System and method for using hot plug configuration for PCI error recovery

• US 7,447,934 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2005
• Issued: 11/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Dasari, Shiva R., Orita, Ryuji, Dhawan, Sudhir, Tam, Wingcheung T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lohn; Joshua A
• Application Number:
  US11/168,145
• Publication Number:
  US 20070011500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,226 Days
• Field of Search: 714/5, 714/8
• US Class Current: 714/5.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0745 in an input/output transactions management context input/output processing in general G06F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40

Abstract

A method, system, and program product for recovering from a bus error in a computer system having a hot plug interface. In accordance with the method of the present invention, an operating system transparent interrupt, such as a system management interrupt, is generated in response to a bus error. Responsive to the operating system transparent interrupt, the hot pluggable bus is scanned and a device associated with the error is identified by an interrupt handler invoked by the interrupt. Finally, a hot plug configuration manager, such as an advanced configuration and power interface is utilized to remove the identified device from system operations without having to restart the system.

Claims

1. In a computer system having a hot plug interface, a method for recovering from a bus error comprising:

detecting a bus error on an input/output I/O bus of the computer system;

automatically generating an operating system transparent interrupt, responsive to the bus error;

wherein the operating system transparent interrupt is a system management interrupt (SMI) that invokes an SMI handler and is generated in peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus hardware and transmitted to a processor of the computer system;

responsive to the operating system transparent interrupt;

saving a present operating state of the processor;

initiating one or more registers to support a system management mode (SMM);

commencing execution with SMM; and

invoking an interrupt handler that scans devices on the bus to identify the device associated with the error;

wherein the SMI handler generates a system control interrupt (SCI);

identifying a device associated with the bus error by scanning peripheral devices and searching one or more error condition registers;

determining whether the SCI specifies an error on a hot pluggable bus;

recording the error in an error log;

asserting a user-indicator to indentify which device caused the bus error; and

responsive to the system control interrupt specifying an error on a hot pluggable bus, invoking a hot plug configuration manager to remove the device in accordance with a hot plug configuration process;

wherein the hot plug configuration manager comprises an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI);

dynamically removing the identified device from system operations utilizing the hot plug configuration manager to perform the removal; and

restoring saved processor state information and resuming operation system operations.

2. In a computer system having a hot plug interface, a system for recovering from a bus error comprising:

a bus device that generates an operating system transparent interrupt responsive to the bus error;

an interrupt handler, responsive to the operating system transparent interrupt, for identifying a device associated with the bus error; and

a hot plug configuration manager that removes the identified device from system operations;

wherein the hot plug configuration manager comprises an advanced configuration and power interface (ACPI)

wherein said hot plug configuration manager removes the device in accordance with a hot plug configuration process;

wherein the operating system transparent interrupt is a system management interrupt (SMI) that invokes an SMI handler and is generated in peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus hardware and transmitted to a processor of the computer system;

a processor, which, responsive to the operating system transparent interrupt performs the functions of;

saving a present operating state of the processor;

initiating one or more registers to support a system management mode (SMM); and

commencing execution with SSM;

wherein the SMI handler generates a system control interrupt (SCI), said SCI invoking the hot plug configuration manager; and

a bus error handler for;

determining whether the SCI specifies an error on a hot pluggable bus; and

responsive to the system control interrupt specifying an error on a hot pluggable bus, invoking the hot plug configuration manager to perform the removal.