Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method for selectively mapping proper boot image to processors of heterogeneous computer systems

US7363484B2 · kind B2 · utility

7Cited by
8References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 15, 2003
Grant dateApr 22, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 1, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F9/4405
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A machine-readable identification register is provided on each cell of a cellular computer system. The identification register is read during system startup to identify a processor type, which may include an instruction set architecture (ISA), associated with the cell. The processor type information is used to ensure that a compatible boot image is provided to processors of the cell. In another embodiment, the system management subsystem has a version selection flag. When the version selection flag is in a first state, the compatible boot image provided to processors of the cell is a current boot image; with the selection flag in a second state the compatible boot image provided to processors of the cell is an older edition of the boot image.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.