Method and system for maintaining firmware versions in a data processing system
US7243347B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 21, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jul 10, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 5, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L69/329
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A data processing method and system according to the present invention in which a mass storage device (DASD) of a data processing system is partitioned to include a service partition. The service partition includes the current versions of peripheral device firmware, any BIOS extensions, and device drivers. During a system boot, the boot code will compare the firmware versions of all the peripheral devices against the archived firmware versions stored in the service partition. If a mismatch is detected, the system boot will typically force an update of the peripheral device firmware to the level that is known to be good. Any such firmware updates are recorded in a log that is accessible to system management applications. Any revisions to firmware may be imaged into the service partition so that the revised version will be incorporated into the peripheral device itself during the next subsequent system boot.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.