# US 10,372,648 B2 · Device management method and apparatus > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,372,648 B2 - Document ID: US10372648B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/291,212 - Filed: 2016-10-12 - Published: 2017-02-02 - Granted: 2019-08-06 - Earliest claimed: 2014-09-12 - Assignees: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Applicants: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Xin Qiu - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10372648B2 ## CPC - G06F 13/4022: {using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network (G06F13/4009 takes precedence)} - G06F 3/061: {Improving I/O performance} - G06F 3/0655: {Vertical data movement, i.e. input-output transfer; data movement between one or more hosts and one or more storage devices} - G06F 3/0688: {Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays} - G06F 13/4282: {on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus (on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247)} - G06F 2213/0026: PCI express - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A device management method and an apparatus. The device management method of the present disclosure includes receiving, by a switching device, diagnostic information sent by a managed device, where the diagnostic information is used to indicate at least one of a software version, a hardware version, or a running status of the managed device; and sending, by the switching device, the diagnostic information to a device management controller. The embodiments of the present disclosure resolve a problem of processing performance deterioration caused by device management performed by a central processing unit (CPU) of a server. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device management method, comprising: receiving, by a switching device from a managed device, diagnostic information comprising an indication of at least one of a software version, a hardware version, or a running status of the managed device; and sending, by the switching device to a device management controller, the diagnostic information, wherein before receiving the diagnostic information, the method further comprises sending, by the switching device, a diagnostic information acquiring, request to the managed device requesting the managed device sends the diagnostic information to the switching device, wherein sending the diagnostic Information acquiring request comprises broadcasting, by the switching device, a first multi-channel transmission platform (MCTP) packet to the managed device, the diagnostic information acquiring request encapsulated in the first MCTP packet, die method further comprising receiving, by the switching device from die managed device, a second MCTP packet comprising the diagnostic information. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising parsing the second MCTP packet to obtain the diagnostic information. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the switching device is a Peripheral Components Interface express (PCIe) switching device, wherein the managed device comprises at least one of: a central processing unit (CPU) of a server; or a Non-volatile Memory express (NVMe) controller, and wherein the device management controller is a baseboard management controller (BMC). ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein sending the diagnostic information comprises bypassing a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the switching device. ### Claim 5 A switching device, comprising: an interface; and a processor coupled to the interface, wherein the processor is configured to perform the following steps using the interface: receiving diagnostic information from a managed device, the diagnostic information comprising an indication of a least one of a software version, a hardware version, or a running status of the managed device; and sending the diagnostic information to a device management controller, wherein the processor is further configured to send a diagnostic information acquiring request to the managed device requesting the diagnostic information from the managed device, wherein the processor is further configured to broadcast a first multi-channel transmission platform (MCTP) packet to the managed device, the diagnostic information acquiring request encapsulated in the first MCTP packet. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a second MCTP packet; and parse the second MCTP packet to obtain the diagnostic information. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The device of claim 5, wherein the switching device is a Peripheral Components Interface express (PCIe) switching device, wherein the managed device comprises at least one of: a central processing unit (CPU) of a server; or a Non-volatile Memory express (NVMe) controller, and wherein the device management controller is a baseboard management controller (BMC). ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) The switching device of claim 5, wherein sending the diagnostic information comprises bypassing a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the switching device. ### Claim 9 A device management method, comprising: receiving, by a switching device from a managed device, diagnostic information comprising an indication of at least one of a software version, a hardware version, or a running status of the managed device; and sending, by the switching device to a device management controller, the diagnostic information, wherein before sending the diagnostic information, the method further comprises receiving, by the switching device, a diagnostic information acquiring request from the device management controller, wherein receiving the diagnostic information acquiring request comprises receiving, by the switching device, a first multi-channel transmission platform (MCTP) packet sent by the device management controller, the diagnostic information acquiring request encapsulated in the first MCTP packet, and wherein sending the diagnostic information to the device management controller comprises: encapsulating, by the switching device, the diagnostic information in a second MCTP packet responsive to the first MCTP packet; and sending the second MCTP packet to the device management controller.