Alert mechanism for service interruption from power loss

• US 6,175,927 B1
• Filed: 10/06/1998
• Issued: 01/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ellison, Brandon J., Cromer, Daryl C., Kern, Eric Richard, Ward, James Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Auve, Glenn A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jean, Frantz B.
• Application Number:
  US09/167,211
• Time in Patent Office: 833 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/340, 713/201, 74/31, 74/47, 74/5, 707/1, 707/103, 707/104, 707/10, 707/204, 709/302, 709/203, 700/100, 700/260, 380/4, 380/24
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability

Abstract

A method of monitoring a computer system, by detecting a power interruption to the computer system, using power down sense logic, and generating an alert associated with the power interruption. When the computer system is networked, the alert is transmitted to a remote server. The power down sense logic sends a message to an auxiliary processor (which may be an application-specific integrated circuit, or ASIC), and the auxiliary processor creates a network transmission packet indicating that the computer system is losing power. The auxiliary processor may allow selection of a transmission mode such as uni-cast transmission, multi-cast transmission, or broadcast transmission. A common power supply provides a first power signal to the computer system, and a second power signal to the power down sense logic and auxiliary processor, and maintains the second power signal for a longer duration than the first power signal upon removal of a power source for the power supply, sufficient to carry out the sending of the message from the power down sense logic and the creating of the network alert.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring a networked computer system, comprising the steps of:

detecting a power interruption to the computer system, using power down sense logic of the computer system, by providing, from a common power supply, a first power signal to the computer system, and a second power signal to the power down sense logic;

generating an alert associated with the power interruption, said generating step including the steps of sending a message from the power down sense logic to an auxiliary processor of the computer system, and creating a network transmission packet indicating that the computer system is losing power, using the auxiliary processor, wherein the packet has pre-configured headers, and maintaining the second power signal for a longer duration than the first power signal upon removal of a power source for the power supply, sufficient to carry out said sending and creating steps; and

transmitting the alert to a remote server.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of selecting a mode of transmission of the alert from the group of modes consisting of uni-cast transmission, multi-cast transmission, and broadcast transmission.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said creating step creates a packet having a plurality of network headers and a payload indicating power loss.

4. A networked computer system comprising:

means for processing program instructions;

a memory device connected to said processing means;

means for supplying power to said processing means and said memory device;

means for generating an alert in response to an interruption in power from said power supplying means, said generating means including logic means for sensing a power down of said power supplying means, and an auxiliary processor connected to said logic means for creating a network transmission packet having pre-configured headers in response to said logic means sensing a power down of said supplying means; and

means for transmitting said alert to a remote server.

5. The computer system of claim 4 wherein said generating means includes means for selecting a mode of transmission of the alert from the group of modes consisting of uni-cast transmission, multi-cast transmission, and broadcast transmission.

6. A computer network comprising:

at least one server; and

at least one client connected to said server, said client having

means for processing program instructions,

a memory device connected to said processing means,

means for supplying power to said processing means and said memory device, said power supplying means providing a first power signal to said processing means and said memory device, and providing a second power signal to said generating means,

logic means for sensing a power down of said power supplying means, and

an auxiliary processor connected to said logic means for creating a network packet for transmission to said server in response to said logic means sensing a power down of said power supplying means, wherein said power supplying means maintains the second power signal for a longer duration than the first power signal upon removal of a power source for said power supplying means, sufficient to carry out said creating of said packet.