# US 2010/0169635 A1 · Method and system to facilitate configuration of a hardware device in a platform > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2010/0169635 A1 - Document ID: US20100169635A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 12/347,879 - Filed: 2008-12-31 - Published: 2010-07-01 - Earliest claimed: 2008-12-31 - Assignees: Intel Corporation - Inventors: Kumar Chinnaswamy; Ittai Anati; Alberto Martinez; Shay Gueron - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100169635A1 ## CPC - G06F 21/57: Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract A method and system to allow the secure configuration of the configurable feature(s) of a hardware device in a platform. The configuration of the configurable feature(s) of the hardware device is performed with protection against software attacks. A management module determines that the platform is authorized to configure at least one configurable feature of the hardware device and configures each of the configurable feature(s) based on a received configuration message. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method to facilitate configuration of a hardware device in a platform comprising: determining that the platform is authorized to configure at least one configurable feature of the hardware device; and configuring each of the at least one configurable feature based at least in part on a received configuration message. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the received configuration message comprises identification information of the hardware device, and further comprising: verifying that the identification information of the hardware device in the received configuration message matches an identity of the hardware device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein configuring each of the at least one configurable feature comprises: parsing the received configuration message to obtain configuration settings of each of the at least one configurable feature of the hardware device; and programming at least one fuse register with the configuration settings in the hardware module, wherein the at least one fuse register determine the configuration of the at least one configurable feature. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein configuring each of the at least one configurable feature comprises enabling or disabling each of the at least one configurable feature of the hardware device based at least in part on the received configuration message. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the hardware device is a central processing unit (CPU) or a chipset. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving configuration information of the hardware device, wherein the configuration information comprises configurability information on each of the at least one configurable feature, and an identification information of the hardware device. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method of claim 6 further comprising: receiving a permit to authorize the configuration from an authentication authority; and storing the permit in a secure non-volatile memory, wherein the secure non-volatile memory is not accessible by an operating system of the platform. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein determining that the platform is authorized to configure the at least one configurable feature comprises determining that the permit is present in the secure non-volatile memory. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7, wherein the permit comprises an expiry date and time, and wherein determining that the platform is authorized to configure the at least one configurable feature comprises determining that a current date and time of the platform is prior to the expiry date and time of the permit. ### Claim 10 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7 further comprising sending a configuration message based at least in part on the permit when the platform is powered up or when the platform is rebooted, wherein the configuration message comprises the configuration of each of the at least one configurable feature. ### Claim 11 A system comprising: a central processing unit (CPU) to receive a configuration message, wherein the CPU comprises at least one configurable feature; and a management module, coupled with the CPU, to: determine that the system is authorized to configure the at least one configurable feature of the CPU; and send the configuration message to the CPU, wherein the CPU is further to configure each of the at least one configurable feature based at least in part on the received configuration message. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the received configuration message comprises identification information of the CPU, and wherein the CPU is further to: verify that the identification information of the CPU in the received configuration message matches an identity of the CPU. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The system of claim 12, wherein the CPU further comprises at least one fuse register, and wherein the CPU to configure each of the at least one configurable feature is to: parse the received configuration message to obtain configuration settings of each of the at least one configurable feature of the CPU; and program the at least one fuse register with the configuration settings in the CPU, wherein the at least one fuse register determine the configuration of the at least one configurable feature. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the CPU to configure each of the at least one configurable feature comprises enabling or disabling each of the at least one configurable feature of the CPU based at least in part on the received configuration message. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the management module is further to: receive configuration information of the CPU, wherein the configuration information comprises configurability information on each of the at least one configurable feature, and an identification information of the CPU; and receive a request to configure the at least one configurable feature based at least in part on the received configuration information; ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15, wherein the management module further comprises a secure non-volatile memory, and wherein the management module is further to: receive a, permit to authorize the configuration from an authentication authority; and store the permit in the secure non-volatile memory, wherein the secure non-volatile memory is not accessible by an operating system of the system. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the management module to determine that the system is authorized to configure the at least one configurable feature is to determine that the permit is present in the secure non-volatile memory. ### Claim 18 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the permit comprises an expiry date and time, and wherein the management module to determine that the system is authorized to configure the at least one configurable feature is to determine that a current date and time of the system is prior to the expiry date and time of the permit. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the management module is further to send the configuration message based at least in part on the permit when the platform is powered up or when the platform is rebooted, and wherein the configuration message comprises the configuration of each of the at least one configurable feature. ### Claim 20 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the coupling between the CPU and the management module is not accessible by an operation system of the system. ### Claim 21 (depends on 16) The system of claim 16, wherein the permit is associated with the identification information of the CPU to allow only the CPU to configure each of the at least one configurable feature. ### Claim 22 (depends on 15) The system of claim 15 further comprising a basic input/output system (BIOS) firmware coupled with the CPU and with the management module to: obtain the configuration information of the CPU; and send the configuration information of the CPU to the management module. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The system of claim 22 further comprising a memory controller host coupled with the management module and with the CPU, and wherein the management module to send the configuration message to the CPU is to send the configuration message to the CPU via the memory host controller. ### Claim 24 (depends on 11) The system of claim 11, wherein the configuration message is defined in accordance with a vendor defined message (VDM). ### Claim 25 A central processing unit (CPU) with at least one configurable feature comprising: a firmware module to: receive a configuration message; and configure each of the at least one configurable feature based at least in part on the received configuration message. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The CPU of claim 25, wherein the received configuration message comprises identification information of the CPU, and wherein the firmware module is further to: verify that the identification information of the CPU in the received configuration message matches an identity of the CPU. ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The CPU of claim 25, wherein the CPU further comprises at least one fuse register, and wherein the firmware module to configure each of the at least one configurable feature is to: parse the received configuration message to obtain configuration settings of each of the at least one configurable feature of the CPU; and program the at least one fuse register with the configuration settings in the CPU, wherein the at least one fuse register determine the configuration of the at least one configurable feature. ### Claim 28 (depends on 25) The CPU of claim 25, wherein the firmware module to configure each of the at least one configurable feature comprises enabling or disabling each of the at least one configurable feature of the CPU based at least in part on the received configuration message. ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) The CPU of claim 25, wherein the firmware module is further to: obtain the configuration information of the CPU; and send the configuration information of the CPU to a basic input/output system (BIOS) firmware. ### Claim 30 (depends on 25) The CPU of claim 25, wherein receive the configuration message comprises accessing at least one register in a memory host controller. ### Claim 31 (depends on 25) The CPU of claim 25, wherein the configuration message is defined in accordance with a vendor defined message (VDM).