Method and apparatus for communicating between an agent and a remote management module in a processing system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A processing system comprising:
- control circuitry operable to control the processing system;
a remote management module including dedicated circuitry configured to allow a remote processing system to manage the processing system via a network;
a physical agent to operate as an intermediary between the remote management module and the control circuitry, wherein the agent is operable to monitor the processing system to detect a plurality of events in the processing system, the agent includes a buffer and is operable to create an event record in the buffer for each detected event, and the agent is operable to detect a prespecified critical event and to respond to the prespecified critical event by asserting an immediate interrupt to the remote management module; and
a link coupling the agent to the remote management module, wherein the agent and the remote management module are configured to cooperatively implement an abstraction layer, at least in part by using a command packet protocol to communicate event record data over the link, through which the agent and the remote management module communicate, and the remote management module is operable to receive event record data from the buffer through the abstraction layer in response to an event record being stored in the buffer.
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Abstract
A processing system includes control circuitry to control the processing system, a remote management module to enable remote management of the processing system via a network, and an agent to operate as an intermediary between the remote management module and the control circuitry. The agent and the remote management module are configured to cooperatively implement an abstraction layer through which the agent and the remote management module communicate.
86 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A processing system comprising:
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control circuitry operable to control the processing system; a remote management module including dedicated circuitry configured to allow a remote processing system to manage the processing system via a network; a physical agent to operate as an intermediary between the remote management module and the control circuitry, wherein the agent is operable to monitor the processing system to detect a plurality of events in the processing system, the agent includes a buffer and is operable to create an event record in the buffer for each detected event, and the agent is operable to detect a prespecified critical event and to respond to the prespecified critical event by asserting an immediate interrupt to the remote management module; and a link coupling the agent to the remote management module, wherein the agent and the remote management module are configured to cooperatively implement an abstraction layer, at least in part by using a command packet protocol to communicate event record data over the link, through which the agent and the remote management module communicate, and the remote management module is operable to receive event record data from the buffer through the abstraction layer in response to an event record being stored in the buffer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A server system comprising:
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a network interface through which to communicate with a plurality of network hosts; control circuitry operable to control operation of the server system; a physical agent capable of monitoring the server system to detect a plurality of events in the server system, the agent including a buffer and operable to store an event record in the buffer for each detected event and to assert an immediate interrupt in connection with detection of a prespecified critical event; a remote management module including dedicated circuitry configured to allow a remote processing system to manage the server system via a network, and further to send a command to the agent in response to the interrupt, wherein the agent responds to the command by outputting event record data from the buffer and sending the output event record data to the remote management module; and a link coupling the agent to the remote management module, wherein the agent and the remote management module are configured to cooperatively implement an abstraction layer, at least in part by using a command packet protocol to communicate event record data over the link, through which the agent and the remote management module communicate. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A storage server comprising:
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a storage interface through which to access a plurality of mass storage devices; a first network interface through which to communicate with a plurality of network hosts; control circuitry operable to provide the plurality of network hosts with access to the plurality of mass storage devices; a physical agent capable of monitoring the storage server to detect a plurality of events in the storage server, the agent including a buffer and operable to store an event record in the buffer for each detected event and to assert an immediate interrupt in connection with detection of a prespecified critical event; a remote management module including dedicated circuitry configured to allow a remote processing system to manage the storage server via a network, and further to send a command to the agent in response to the interrupt, wherein the agent responds to the command by outputting event record data from the buffer and sending the output event record data to the remote management module; and a link coupling the agent to the remote management module, wherein the agent and the remote management module are configured to cooperatively implement an abstraction layer, at least in part by using a command packet protocol to communicate event record data over the link, through which the agent and the remote management module communicate. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method comprising:
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using a physical agent in a processing system to monitor the processing system to detect an event in the processing system; using the agent to generate event record data representing the event; using the agent to store the event record data in a buffer; using the agent to assert an immediate interrupt to a remote management module in connection with detection of a prespecified critical event; and using an abstraction layer between the agent and the remote management module in the processing system to communicate the event record data from the agent to the remote management module, the abstraction layer implemented, at least in part, by using a command packet protocol to communicate the event record data over a link between the agent and the remote management module, the remote management module including dedicated circuitry configured to allow a remote processing system to manage the processing system. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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Specification