1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer technology, and more particularly, to a program-controlled system startup management interface for use with a computer platform, such as a network server (including blade server), a network workstation, a desktop computer, or the like, for providing a user-operated program-controlled system startup function for the user to start up or shut down the computer platform.
2. Description of Related Art
Network servers are computer platforms that are linked to a network systems for providing various kinds of data service functions, such as serving Web pages, sharing files and data, and so on, among client workstations over the networks. Since Internet has become widely used and indispensable in all kinds of trades, server management is an important part of network management in this information age.
One important task in server management is the startup and shutdown of a server unit, which includes power-on, power-off, and reset. Presently, the server unit is typically equipped with a power button and a reset button on the outer casing. The power button allows the management personnel to switch on or off the power of the server unit; and in the event of a system crash to the server unit, the crashed server unit can be rebooted back to normal operation simply by pressing the reset button.
One drawback to the use of power button and reset button on server unit, however, is that they can be easily inadvertently touched by any persons working nearby, thus accidentally causing the server unit to be turned off or undergo an unintended reboot procedure that would temporarily interrupt its server functions over the network.
Moreover, still another drawback to the use of power button and reset button on server unit is that it would allow any ill-intentioned persons to easily interrupt the operation of the server unit simply by pressing the power button or reset button to shut down the server unit.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a program-controlled system startup management interface that allows the startup and shutdown of a computer platform to be program-controlled by authorized personnel, rather than button-controlled, so as to prevent the computer platform from being inadvertently or ill-intentionally turned off.
It is another objective of this invention to provide a program-controlled system startup management interface that allows only authorized personnel to start up or shut down a computer platform.
The program-controlled system startup management interface according to the invention is designed for use with a computer platform, such as network server (including blade server), network workstation, desktop computer, and the like, for providing a user-operated program-controlled system startup procedure for the user to start up the computer platform.
The program-controlled system startup management interface according to the invention is characterized by the use of a program-controlled procedure which includes a user-authorization step to check whether the user (who intend to start up or shut down the computer platform) is authorized to do so. This feature can help prevent the computer platform from being inadvertently turned on or off, and can also help prevent the computer platform from being turned off by ill-intended persons.
The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The inv according to the invention is disclosed in full details by way of preferred embodiments in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The object-oriented component model of the program-controlled system startup management interface of the invention 100 comprises: (a) a display module 110; (b) a control message input module 120; (c) a user login module 130; (d) an operation mode selection module 140; and (e) a startup activating module 150; and can further optionally include an operating system selection module 210.
The display module 110 is, for example, a small-size LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) unit, which is used to display a set of user-machine interactive interfaces, including, for example, a user login interface 111 shown in
The control message input module 120 is, for example, a small-size matrix keyboard, which serves as an input interface for the user to input a set of user-authorization data (i.e., username and password), select desired operation mode, and select desired operating system.
The user login module 130 is capable of being activated in response to a startup triggering event 131 (for example when the standby power of the computer platform 10 is turned on by the user) to display a user login interface 111 (as shown in
The operation mode selection module 140 is capable of being activated in response to the startup management enabling message from the control message input module 130 to display an operation mode selection interface 112 (as shown in
The startup activating module 150 is capable of being activated in response to each different operation mode enabling message (i.e., power-on enabling message, power-off enabling message, or reset enabling message) from the operation mode selection module 140 to activate the main system unit 20 of the computer platform 10 to undergo a corresponding operational procedure; i.e., in the event of a power-on enabling message, the startup activating module 150 will responsively switch on the power of the main system unit 20 of the computer platform 10; in the event of a power-off enabling message, the startup activating module 150 will responsively switch off the power of the same; and in the event of a reset enabling message, the startup activating module 150 will responsively activate the main system unit 20 of the computer platform 10 to undergo a reset procedure to reboot the computer platform 10. In practical implementation, in the case of the computer platform 10 being a blade serer, for example, the startup activating module 150 can be a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) based functional unit in an IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) compliant server management interface that is integrated to the blade server.
The operating system selection module 210 is an optional module that can be additionally integrated to the program-controlled system startup management interface of the invention 100 in the case of two or more different kinds of operating systems being available for installation on the computer platform 10 (if the computer platform 10 utilizes only one kind of operating system, then this operating system selection module 210 is unnecessary). This operating system selection module 210 is capable of being activated in response to a power-on procedure or a reset procedure to display an operating system selection interface 113 (as shown in
Referring together to
If the computer platform 10 utilizes two or more different kinds of operating systems, then the power-on procedure will trigger the operating system selection module 210 to responsively display an operating system selection interface 113 (as shown in
After the computer platform 10 has been successfully started up, if the user wants to reset or shut down the computer platform 10, the user can first activate the program-controlled system startup management interface of the invention 100, and then use the user login module 130 to verify his/her authorization status, and finally use the operation mode selection module 140 to select the “Power OFF” or “Reset” option. This will then cause the startup activating module 150 to command the computer platform 10 to undergo a power-off procedure or a reset procedure.
In conclusion, the invention provides a program-controlled system startup management interface which is designed for use with a computer platform for providing a user-operated program-controlled system startup function for the user to start up or shut down the computer platform, and which is characterized by the use of a program-controlled procedure which includes a user-authorization step to check whether the user (who intend to start up or shut down the computer platform) is authorized to do so. This feature can help prevent the computer platform from being inadvertently turned on or off, and can also help prevent the computer platform from being turned off by ill-intended persons. The invention is therefore more advantageous to use than the prior art.
The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.