System crash network access

• US 6,601,184 B1
• Filed: 03/14/2000
• Issued: 07/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Micro Focus Software, Inc. (Open Text Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Novell Incorporated (Open Text Corporation)
• Inventors: Clark, Sheffer, Blauer, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): MASKULINSKI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US09/526,040
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 714/4, 714/43
• US Class Current: 714/4.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/366 using diagnostics G06F11/0703 takes precedence

Abstract

The present invention provides a debug-time network environment that enables access to a computer system that has crashed where communication over regular network channels is halted. The debug-time network environment may provide a module loader that loads a copy of a network device driver into memory and dynamically links it into the debug-time network environment. The network device driver may be the same driver used during run-time. The copy of the network driver is loaded into memory prior to a system crash where it is kept in reserve. After a system crash, the final initialization of the copy of the network driver kept in reserve may take place. The debug-time network environment provides an emulated Operating System Application Program Interface (“OS API”) where the emulated OS API enables the driver to initialize, transmit and receive network packets. This emulated environment may also provide one or more network protocols and application interfaces to support debug-time network applications, such as system core dumps, remote debug access, crash diagnostics and repair, and other applications.

Claims

1. A method for enabling communication over a predetermined network to a computer system that has crashed, comprising the steps of:

identifying a network driver connected to the predetermined network;

creating a reserve copy of the network driver in memory prior to a system crash;

invoking the copy of the network driver after a system crash; and

providing an emulated environment to enable the copy of the network driver to initialize, transmit, and receive network packets.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the reserve network driver is an exact copy of the run-time network driver.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of identifying a driver connected to a network comprises scanning adapters to automatically detect an adapter connected to the predetermined network.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of identifying a driver connected to a network comprises selecting an adapter connected to the network from a list of possible adapters.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of invoking the copy of the network driver after a system crash further comprises the step of finalizing initialization of the copy of the network driver.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of creating a reserve copy of the network driver into memory prior to a system crash comprises the steps of:

disabling a running OS driver;

initializing the copy of the network driver;

disabling the copy of the network driver; and

running the original OS driver.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of invoking the copy of the network driver after a system crash comprises resetting the copy of the network driver to enable communication to the network.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the emulated environment provides one or more network protocols and one or more application interfaces to support network applications.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the network applications include debug-time network applications.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein debug-time network applications comprise system core dump, remote debug access, and crash diagnostics and repair.

11. A system for enabling communication over a predetermined network to a computer system that has crashed, comprising:

identification means for identifying a network driver connected to the predetermined network;

creation means for creating a reserve copy of the network driver in memory prior to a system crash;

invocation means for invoking the copy of the network driver after a system crash; and

emulation means for providing an emulated environment to enable the copy of the network driver to initialize, transmit, and receive network packets.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the reserve network driver is an exact copy of the run-time network driver.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the identification means for identifying a network driver connected to a predetermined network comprises scan means for scanning adapters to automatically detect an adapter connected to the predetermined network.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the identification means for identifying a network driver connected to a predetermined network comprises selection means for selecting an adapter connected to the network from a list of possible adapters.

15. The system of claim 11 wherein the invocation means for invoking the copy of the network driver after a system crash further comprises the initialization means for finalizing initialization of the copy of the network driver.

16. The system of claim 11 wherein the creation means for creating a reserve copy of the network driver into memory prior to a system crash comprises:

first disabling means for disabling a running OS driver;

initialization means for initializing the copy of the network driver;

second disabling means for disabling the copy of the network driver; and

run means for running the original OS driver.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the invocation means for invoking the copy of the network driver after a system crash comprises reset means for resetting the copy of the network driver to enable communication to the network.

18. The system of claim 11 wherein the emulated environment provides one or more network protocols and one or more application interfaces to support debug-time network applications.

19. A processor readable medium having processor readable code embodied therein for accessing data on a computer-based data accessing system, the processor readable medium comprising:

processor readable code for causing a processor to identify a network driver connected to a predetermined network;

processor readable code for causing a processor to create a reserve copy of the network driver in memory prior to a system crash;

processor readable code for causing a processor to invoke the copy of the network driver after a system crash; and

processor readable code for causing a processor to provide an emulated environment to enable the copy of the network driver to initialize, transmit, and receive network packets.

20. The processor readable medium of claim 19 wherein the emulated environment provides one or more network protocols and one or more application interfaces to support debug-time network applications.