Single System Board with Automatic Feature Selection Based on Installed Configuration Selection Unit

• US 20080003845A1
• Filed: 06/28/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kuo, Jerry CC, Tsai, Tony TL, Hong, C. H., Peters, Michael Joseph
• Granted Patent: US 7,945,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 439/67
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0286 Programmable, customizable or modifiable circuits by programmable non-printed jumper connections H05K3/222
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/14 Structural association of two or more printed circuits providing electric connection to or between printed circuits H05K1/11, H01R12/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/163 Monitoring a manufacturing process

Abstract

Disclosed is a method and circuit board assembly for automatically configuring a circuit board assembly based on installed configuration selection unit. The method comprises reading a feature detection input signal representing a machine model from the installed configuration selection unit; enabling the feature selected by the installed configuration selection unit; reading a machine type number; and determining whether the machine model represented by the feature detection input signal matches the machine type number.

Claims

1. A method of automatically configuring a circuit board assembly based on installed configuration selection unit, comprising:

reading a feature detection input signal representing a machine model from said installed configuration selection unit;

enabling the feature selected by the installed configuration selection unit;

reading a machine type number; and

configuring said system board assembly in response to determining whether the machine model represented by the feature detection input signal matches the machine type number.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a BMC with a revision ID.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the revision ID of said BMC is provided for further determining whether the revision ID of said BMC matches the machine type number.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the revision ID of said BMC is provided for further determining whether the revision ID of said BMC matches the machine model represented by the feature detection input signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the machine type number is stored in a VPD device.

6. A firmware with a program embedded thereon, the program comprising program code means causing a data processing system to execute a method for automatically configuring a circuit board assembly according to claim 1.

7. A circuit board assembly, comprising:

a bus coupled to a configuration selection unit, when said configuration selection unit is installed, generating a feature detection input signal to enable a feature selected by the configuration selection unit, and said configuration selection unit being connected to a south bridge to provide said feature detection input signal for POST of a system to determine whether a machine model represented by the feature detection input signal matches a machine type number stored in a memory.

8. The circuit board assembly of claim 7, further comprising a BMC with a revision ID.

9. The circuit board assembly of claim 8, wherein the revision ID of said BMC is provided for further determining whether the revision ID of said BMC matches the machine type number.

10. The circuit board assembly of claim 8, wherein the revision ID of said BMC is provided for further determining whether the revision ID of said BMC matches the machine model represented by the feature detection input signal.

11. The circuit board assembly of claim 7, wherein the machine type number is stored in a VPD device.

12. A computer system, comprising:

a processor;

a north bridge;

a south bridge; and

a bus coupled to a configuration selection unit, when said configuration selection unit is installed, generating a feature detection input signal to enable a feature selected by the configuration selection unit, and said configuration selection unit being connected to said south bridge to provide said feature detection input signal for POST during system initialization to determine whether a machine model represented by the feature detection input signal matches a machine type number stored in a memory.

13. The computer system of claim 12, further comprising a BMC with a revision ID.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the revision ID of said BMC is provided for further determining whether the revision ID of said BMC matches the machine type number.

15. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the revision ID of said BMC is provided for further determining whether the revision ID of said BMC matches the machine model represented by the feature detection input signal.

16. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the machine type number is stored in a VPD device.