System and method for updating BIOS for a multiple-node computer system
AssigneeDell Products L.P.
InventorsFrank L. Wu, Fang Lu
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method for updating or synchronizing BIOS information for a multiple-node computer system is disclosed. Each node contains at least one processor, and a BIOS is associated with each processor. The BIOS in a node may be synchronized with the BIOS of another node such that BIOS coherence may be maintained between two or more nodes in the system. The computer system may be configured as an aggregated or partitioned system.
Claims30
A multiple-node computer system comprising:
- a plurality of nodes, wherein each node comprises
- a processor, and
- a BIOS component operable to store a BIOS associated with the processor, wherein the BIOS in a node may be synchronized with the BIOS of another node such that BIOS coherence may be maintained between two or more nodes.
A method of synchronizing a plurality of BIOS for an aggregated multiple-node computer system comprising a plurality of processors, wherein each processor is associated with a BIOS, comprising the steps of:
- determining the most current version of BIOS;
- and
- synchronizing each BIOS with the most current version of BIOS.
A method of synchronizing a plurality of BIOS for a node of a partitioned multiple-node computer system, wherein the node comprises a plurality of processors, wherein each processor is associated with a BIOS, comprising the steps of:
- determining the most current version of BIOS;
- and
- synchronizing each BIOS with the most current version of BIOS.
A method of synchronizing a plurality of BIOS for a partitioned multiple-node computer system, wherein each node comprises a plurality of processors and at least one BIOS, wherein each processor is associated with a BIOS, comprising the steps of:
- updating the BIOS for a selected node;
- configuring the partitioned multiple-node computer system as an aggregated multiple-node computer system;
- updating all of the nodes in the aggregated multiple-node computer system;
- and
- restoring the multiple-node computer system to a partitioned multiple-node computer system.
The method of claim 21 wherein the step of updating the BIOS for the selected node further comprises the steps of:
- determining the most current version of BIOS for the selected node;
- and
- synchronizing each BIOS in the selected node with the most current version of BIOS.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.