control command is valid, enabling the first input port and disabling the second input port, wherein the remote computer has exclusive access to the hard drive.