SYSTEMS AND METHOD FOR BOOTING DEVICES IN A MULTIPLE-CARD COMPUTING SYSTEM

• US 20130346736A1
• Filed: 06/21/2012
• Published: 12/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Keysight Technologies Singapore (Holdings) Pte. Limited. (Keysight Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Breakingpoint Systems Incorporated (Keysight Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cook, Brent Aaron, Stroud, Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 8,959,325 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4416 Network booting; Remote initial program loading [RIPL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint

Abstract

A method for booting devices in a multi-card computing system comprising a plurality of cards connected to a shared backplane may include: dynamically generating a Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for at least some of the devices in the computing system, the dynamically generated MAC address for each device including information regarding the location of that device within the multi-card computing system; a boot management system receiving a boot-related information request from a particular device in the multi-card system, the boot-related information request comprising a request for particular boot-related information for facilitating a boot process for the requesting device, and including the MAC address of the requesting device; and the boot management system determining whether to send a response to the requesting device with the requested boot-related information based at least on the information in the MAC address regarding the location of the requesting device within the multi-card computing system.

Claims

1. A method for booting devices in a multi-card computing system comprising a plurality of cards connected to a shared backplane, the method comprising:

dynamically generating a Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for at least some of the devices in the computing system, the dynamically generated MAC address for each device including information regarding the location of that device within the multi-card computing system;

a boot management system on a particular card receiving a boot-related information request from a particular device in the multi-card system, the boot-related information request comprising a request for particular boot-related information for facilitating a boot process for the requesting device, and including the MAC address of the requesting device; and

the boot management system on the particular card determining whether to send a response to the requesting device with the requested boot-related information based at least on the information in the MAC address regarding the location of the requesting device within the multi-card computing system.

6. A method for booting devices in a computing system comprising a plurality of cards located in a plurality of slots in a chassis, each card including a plurality of device, and each card being connected to a shared backplane, the method comprising:

dynamically generating a Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for at least some of the devices in the computing system, the dynamically generated MAC address for each device indicating the particular slot in which that device is located;

a DHCP server on a particular card in a particular slot receiving a DHCP request from a particular device in the multi-card system, the DHCP request comprising a request for particular boot-related information for facilitating a boot process for the requesting device, and including the MAC address of the requesting device; and

the DHCP server on the particular card determining whether to respond to the DHCP request with the requested boot-related information based at least on whether the MAC address included in the DHCP request indicates that the requesting device is located in the same slot as the DHCP server.

2. The method of claim 6, comprising the boot management system on the particular card determining whether to send a response to the requesting device with the requested boot-related information based at least on whether the MAC address included in the boot-related information request indicates that the requesting device is located on the same card or in the same slot as the boot management system.

3. The method of claim 6, wherein the boot management system comprises a DHCP server.

4. The method of claim 6, comprising:

the boot management system on the particular card automatically generating a list of MAC addresses to respond to; and

the boot management system comparing the MAC address of the requesting device with the list of MAC addresses to determine whether to send a response to the requesting device with the requested boot-related information.

5. The method of claim 6, wherein:

a plurality of different operating system are stored on a particular card, each operating system image corresponding to at least one device on the particular card; and

the boot-related information request from each device on the particular card includes a request for an identification of the particular operating system corresponding to that device, such that each device can load the operating system corresponding to that device.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising:

a configuration script on the particular card automatically generating a list of MAC addresses for the DHCP server to respond to; and

the DHCP server comparing the MAC address of the requesting device with the list of MAC addresses to determine whether to respond to the DHCP request with the requested boot-related information.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein:

a plurality of different operating system are stored on a particular card, each operating system image corresponding to at least one device on the particular card; and

the DHCP request from each device on the particular card includes a request for an identification of the particular operating system corresponding to that device, such that each device can load the operating system corresponding to that device.

9. A computing system, comprising:

a plurality of cards communicatively coupled to each other, each card including a plurality of bootable devices; and

a boot management system provided on each card, wherein the boot management system on a particular card is programmed to;

dynamically generate a Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for at least some of the devices in the computing system, the dynamically generated MAC address for each device including information regarding the location of that device within the multi-card computing system;

receive boot-related information requests from devices in the multi-card system, each boot-related information request comprising a request for particular boot-related information for facilitating a boot process for the requesting device, and including the MAC address of the requesting device; and

determine whether to respond to each requesting device with the requested boot-related information for the requesting device based at least on the information in the MAC address of the requesting device regarding the location of the requesting device within the multi-card computing system.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the boot management system on the particular card is programmed to determine whether to send a response to each requesting device with the requested boot-related information for the requesting device based at least on whether the MAC address of the requesting device indicates that the requesting device is located on the same card or in the same slot as the boot management system.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the boot management system comprises a DHCP server.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the boot management system on the particular card is programmed to:

automatically generate a list of MAC addresses to respond to; and

compare the MAC address of the requesting device with the list of MAC addresses to determine whether to send a response to the requesting device with the requested boot-related information.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein:

a plurality of different operating system are stored on the particular card, each operating system image corresponding to at least one device on the particular card; and

the boot-related information request from each device on the particular card includes a request for an identification of the particular operating system corresponding to that device, such that each device can load the operating system corresponding to that device.