System and method for applying an action initiated for a portion of a plurality of devices to all of the plurality of devices

• US 7,392,329 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2003
• Issued: 06/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meizu Technology Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Spinhirne, Marvin J., Michaelis, Scott Lynn
• Primary Examiner(s): PEYTON, TAMMARA R
• Application Number:
  US10/401,820
• Publication Number:
  US 20040193701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,915 Days
• Field of Search: 710 8- 10, 710 15- 19, 710/35, 710/317, 709/220, 709/222, 455/418, 712/20, 712/22
• US Class Current: 710/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/177 Initialisation or configuration control processor initialisation G06F9/4405

Abstract

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method of applying an action initiated for a portion of a plurality of devices to all of the plurality of devices is provided. The method comprises establishing a status block for a plurality of devices that are implemented on a system, and initiating an action for a portion of the plurality of devices. The method further comprises writing information to the status block identifying that the action was initiated, and based at least in part on the information written to the status block, applying the action to all of the plurality of devices.

Claims

1. A method of applying an action initiated for a portion of a plurality of devices to all of the plurality of devices, said method comprising:

firmware in a system establishing a status block for a plurality of devices that are implemented on said system;

initiating an action for a portion of said plurality of devices;

writing information to said status block identifying that said action was initiated; and

said firmware accessing said information written to said status block and applying said action to all of said plurality of devices.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a multi-device module comprises said plurality of devices.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said portion of said plurality of devices comprise any one of said plurality of devices.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said plurality of devices are discrete devices.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said writing information to said status block comprises:

writing information that identifies said portion of said plurality of devices for which said action was explicitly initiated.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said writing information to said status block further comprises:

writing information that identifies ones of said plurality of devices for which said action was not explicitly initiated but was sympathetically applied thereto.

7. The method of claim 1 comprising:

a user performing said initiating said action.

8. The method of claim 1 comprising:

an operating system performing said initiating said action.

9. The method of claim 1 comprising:

system firmware performing said initiating said action.

10. The method of claim 1 comprising:

detecting a multi-device module on said system, wherein said multi-device module comprises said plurality of devices; and

creating said status block for said multi-device module.

11. The method of claim 1 comprising:

for each of said plurality of devices, publishing to said system a method for initiating said action, wherein each of the published methods is operable to cause said writing of said information to said status block.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the published methods comprise Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (“

ACPI”

) Machine Language (“

AML”

) methods published to an ACPI table on said system.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said action comprises device deconfiguration.

14. A system comprising:

a plurality of devices;

means for storing status information for said plurality of devices;

means for initiating an action for altering status of a portion of said plurality of devices, wherein said altering writes said status information to the storing means; and

means for applying said action for altering status of said portion of said plurality of devices to other ones of said plurality of devices in addition to said portion based at least in p art on said status information written to the storing means, said means for applying said action comprising firmware in said system.

15. The system of claim 14 comprising:

a multi-device module comprising said plurality of devices.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein said means for initiating is unaware of said plurality of devices being grouped into said multi-device module.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein said action for altering status of a portion of said plurality of devices comprises an action for deconfiguring said portion of said plurality of devices.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein said means for applying applies said action to all of said plurality of devices.

19. The system of claim 14 further comprising:

means for publishing to said system for each of said plurality of devices, a method operable to perform said action.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein said action for altering status of said portion of said plurality of devices comprises one selected from the group consisting of:

deconfiguring said portion of said plurality of devices and configuring said portion of said plurality of devices.

21. The system of claim 14 wherein said plurality of devices comprise processors.

22. The system of claim 14 wherein said means for initiating is unaware that said action for altering status of said portion of said plurality of devices is to be applied to said other ones of said plurality of devices.

23. A system comprising:

a plurality of devices grouped into a multi-device module;

a status block corresponding to said multi-device module; and

an initiator operable to communicatively access said status block, wherein said initiator is unaware of said plurality of devices being grouped into said multi-device module and wherein said initiator is operable to initiate an action for any one of said plurality of devices, and upon said action being initiated for any one of said plurality of devices information identifying the initiated action is written to said status block.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein said initiator comprises an operating system.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein said operating system comprises an Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (“

ACPI”

)-compatible operating system.

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising:

an ACPI table publishing for said operating system a method for initiating said action for each of said plurality of devices.

27. The system of claim 23 wherein said initiator comprises firmware.

28. The system of claim 23 further comprising:

firmware operable to communicatively access said status block.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein, responsive to said information identifying the initiated action being included said status block, said firmware is operable to apply said action to multiple ones of said plurality of devices.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein said firmware is operable to apply said action to all of said plurality of devices.

31. The system of claim 29 wherein said firmware is operable to apply said action upon a reset of said system.

32. The system of claim 23 wherein said plurality of devices comprise a plurality of processors.