Method and apparatus for configuring a computer system

• US 5,822,565 A
• Filed: 08/06/1997
• Issued: 10/13/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Digital Equipment Corporation (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Apgar, Scott Wade, Schreiber, Benn Lee, Hayden, Peter Chapman, DeRosa, John Anthony Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US08/908,143
• Time in Patent Office: 433 Days
• Field of Search: 395/500, 395/700, 395/800, 395/20, 364/200
• US Class Current: 703/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files

Abstract

A method and apparatus for configuring a computer system is presented. Underlying system software communicates information to a configuration utility. The information identifies a particular operating system that executes in the computer system. Using this information, the configuration utility formulates configuration filenames and retrieves data from the configuration files describing system resources, system device requirements, and operating system constraints. The configuration utility performs the system configuration by allocating system resources to system devices in accordance with the operating system constraints and system device requirements.

Claims

1. A memory included in a computer system, the memory comprising:

a file identifier generator that produces a file identifier corresponding to a configuration file using one or more input parameter values comprising a portion of computer system specific information; and

a configuration utility, responsive to said file identifier generator, for configuring said computer system by performing resource allocation, said configuration utility further including;

a filename constructing generator, responsive to said file identifier generator, for producing a filename using said file identifier and corresponding to a configuration file comprising configuration data used to configure said computer system.

2. The memory of claim 1, wherein said computer system includes a bus to be configured and at least one system resource to be allocated for use by at least one system device on said bus, and the memory further comprising:

one or more configuration files containing configuration data, at least one of said configuration files corresponding to a system device used in said computer system, at least one of said configuration files is a system resource file describing the system resources available in said computer system.

3. The memory of claim 2, wherein said configuration data comprising said configuration files is customized corresponding to said computer system.

4. The memory of claim 3, wherein said computer system specific information includes an operating system type representing an operating system that executes in said computer system, and wherein said input parameter values comprising a portion of said computer system specific information including said operating system type.

5. The memory of claim 4, wherein said configuration data is customized in accordance with said operating system type.

6. The memory of claim 4, wherein one of said system resource files corresponds to said operating system that executes in said computer system.

7. The memory of claim 4, wherein said configuration files are organized in a flat directory structure, said configuration files having a filenaming convention including a first prefix string corresponding to said operating system, a second prefix string corresponding to another different operating system that executes in said computer system, a third prefix string corresponding to a first hardware platform, and a fourth prefix string corresponding to industry standard configuration files not customized for a particular computer system or operating system.

8. The memory of claim 4, wherein one of said input parameter values describes said operating system.

9. The memory of claim 2, wherein said configuration files are organized in a hierarchical directory structure including a first directory corresponding to an operating system that executes in said computer system, a second directory corresponding to a hardware platform, and wherein said first directory comprises at least one configuration file customized for said operating system, and said second directory comprises at least one configuration file customized for said hardware platform.

10. The memory of claim 2, wherein said configuration files are organized in a hierarchical directory structure of configuration data files including a common directory corresponding to industry standard files containing generic configuration data that is not customized for a particular operating system or hardware platform of a computer system.

11. The memory of claim 2, wherein said configuration data comprising said configuration files is customized in accordance with one or more hardware platforms that may comprise said computer system.

12. The memory of claim 2, wherein said configuration file corresponds to one of said system devices, said configuration file including configuration data specifying allocation requirements for a corresponding system device.

13. The memory of claim 2, wherein said filename constructing means produces a filename corresponding to said system resource file describing system resources available for allocation in said computer system.

14. The memory of claim 1, wherein one of said input values describes a hardware platform of said computer system.

15. The memory of claim 1, wherein said computer system includes a read-only memory and said file identifier generator comprises underlying system software stored in said read-only memory.

16. The memory of claim 1, wherein said configuration utility includes a configuration result generator for producing configuration result information describing the resource allocation in said computer system, said configuration result information being stored in said memory, and said memory further includes a rebooting information retriever for retrieving said configuration result information from said memory and then rebooting said computer system.

17. The memory of claim 1 further comprising an interface for communication used by said file identifier generator to communicate said file identifier to said filename constructing generator.

18. The memory of claim 1 further including a search path generator for generating and transmitting to said configuration utility a search path identifying a predetermined search order used by said configuration utility to locate said configuration file.

19. The memory of claim 18, wherein said search path identifies directories in a hierarchical directory structure including an operating system directory comprising a configuration data file customized for a particular operating system, a hardware platform directory comprising a configuration data file customized for a particular hardware platform, and a common directory comprising an uncustomized configuration data file.

20. The memory of claim 18, wherein said search path identifies files in a flat directory structure including an operating system file comprising configuration data customized for a particular operating system, a hardware platform file comprising configuration data customized for a particular hardware platform, and a common file comprising uncustomized configuration data.

21. The memory of claim 1, wherein said file identifier is a string and wherein said filename constructing generator concatenates said string with another string producing said filename corresponding to said configuration file.

22. The memory of claim 21, wherein said string identifies an operating system that executes in said computer system.

23. The memory of claim 2, wherein said configuration file is a system resource configuration file describing said system resources in said computer system, and the memory further includes:

a device configuration filename constructor for constructing a device configuration filename using said file identifier and a device identifier uniquely identifying a system device, said device configuration filename corresponding to a device configuration file comprising allocation requirements for a system device;

a configuration data retriever for retrieving configuration data from said device configuration files and said system resource configuration file; and

a system resource allocator for allocating said system resources to said system devices in accordance with said configuration data producing configuration results describing the system resource allocation.