OPERATING SYSTEM NOTIFICATION OF ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN RESPONSIVE TO ADAPTER EVENTS

• US 20110321060A1
• Filed: 06/23/2010
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Craddock, David, Gainey, Charles W. Jr., Glendening, Beth A., Gregg, Thomas A., Njoku, Ugochukwu C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,505,032 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/313
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0712 in a virtual computing platform, e.g. logically partitioned systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0775 Content or structure details of the error report, e.g. specific table structure, specific error fields
• 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

Abstract

Notification of hardware actions to be taken responsive to hardware events is facilitated. An operating system coupled, but external to, the hardware notifies firmware of the hardware action to be taken.

Claims

1. A computer program product for facilitating communication of actions to be taken, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

responsive to executing a Service Call Logical Processor (SCLP) instruction specifying a control block, the control block comprising an event type, a function handle of an adapter, an adapter type and an action qualifier, performing an action based on the action qualifier, the action comprising one of resetting the adapter or requesting a repair action;

responsive to completing the SCLP, notifying an operating system; and

responsive to executing a Store Event Information command issued by the operating system responsive to notification, obtaining information regarding the action.

2. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the information comprises an event code indicating an event associated with the action that was performed for the adapter.

3. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein the event comprises one of:

the adapter identified by the function handle has moved to a configured state, the adapter has moved from a reserved state to a standby state, a deconfigure of the adapter, the adapter has moved from the configured state to a standby or reserved state, an amount of storage has changed, and one or more adapters that are unidentified may be in a standby state.

4. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the operating system is executing in a logical partition of the logically partitioned processing unit, and the adapter is logically owned by the logical partition.

5. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the SCLP is issued by the operating system to request the action, the requesting by the operating system being independent of the type of adapter and the type of operating system.

6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the performing comprises performing the action consistently each time the action is performed for the event type.

7. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises requesting by the firmware, responsive to receiving the control block, creation of an entry in a system log, the entry to include information from the control block.

8. The computer program product of claim 7, wherein the requesting of creation of the entry comprises sending a request to a service processor to create the entry, and wherein the method further comprises:

analyzing, by the service processor, a service reference code provided in the request; and

initiating, by the service processor, a servicing repair action based on the service reference code.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein associated with the action is an action qualifier, and wherein the service reference code is unique for an adapter type and action qualifier combination.

10. A computer program product for facilitating communication of events, said computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

responsive to an event that has occurred relating to an adapter, notifying an operating system; and

responsive to executing a Store Event Information command issued by the operating system responsive to notification, obtaining information associated with the event, said information comprising a function handle identifying the adapter and an event code providing state regarding the adapter.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the event comprises one of:

the adapter identified by the function handle has moved to a configured state, the adapter has moved from a reserved state to a standby state, a deconfigure of the adapter, the adapter has moved from the configured state to a standby or reserved state, an amount of storage has changed, and one or more adapters that are unidentified may be in a standby state.

12. A computer system for facilitating communication of actions to be taken, said computer system comprising:

a memory; and

a processing unit in communication with the memory, wherein the computer system is configured to perform a method, said method comprising;

responsive to executing a Service Call Logical Processor (SCLP) instruction specifying a control block, the control block comprising an event type, a function handle of an adapter, an adapter type and an action qualifier, performing an action based on the action qualifier, the action comprising one of resetting the adapter or requesting a repair action;

responsive to completing the SCLP, notifying an operating system; and

responsive to executing a Store Event Information command issued by the operating system responsive to notification, obtaining information regarding the action.

13. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the information comprises an event code indicating an event associated with the action that was performed for the adapter.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the event comprises one of the adapter identified by the function handle has moved to a configured state, the adapter has moved from a reserved state to a standby state, a deconfigure of the adapter, the adapter has moved from the configured state to a standby or reserved state, an amount of storage has changed, and one or more adapters that are unidentified may be in a standby state.

15. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the operating system is executing in a logical partition of the logically partitioned processing unit, and the adapter is logically owned by the logical partition.

16. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the SCLP is issued by the operating system to request the action, the requesting by the operating system being independent of the type of adapter and the type of operating system.

17. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the performing comprises performing the action, wherein the performing comprises performing the action consistently each time the action is performed for the event type.

18. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the method further comprises requesting by the firmware, responsive to receiving the control block, creation of an entry in a system log, the entry to include information from the control block.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the requesting of creation of the entry comprises sending a request to a service processor to create the entry, and wherein the method further comprises:

analyzing, by the service processor, a service reference code provided in the request; and

initiating, by the service processor, a repair action based on the service reference code.

20. A method of facilitating communication of actions to be taken, said method comprising:

responsive to executing, by a processor, a Service Call Logical Processor (SCLP) instruction specifying a control block, the control block comprising an event type, a function handle of an adapter, an adapter type and an action qualifier, performing an action based on the action qualifier, the action comprising one of resetting the adapter or requesting a repair action;

responsive to completing the SCLP, notifying an operating system; and

responsive to executing a Store Event Information command issued by the operating system responsive to notification, obtaining information regarding the action.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the information comprises an event code indicating an event associated with the action that was performed for the adapter.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising requesting by the firmware, responsive to receiving the control block, creation of an entry in a system log, the entry to include information from the control block.