Mechanism to change firmware in a high availability single processor system
US7284236B2 · kind B2 · utility
37Cited by
4References
33Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 29, 2002 |
| Grant date | Oct 16, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 25, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F8/656
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A “high availability” system comprises multiple switches under the control of a control processor (“CP”). The firmware executing on the processor can be changed when desired. Consistent with the high availability nature of the system (i.e., minimal down time), a single CP system implements a firmware change by loading new firmware onto the system, saving state information pertaining to the old firmware, preventing the old firmware from communicating with the switches, bringing the new firmware to an active state and applying the saved state information to the new firmware.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.