Claims
- 1. A system comprising:
a processor; a memory coupled to the processor; and a bridge device coupling a system bus to the processor, the system bus configured to couple to an expansion bus of a managed computer system; wherein the memory is configured to hold a bootable image for the managed computer system, and wherein the processor is configured to emulate a disk drive device storing the bootable image, and to boot the managed computer system from the bootable image stored in the memory.
- 2. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to determine a source of an error in the managed computer system by accessing components of the managed computer system over the system bus.
- 3. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to store information related to a state of the managed computer system in the memory.
- 4. The system as defined in claim 3 wherein the processor is configured to store diagnostic information about the managed computer system in the memory.
- 5. The system as defined in claim 3 wherein the processor is configured to store event log information about the managed computer system in the memory.
- 6. The system as defined in claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to reboot the managed computer system without accessing a host processor of the managed computer system.
- 7. The system as defined in claim 1 further comprising:
a network interface coupled to the memory by the system bus; wherein the bootable image is transferable to the memory through the network interface.
- 8. The system as defined in claim 7 wherein the bootable image is transferable to the memory through the network interface from a remote management console.
- 9. The system as defined in claim 7 wherein the bootable image is transferable to the memory through the network interface using file transfer protocol (FTP) software.
- 10. The system as defined in claim 7 wherein the bootable image is transferable to the memory through the network interface using TFTP software.
- 11. A method comprising:
transferring a bootable image for a managed computer system to a memory within a management sub-system coupled to the managed computer system; and emulating a floppy drive by the management sub-system to boot the managed computer system from the bootable image in the memory of the management sub-system.
- 12. The method as defined in claim 11 further comprising transferring the bootable image to the memory at the behest of a remote management console.
- 13. The method as defined in claim 12 further comprising transferring the bootable image to the memory from the remote management console.
- 14. The method as defined in claim 12 further comprising transferring the bootable image through a network interface coupled to the management sub-system using a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software.
- 15. The method as defined in claim 12 further comprising transferring the bootable image through a network interface coupled to the management sub-system using TFTP software.
- 16. The method as defined in claim 11 further comprising rebooting the managed computer system, by a processor of the management sub-system, prior to emulating.
- 17. A management sub-system comprising:
a processor; a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing a bootable image for a managed computer system; and a bridge device coupling a system bus to the processor, and wherein the system bus is configured to couple to an expansion bus of the managed computer system; wherein the processor is configured to emulate a disk drive device storing the bootable image, and the processor is further configured to boot the managed computer system from the bootable image stored in the memory.
- 18. The management sub-system as defined in claim 17 further comprising:
a network interface coupled to the memory by the system bus; wherein the bootable image is transferable to the memory through the network interface.
- 19. The management sub-system as defined in claim 18 wherein the bootable image is transferable to the memory through the network interface from a remote management console.
- 20. The management sub-system as defined in claim 18 wherein the bootable image is transferred to the memory through the network interface using TFTP software.
- 21. The management sub-system as defined in claim 17 wherein the processor, memory and network interface are mounted on an add-in card configured to be substantially within the chassis of the managed computer system.
- 22. The management sub-system as defined in claim 17 wherein the system bus is a Peripheral Components Interconnect (PCI) bus.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of co-pending application Ser. No. 09/675,281 filed Sep. 29, 2000, entitled “Computer Card For Storing Bootable Images And Providing Remote Management Functions,” incorporated by reference herein as if reproduced in full below.
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09675281 |
Sep 2000 |
US |
Child |
10781108 |
Feb 2004 |
US |