Data processing system peripheral device management using component certificates
AssigneeDell Products L.P.
InventorsGuru Prasad Yadav Naruboina, Kalyani Korubilli
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Abstract
Methods and systems for managing a data processing system are disclosed. Digital certificates may be used by a management controller of a data processing system to enable and/or disable one or more functions of peripheral devices hosted by the data processing system. The functions may include a Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability (RAS) reporting function of the peripheral devices. The management controller may be a microcontroller installed within the data processing system that operates independently of a central processing unit (CPU) of the data processing system. A data processing system manager of the data processing system may authenticate and sign the digital certificates.
Claims20
A method for managing a data processing system, the method comprising:
- obtaining, by a management controller of the data processing system, a signed delta certificate from a data processing system manager, the signed delta certificate specifying a peripheral device of the data processing system, wherein the signed delta certificate is obtained by the management controller while hardware resources of the data processing system are in a powered off state, and the hardware resources comprise a first processor of the data processing system that is separate from a second processor of the management controller;
- and
- activating, by the management controller and based on the signed delta certificate, a previously disabled function of the peripheral device, the previously disabled function being specified as disabled in a default component certificate stored within the management controller prior to the data processing system being shipped to a user.
A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for managing a data processing system, the operations comprising:
- obtaining, by a management controller of the data processing system, a signed delta certificate from a data processing system manager, the signed delta certificate specifying a peripheral device of the data processing system, wherein the signed delta certificate is obtained by the management controller while hardware resources of the data processing system are in a powered off state, and the hardware resources comprise a first processor of the data processing system that is separate from a second processor of the management controller;
- and
- activating, by the management controller and based on the signed delta certificate, a previously disabled function of the peripheral device, the previously disabled function being specified as disabled in a default component certificate stored within the management controller prior to the data processing system being shipped to a user.
A data processing system, comprising:
- hardware resources comprising a first processor;
- a management controller comprising a second processor that is separate from the first processor, wherein data processing system stores instructions that causes the management controller to perform operations for managing the data processing system, the operations comprising:
- obtaining a signed delta certificate from a data processing system manager, the signed delta certificate specifying a peripheral device of the data processing system, wherein the signed delta certificate is obtained by the management controller while the hardware resources of the data processing system are in a powered off state;
- and p2 activating, based on the signed delta certificate, a previously disabled function of the peripheral device, the previously disabled function being specified as disabled in a default component certificate stored within the management controller prior to the data processing system being shipped to a user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.