Hot standby method and apparatus
First Claim
1. An apparatus for providing hot standby operation, said apparatus comprising:
- a normal processor;
a standby processor;
each of said normal and standby processors comprising;
a plurality of vital inputs, at least some of said vital inputs being electrically interconnected with at least some of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, a plurality of vital outputs, means for communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, a health routine providing a health status after communication is established with the other one of said standby and normal processors through said means for communicating, a vital relay including an input controlled by one of said vital outputs and an output to one of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, a synchronization routine providing a synchronization status through said means for communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, and an application routine outputting said vital outputs when said synchronization status is set and inputting said vital inputs;
said standby processor further comprising a reset routine, which resets said standby processor when said health status of said standby processor is not provided; and
means for outputting from some of said vital outputs of said normal processor and from some of said vital outputs of said standby processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus provides hot standby operation with normal and standby processors, each of which includes vital inputs electrically interconnected with the vital inputs of the other processor, vital outputs, and an application routine inputting the vital inputs and outputting the vital outputs. Communication ports communicate with communication ports of the other processor. A health routine provides a health status after communication is established with the other processor. A vital relay includes an input controlled by a vital output and an output to a vital input of the other processor. A synchronization routine provides a synchronization status through the communication ports. The application routine outputs the vital outputs when the synchronization status is set. The standby processor includes a reset routine, which resets the standby processor when the health status of that processor is not provided. A vital “OR” circuit outputs from the vital outputs of the normal and standby processors.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. An apparatus for providing hot standby operation, said apparatus comprising:
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a normal processor;
a standby processor;
each of said normal and standby processors comprising;
a plurality of vital inputs, at least some of said vital inputs being electrically interconnected with at least some of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, a plurality of vital outputs, means for communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, a health routine providing a health status after communication is established with the other one of said standby and normal processors through said means for communicating, a vital relay including an input controlled by one of said vital outputs and an output to one of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, a synchronization routine providing a synchronization status through said means for communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, and an application routine outputting said vital outputs when said synchronization status is set and inputting said vital inputs;
said standby processor further comprising a reset routine, which resets said standby processor when said health status of said standby processor is not provided; and
means for outputting from some of said vital outputs of said normal processor and from some of said vital outputs of said standby processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A hot standby method comprising:
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employing a normal processor;
employing a standby processor;
with each of said normal and standby processors;
employing a plurality of vital inputs, electrically interconnecting at least some of said vital inputs with at least some of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, employing a plurality of vital outputs, communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, providing a health status after communication is established with the other one of said standby and normal processors, employing a vital relay including an input controlled by one of said vital outputs and an output to one of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, providing a synchronization status associated with said communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, and employing an application routine for outputting said vital outputs when said synchronization status is set and inputting said vital inputs;
employing with said standby processor a reset routine, which resets said standby processor when said health status of said standby processor is not provided; and
outputting from some of said vital outputs of said normal processor and from some of said vital outputs of said standby processor. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A method for providing normal and standby processors, said method comprising:
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employing a normal processor;
employing a standby processor, with each of said normal and standby processors;
employing a plurality of vital inputs, electrically interconnecting at least some of said vital inputs with at least some of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, employing a plurality of vital outputs, communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, providing a health status after communication is established with the other one of said standby and normal processors, employing a vital relay including an input controlled by one of said vital outputs and an output to one of said vital inputs of the other one of said standby and normal processors, providing a synchronization status associated with said communicating with the other one of said standby and normal processors, and employing an application routine for outputting said vital outputs when said synchronization status is set and inputting said vital inputs;
employing with said standby processor a reset routine, which resets said standby processor when said health status of said standby processor is not provided;
outputting from some of said vital outputs of said normal processor and from some of said vital outputs of said standby processor; and
disabling said some of said vital outputs of said standby processor if the output of said vital relay of said normal processor is set.
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Specification