Patent Application
20200175346
This disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly relates to pairing an asset management tag to an information handling system.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software resources that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems. When information handling systems are aggregated in great numbers at data centers, techniques for managing inventory and maintenance of individual systems is beneficial.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements illustrated in the Figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements are exaggerated relative to other elements. Embodiments incorporating teachings of the present disclosure are shown and described with respect to the drawings presented herein, in which:
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.
A method may include determining a first unique identifier corresponding to an information handling system. The method may further include providing the first unique identifier to an asset management tag device affixed to the information handling system, the asset management tag device communicatively coupled to an asset management system.
The following description in combination with the Figures is provided to assist in understanding the teachings disclosed herein. The following discussion will focus on specific implementations and embodiments of the teachings. This focus is provided to assist in describing the teachings, and should not be interpreted as a limitation on the scope or applicability of the teachings. However, other teachings can certainly be used in this application. The teachings can also be used in other applications, and with several different types of architectures, such as distributed computing architectures, client/server architectures, or middleware server architectures and associated resources.
A data center is a facility used to house information handling systems and associated components. A data center can include hundreds, and commonly thousands of individual information handling systems, including servers, data storage devices, network devices, and the like. It is essential that a data center provide a reliable infrastructure for information technology (IT) operations in order to minimize service disruptions. Accordingly, a data center typically utilizes real-time monitoring of system operation. In addition, a data center may be subject to federal medical and banking regulations that require proper asset management of data center resources. Ultimately, an individual information handling system may need to be physically identified to perform maintenance. To facilitate locating a particular information handling system, each system can be equipped with an asset management tag device. Each tag device can be in wireless communication with one or more sensors arranged throughout the data center. An asset management system can identify the location of a particular asset management tag device, and accordingly, the associated information handling system. Each tag device is assigned a unique identifier, and the tag identifier is typically paired with a unique identifier corresponding to the associated information handling system. This pairing is usually performed manually by system administration personnel.
Information handling system 100 can include additional components and additional busses, not shown for clarity. For example, system 100 can include multiple processor cores, audio devices, and the like. While a particular arrangement of bus technologies and interconnections is illustrated for the purpose of example, one of skill will appreciate that the techniques disclosed herein are applicable to other system architectures. System 100 can include multiple CPUs and redundant bus controllers. One or more components can be integrated together. For example, portions of northbridge/chipset 106 can be integrated within CPU 102. Additional components of information handling system 100 can include one or more storage devices that can store machine-executable code, one or more communications ports for communicating with external devices, and various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display.
For purpose of this disclosure information handling system 100 can include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. For example, information handling system 100 can be a personal computer, a laptop computer, a smart phone, a tablet device or other consumer electronic device, a network server, a network storage device, a switch, a router, or another network communication device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. Further, information handling system 100 can include processing resources for executing machine-executable code, such as CPU 102, a programmable logic array (PLA), an embedded device such as a System-on-a-Chip (SoC), or other control logic hardware. Information handling system 100 can also include one or more computer-readable medium for storing machine-executable code, such as software or data.
BMC 180 can be configured to provide out-of-band access to devices at information handling system 100. As used herein, out-of-band access refers to operations performed independent of an operating system executing at system 100, including operations performed prior to execution of BIOS 172 by processor 102 to initialize operation of system 100. BMC 180 can provide a network interface, a graphical user interface (GUI) and an application programming interfaces (API) to support remote management of system 100. In an embodiment, BMC 180 can include one or more proprietary or standardized bus interfaces, for example USB, I2C, and the like, to provide wired communication between BMC 180 and a bus interface connector provided at a bezel associated with system 100. As used herein, a bezel is a face-plate attached to a front surface of an information handling system, often including a locking mechanism to secure access to system 100 when installed in a chassis or rack system at a data center. In a particular embodiment, asset management tag device 190 is embedded or otherwise attached at a front surface of the bezel.
BIOS 172 can be referred to as a firmware image, and the term BIOS is herein used interchangeably with the term firmware image, or simply firmware. BIOS 172 includes instructions executable by CPU 102 to initialize and test the hardware components of system 100, and to load a boot loader or an operating system (OS) from a mass storage device. BIOS 172 additionally provides an abstraction layer for the hardware, i.e. a consistent way for application programs and operating systems to interact with the keyboard, display, and other input/output devices. When power is first applied to information handling system 100, the system begins a sequence of initialization procedures. During the initialization sequence, also referred to as a boot sequence, components of system 100 are configured and enabled for operation, and device drivers can be installed. Device drivers provide an interface through which other components of the system 100 can communicate with a corresponding device.
In an embodiment, the BIOS 172 can be substantially compliant with one or more revisions of the UEFI specification. The UEFI standard replaces the antiquated personal computer BIOS system found in some older information handling systems. However, the term BIOS is often still used to refer to the system firmware. The UEFI specification provides standard interfaces and interoperability guidelines for devices that together make up an information handling system. In particular, the UEFI specification provides a standardized architecture and data structures to manage initialization and configuration of devices, booting of platform resources, and passing of control to the operating system. The UEFI specification allows for the extension of platform firmware by loading UEFI driver and UEFI application images. For example, an original equipment manufacturer can include customized or proprietary images to provide enhanced control and management of the information handling system 100.
Method 300 completes at block 303 where the asset management system can associate the first unique identifier with a second unique identifier corresponding to the asset management tag device, referred to herein as pairing. For example, having received the first unique identifier from information handling system 210, asset tag device 212 can transmit the first unique identifier and the second unique identifier to asset management system 250, for example via one or more gateways 251. Asset management system 250 can further provide the pairing information and tag location information to other IT management systems. In an embodiment, asset management system 250 can provide or otherwise make available the pairing information and tag location information to a BMC included at information handling system 210. In an embodiment, system 210 can provide the first unique identifier to asset tag 212 on a recurring basis so that if an asset tag is moved from one information handling system to another system, updated pairing information can be provided to asset management system 250. While it may be preferable to maintain pairing information, in an embodiment only the first identifier can be sent to asset management system 250.
Method 400 continues at block 402 where a second unique identifier corresponding to the information handling system is determined. As described above with reference to
Method 300 and method 400 can be supported by one or more software processes executing at an information handling system, for example systems 100 and 210-240, and by one or more software processes executing at a processor included at an asset tag device, for example tag devices 190 and 212-242. In an embodiment, the software processes executing at information handling system 100 can be associated with BMC 180 so that communication between system 100 and asset tag device 190 can be performed out-of-band relative to the primary operation of system 100. In another embodiment, the software processes executing at information handling system 100 can be performed by BIOS 172 during initialization of system 100. In still another embodiment, these processes can be executed by runtime services or applications that are executed under control of an operating system that has been loaded by BIOS 172. Pairing can be updated periodically and/or each time the information handling system is booted. An initial pairing of asset tag device 190 to information handling system 100 can be performed at an original equipment manufacture (OEM) facility or otherwise prior to installation at a data center so that asset management tracking of a new information handling system can commence as soon as the system arrives at a loading dock of the data center.
While method 300 and method 400 illustrate unidirectional communication between system 100 and asset tag device 190, one of skill will appreciate that such communication can be bidirectional. For example, information handling system 100 can transmit a unique identifier corresponding with system 100 to asset tag device 190, and tag device 190 can transmit a unique identifier corresponding to tag device 190 to information handling system 100.
While method 500 and method 600 illustrate unidirectional communication between system 100 and asset tag device 190, one of skill will appreciate that such communication can be bidirectional. Additional techniques for providing intercommunication between system 100 and tag device 190 are described below with reference to
Referring back to
In a networked deployment, the information handling system 100 may operate in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The information handling system 100 can also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system 100 can be implemented using electronic devices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, while a single information handling system 100 is illustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.
The information handling system 100 can include a disk drive unit and may include a computer-readable medium, not shown in
In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodiments described herein may implement functions using two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, and hardware implementations.
In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described herein may be implemented by software programs executable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limited embodiment, implementations can include distributed processing, component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods or functionality as described herein.
The present disclosure contemplates a computer-readable medium that includes instructions or receives and executes instructions responsive to a propagated signal; so that a device connected to a network can communicate voice, video or data over the network. Further, the instructions may be transmitted or received over the network via the network interface device.
While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.
In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatile read-only memories.
Further, the computer-readable medium can be a random access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to store information received via carrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmission medium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives may be considered a distribution medium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.
Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure as defined in the following claims. In the claims, means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures.
