Method for initializing and shutting down a computer system

A method for initializing a computer system comprising a plurality of elemental servers, a router, and a network for interconnecting the elemental servers and the router, each of said elemental servers comprising one or more CPUs, a memory, a BIOS, an I/O subsystem, a chip set for connecting the CPUs, the memory, the BIOS and the I/O subsystem, a power supply unit for supplying power, and a system service processor that is supplied with power by a line separate from a line through which said power supply unit supplies power to the CPUs, the memory, the BIOS and the I/O subsystem and takes system control within the elemental server, said method comprising:

• a step of powering on at least one of the elemental servers of a multiprocessor system operating with shared memory units;
• a step in which said at least one elemental server being powered on causes other elemental servers of said multiprocessor system to be powered on;
• a step in which, having ascertained that all elemental servers of said multiprocessor system are powered on, said at least one elemental server issues a packet to the router for gaining a representative right;
• a step of selecting an elemental server that is granted the representative right by arbitrating among said packets for gaining a representative right;
• a step in which a selected elemental server that gains the representative right determines a schedule of interleaving the memory and I/O components of the multiprocessor system operating with shared memory units;
• and
• a step in which the selected elemental server notifies other elemental servers of the thus determined interleave schedule.

A method for turning power off and shutting down a computer system comprising a plurality of elemental servers, a router, and a network for interconnecting the elemental servers and the router, each of said elemental servers comprising one or more CPUs, a memory, a BIOS, an I/O subsystem, a chip set for connecting the CPUs, the memory, the BIOS, and the I/O subsystem, a power supply unit for supplying power, and a system service processor that is supplied with power by a line separate from a line through which said power supply unit supplies power to the CPUs, the memory, the BIOS, and the I/O subsystem and takes system control within the elemental server, said method comprising:

• a step in which any one of said elemental servers or the router issues shutdown request packets to other elemental servers when being powered off;
• a step in which a requested elemental server that received said shutdown request packet sends an acknowledgment packet of said shutdown request packet back to the requesting elemental server that sends said shutdown request packet and powers off;
• and
• a step in which the requesting elemental server or the router being powered off awaits said acknowledgment packets from all requested elemental servers in order to generate and send a shutdown control packet to the router to power off the router so as to shut down the computer system.