LOCAL EXTERNALLY ACCESSIBLE MANAGED VIRTUAL NETWORK INTERFACE CONTROLLER

• US 20110093575A1
• Filed: 10/19/2009
• Published: 04/21/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Dube, Shawn Joel, Lambert, Timothy M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,983 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B

Abstract

An information handling system (IHS) includes a processing system operating as a controller. A network interface controller is coupled to the processing system and receives communications from a remote administrator via a management network. An external virtual device link is coupled to the processing system.

Claims

1. An information handling system (IHS) comprising:

a processing system operating as a controller;

a network interface controller coupled to the processing system and receiving communications from a remote administrator via a management network; and

an external virtual device link coupled to the processing system.

2. The IHS of claim 1, wherein the external virtual device link couples the processing system to a local client device.

3. The IHS of claim 2, wherein the controller, the remote administrator and the local client device operate having the same control functionality as one another.

4. The IHS of claim 1, wherein the external virtual device link terminates in a universal serial bus (USB) connector.

5. The IHS of claim 4, wherein the USB connector is one of a type a USB connector, a type B USB connector and a Micro-B USB connector.

6. The IHS of claim 1, wherein the external virtual device link couples the processing system to a local client device wherein the local client device operates as one of a virtual network interface controller, a virtual serial port, a virtual data storage system and a network interface controller bridging to an operating system/hypervisor.

7. The IHS of claim 1, wherein the IHS is a server IHS.

8. An information handling system (IHS) comprising:

a hypervisor system; and

a network interface controller (NIC) coupled to the hypervisor, wherein the NIC bridges between a local control device and a remote access controller.

9. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the NIC provides for pass through operation of the IHS using a guest operating system.

10. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the IHS is a server IHS.

11. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the local control device couples to the IHS using a universal serial bus (USB) system.

12. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the hypervisor system uses remote access controller firmware to emulate an operating system to a baseboard management controller (BMC).

13. The IHS of claim 12, wherein the hypervisor system uses remote access controller firmware to emulate the BMC to and external baseboard management device.

14. The IHS of claim 8, including:

a dynamic baseboard management controller (BMC) emulated virtual NIC device coupled to a client universal serial bus (USB) host controller.

15. A method comprising:

coupling a server host operating system to a baseboard management controller (BMC);

coupling the BMC to a local administrator device; and

coupling the BMC to a remote administrator device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the BMC is coupled to the local administrator device using a universal serial bus (USB) system.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the BMC is coupled to the remote administrator device using an Ethernet system.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the local administrator device and the remote administrator device are enabled with the BMC using a common interface level.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the BMC is operating using a set of LINUX instructions.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the method facilitates for bridging between the local administrator device and the host operating system, bridging between the local administrator device and the remote administrator device and bridging between the remote administrator device and the host operating system.