Methods and arrangements to collect data
First Claim
1. A method to gather data from a computer system in response to an event of the system, the method comprising:
- accessing, by a data collector via a data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, a file to relate the event to data to collect in response to the event, the file comprising more than one event identifications, each event identification being associated with a different event;
retrieving, by the data collector via the data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, from the file, an identification of the data to collect and an associated sequence by which to collect the data based upon an association between the identification of data to collect and the event identification, wherein the identification of data to collect comprises at least one memory location related to the event, wherein the file stores a plurality of identifications of data to collect associated with corresponding events identified by event identifications, and wherein at least two of the identifications of data to collect associated with at least two different corresponding events are different from each other such that different data is collected depending upon which of the at least two events occurs; and
collecting, by the data collector, based upon the identification of data to collect, the data to collect related to the event from the at least one memory location in accordance with the sequence associated with the retrieved identification of the data to collect, wherein the sequence specifies priorities associated with the collection of different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect, wherein the priorities of a sequence specifies different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect such that at least one of a first type of data is collected prior to a second type of data or data at a first address is collected prior to data at a second address based on the sequence, and wherein a first sequence associated with a first event in the plurality of events is different from a second sequence associated with a second event in the plurality of events.
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Abstract
Methods and arrangements to collect data related to the state or conditions of a system are described herein. Embodiments may comprise a data identifier to identify data to collect in response to an event and a data collector to collect the identified data. The data collector may comprise firmware, code in ROM, a state machine, and/or other logic, and the data identifier may also comprise firmware, code in ROM, a state machine, and/or other logic that may access information and/or code in a file or other data storage to identify the data to collect. The data storage may comprise information and/or code to identify the location of data to collect and, in some embodiments, the sequence with which to collect the data. For example, such a file may comprise an address or address range within memory of a specific component of the system such as a memory controller.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method to gather data from a computer system in response to an event of the system, the method comprising:
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accessing, by a data collector via a data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, a file to relate the event to data to collect in response to the event, the file comprising more than one event identifications, each event identification being associated with a different event; retrieving, by the data collector via the data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, from the file, an identification of the data to collect and an associated sequence by which to collect the data based upon an association between the identification of data to collect and the event identification, wherein the identification of data to collect comprises at least one memory location related to the event, wherein the file stores a plurality of identifications of data to collect associated with corresponding events identified by event identifications, and wherein at least two of the identifications of data to collect associated with at least two different corresponding events are different from each other such that different data is collected depending upon which of the at least two events occurs; and collecting, by the data collector, based upon the identification of data to collect, the data to collect related to the event from the at least one memory location in accordance with the sequence associated with the retrieved identification of the data to collect, wherein the sequence specifies priorities associated with the collection of different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect, wherein the priorities of a sequence specifies different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect such that at least one of a first type of data is collected prior to a second type of data or data at a first address is collected prior to data at a second address based on the sequence, and wherein a first sequence associated with a first event in the plurality of events is different from a second sequence associated with a second event in the plurality of events. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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7. An apparatus to collect data from a system, the apparatus comprising:
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a hardware processor; an event identifier to identify an event as a trigger to collect data; a data collector to collect, by the processor, the data associated with the event in a sequence associated with the event via an identification of the data to collect related to the event; and a data identifier in communication with the data collector to retrieve, from data storage, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event by the data collector, the identification of the data to collect and an associated sequence by which to collect the data based upon an association between the identification of data to collect and the event, the identification of data to collect comprising one or more memory locations associated with the data to collect, and the data identifier also being in communication with the data collector to communicate the identification of data to collect to the data collector, wherein the data storage stores a plurality of identifications of data to collect associated with corresponding events, and wherein at least two of the identifications of data to collect associated with at least two different corresponding events are different from each other such that different data is collected depending upon which of the at least two events occurs, wherein the sequence specifies priorities associated with the collection of different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect, wherein the priorities of a sequence specifies different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect such that at least one of a first type of data is collected prior to a second type of data or data at a first address is collected prior to data at a second address based on the sequence, and wherein a first sequence associated with a first event in the plurality of events is different from a second sequence associated with a second event in the plurality of events. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A system to collect data from a system in response to an event, the system comprising:
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a computer system comprising a data collector to collect data associated with the event in a sequence associated with the event via an identification of the data to collect related to the event; and a service processor, of the computer system, configured to identify an event as a trigger to collect the data to collect, in communication with the data collector to retrieve, from data storage, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event by the data collector, the identification of the data to collect, comprising one or more memory locations related to the data to collect and the sequence with which to collect the data based upon an association between the identification of the data to collect and the event, and the service processor being configured to communicate the one or more memory locations to the data collector, wherein the data storage stores a plurality of identifications of data to collect associated with corresponding events, and wherein at least two of the identifications of data to collect associated with at least two different corresponding events are different from each other such that different data is collected depending upon which of the at least two events occurs, wherein the sequence specifies priorities associated with the collection of different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect, wherein the priorities of a sequence specifies different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect such that at least one of a first type of data is collected prior to a second type of data or data at a first address is collected prior to data at a second address based on the sequence, and wherein a first sequence associated with a first event in the plurality of events is different from a second sequence associated with a second event in the plurality of events. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer useable medium having a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:
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receive an event identification that identifies the event at a data identifier; retrieve, by the data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, from a file, an identification of the data to collect and an associated sequence by which to collect the data to collect based upon an association between the identification of data to collect and the event identification, to relate the event to the data to collect in response to the event, the file comprising more than one identifications of data to collect, each identification of data to collect being associated with a different event, wherein at least two of the identifications of data to collect associated with at least two different corresponding events are different from each other such that different data is collected depending upon which of the at least two events occurs; and collect, by a data collector, the data to collect based upon the identification of data to collect, to store the data to collect in an output file in accordance with the associated sequence, wherein the sequence specifies priorities associated with the collection of different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect, wherein the priorities of a sequence specifies different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect such that at least one of a first type of data is collected prior to a second type of data or data at a first address is collected prior to data at a second address based on the sequence, and wherein a first sequence associated with a first event in the plurality of events is different from a second sequence associated with a second event in the plurality of events.
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14. A method to gather data from a computer system in response to an event of the system, the method comprising:
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accessing, by a data collector via a data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, a file to relate the event to data to collect in response to the event, the file comprising more than one event identifications, each event identification being associated with a different event; retrieving, by the data collector via the data identifier, prior to collecting data corresponding to the event, from the file, an identification of the data to collect and an associated sequence by which to collect the data to collect based upon an association between the identification of data to collect and the event identification, wherein the identification of data to collect comprises at least one memory location related to the event, and wherein the sequence specifies different types of data or data at different addresses in the data to collect such that at least one of a first type of data is collected prior to a second type of data or data at a first address is collected prior to data at a second address based on the sequence, and wherein a first sequence associated with a first event in the plurality of events is different from a second sequence associated with a second event in the plurality of events; and collecting, by the data collector, based upon the identification of data to collect, the data to collect related to the event from the at least one memory location in accordance with the sequence associated with the retrieved identification of the data to collect, wherein the data identifier comprises a rule module, a binary file, an event identifier, a trigger list, and an output file, and wherein; the event identifier compares event identifiers against the trigger list to determine whether corresponding events should trigger collection of corresponding data to collect; in response to the event identifier determining that an event should trigger collection of corresponding data to collect, the rule module accesses the binary file to determine whether code or information in the binary file is associated with the event; in response to the code or information in the binary file being associated with the event, the rule module communicates the code or information in the binary file to the data collector to thereby instruct the data collector to collect the corresponding data to collect; and the output file comprises a data structure to contain the data collected in response to the event.
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Specification