Information Handling System Physical Component Inventory To Aid Operational Management Through Near Field Communication Device Interaction

• US 20140215030A1
• Filed: 01/30/2013
• Published: 07/31/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Terwilliger, Kevin D., Ozias, Orin M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,569,294 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3017 where the computing system is implementing multitasking multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3051 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the configuration of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring the presence of processing resources, peripherals, I/O links, software programs verification or detection of system hardware configuration G06F11/2247
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/32 with visual or acoustical indication of the functioning of the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/328 Computer systems status display G06F11/327 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0846 based on copy from other elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0853 by actively collecting configuration information or by backing up configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0856 by backing up or archiving configuration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/344 Out-of-band transfers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

NFC communications from a mobile phone to an information handling system initiates an inventory by a management controller of the information handling system. The inventory is provided to the mobile telephone with a second NFC communication so that an end user can see a visual depiction of the interior of the information handling system before opening the chassis of the system.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

a chassis;

at least one processor included in the chassis and operable to execute instructions to process information;

memory included in the chassis and interfaced with the at least one processor, the memory operable to store the instructions and information;

a management controller included in the chassis and operable to perform management functions including at least power up and power down of the at least one processor;

a near field communications (NFC) device interfaced with the management controller and operable to communicate with an external NFC device; and

an inventory module interfaced with the management controller, the inventory module operable to obtain a hardware configuration from hardware components included in the chassis and to communicate the hardware configuration through communication by the NFC device to an external NFC device.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising:

one or more identifiers stored in each of the hardware components, the one or more identifiers accessible by the inventory module;

wherein the inventory module queries the hardware components for the one or more identifiers in response to a request by the external NFC device.

3. The information handling system of claim 2 wherein the hardware components comprise one or more processing components operable to execute firmware and the one or more identifiers include one or more firmware versions.

4. The information handling system of claim 2 wherein the hardware components comprise storage devices.

5. The information handling system of claim 2 wherein the one or more identifiers comprise one or more component part numbers retrieved from one or more components by the management processor.

6. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the inventory module is further operable to obtain identifiers for external connections made by one or more of the components and to communicate the identifiers for external connections to the external NFC device.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising a compatibility module associated with the external NFC device, the compatibility module operable to analyze the hardware configuration to determine compatibility of a replacement information handling system to replace the information handling system.

8. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising a compatibility tool associated with the external NFC device and operable to extract predetermined information from the hardware configuration for configuration of a replacement information handling system.

9. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising:

a rack having plural slots to support information handling systems; and

a chassis management controller disposed on the rack and operable to communicate with the management controller;

wherein the NFC device interfaces with the management controller through the chassis management controller to initiate an inventory by the inventory module running on the management controller in response to a request for an inventory from an external NFC device.

10. A method for inventory of information handling system hardware components, the method comprising:

sending a request from a portable information handling system NFC device to a legacy information handling system for a hardware inventory of the legacy information handling system through a first NFC communication;

receiving the request at a NFC device of the legacy information handling system;

in response to receiving the request, communicating the hardware inventory from the legacy information handling system to the portable information handling system with a second NFC communication.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the portable information handling system comprises a mobile telephone.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein in response to receiving the request further comprises:

in response to receiving the request, initiating queries from a management processor to hardware included in the information handling system at the time of receipt of the request; and

sending as the hardware inventory information provided by responses to the management processor queries.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the hardware inventory includes firmware versions associated with one or more of the hardware.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the hardware includes at least network communication resources and the hardware inventory includes network addresses of the hardware inventory.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the hardware includes at least processing components that run a virtualization manager for managing virtual machines running at the information handling system, and the hardware inventory includes settings used by the virtualization manager.

16. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

removing the legacy information handling system from a rack supporting operation of the legacy information handling system;

installing a replacement information handling system in the rack to replace the legacy information handling system;

communicating the hardware inventory from the portable information handling system to the replacement information handling system with a second NFC communication from the NFC device of the portable information handling system to a NFC device of the replacement information handling system; and

applying the hardware inventory to configure the replacement information handling system to operate in the rack.

17. A system for inventorying components of an information handling system, the system comprising:

a portable information handling system having an inventory tool operable to request an inventory from a legacy information handling system with a first NFC communication to the legacy information handling system; and

an inventory module running on a management controller of the legacy information handling system and operable to receive the request from an NFC device of the legacy information handling system, the inventory module initiating queries to the components in response to the request to generate the inventory and sending the inventory to the portable information handling system with a second NFC communication.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein:

the inventory module is further operable to report the request to a network administrative tool through a local area network; and

the inventory tool is further operable to retrieve configuration information associated with the legacy information handling system through the local area network.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein:

the inventory module is further operable to report the request to a network device interfaced with the legacy information handling system; and

the network device is further operable to respond to the report with a communication through a local area network to the portable information handling system.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the inventory tool is further operable to store the inventory and to communicate the inventory to a replacement information handling system of the legacy information handling system.