Hot-plugging a memory device

• US 8,145,893 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2008
• Issued: 03/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Narayanan, Vimal V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bae, Ji H
• Application Number:
  US12/257,121
• Publication Number:
  US 20090119498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0875 with dedicated cache, e.g. instruction or stack
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4401 Bootstrapping security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4411 Configuring for operating with peripheral devices; Loading of device drivers

Abstract

An extensible firmware interface (EFI) framework is to enable hot-plugging and hot-removal of memory devices. The security phase of the EFI may enable a cache to operate as RAM (CAR mode) to support execution of pre-EFI (PEI) tasks. In one embodiment, the PEI phase may move the memory reference code (MRC) as a driver to the driver execution phase and hand-over the CAR information to the driver execution environment (DXE). The MRC driver may be registered as a run-time API, which may be called by the operating system to receive a dynamically created memory map. In other embodiment, the PEI phase executes the MRC and may hand-over the memory information and a memory pointer to the MRC to the DXE. The OS may call the DMD driver provisioned in the DXE, which in turn may call the MRC provisioned in the PEI to dynamically create a memory map.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing a memory reference code as a memory reference code driver,

executing the memory reference code driver in a cache after receiving information of the cache, wherein executing the memory reference code driver in the cache discovers a memory,

mapping contents of the cache to the memory,

registering the memory reference code driver as a run-time application programmable interface, and

executing the memory reference code driver in response to initiating a memory detection feature, wherein executing the memory reference code driver recognizes a hot-plugged memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cache is used as a random access memory to support execution of the memory reference code driver in the cache during a boot-up phase.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information of the cache is provided as a hand-off-block list during a boot-up phase, wherein the information of the cache comprises an address range within which the memory reference code driver is executed.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein initiating a memory detection feature initiates a dynamic memory detection driver in a run-time phase, wherein the dynamic memory detection driver is to cause execution of the memory reference code driver in the memory.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the execution of the memory reference code driver in the run-time phase generates a new memory map, wherein the new memory map comprises a map of the hot-plugged memory.

6. A method comprising:

executing a memory reference code to discover a memory,

providing information of the memory and a pointer to the memory reference code,

mapping contents of a cache to the memory,

registering a dynamic memory detection driver as a run-time application programmable interface, and

executing the memory reference code in response to initiating a memory detection feature, wherein executing the memory reference code driver recognizes a hot-plugged memory.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the cache is used as a random access memory to support executing the memory reference code in the cache during a boot-up phase.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the information of the memory and the pointer to the memory reference code is provided as a hand-off-block list during the boot-up phase.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein initiating the memory detection feature initiates a dynamic memory detection driver in a run-time phase, wherein the dynamic memory detection driver is to cause execution of the memory reference code in the memory.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the execution of the memory reference code in the run-time phase generates a new memory map, wherein the new memory map comprises a map of the hot-plugged memory.

11. A system comprising:

a cache coupled to a hardware unit,

a memory coupled to the hardware unit, and

a firmware supported by the hardware unit, wherein the firmware is to support a memory reference code driver,

wherein the firmware is to cause execution of the memory reference code driver in the cache to discover the memory and map contents of the cache to the memory after the memory is discovered,

wherein the firmware is to register the memory reference code driver as a run-time application programmable interface, and

wherein the firmware is to execute the memory reference code driver in response to an operating system initiating a memory detection feature, wherein executing the memory reference code driver recognizes a hot-plugged memory.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the firmware is to configure the cache as a random access memory, wherein the cache as random access memory is to support execution of the memory reference code driver during a boot-up phase.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein a pre-extensible interface phase of the firmware is to provide information of the cache as a hand-off-block list, wherein the hand-off-block list is provided to a driver execution phase.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the operating system is to initiate a memory detection feature, wherein the initiation of the memory detection feature is to initiate a dynamic memory detection driver in a run-time phase, wherein the dynamic memory detection driver is to cause execution of the memory reference code driver in the memory.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the execution of the memory reference code driver in the run-time phase generates a new memory map, wherein the new memory map comprises a map of the hot-plugged memory.

16. A system comprising:

a cache coupled to a hardware unit,

a memory coupled to the hardware unit, and

a firmware supported by the hardware unit, wherein the firmware is to cause execution of a memory reference code in the cache to discover a memory and provide information of the memory and a pointer to the memory reference code,

wherein the firmware is to map contents of the cache to the memory,

wherein the firmware is to register a dynamic memory detection driver as a run-time application programmable interface, and

wherein the firmware is to execute the memory reference code in response to an operating system initiating a memory detection feature, wherein executing the memory reference code is to recognize a hot-plugged memory.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the cache is used as a random access memory to support executing the memory reference code in the cache during a boot-up phase.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein a pre-extensible interface phase of the firmware is to provide information of the memory and the pointer to the memory reference code as a hand-off-block list, wherein the hand-off-block list is provided to a driver execution phase.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the operating system is to initiate the memory detection feature in a run-time phase, wherein the memory detection feature is to initiate a dynamic memory detection driver, wherein the dynamic memory detection driver is to cause execution of the memory reference code in the memory.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the execution of the memory reference code in the run-time phase generates a new memory map, wherein the new memory map comprises a map of the hot-plugged memory.