Method of shutting down a server in safety

• US 6,622,192 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2001
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inventec Corporation
• Original Assignee: Inventec Corporation
• Inventors: Chou, Runner, Hong, Yuh-Jine
• Primary Examiner(s): Ray, Gopal C.
• Application Number:
  US09/986,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20030093602A1
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/2, 713/300, 713/310, 713/320, 713/321, 713/323, 713/324, 713/330, 713/340, 710/260, 714/24, 700/286, 365/226
• US Class Current: 710/260
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/442 Shutdown

Abstract

This invention relates to a method of shutting down a server, more particularly, to a method of shutting down the server safely. The present invention uses a pre-setup normal shutting down program, which is in the operating system (OS) of the server to execute the normal shutting down steps of the sever. The present invention can avoid damages of the OS or the hardware of the server by a user accidentally pushing down the power button. The present invention can also prevent the loss of data that was saved on the server, which in turn would increase the cost of production. The present invention can further provide a method for shutting down the server quickly and prevent the user from using another machine to execute the remote shutdown.

Claims

1. A method of shutting down a server in safety, wherein said method comprises:

producing a system management interrupt signal by a power button of said server;

transforming said system management interrupt signal to a shutdown flag and saving said shutdown flag in a memory device;

using a driver to scan said shutdown flag; and

using said driver to call an operating system without an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) to execute an auto-shutdown application.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said server comprises a CMOS RAM.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said memory device is a CMOS RAM.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said operating system is a linux operating system.

5. A method of shutting down a server in safety, wherein said method comprises:

installing a driver and an auto-shutdown application in an operating system without an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI) of said server when said server is in an operating condition, wherein said driver can scan a shutdown flag of a memory device and can call said operating system to execute an auto-shutdown application automatically;

pushing down a power button of said server to produce a system management interrupt signal; and

transforming said system management interrupt signal to a shutdown flag and saving said shutdown flag in said memory device.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said server comprises a CMOS RAM.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said memory device is a CMOS RAM.

8. The method according to claim 5, wherein said operating system is a linux operating system.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein said server comprises a hard disk.

10. A method of shutting down a server in safety, wherein said method comprises:

pushing down a power button of said server to open a power of said server and to clear a shutdown flag, which is saved in a CMOS RAM, wherein said server comprises a hard disk;

installing a driver and an auto-shutdown application in a linux operating system of said server, wherein said driver can call said linux operating system to execute an auto-shutdown application automatically;

pushing down said power button of said server to produce a system management interrupt signal;

transforming said system management interrupt signal to said shutdown flag and saving said shutdown flag in said CMOS RAM;

using said driver scanning said shutdown flag; and

calling said linux operating system from said driver to execute said auto-shutdown application to shut said server.

11. A method of shutting down a server in safety, wherein said method comprises:

producing a system management interrupt signal by a power button of said server;

transforming said system management interrupt signal to a shutdown flag and saving said shutdown flag in a memory device;

using a driver to scan said shutdown flag; and

using said driver to call a Linux operation system to execute an auto-shutdown application.

12. A method of shutting down a server in safety, wherein said method comprises:

installing a driver and an auto-shutdown application in a Linux operating system of said server when said server is in an operating condition, wherein said driver can scan a shutdown flag of a memory device and can call said Linux operating system to execute an auto-shutdown application automatically;

pushing down a power button of said server to produce a system management interrupt signal; and

transforming said system management interrupt signal to a shutdown flag and saving said shutdown flag in said memory device.