Correcting a failure associated with a current firmware image

• US 9,563,497 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2012
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Global Technologies International Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte., Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Dasari, Shiva R., Dunham, Scott N., Klodnicki, Edward J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bonzo, Bryce
• Assistant Examiner(s): DAVIS, INDIA L
• Application Number:
  US13/719,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20140173327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,511 Days
• Field of Search: 714/2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0736 in functional embedded systems, i.e. in a data processing system designed as a combination of hardware and software dedicated to performing a certain function testing or monitoring of automated control systems G05B23/02
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1417 Boot up procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1433 during software upgrading

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for correcting a failure associated with a current firmware image are provided. Embodiments include a firmware selection module detecting the failure associated with the current firmware image stored in firmware memory corresponding to a component of a system. Embodiments also include the firmware selection module selecting from a plurality of backup firmware images, a replacement firmware image based on a status of at least one backup firmware image in response to detecting the failure. Embodiments also include the firmware selection module storing the selected replacement firmware image in the firmware memory.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising a computer processor and a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of:

detecting a failure associated with a current firmware image stored in firmware memory;

in response to detecting the failure, selecting from a plurality of backup firmware images including a last stored firmware update image and another backup firmware update image, a replacement firmware image based on a status of at least one backup firmware image, wherein the status of the backup firmware image indicates a reliability of the backup firmware image, and wherein each of the current firmware image, the last stored firmware update, and the other backup firmware update are separate, including

selecting from the plurality of backup firmware images, a last-stored backup firmware image;

determining whether a status of the last-stored backup firmware image is bad;

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is bad, selecting another backup firmware image as the replacement firmware image; and

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is not bad, determining whether the current firmware image substantially matches the last-stored backup firmware image;

if the current firmware image does not substantially match the last-stored backup firmware image, selecting the last-stored backup firmware image as the replacement firmware image; and

if the current firmware image does substantially match the last-stored backup firmware image, selecting another backup firmware image as the replacement firmware image; and

storing the selected replacement firmware image in the firmware memory.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein selecting the replacement firmware image includes:

if the current firmware image does match the last-stored backup firmware image, setting the status of the last-stored backup firmware image to bad.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising computer program instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of:

identifying a new firmware image;

determining whether a status of the last-stored backup firmware image is good, wherein the last-stored backup firmware image is stored in a first backup location;

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is not good, storing the new firmware image in the first backup location; and

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is good, storing the new firmware image in a second backup location.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further comprising computer program instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the apparatus to carry out the steps of setting a status of the new firmware image to new.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the component is a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (‘

UEFI’

).

6. A computer program product for correcting a failure associated with a current firmware image, the computing system storing a plurality of different firmware images for the same firmware, the computer program product disposed upon a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to carry out the steps of:

detecting a failure associated with a current firmware image stored in firmware memory;

in response to detecting the failure, selecting from a plurality of backup firmware images including a last stored firmware update image and another backup firmware update image, a replacement firmware image based on a status of at least one backup firmware image, wherein the status of the backup firmware image indicates a reliability of the backup firmware image, and wherein each of the current firmware image, the last stored firmware update, and the other backup firmware update are separate, including

selecting from the plurality of backup firmware images, a last-stored backup firmware image;

determining whether a status of the last-stored backup firmware image is bad;

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is bad, selecting another backup firmware image as the replacement firmware image; and

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is not bad, determining whether the current firmware image substantially matches the last-stored backup firmware image;

if the current firmware image does not substantially match the last-stored backup firmware image, selecting the last-stored backup firmware image as the replacement firmware image; and

if the current firmware image does substantially match the last-stored backup firmware image, selecting another backup firmware image as the replacement firmware image; and

storing the selected replacement firmware image in the firmware memory.

7. The computer program product of claim 6 wherein selecting the replacement firmware image includes:

if the current firmware image does match the last-stored backup firmware image, setting the status of the last-stored backup firmware image to bad.

8. The computer program product of claim 6 further comprising computer program instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to carry out the steps of:

identifying a new firmware image;

determining whether a status of the last-stored backup firmware image is good, wherein the last-stored backup firmware image is stored in a first backup location;

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is not good, storing the new firmware image in the first backup location; and

if the status of the last-stored backup firmware image is good, storing the new firmware image in a second backup location.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 further comprising computer program instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to carry out the step of setting a status of the new firmware image to new.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the component is a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (‘

UEFI’

).