Hardware component interface for desktop computer management systems

Abstract

A manageable desktop computer system and an associated method for managing a plurality of manageable devices. The computer system includes a storage facility, a registry and a plurality of manageable devices coupled to a hardware component interface (HCI). The HCI includes a dynamic linked library (DLL) which contains a first data structure which describes available management information for each one of the plurality of manageable devices and a function calls area which contains locational information as to where, within the storage facility, the registry or the plurality of manageable devices, the available management information is maintained. A management application which manages the plurality of manageable devices using management information received from the computer system transmits information requests to a management agent which includes a mapper which translates information requests issued by the management application and described using a second data structure into information requests described using the first data structure. The DLL receives the translated requests for information and, using the first data structure and the locational information, retrieves the requested information from either the registry, the storage facility or the manageable device to which the requested information pertains. The retrieved information is then propagated to the mapper for translation into the second data structure and transmission to the management application.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A manageable computer system, comprising:

a plurality of manageable devices;

a corresponding plurality of device drivers;

a plurality of management applications operative to manage a corresponding manageable device of the plurality of manageable devices by modifying or retrieving associated management information, each management application of the plurality of management applications using a first data structure to access management information in the computer system;

a plurality of management agents, each coupled to a corresponding management application of the plurality of management applications, wherein each management agent translates management information between the first data structure and a second data structure;

a component interface, coupled to each of the management agents and to the plurality of manageable devices via corresponding device drivers, the component interface using the second data structure to access management information for each of the plurality of manageable devices in the computer system and locational information to determine the location, within the computer system, at which the management information is maintained; and

the component interface being operative to access management information from the computer system using the second data structure and the locational information and to propagate requested management information to corresponding management application via the corresponding management agent, the component interface further comprising:

a dynamic linked library (DLL); and

the DLL including the second data structure which describes available management information for each one of the plurality of manageable devices.

2. A manageable computer system according to claim 1 and further comprising:

a first storage facility coupled to the component interface; and

the management information being selectively maintained at either the first storage facility or at a manageable device to which specific management information pertains.

3. A manageable computer system according to claim 2 and further comprising:

a second storage facility coupled to the component interface; the management information being selectively maintained at either the first storage facility, the second storage facility or at the manageable device to which specific management information pertains.

4. A manageable computer system according to claim 3 wherein the second storage facility is a registry.

5. A manageable computer system according to claim 3 the component interface further comprising:

a function calls area comprising the locational information; and

at least one pointer between the second data structure and the function calls area.

6. A manageable computer system according to claim 1 wherein the second data structure further comprises a plurality of device branches, each one of the plurality of branches describing the available management information for a corresponding one of the plurality of manageable devices.

7. A manageable computer system according to claim 6 wherein the plurality of device branches further comprises at least one of a CPU branch, a disk drive branch, a memory branch, a bus branch, an input/output port branch, a system board branch and a video branch.

8. A manageable computer system according to claim 6 wherein the second data structure further comprises a security branch which describes asset security features for the computer system.

9. A manageable computer system according to claim 6 wherein the second data structure further comprises a thermal branch which describes thermal conditions for the computer system.

10. A manageable computer system according to claim 1, wherein each management agent further comprises a mapper operative to translate management information between the first and second data structures.

11. A manageable computer system according to claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of management applications, each operative to manage at least one of the plurality of manageable devices, and each using a corresponding one of a plurality of management application data structures to modify or retrieve management information in the computer system; and

a plurality of management agents, each coupled to the component interface and to a corresponding one of the plurality of management applications, each translating between a corresponding one of the plurality of management application data structures and the second data structure to enable access and retrieval of management information.

12. A method for managing a plurality of manageable devices of a computer system, comprising:

generating a request, by a management application of a plurality of management applications, for access to management information in accordance with a first data structure;

translating the request, by a management agent of a plurality of management agents, wherein each management agent corresponds to a management application of the plurality of management applications, to a request in accordance with a second data structure of a component interface;

accessing the management information, by the component interface, using the second data structure and locational information, said accessing the management information further comprising using a pointer between the second data structure and a function calls area; and

providing the management information, by the component interface and the management agent, to the management application.

13. A method of managing a plurality of manageable devices of a computer system according to claim 12 and further comprising:

generating a plurality of requests, each by a corresponding one of the plurality of management applications, for management information in accordance with a corresponding one of the plurality of management application data structures; and

translating each request, by a corresponding one of the plurality of corresponding management agents, to a request in accordance with the second data structure.

14. A method of managing a plurality of manageable devices of a computer system according to claim 12 wherein said accessing the management information further comprises selectively accessing the management information from a first storage facility or from a manageable device to which the management information pertains.

15. A method of managing a plurality of manageable devices of a computer system according to claim 12 wherein said accessing the management information further comprises accessing the management information from a selected one of a first storage facility, a second storage facility and a manageable device to which the management information pertains.

16. A method of managing a plurality of manageable devices of a computer system according to claim 12 wherein said translating the request further comprises mapping management information between the first and second data structures.

Description

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to desktop management systems and, more particularly, to a hardware component interface which provides information regarding manageable hardware and software components of a desktop computer system to applications requesting such information.

2. Description of Related Art

A variety of systems for managing manageable devices, i.e., intelligent hardware devices capable of supporting a software configured management agent, have been disclosed in the art. In order to manage a manageable device, the management system must collect information from the device. To collect this information, management systems typically include a management application which interacts with the management agent to extract the desired information from the device. For example, the management application may use the Simple Network Management Protocol (or "SNMP"), a widely used interoperable network management protocol, to retrieve or change the value of items made available by the management agent. The collected information is then processed by the management application, for example, by making the information available for analysis by an administrator. One such management system which is commercially available is commonly referred to as the "Compaq Insight Manager" and is described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/933,920 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,617) and 08/060,296, both of which are assigned to the Assignee of the present application and are hereby incorporated by reference as if reproduced in their entirety.

The Compaq Insight Manager utilizes an enterprise management information base (or "MIB") to manage manageable devices. A MIB is a data base that describes a set of items that the management application and agents use to report and control managed devices. Within a MIB is a structure for organizing managed items. To form the structure, the MIB defines a group or groups for organizing related pieces of information. Groups may contain information in the form of items or "objects", sub-groups, or a combination of the two. Similarly, each sub-group is configured like a group. Within a group or sub-group, data may be organized in one of two basic methods--as scalar items or as tables.

A scalar item is a single piece of information that is within a group. For example, the total memory in a server is a scalar item. A table is a structure for organizing data that requires more information to uniquely identify a single data item within a group of similar items. An example of an item that is best organized in a table is an EISA board ID. A MIB may also contain trap definitions. A trap is a notification sent by the SNMP agent to the management application to inform the application about an event that has occurred at the device.

Like the Compaq Insight Manager, other management applications also require a method of obtaining information from management devices. Traditionally, each independent software vendor (or "ISV") who has developed a management application have satisfied this requirement by designing a unique application program interface (or "API") between the management application and the management device. For example, if an ISV developed a management application which needed to know the integrated drive electronics (or "IDE") hard drive serial number, the ISV had to be concerned with I/O ports, the handling of IRQs triggered when the command to the IDE drive was issued and other issues which require device virtualization. Thus, as each ISV has needed to include a significant level of detail regarding each manageable device to be managed by their application, management applications remain both expensive and time consuming to design and limited as to the particular selection of devices for which they are able to manage. Furthermore, these problems are expected to be further aggravated under the Windows 95 operating system released in August, 1995.

Thus, it can be readily seen from the foregoing that it would be desirable to provide a common interface between the manageable devices and the management applications seeking information regarding the devices such that any management application could utilize the interface to receive the information. It is, therefore, the object of this invention to provide such an interface.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention is of a manageable computer system comprised of a plurality of manageable devices, each of which are coupled to a hardware component interface (HCI) by a corresponding one of a plurality of device drivers. A management application for managing the manageable devices using management information received from the computer system is coupled to the HCI by a management agent. Contained in the HCI is a first data structure which describes management information available for each one of the manageable devices and a pointer to locational information which indicates where, within the computer system, the available management information is maintained. The HCI receives a request for information from the management application and, using the first data structure and the locational information, retrieves the requested information from the computer system. The retrieved information is then propagated to the management application.

In one aspect thereof, a first storage facility is coupled to the HCI. In this aspect, the requested information may be selectively maintained at either the first storage facility or at the manageable device to which the requested information pertains. In another aspect thereof, a second storage facility, such as a registry, is also coupled to the HCI. In this aspect, the requested information may be selectively maintained at either the first storage facility, the second storage facility or at the manageable device to which the requested information pertains.

In further aspects thereof, the HCI may include either a dynamic linked library (DLL) or a DLL and a function calls area. The DLL contains the first data structure which describes available management information for each one of the plurality of manageable devices while the function calls area contains the locational information as to where, within the computer system, the available management information is maintained.

In still further aspects thereof, the first data structure may include a plurality of device branches, a plurality of device branches and a security branch or a plurality of device branches and a thermal branch. Each of the device branches describes the available management information for a corresponding one of the plurality of manageable devices and may include a CPU branch, a CPU cache branch, a floppy drive branch, a FPU branch, an IDE drive branch, a keyboard branch, a memory module branch, a network interface card branch, an ISA plug and play device branch, a parallel port branch, a PCI bus branch, a ROM branch, an option ROM branch, a serial port branch, a system board branch, a system memory branch, a system ROM branch and a video branch. The security branch describes asset security features for the computer system while the thermal branch describes thermal conditions for the computer system.

In yet another aspect thereof, the management agent includes a mapper. The mapper translates management information described by the HCI using the first data structure into a second data structure interpretable by the management application.

In another embodiment, the present invention is of a manageable computer system comprised of a storage facility, a plurality of manageable devices and a hardware component interface (HCI). Each one of the plurality of manageable devices is coupled to the HCI by a corresponding one of a plurality of device drivers. The HCI includes a dynamic linked library (DLL) which contains a first data structure which describes available management information for each one of the plurality of manageable devices, a function calls area, which contains locational information as to where, within the storage facility or the plurality of manageable devices, the available management information is maintained, coupled to the DLL, and a buffer coupled to the storage facility and the plurality of device drivers.

A management application which manages the plurality of manageable devices using management information received from the computer system is coupled to a management agent which includes a mapper coupled to the DLL and the buffer. The mapper translates information requests issued by the management application and described using the second data structure into information requests described using the first data structure. The DLL receives the translated requests for information from the mapper and, using the first data structure and the locational information, retrieves the requested information from either the storage facility or the manageable device to which the requested information pertains for placement in the buffer. The retrieved information is then propagated to the mapper for translation into the second data structure and transmission to the management application.

In one aspect thereof, the first data structure further includes at least one device branch which describes the available management information for a corresponding one of the manageable devices and a security branch which describes asset security features for the computer system. In another aspect thereof, the first data structure further includes at least one device branch which describes the available management information for a corresponding one of the manageable devices and a thermal branch which describes thermal conditions for the computer system.

In another embodiment, the present invention is of a method for managing at least one manageable device using a management application. A data structure is generated for the manageable devices. Requests, issued by the management application, for management information are correlated to the data structure. The requested management information is then retrieved using the correlated request and the retrieved information delivered to the management application. In one aspect thereof, the management information requests issued by the management application are application specific while the data structure for the manageable devices is a non-application specific data structure. In another aspect thereof, requests for management information are correlated to the data structure by translating a description of the application specific request to a corresponding, non-application specific component structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a desktop computer system and an associated management architecture for that computer system;

FIG. 2 is an expanded block diagram of a portion of the computer system of FIG. 1 which illustrates a hardware component interface between a management application and a manageable device;

FIG. 3 is a tree illustrating an organizational framework for the hardware component interface of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method of obtaining management information using the hardware component interface of FIGS. 1-3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description is directed to a novel hardware component interface which provides an interface between management applications and a desktop computer system. It should be clearly understood, however, that the disclosed desktop computer system is exemplary in nature and that the hardware component interface set forth below is equally suitable for use with various types of computer systems other than those specifically described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a desktop computer system 10 having a common hardware component interface for management applications and an associated management architecture for such a computer system will now be described in greater detail. The computer system 10 includes a hardware level 12 comprised of plural manageable devices 1-21 through 12-N to be managed by a management application in a manner more fully described below through a hardware component interface (or "HCI") 16. The manageable devices included in the hardware level 12 are ROM 12-1, IDE 12-2, as well as any number of other manageable devices such as parallel ports, video, SCSI drives and others typically included in a desktop computer system. It should be noted, however, that while the manageable devices 12-1 through 12-N comprising the hardware level 12 are those devices typically included in a desktop computer, it is specifically contemplated that the hardware level 12 may be modified to include additional computer systems as well as other manageable network devices such as bridges, routers and concentrators.

The HCI 16 is coupled to the hardware level 12 by a virtualization layer 14 comprised of a series of virtual drivers 14-1 through 14-N, each of which corresponds to one of the manageable devices 12-1 through 12-N included in the hardware level 12. Generally speaking, a virtual driver (or "VXD") is a software interface which controls the exchange of messages between an application and a device. The INT 15 VXD 14-1 is commercially available code which allows access to the ROM 10-1 while the desktop computer 10 is running the Windows 95 operating system. The IDE disk fault prediction (or "DFP") VXD 14-2 includes plural software routines, each of which handles selected portions of I/O exchanges between a DFP application and the IDE drive 12-2. The IDE DFP VXD 12-2 is described in greater detail in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/519,104, filed Aug. 24, 1995 and previously incorporated by reference. Similarly, virtual drivers 14-3 through 14-N provide respective software interfaces between the corresponding device 12-3 through 12-N and the HCI 16.

The HCI 16 is a software interface which provides a "loose" coupling between various management applications to be described in greater detail below and the various manageable devices provided at the hardware level 12 which are to be managed by the application. The term "loose" coupling refers to the feature that the management application does not need to know where a selected manageable device holds certain pieces of information typically requested by a management application. Instead, the management application will request the information from the HCI 16. In turn, the HCI 16 will retrieve the requested information, either from the manageable device itself or from a storage facility. The HCI 16 is coupled to two such storage facilities, disk file 18 and Windows 95 registry 20, either of which may hold selected management information.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, any number of management applications may be coupled to the HCI 16 by a corresponding management agent. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates first and second management applications 24-1 and 24-2 respectively coupled to the HCI 16 by management agents 22-1 and 22-2. For example, a DMI agent would be suitable for the uses contemplated herein. Of course, the particular number of management applications illustrated as coupled to the HCI 16 is purely exemplary and it is specifically contemplated that any number of management applications may be coupled to the HCI 16. In alternate embodiments thereof, the management applications 24-1 and 24-2 may be directly coupled to the HCI 16 or indirectly coupled to the HCI 16 via a management interface such as the Microsoft Management Interface (or "MMI") (not shown). A third management application 24-3, commonly known as the "Compaq Insight Manager" (or "CIM") and described in U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 07/933,920 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,617) and 08/060,296 is coupled to the HCI 16 by a SNMP agent 22-3. Finally, the management architecture for the computer system 10 also includes a local alert provider 26 and a fault manager 28. The local alert provider 26 receives fault messages from the HCI 16 related to drive faults and thermal conditions and issues a local alert, for example, using a pop-up dialog box. The fault manager 28 polls for IDE drive and thermal faults and posts a message upon detection of a fault condition.

Referring next to FIG. 2, the software agents residing in the management agents 22-1 through 22-N and the HCI 16 which accomplish the retrieval of requested management information will now be described in greater detail. In this regard, however, it should be clearly understood that, while the present description is directed to the retrieval of management information requested by the CIM management application 24-3, it should be clearly understood that the foregoing description is equally applicable to the processes by which other management applications retrieve requested information or by which the CIM management application or other management applications sets requested information.

More specifically, the CIM management application 24-3 requests management information by identifying the CIM management information base (or "MIB") definition for the desired information to the mapper 30 of the SNMP agent 22-3. For example, if a description of the serial ports of the computer system 10 is desired, the CIM management application 24-3 will issue a request for the serialPortTable object located at branch 232.1.2.9.1 of the serial port child group of the CIM MIB. The mapper 30 translates the MIB description of the requested information into HW_SERIAL, the corresponding HCI component structure definition. Translation of the CIM MIB definition to its corresponding HCI component structure definition may be accomplished by various means, for example, using a conventional look-up table.

It is contemplated that the management agents 22-1 and 22-2 should also include a similarly configured mapper capable of translating descriptions of requested management information issued by the management application 24-1 and 24-2 coupled thereto, to the corresponding HCI component structure definition for the management information.

The mapper 30 then transfers the HCI component structure to the HCI dynamic linked library (or "DLL") 32. For each HCI component structure received thereby, a pointer 33 points to corresponding calling conventions and parameters maintained in function calls area 34 of the HCI 16 which are required in order to retrieve the requested management information described by the HCI component structure. Using the information contained within the call pointed to by the HCI DLL 32, the HCI DLL 32 retrieves the requested management information. Depending on the particular call pointed to by the HCI DLL 32, the HCI DLL 32 will retrieve the requested management information from either one of the devices 12-1 through 12-N, the storage facility 18 or the. registry 20. More specifically, for each HCI component structure received by the HCI DLL 32, the function calls area 34 contains a location, either within one of the devices 12-1 through 12-N, the storage facility 18 or the registry 20 where the requested management information described by the HCI component structure received by the HCI DLL 32 is held.

In this manner, the HCI DLL 32 may selectively retrieve information from the registry 20, the storage facility 18 or the manageable device 12-N by placing the requested management information maintained by either the registry 20, storage facility 18 or management device 12-N into data buffer 36 for transfer to the management application originating the management information request, in the present example, the CIM management application 24-3, through the management agent, in the present example, the SNMP agent 22-3.

If the requested management information is maintained by the device 12-N, the HCI DLL 34 will access the device 12-N using the virtual driver 14-N and place the requested management information in the data buffer 36. Of course, if the requested management information is maintained by the ROM 12-1 or the IDE drive 12-2, the HCI DLL 34 will respectively access the ROM 12-1 or the IDE drive 12-2 and place the requested management information in the data buffer 36 by, way of the INT 15 VXD 14-1 or the IDE DFP VXD 14-2.

Referring next to FIG. 3, the HCI component structure 38 which allows plural management applications 24-1 through 24-3 to be loosely coupled with manageable devices 12-1 through 12-N located at the hardware level 12 will now be described in greater detail. The HCI component structure 38 is organized to include a plurality of branches 1.1 through 1.14, each describing a manageable device included in the desktop computer system 10, which extend from a component node 1 of the HCI component structure 38. Branches which extend from the component node 1 include a CPU branch 1.1, a CPU cache branch 1.2, a floppy branch 1.3, an FPU branch 1.4, an IDE identification branch 1.5, a keyboard branch 1.6, a memory module branch 1.7, a network interface card branch 1.8, an ISA plug and play branch 1.9, a parallel branch 1.10, a PCI branch 1.11, a ROM branch 1.12, an option ROM branch 1.13, a serial branch 1.14, a security branch 1.15, a system board branch 1.16, a system memory branch 1.17, a system ROM branch 1.18, a thermal branch 1.19 and a video branch 1.20.

The CPU branch 1.1 contains information regarding the central processing unit (or "CPU") found in the computer system 10 such as the name, speed and step revision of the processor. The formal structure of the CPU branch 1.1 is as follows:

Input Hardware ID: HW_CPU

Input index structure:

None.

Output structure: The CPU structure contains information about the central processing unit (CPU) found in the machine.

struct CPU {

BYTE CPU_Name[DESCRIPTION_LEN];

LONG CPU_Speed;

DWORD CPU_Step;

};

Members

CPU_Name

The name of this processor. For example "80486 DX4".

CPU_Speed

This is speed in megahertz of this processor.

This will be zero (0) if this value is not available.

CPU_Step

The step revision of the processor.

This will be zero (0) if this value is not available.

.COPYRGT.1995 Compaq Computer Corporation

The CPU cache branch 1.2 contains information regarding the CPU cache of the computer system 10 such as the size and speed of the CPU cache. The formal structure of the CPU cache branch 1.2 is as follows:

Input Hardware ID: HW_CPU_CACHE

Input index structure:

None.

Output structure: The CPU_CACHE structure contains information about to the CPU caches in the system. Use the HW_CPU_CACHE hardware ID to obtain this structure.

struct CPU_CACHE {

DWORD dwCCACHE_Size;

DWORD dwCCACHE_Speed;

};

CACHE_Size The size of the cache in kilobytes.

CACHE_Speed

This is speed in cache memory in nanoseconds (ns). A value of zero (0) means that the cache speed is unknown or unobtainable.

.COPYRGT.1995 Compaq Computer Corporation

The floppy branch 1.3 contains information regarding the floppy drive or drives of the computer system 10 such as drive type and swapping. The formal structure of the floppy branch 1.3 is as follows:

Input Hardware ID: HW_FLOPPY

Input index structure: struct FLOPPY_INDEX_STRUC {

FLOPPY_DRIVE_INDEX FLOPPY_Index;

}

FLOPPY_Index

Floppy drive index as follows:

        Value                    Meaning
        FLOPPY_DRIVE_A           Used for logical floppy drive A:
        FLOPPY_DRIVE_B           Used for logical floppy drive B:

        Value                      Meaning
        FLOPPY_NOT_PRESENT         Floppy drive associated with
                                   FLOPPY_Index is not present
        FLOPPY_360                 360 Kbyte floppy drive present
        FLOPPY_12                  1.2 Mbyte floppy drive present
        FLOPPY_720                 720 Kbyte floppy drive present
        FLOPPY_144                 1.44 Mbyte floppy drive present
        bFLOPPY_Swapped            Boolean which indicated if the
                                   floppy drives have been
                                   swapped.

        Value              Meaning
        FPU_EMBEDDED       The unit in embedded on the main CPU.
        FPU_EXTERNAL       The unit is external to the main CPU.

    Value                               Meaning
    IDE_CONTROLLER_0_DRIVE_0            The first drive on the
                                        first controller.
    IDE_CONTROLLER_0_DRIVE_1            The second drive on the
                                        first controller.
    IDE_CONTROLLER_1_DRIVE_0            The first drive on the
                                        second controller.
    IDE_CONTROLLER_1_DRIVE_1            The second drive on the
                                        second controller.

          Value                        Meaning
          IDE_DRIVE_OK                 The IDE hard drive is
                                       fully functional. No
                                       user action is
                                       required.
          IDE_DRIVE_DEGRADED           The IDE hard drive is
                                       experiencing
                                       difficulties. The user
                                       should backup all data
                                       and have the drive
                                       repaired.

           Attribute ID
              Number           Attribute Name
                0              Indicates that this entry in the
                               data structure is not used
                1              Raw Read Error Date
                2              Throughput Performance
                3              Spin Up Time
                4              Start/Stop Count
                5              Re-allocated Sector Count
                6              Read Channel Margin
                7              Seek Error Rate
                8              Seek Time Performance
                9              Power-On Hours Count
                10             Spin Retry Count
                11             Drive Calibration Retry Count
                12             Drive Power Cycle Count
              13-199           Reserved Attributes
             200-255           Vendor Unique Attributes

            0x00         "always failing" threshold value to be
                         used for code test purposes
            0x01         minimum value for normal operation
            0xFD         maximum value for normal operation
            0xFE         invalid for threshold value-not to be
                         used
        0 .times. FF     "always passing" threshold value to be
                         used for code test purposes.

          Value                  Meaning
          MEM_SIMM               Single in-line memory module
          MEM_PCMCIA             A memory card designed by
                                 the Personal Computer
                                 Memory Card International
                                 Association (PCMCIA)
                                 typically used on a
                                 portable computer.
          MEM_COMPAQ             Compaq proprietary memory
                                 module.

        Value                      Meaning
        PARALLEL_PORT_0            First parallel port found in the
                                   machine.
        PARALLEL_PORT_1            Second parallel port found in
                                   the machine.
        PARALLEL_PORT_2            third parallel port found in the
                                   machine.

        Value                      Meaning
        PARALLEL_PORT_0            Indicates the first parallel
                                   port device.
        PARALLEL_PORT_1            Indicates the second parallel
                                   port device.
        PARALLEL_PORT_2            Indicates the third parallel
                                   port device.

        Value                    Meaning
        PCI_ADDR_MEM             Memory mapped address space.
        PCI_ADDR_IO              I/O mapped address space.
        PCI_ADDR_EXP_ROM         Expansion ROM address space.
        dwPCI_Base               Base address range.
        dwPCI_Size               Size from base address range.

        Value                        Meaning
                     Mass storage controllers
        SUB_MASS_STO_SCSI            SCSI bus controller
        SUB_MASS_STO_IDE             IDE controller
        SUB_MASS_STO_FLOPPY          Floppy controller
        SUB_MASS_STO_IPI             IPI controller
                       Network controllers
        SUB_NET_ETHER                Ethernet controller
        SUB_NET_TOKEN                Token ring controller
        SUB_NET_FDDI                 FDDI controller
        SUB_NET_OTHER                Other network controller
                       Display controllers
        SUB_DSP_VGA                  VGA compatible controller
        SUB_DSP_XGA                  XGA controller
        SUB_DSP_OTHER                Other display controller
                      Multimedia controllers
        SUB_DSP_VIDEO                Video device
        SUB_DSP_AUDIO                Audio device
        SUB_DSP_OTHER                Other multimedia device
                        Memory controllers
        SUB_MEM_RAM                  RAM
        SUB_MEM_FLASH                Flash
        SUB_MEM_OTHER                Other memory controller
                     Bridge device subclasses
        SUB_BRIDGE_HOST              Host bridge
        SUB_BRIDGE_ISA               ISA bridge
        SUB_BRIDGE_EISA              EISA bridge
        SUB_BRIDGE_MCA               MCA bridge
        SUB_BRIDGE_PCI               PCI-to-PCI bridge
        SUB_BRIDGE_PCMCIA            PCMCIA bridge
        SUB_BRIDGE_OTHER             Other bridge device

        Value                    Meaning
        BASE_COMPAT              Device built before class code
                                 definitions were finalized. This
                                 type is defined to provide
                                 backward compatibility.
        BASE_MASS_STO            Mass Storage controller
        BASE_NET                 Network controller
        BASE_DSP                 Display controller
        BASE_MM                  Multixuedia device
        BASE_MEM                 Memory controller
        BASE_BRIDGE              Bridge device

    struct SECURITY {
        char szSec_SysSerialNumber[SEC_SERIAL_NUM_LEN];
        BYTE bySec_NetserverMode;
        BYTE bySec_QuickLockPassword;
        BYTE bySec_QuickBlank;
        BYTE bysec_DisketteBootControl;
        BYTE bysec_SerialPortAControl;
        BYTE bySec_SerialPortBControl;
        BYTE bySec_ParallelPortControl;
        BYTE bySec_FloppyDisketteControl;
        BYTE bysec_FixedDiskcontrol;
        char szSec_ChassisSerialNumber
              [SEC_CHAS_SERIAL_NUM_LEN];
    BYTE bySec_FormFactor;
    };

          Value                            Meaning
          SECURITY_NOT_SUPPORTED           The feature is not
                                           supported on this
                                           hardware platform.
          SECURITY_DISABLED                The feature is presently
                                           disabled.
          SECURITY_ENABLED                 The featured is enabled.

        Value                          Meaning
        FLASH_NOT_SUPPORTED            The hardware does not
                                       support this feature.
        FLASH_SUPPORTED                This feature is supported
                                       by the hardware.

            Value                  Meaning
            TEMP_NORMAL            The CPU thermal
                                   temperature is in
                                   normal operating
                                   condition.
            TEMP_CAUTION           The CPU thermal
                                   temperature in out of
                                   normal operating
                                   range. This can
                                   typically be
                                   cause by leaving the
                                   case off of the machine.
            TEMP_CRITICAL          If CPU thermal
                                   temperature is in
                                   a critical state
                                   The machine should
                                   be turned off
                                   immediately.

                                           Based on 1931
          Bytes     Color Characteristics  CIE chart
          1         RedGreenLowBits        Rx1 Rx0 Ry1 Ry0
                                           Gx1 Gx0 Gy1 Gy0
          1         BlueWhiteLowBits       Bx1 Bx0 By1 By0
                                           Wx1 Wx0 Wy1 Wy0
          1         Redx                   Red x bit 9-2
          1         Redy                   Red y bit 9-2
          1         Greenx                 Green x bit 9-2
          1         Bluex                  Blue x bit 9-2
          1         Bluey                  Blue y bit 9-2
          1         Whitex                 White x bit 9-2
          1         Whitey                 White x bit 9-2

                          Established
        Byte 1    bit     Timings 1            Source
                  7       720 .times. 400 @ 70 Hz (VGA, IBM)
                  6       720 .times. 400 @ 88 Hz (XGA2, IBM)
                  5       640 .times. 480 @ 60 Hz (VGA, IBM)
                  4       640 .times. 480 @ 67 Hz (Mac II,
                                               Apple)
                  3       640 .times. 480 @ 72 Hz (VESA)
                  2       640 .times. 480 @ 75 Hz (VESA)
                  1       800 .times. 600 @ 56 Hz (VESA)
                  0       800 .times. 600 @ 60 Hz (VESA)
                          Established
        Byte 2    bit     Timings II
                  7       800 .times. 600 @ 72 Hz (VESA)
                  6       800 .times. 600 @ 75 Hz (VESA)
                  5       832 .times. 624 @ 75 Hz (Mac II,
                                               Apple)
                  4       1024 .times. 768 @ 87 Hz (IBM)
                          (interlaced)
                  3       1024 .times. 768 @ 60 Hz (VESA)
                  2       1024 .times. 768 @ 70 Hz (VESA)
                  1       1024 .times. 768 @ 75 Hz (VESA)
                  0       1280 .times. 1024 @ 75 Hz (VESA)
                          Reserved-            Manufacturers
                          Manufacturer's       Specified
        Byte 3    bit     Timings              Timing
                  7       1152 .times. 870 75 Hz (Mac II,
                                               Apple)
                  6       Reserved             Manufacturers
                                               Specified
                                               Timing
                  5       Reserved
                  4       Reserved
                  3       Reserved
                  2       Reserved
                  1       Reserved
                  0       Reserved

          Bytes     Standard Timing Identification
          1         (Horizontal Active pixels /8)-31: The
                    range of Horizontal Active Pixels
                    which can be described in each byte is
                    256-2288 pixels, in increments of 8
                    pixels
          1         Image Aspect Ratio: The vertical
                    active line count may be calculated
                    from this aspect ration and the
                    horizontal active count given in the
                    first byte; "Square" pixels (1:1 pixel
                    aspect ratio) should always be
                    assumed.
                    Bit 7       Bit 6       Operation
                    0           0           1:1 Aspect Ratio
                    0           1           4:3 Aspect Ratio
                    1           0           5:4 Aspect Ratio
                    1           1           16:9 Aspect Ratio
                    Refresh Rate:
                    Bit 5:0           Operation
                                      (Refresh rate-60)
                                      Range 60-123Hz
                    If fewer than eight timings are
                    named in this section, unused bytes
                    should be set to 00 h.

    OUT RET_CODE               //  <-Exit return code see
                                   "RET_xxx" (chci.h)
    CHCIRequest(               //  General HCI request entry
                                   point
    IN REQUEST_FUNCTION
    requestId,                 //  ->Symbolic constant associated
                                   with function.
                               //  See `REQUEST_` prefix
                                   (chci.h)
    IN HARDWARE_ID
    hardwareId,                //  ->Symbolic constant which is
                                   associated with
                               //  a structure index. See
                                   `HW_` prefix
    IN DWORD
    dwHWStrucOffset,           //  ->Offset from the
                                   beginning of the hardware
                               //  structure (chci.h)
    IN DWORD
    dwHWStrucLen,
                               //  ->Length from offset of
                                   structure information
                               //  requested
    IN PVOID
        pvIndexStruc,
        // ->Address of index structure or NULL if
              no index
              // structure
    OUT PVOID pvInfo
        // <- Address to place requested function
        structure // information
        );

    Value                               Meaning
    RET_SUCCESS_CODE                    The information was
                                        successfully retrieved.
    RET_INVALID_PARAMETER               An invalid argument was
                                        passed by the caller to
                                        the CHCIRequest
                                        function.
    RET_COMMAND_NOT_SUPPORTED           Returned in the case of
                                        a particular feature
                                        not being supported by
                                        one type of machine or
                                        another. This return
                                        code can be returned by
                                        a request for
                                        HW_THERMAL
                                        information.
    RET_CACHE_LEVEL_NOT_PRESENT         L2 or L3 cache level
                                        not present.
    RET_OPTION_ROM_NOT_FOUND            Option ROM associated
                                        with option rom index
                                        is not present.
    RET_DEVICE_INITIALIZATION.sub.--    SCSI device
    FAILURE                             initialization failed.
    RET_UNKNOWN_ERROR                   An error internal to
                                        CPQHCI.DLL has
                                        occurred. This is
                                        typically caused by an
                                        invalid configuration.
    RET_REQUEST_FAILED                  A system call issued by
                                        CPQHCI.DLL has failed.
                                        This may be caused by a
                                        corrupted system.
    RET_NO_MORE_PCI_FUNCTIONS           There are no more
                                        function associated
                                        with the device index
                                        given by the caller
                                        requesting
                                        HW_PCI_FIND.sub.--
                                        NEXT_FUNC
                                        information.
    RET_NO_MORE_PCI_FUNC_MEM            The are no more
                                        functions associated
                                        with the device index
                                        given be the caller
                                        requesting
                                        HW_PCI_FUNC_MEM
                                        information.

• Inventors
  Voutaz, Kurt E.; Melson, Jorge S.; McCann, Paul H.;
• Assignee
  Compaq Information Technologies Group, L.P. (Houston, TX)
• Published
  Nov-12-2002
• Current US Classes:
  719/328
  719/331
• Application #
  578321
• International Classes
  G06F 009/00
• Field of Search
  395/682 395/681 395/685 395/603 395/604 370/249 709/300 709/302 709/301 709/328 709/331 709/202 709/310 709/321
• Examiner
  Lao; Sue
• Agent
  Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.
• US Patent References:
  4975829
  5317742
  5430845
  5452433
  5475836
  5522042
  5559958
  5561769
  5572195
  5581478
  5608720
  5608907