Applying firmware updates in a system with zero downtime by selectively offlining and onlining hardware using a scale-up hypervisor layer

• US 9,851,996 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2015
• 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: Kochar, Sumeet, Kolvick, Randolph S., Borkenhagen, John M.
• Primary Examiner(s): KENDALL, CHUCK O
• Application Number:
  US14/667,259
• Publication Number:
  US 20160283221A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2009/4557 Distribution of virtual machine instances; Migration and load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/654 using techniques specially adapted for alterable solid state memories, e.g. for EEPROM or flash memories
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45558 Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects

Abstract

A method includes running a scale-up hypervisor on a server complex including at least one server and running a single operating system and at least one application on top of the scale-up hypervisor. The method further includes identifying a firmware update available for a first hardware component within the server complex. The scale-up hypervisor removes all workload from the first hardware component, and the identified firmware update is applied to the first hardware component while the first hardware component is idle and the hypervisor continues running the single operating system and the at least one application. Preferably, the method may be used to sequentially apply firmware updates to various hardware components across the plurality of servers without ever shutting down the entire plurality of servers.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

running a scale-up hypervisor on a server complex including at least one server;

running a single operating system and at least one application on top of the scale-up hypervisor;

identifying a firmware update available for a first hardware component within the server complex;

the scale-up hypervisor removing all workload from the first hardware component; and

applying the identified firmware update to the first hardware component while the first hardware component is idle and the hypervisor continues running the single operating system and the at least one application.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the scale-up hypervisor removing all workload from the first hardware component includes the scale-up hypervisor migrating all workload from the first hardware component to at least one other hardware component within the server complex, wherein the first hardware component and the at least one other hardware component are the same type of component.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the scale-up hypervisor removing all workload from the first hardware component includes the scale-up hypervisor allowing the first hardware component to complete a current workload without assigning any additional workload to the first hardware component.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified firmware update is applied to the first hardware component without the application experiencing any downtime.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first hardware component is a processor in a server having multiple processors.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the scale-up hypervisor assigning workload to the first hardware component after the identified firmware update to the first hardware component has been completed.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

identifying a firmware update available for a second hardware component within the server complex;

the scale-up hypervisor removing workload from the second hardware component; and

applying the identified firmware update to the second hardware component while the second hardware component is idle and the hypervisor continues running the single operating system and the at least one application.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the operating system applying a firmware update to the first hardware component of the first server.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

a platform management module on the first server applying a firmware update to a second hardware component of the first server.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

an administrator comparing the firmware version of firmware installed on a hardware component with the firmware version of a firmware update available for the hardware component to determine whether to update the firmware of the hardware component.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the server complex includes a plurality of servers.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the scale-up hypervisor removing all workload from a first server within the server complex to one or more other server within the server complex other than the first server;

taking the first server offline after all of the workload has been removed from the first server; and

bringing the first server back online and assigning workload to the first server after the identified firmware update has been completed.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein a firmware update can be applied to any hardware component in the plurality of servers.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

sequentially applying firmware updates to a plurality of hardware components across the plurality of servers of the server complex.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the scale-up hypervisor passing system resource usage data for the at least one server to a platform management module on the at least one server.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

initiating the firmware update in response to system resource usage being less than a predetermined amount of system resource usage.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

modeling system resource usage as a function of time of day, day of the week, or day of the year.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the system resource usage is modeled by an administrator module that is not part of the server complex.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

requesting the platform management module to report current system resource usage at a time that the modeling expects system resource usage that is less than a predetermined amount of system resource usage; and

initiating the firmware update if the platform management module indicates that the current system resource usage is less than the predetermined amount of system resource usage.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

the platform management module requesting the scale-up hypervisor to provide system resource usage for one or more hardware components identified by the administrator module as having a firmware update available.