Patent Abstract:
A failure detection method enabling the detection of I/O bus failure and address parity error when installing I/O controllers connected to a system bus in a computer system, and also enabling failure location when installing units in slave/master relationships (e.g. SCSI controller and disk storage units) and when installing an additional slave in a computer system, thus improving the reliability of the system. The failure detection method comprises the steps of executing an instruction which involves providing I/O bus access to a memory to be used by an I/O controller after installed, determining that there is no failure when predetermined results are obtained with the instruction, and installing the I/O controller in the system. When the I/O controller has slave/master relationships with a plurality of slave units, the failure detection method further comprises the steps of detecting a failure in the slave units on the occasion of the installation, and notifying the host processor of the slave unit having the failure.

Full Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a system including an input-output controller such as a SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) controller, etc. and a method for detecting a failure when installing an input-output controller. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   A computer system generally comprises a number of input-output (I/O) controllers such as a LAN controller and a SCSI controller in addition to a control section (hereinafter referred to as a processor unit) including a processor that takes a central part in the system and a memory. The processor unit is connected to other units via system buses. There have been disclosed some techniques for fault detection concerned with the system bus in Japanese Patent Applications laid open No. HEI4-8147, laid open No. HEI7-168727, and laid open No. HEI8-263328. 
   A SCSI port is a standard interface for connecting the peripheral equipment such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) with the processor unit. With the SCSI port, a SCSI controller is used as an I/O controller to be a host for communicating with a magnetic disk and the like. Techniques involved with the SCSI controller have been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Applications laid open No. HEI11-203239 and laid open No. HEI11-110138. 
   Generally, in a conventional system, I/O controllers like the SCSI controller are installed in the system when the operation of the processor unit starts. At a restart of the processor unit or when executing an instruction from a system maintainer to install an I/O controller, only a part of memory area related to the operation of the I/O controller is used and installation processing is simply carried out during the process of the installation. After completion of the installation, necessary parts of memory area are selectively used for executing respective instructions each time when I/O access occurs in operation. 
   In the following, a description will be given of problems in the above-mentioned conventional techniques and systems. 
   The first problem is that an I/O bus access fault which occurs while using an I/O controller has an impact on the whole processor system, thus causing a system failure. This is because a fault cannot be located when the fault occurs in the I/O bus access from the I/O controller to the memory. 
   The second problem is that the I/O controller which has caused the failure can be reinstalled when restarting the processor. This is because normal operation is performed at the stage of installation processing since only sectional I/O bus accesses may occur when installing the I/O controller. 
   The third problem is that in the case where an I/O controller having slave/master relationships with plural devices (slave devices), for example, the SCSI controller and disk storage units are installed and one of the slave devices has a failure, the slave device with the failure cannot be specified. 
   Besides, in a system adopting a disk array, etc., there is a case where an additional disk storage unit is installed in the active system in which the SCSI controller and a disk storage unit #A have been already installed. When a SCSI controller failure is detected on such occasion and failure recovery is performed for the SCSI controller while the disk storage unit #A is in use, accessing to the disk storage unit #A is interrupted, which affects a software or program running on the system. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a failure detection method enabling the detection of I/O bus failure and address parity error when installing I/O controllers such as a SCSI controller, etc. connected to a system bus in a computer system, thus improving the reliability of the system. 
   It is another object of the present invention to provide a failure detection method enabling failure location when installing units in slave/master relationships (e.g. SCSI controller and disk storage units) and also when installing an additional slave in a computer system, thus improving the reliability of the system. 
   In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, to achieve the above objects, there is provided a failure detection method for detecting a failure at a time when installing an I/O controller in a computer system, comprising the steps of executing an instruction which involves providing I/O bus access to a memory to be used by the I/O controller after installed; determining that there is no failure when predetermined results are obtained with the instruction; and installing the I/O controller in the system. 
   In accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a failure detection method for detecting a failure at a time when installing an I/O controller in a computer system, comprising the steps of: executing an instruction which involves providing I/O bus access to a memory to be used by the I/O controller after installed; determining that there is no failure when predetermined results are obtained with the instruction and installing the I/O controller in the system; and notifying a host processor that there is a failure in the I/O controller when predetermined results are not obtained with the instruction so that the host processor can specify the I/O controller with the failure. 
   In accordance with the third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the failure detection method further comprises the steps of executing a micro diagnostic program stored in the I/O controller; and installing the I/O controller in the system when it is verified that there is no failure by the micro diagnostic program. 
   In accordance with the fourth aspect of the present invention, in one of the first to third aspects, the I/O controller has slave/master relationships with a plurality of slave units, and the failure detection method further comprises the steps of: detecting a failure in the respective slave units when installing the I/O controller; and when a failure is found in any of the slave units, notifying the host processor of the slave unit having the failure. 
   In accordance with the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the failure detection method further comprises the steps of: executing an instruction which involves providing I/O bus access to a memory to be used by the respective slave units after installed; determining that there is no failure when predetermined results are obtained with the instruction; and notifying the host processor of the slave unit having a failure when predetermined results are not obtained with the instruction. 
   In accordance with the sixth aspect of the present invention, in one of the first to fifth aspects, the I/O controller is a SCSI controller. 
   In accordance with the seventh aspect of the present invention, in one of the first to sixth aspects, a system maintainer is informed as to the result of the installation of the I/O controller. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The objects and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of a preferred computer system for illustrating an application of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a flowchart showing the operation process according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of another preferred computer system for illustrating an application of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  is a flowchart showing the operation process according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Referring now to the drawings, a description of preferred embodiments of the present invention will be given in detail. 
     FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of a preferred computer system for the application of the first embodiment of the present invention. With reference to  FIG. 1 , the computer system comprises a processor unit  100  that operates under program control, an I/O controller  110 , a memory  120 , and an I/O bus  130 . The I/O controller  110  may be a general-purpose I/O controller such as a SCSI controller and a LAN controller. 
   The processor unit  100  includes an I/O controller management means  101 , an I/O driver means  102 , an I/O controller diagnostic means  103 , and a memory management means  104 . 
   The I/O controller management means  101  manages the condition of the I/O controller  110 . The I/O driver means  102  provides access to the I/O controller  110 . The I/O controller diagnostic means  103  verifies normal operation of the I/O controller  110  preparatory for installing the I/O controller  110 . The memory management means  104  manages accesses to the memory  120  from all units or sections. The respective means are generally realized from the execution of a program by the processor. 
   In the following, a detailed description will be given of the operation of the system according to the first embodiment of the present invention referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . When the processor unit  100  is activated, the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  receives an I/O controller diagnostic request set as part of the prescribed starting up process of the processor unit  100  (step S 201  in  FIG. 2 ). Subsequently, the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  sets the I/O controller management means  101  in diagnostic mode (step S 202 ). The I/O controller management means  101  issues an I/O controller installing instruction to the I/O driver means  102  (step S 203 ). 
   The I/O driver means  102  first hunts a memory area for control operation by the I/O controller  110  through the memory management means  104  (step S 204 ). Then, the I/O driver means  102  executes a prescribed pseudo-I/O instruction so that bidirectional access occurs between the I/O controller  110  and the memory  120  to use a part or block of the memory area for control operation hunted previously (step S 205 ). 
   Next, the I/O driver means  102  judges whether a specific normal response to the pseudo-I/O instruction has been obtained (step S 206 ). 
   If the normal response has been obtained (step S 206 /YES), the I/O driver means  102  checks whether all the memory patterns are tried, namely, all the space in the memory area for control operation has been used (step S 207 ). If unused memory area remains (step S 207 /NO), the I/O driver means  102  returns to the operation at step S 205  and executes the similar pseudo-I/O instruction to use another part or block of the memory area for control operation. 
   The I/O driver means  102  repeats the procedure from step S 205  to S 207  for all the memory blocks of address space necessary for I/O bus access verification. 
   If the normal response has not been obtained (step S 206 /NO), the I/O driver means  102  stops the instillation operation, and notifies the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  that there is a failure. 
   The memory  120  and I/O bus  130  are verified by the judgment on whether the specific normal response to every pseudo-I/O instruction has been obtained or not as is described above. 
   If the normalcy of the I/O bus  130  is verified, that is, the specific normal response to every pseudo-I/O instruction has been obtained (step S 207 /YES), the I/O driver means  102  carries out the installation operation (step S 208 ), and notifies the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  of the operation result. 
   The I/O controller diagnostic means  103  judges whether or not the installation operation has been normally performed (step S 209 ). 
   If the installation operation has been normally performed (step S 209 /YES), the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  activates a micro diagnostic program stored in the I/O controller  110  (step S 210 ), and indicates to the system maintainer the diagnostic result that the I/O controller  110  has been installed by display or the like (step S 211 ). After that the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  releases the I/O controller management means  101  from the diagnostic mode (step S 212 ). 
   On the other hand, if the installation operation has not been normally performed (step S 209 /NO), the I/O controller diagnostic means  103  indicates to the system maintainer the diagnostic result by display or the like (step S 211 ), and releases the I/O controller management means  101  from the diagnostic mode (step S 212 ). 
   In accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, the normalcy of the I/O bus is verified when installing the I/O controller as is described above. Consequently, it is possible to detect an I/O bus failure as well as checking address parity in advance of the installation of the I/O controller, thereby preventing a failure from occurring after the installation. Thus, the reliability of the system can be improved. 
   In the following, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. 
     FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main part of a preferred computer system for the application of the second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to  FIG. 3 , the computer system comprises a processor unit  300  that operates under program control, a SCSI controller  310  as an I/O controller, disk storage units  320 A and  320 B as slave units of the SCSI controller  310 , a memory  330 , and an I/O bus  340 . 
   The processor unit  300  includes an I/O controller management means  301 , an I/O driver means  302 , and a memory management means  303 . 
   The I/O controller management means  301  sends an I/O controller installing instruction to the I/O driver means  302  at a restart of the processor unit  300  or when the system maintainer gives an instruction to install an I/O controller. The memory management means  303  manages accesses to the memory  330  from all units or sections. 
   Having received the I/O controller installing instruction as a trigger, the I/O driver means  302  executes an instruction so that accesses occurs from the SCSI controller  310  to the memory  330  and vice versa to verify whether bidirectional access between the controller  310  and the memory  330  can be normally gained (pre-installation check). 
   After obtaining the verification, the I/O driver means  302  installs the SCSI controller  310 , disk storage units  320 A and  320 B in the system. Accordingly, it becomes possible for other controllers (not shown) to use the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B. 
   When a failure is detected by the pre-installation check, the I/O driver means  302  notifies a host processor of the failure. Thus, the host processor can specify or locate the unit with the failure. 
   In the following, a detailed description will be given of the operation of the system according to the second embodiment of the present invention referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . At a start or restart of the system, the I/O controller management means  301  receives a SCSI controller installing instruction set as part of the prescribed starting up process of the processor unit  300  (step S 401  in  FIG. 4 ). Incidentally, the system maintainer may input the SCSI controller installing instruction as needed while the system is in operation. The I/O controller management means  301  receives the SCSI controller installing instruction in this case as well, and conducts the same operations as follows. 
   Having received the SCSI controller installing instruction, the I/O controller management means  301  issues a SCSI controller installing instruction to the I/O driver means  302  (step S 402 ). 
   The I/O driver means  302  first hunts memory areas for the control operation of the SCSI controller  310  and the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B through the memory management means  303  (step S 403 ). Then, the I/O driver means  302  executes a pseudo-I/O instruction so that bidirectional access occurs between the SCSI controller  310  and the memory  330  to use a part or block of the memory area for the control operation of the SCSI controller  310  hunted previously (step S 404 ). 
   Next, the I/O driver means  302  checks whether all the space in the memory area for control operation of the SCSI controller  310  has been used (step S 405 ). If unused memory area remains (step S 405 /NO), the I/O driver means  302  returns to the operation at step S 404  and executes the similar pseudo-I/O instruction to use another part or block of the memory area for control operation of the SCSI controller  310 . The I/O driver means  302  repeats this until all the memory address space necessary for I/O bus access verification has been used. 
   If all the space in the memory area for control operation of the SCSI controller  310  has been used (step S 405 /YES), the I/O driver means  302  executes a pseudo-I/O instruction to use a part or block of the memory area for control operation of the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B hunted previously (step S 406 ). 
   Similarly, the I/O driver means  302  checks whether all the space in the memory area for control operation of the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B has been used (step S 407 ). If unused memory area remains (step S 407 /NO), the I/O driver means  302  returns to the operation at step S 406  and executes the similar pseudo-I/O instruction to use another part or block of the memory area for control operation of the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B. The I/O driver means  302  repeats this until all the memory address space for controlling the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B necessary for I/O bus access verification has been used. 
   If all the space in the memory area for control operation of the disk storage units  320 A and  320 B has been used (step S 407 /YES), the I/O driver means  302  judges whether the specific normal response to every pseudo-I/O instruction has been obtained to verify the normalcy of the I/O bus  340  (step S 408 ). If there is a failure, the failure can be located and the unit concerned with the failure is found out on this occasion. 
   Following the operation of step S 408 , the I/O driver means  302  installs the SCSI controller  310  in the system (step S 409 ), and notifies the I/O controller management means  301  of the operation result. 
   The I/O controller management means  301  judges whether or not the installation operation has been normally performed (step S 410 ). 
   If the installation operation has been normally performed (step S 410 /YES), the I/O controller management means  301  sets the SCSI controller  310  in an installed mode (step S 411 ). On the other hand, if a failure is found at step S 408 , or the installation operation has not been normally performed (step S 410 /NO), the I/O controller management means  301  indicates an error message to notify the system maintainer that maintenance is required for the SCSI controller  310  (step S 412 ). 
   In accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, the normalcy of the I/O bus is verified when installing the SCSI controller as is described above. Consequently, it is possible to detect an I/O bus failure as well as checking address parity in advance of the installation of the SCSI controller, thereby preventing a failure from occurring after the installation. Thus, the reliability of the system can be improved. 
   Moreover, a pseudo-I/O instruction is intentionally conducted so as to let I/O bus failure occur if any and to know the unit concerned with the failure. Thus, the unit that may have the failure can be specified when installing units in slave/master relationships (e.g. SCSI controller and disk storage units). 
   Besides, with the conventional system that does not verify the normalcy of the I/O bus, in the case where a SCSI controller failure is detected when a disk storage unit #B is additionally installed in the active system in which the SCSI controller and a disk storage unit #A have been already installed, failure recovery is performed for the SCSI controller even when the disk storage unit #A is in use. Consequently, accessing to the disk storage unit #A is interrupted, which affects a software or program running on the system. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to avoid such inconvenience since the SCSI controller failure is detected when installed. 
   While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiment without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Technology Classification (CPC): 6