JPH0258155A - Configuration control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain a high-speed configuration control by means of a CPU by providing plural latches whose setting can be altered by means of a CPU to have stored the coupling information of each device on a connecting device side, and exclusively altering the setting by means of a priority control part. CONSTITUTION:Plural latches C1-Cn (corresponding to a configuration control register) corresponding to respective devices (10-1)-(10-n) are provided on a connecting device 12 side, the coupling information of the respective devices (10-1)-(10-n) is stored, and a priority control part 14 which always makes effective only the execution of the communication instruction of a single device concerning the execution of the communication instruction between the respective devices (10-1)-(10-n) is provided. Further, the setting alteration of the latches C1-Cn is exclusively executed for the processing of the other communication instruction by the priority control part 14. Thus, the high speed of the configuration control can be secured, and the flexibility of the system can be secured.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] A service processor (
The purpose is to perform high-speed configuration control using the CPU without impairing the configuration control by SVP).In addition to providing multiple latches on the connected device side that can store connection information for each device and whose settings can be changed by the CPU, Regarding the execution of communication commands, a priority control unit is provided that allows execution of only communication commands of a single device at all times, and the priority control unit allows the CPU to change latch settings exclusively for the processing of other communication commands. Configure it to do so. Also S
A latch whose setting can be changed by the VP is provided on the connected device side and for each device, and when the setting changes of the latch by the CPU and the SVP overlap, each process is configured to be executed exclusively.

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a configuration control method for a system in which a plurality of devices are connected via a connection device such as a shared memory.

Multiple active systems and standby systems are connected via shared memory, recovery information is stored in the shared memory, and when an error occurs in the active system, the standby system quickly takes over processing based on the recovery information, resulting in no downtime. I'm trying to build a system.

In such a no-down system, in order to prevent the system in which the abnormality has occurred from further destroying shared assets, that is, the shared memory, it is necessary to quickly disconnect the system in which the abnormality has occurred from the shared memory.

On the other hand, between multiple systems, it is necessary to be able to detect the status of other systems and control communication that causes interrupts to other systems, but it is not possible to provide a separate device to control communication between these systems. It is wasteful, and it is desirable to control communication via a shared memory.

Conventional technology] Conventionally, in the execution of commands for communication between multiple systems,
Generally, a response signal is required from the system of the other party to which the communication command was transmitted. Therefore, after a communication command issued from a certain system is propagated to the other system and until a response is returned from the other system, if a situation occurs such as the other system being disconnected due to an abnormality, etc. , a state occurs in which no response signal is returned forever, and in such a case, a machinic error generally occurs due to an instruction timeout at the issuer.

The communication commands targeted here are not high-level communications, but the underlying micro-command level. For example, even if the instruction is to propagate a simple interrupt request to the other party, the instruction itself will not terminate until a response signal is returned to check whether the request has been propagated to the other party. This means that HW failure check (RA
S) is necessary as a general method.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in executing a communication command that requires a response from the other party, it should normally be executed normally, or it should be reported that the other party's system is disconnected. However, the problem is that a machine check due to timeout occurs as a result of not being able to obtain a response signal.

Therefore, in the conventional method, when changing the configuration such as disconnecting a system or devices, all devices are temporarily stopped. i.e. Service Processor (SVP)
After stopping a device such as a CPU, performing necessary device stopping or disconnection, configuration control register settings are changed, and then the device is started.

However, in the case of online processing systems, stopping the entire system even temporarily (for a few seconds) will leave many other problems, so in a circular system it is not possible to change the configuration during operation. be.

Furthermore, when disconnecting a faulty system, it is necessary not only to avoid stopping the entire system at the time of disconnection, but also to be fast in terms of the absolute time of the disconnection process, that is, the response. The high speed of the separation process cannot be satisfied.

On the other hand, it is necessary to initialize the system or manually change the configuration, and in this case, the service processor (SVP)
It is necessary to be able to control the configuration control registers directly from the

That is, it is desirable that the configuration control registers controlled by the service processor (SVP) be able to be controlled even when, in extreme cases, the clock pulses used for normal operation of the device are stopped. Therefore, a special interface (asynchronous interface) has traditionally been used as an interface between the device and the service processor (SVP), but this function must be left as is.

The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a configuration control method that enables high-speed configuration control by a CPU without impairing configuration control by a service processor.

[Means to solve the problem] FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the present invention first describes a plurality of devices 10-1 to 10-1.
10n, and a connection device 12 such as a shared memory that connects the plurality of devices 10-1 to 10-n.
Each of 1 to 10-n is directed to a system that includes at least one instruction for receiving a response signal from another device upon sending an active signal to the other device.

In the present invention, as a configuration control method for such a system, a plurality of latches C1 to Cn (corresponding to configuration control registers) corresponding to each device 101 to 10-n are provided on the connection branch @12 side, and each Priority control that stores connection information of the devices 10-1 to 10-n and always enables execution of communication commands of a single device with respect to execution of communication commands between the devices 10-1 to 10-n. A section 14 is provided.

The configuration is such that the settings of the latches 01 to Cn are changed by the priority control unit 14 exclusively with respect to the processing of other communication commands.

In addition, in the configuration control method of the present invention, latches 81 to 13n are provided on the connection branch @12 side in addition to the plurality of latches C1 to Cn corresponding to the containers @10-1 to 10-n, so that each device a priority control unit that stores connection information of the devices 10-1 to 10-n and always enables execution of communication commands of a single device with respect to execution of communication commands between the devices 10-1 to 10-n; 14, and each of the devices 10-1 to 10-n is provided with a latch A storing coupling information with the connecting device 12.
1 to An are provided.

The settings of latches A1 to Δn and latches B1 to Bn are changed from the service processor (SVP) 16 provided in each device 10-1 to 10-n, and the settings of latches C1 to Δn are changed from the service processor (SVP) 16 provided in each device 10-1 to 10-n.
The setting of Cn can be changed by the CPU 18 provided in each device 10, -1 to 10-n without using the service processor (SVP) 16.

Furthermore, the settings of latches A1 to An or latches B1 to 3n are changed by the service processor (SVP) 16 and the CPU 1
If the settings of the latches C1 to Cn by 8 are duplicated, each process is configured to be performed exclusively.

Specifically, if the service processor (SVP) 16 is changing latches A1 to An or latches 81 to Bn when the CPU 18 commands to change the latches C1 to cn, the CPU 18 commands to turn the latches C1 to On. The configuration is configured such that the condition code indicates the cancellation of the setting change without changing the setting change, and the setting change according to the command of the CPU 18 is completed without waiting for the completion of the setting change by the service processor (SVP) 16.

[Operation] In the configuration control method of the present invention having such a configuration, configuration change control such as system disconnection is performed by changing settings of configuration control information on the connected device side in response to a command from the device side CPU. It can be executed as quickly as communication commands, and even in online systems, configuration changes can be made during operation without stopping the system.

On the other hand, configuration control i by the service processor (SVP)
l! Since the functionality remains as is, system initialization and manual configuration changes can be performed without any problems.

In other words, high speed is ensured by configuration control using CPU instructions,
At the same time, flexibility can be ensured with configuration control performed via an asynchronous interface from the SVP.

[Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, 10-1 to 10-n are a plurality of devices, and each device 10-1 to 10-n is a service processor (
SVP) 16, CPU 18, main storage unit (, MSU) 2
0, and the service processor 16, CPU 18, and main storage device 20 are connected via a main control unit (MCU) 22.

On the other hand, 12 is a connection device using shared memory etc.
Each device 10- via the device ports 24-1 to 24-n
1 to 10-n main controllers 22 are connected.

The connection device 12 is provided with a memory section 26 and a memory access control section 28, and the memory section 26 stores common software such as recovery information for quickly taking over processing to the standby system when an abnormality occurs in the main system. Stores assets.

Such a connection device 12 connects a plurality of devices 10-1 to 10-1.
In the configuration control method of the present invention for a system in which 10-n are connected, devices 10-1 to 10-n are first connected to the connecting device 12.
10-n are provided with configuration control latches C1, C2, .
Configuration information as connection information for the connecting devices 12 through 10n is stored. That is, if the coupling of each device 10-1 to 10-n to the connection device fei12 is valid, the configuration control latches C1 to Cn are set to the on state, while, for example, any device 10-1 is stopped or disconnected. , the corresponding configuration control latch C is set off.

Furthermore, the connection device 12 is provided with a communication control section 30, and the communication control section 30 executes conversational communication control between the devices 10-1 to 10n.

For this communication control unit 30, a communication priority control unit 14
is provided, and the communication priority control unit 14 controls the device 10-1.
Regarding the execution of communication commands between 10 and 0, priority control is performed such that only the execution of communication commands from a single device accepted first is always valid.

Note that the device 10-1 by the communication control unit 30 of the connecting device 12
~10-n, each device 10-1~10
-n includes an instruction to receive a response signal (ACK>) from another device when sending an active signal, such as an interrupt request signal, to another device in a certain communication command.

In addition to the configuration control latches C1 to On, the connection device 12 includes another configuration control latch B corresponding to the devices 10-1 to 10-n.
1. B2. ...Bn is provided.

Here, the configuration control latches C1 to CnG are connected to the device 10-
The configuration control latches 81 to 3n are configuration control latches that can change the settings of the latched configuration information in the same manner as normal communication command processing by instructions from the CPU 18 of the devices 1 to 10-n. This is a configuration control latch whose setting is changed by the service processor 16 provided in -1 to 10-n.

In addition to the configuration control latches 81 to Bn provided in the connection device 12, each of the main control units 22 provided in the devices 10-1 to 10-n also includes configuration control latches A1 to An whose settings can be changed by the service processor 16. has been established.

The configuration control latches B1 to Bn provided in the connection device 12 whose settings can be changed by the service processor 16 have connections indicating the coupling state of the connection device 12 to each device 10-1 to 10-n, as well as the configuration control latches C1 to cn. Connection information indicating the connection state with the connection device 12 is stored in the configuration control latches A1 to An provided in the main control unit 22 of each device 10-1 to 10-n.

Furthermore, since the service processors 16 provided in the devices 10-1 to 10-n are usually distributed and provided for each system, it is not possible for one service processor 16 to directly access the main control unit 22 of another system. However, as shown in the figure, the service processor 16 of each system
A communication path 32 such as a LAN is provided to connect the main control unit 22 of another system via another service processor 16.

Next, the configuration control latch C provided in the connection device 12 of FIG.
The connection process based on 1 to An to the configuration control latches provided in 1 to Cn and B1 to Bn and devices 101 to 10-n will be described.

First, the connections between the devices 10-1 to 10-n and the connecting device 12 are established by three configuration control latches A1 to An, B1 to [3n and C.
It is treated as necessary for a normally connected state only when all of 1 to Cn are in the on state. On the other hand, three configuration control latches A1~An, B1~3n and C1~Cn
If any one of them is off, it is treated as being in a disconnected state.

In order to realize this handling, devices 10-1 to 10-n
From then on, the state of the configuration control latches A1 to An is determined by the connection device 12.
On the other hand, from the connection device 12 side, the result of the AND of the configuration control latches B1 to Bn and C1 to Cn is sent to the device 10.
-1 to 10-n. On the device 10-1 to 10-n sides, taking the device 10-1 as an example, the logical product of the value of its own configuration control latch A1 and the configuration control latch B1 and 01 sent from the connecting device 12 is Using this value, the device 10-1 determines the connection state with the connection device 12. on the other hand,
On the connection device 12 side, the connection to the device 10-1 is made based on the logical product value of the internal configuration control latches B1 and C1 and the value of the configuration control latch A1 sent from the device 10-1 side. You get to decide whether or not you are.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the apparatus 10-
The handling of communication commands from 1 to 10-n will be explained.

In FIG. 3, first, a certain device X1 makes a priority acquisition request to another device Z, as shown in (2).

After that, as shown in (3), another device><m makes a priority acquisition request to the same device Z.

Upon receiving the first priority acquisition request from device Returns signal ACK. This response signal ACK
The device X1 that received the command and target address (
1) is sent to the other device Z, and in the same manner, a plurality of instructions and the target address (m) are sent to the other device Z up to (2).

Other devices Z that have received the command and target addresses 1 to n perform an analysis in ■, respond to device x1 with a command based on the analysis result in ■, and in response to this command response, device The other device Z, which has received this status information, sends the status information to device x1, thereby completing a series of communication processes, and at the same time canceling the busy state shown in (3).

At this time, since the device Xm shown in ■ continues to issue priority acquisition requests to other devices Z, this device
In response to a priority acquisition request for another device Z, the busy state shown in ■ is created again, and in the same way,
Communication control between the device and other devices Z is performed.

Next, a processing operation for instructing to change the settings of the configuration control latches C1 to Cn provided on the side of the connection device 12 in FIG. 2 will be explained.

First, for changing the settings of the configuration control latches 01 to Cn, a specific location on the main storage device 20 is used as a lock word area between the CPU 18 and the service processor 16.

For example, when the CPU 18 of the device 10-1 executes an instruction M for changing the configuration control latches 01 to Cn on the connected device 12 side, the lock word secured in the memory of the main storage device 20 is first・Perform exclusive access like a swap instruction. If the contents of the lock word in this memory are zero, it is determined that the lock is not applied, and a value other than zero is written. Writing this non-zero value is called acquiring a lock. On the other hand, if the lock word is other than zero, the CPUs of other devices 10-2 to 10-n
18 or service processor 16 has already acquired the lock. In other words, the lock could not be released. If the lock cannot be acquired, the condition code is set to, for example, "2" and the change instruction M by the CPU is terminated.

On the other hand, if the lock can be acquired, data and commands to be set in the configuration control latches C1 to On are sent to the connection device 12, and the device waits until a termination signal is sent back from the connection device 12.

When a termination signal is returned from the connection device 12, a command is issued to write all rOJ to the lock word to release the lock, set the condition code to "O", and change the configuration control latches C1 to Cn. Finish M. Of course, the instruction M that changes the configuration latches C1-Cn can change the settings of any of the configuration control latches C1-Cn. That is, the device 10-1 can control not only the connection relationship between itself and the connection device 12, but also the connection relationship between the connection device 12 and all the devices 10-1 to 10-n.

On the other hand, on the connected device 12 side, for example, the CPU of the device 10-1
When the change command for the configuration control latches C1 to Cn sent from the communication priority control circuit 18 is received, a pseudo priority acquisition signal is internally generated by the communication priority control circuit 14 as shown in the handling explanatory diagram of FIG. Similarly, it participates in obtaining priority among requests based on other communication commands. The priority acquisition request signal pseudo-generated by the communication priority control unit 14 is released when the priority is acquired, but it is canceled when the priority is acquired.
The state is released after the settings of the configuration control latches C1 to Cn have been changed.

Next, a control process for changing the settings of the configuration control latches A1 to An provided in each of the devices 10-1 to 10-n and the configuration control latches 81 to 3n provided on the connection device 12 side in FIG. 2 will be described.

The configuration control latches A1-An and B1-[3n are of the same level as conventional configuration control registers, and are set and changed by the service processor 16.

That is, the settings are changed when initializing the system or when performing maintenance on some devices during operation. Specifically, the settings are changed by a maintenance diagnosis command (CPU command) or by a human operation.

From the service processor 16 to the configuration control latches A1 to An
When changing the settings of B1-[3n, first, a lock is acquired using a lock word on the main storage device 20 of each device 10-1 to 10-n before changing the setting.

At this time, if the lock cannot be acquired in any device 10-1, that is, if it is locked by the CPU 18, the device waits until the lock is released by the CPU. Once locks 1q have been acquired in all devices 10-1 to 10-n, configuration control latches △1 to An and B
1 to Bn by the service processor 16, and once the setting changes are completed, all the devices 10
-1 to 10-n to release the lock.

Normally, the service processor 16 is connected to each device 10-1 to 10
However, in this embodiment, each service processor 16 can not directly access the main storage devices 20 of all the devices 10-1 to 10-n. -n service processor 16
Since a communication bus such as a LAN is provided to connect the devices, a specific service processor 16 can lock and unlock all the devices 10-1 to 10-n via the service processors of other devices. Can be done.

“Effects of the Invention” As explained above, according to the present invention, the CP on the device side
The configuration control information of the connected device can be changed by commands from U, and configuration change control such as system disconnection can be performed at high speed in the same way as normal communication commands, thereby ensuring high-speed configuration control. At the same time, system flexibility can be ensured by configuration control performed via an asynchronous interface from the service processor.

In addition, whether the configuration is changed by a CPU command or by a service processor, in either case, communication commands are issued in order to change the settings after waiting for the completion of the communication commands that are already being executed. Setting changes and communication control can be completed normally without affecting the communication commands of the device.

Furthermore, if a device that can be disconnected by changing configuration information settings is issuing a communication command at the time of disconnection or is transferring data to the shared memory as a connected device, these processes will terminate abnormally. Originally, if lower-level devices are separated in a hierarchical configuration, even if an abnormality occurs in the lower-level devices, there is no particular problem.

Furthermore, in a normal sequence, that is, when disconnection is synchronized in advance through mutual communication by software, the device being disconnected does not issue an accessor, so there is no problem when disconnecting in a normal sequence. There isn't.

32: Communication path

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of handling of communication commands by the connection device of the present invention. In the figure, 10-1 to 10-n: B location (system) 12: Connection device (shared memory) 14: Priority control unit 16: Service processor (SVP) 18: CPU 20: Main storage unit (MSU) 22: Main control unit (MCU) 24-1 to 24-n: Port 26: Memory unit 28: Memory access control unit 30: Communication control unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of devices (10-1 to 10-n) and a connection device (12) that connects the plurality of devices (10-1 to 10-n)
), and each of the plurality of devices (10-1 to 10-n) receives a response signal from the other device when it sends an active signal to the other device in at least one command. In a system including instructions to receive, each device (10-1 to 10-) is connected to the connecting device (12).
A plurality of latches (C1 to Cn) corresponding to each device (10-1 to Cn) are provided to store coupling information of each device, and each device (10-1 to
Regarding the execution of communication commands between 10 and 10-n, a priority control unit (14
), and the priority control unit (14) changes the settings of the latches (C1 to Cn) exclusively with respect to processing of other communication commands. (2) A plurality of devices (10-1 to 10-n) and a connection device (12) that connects the plurality of devices (10-1 to 10-n).
), and each of the plurality of devices (10-1 to 10-n) receives a response signal from the other device when it sends an active signal to the other device in at least one command. In a system including instructions to receive, each device (10-1 to 10-) is connected to the connecting device (12).
A plurality of latches (C1 to Cn) corresponding to the latch (
B1 to Bn) are provided to store the connection information of each device (10-1 to 10-n), and each device (10-1 to 10-n) is provided.
) is provided with a priority control unit (14) that always validates the execution of communication commands of a single device, and further includes a priority control unit (14) for each of the devices (10-1 to 10-n). Latches (A1 to A) that store coupling information with the coupling device (12)
n), and the settings of the latches (A1 to An) and latches (B1 to Bn) are changed from a service processor (16) provided in each device (10-1 to 10-n), and the latches (A1 to An) and latches (B1 to Bn) are
Settings of C1 to Cn) can be changed by changing the settings of each of the devices (10-1 to 10).
The CPU (18) provided in the service processor (16) can perform this operation without using the service processor (16), and the
n) or setting change of latches (B1 to Bn) and the CPU
(18) A configuration control method characterized in that when the setting changes of the latches (C1 to Cn) are repeated, each process is performed exclusively. (3) The CPU (1) that changes the latches (C1 to Cn)
If the latches (A1 to An) or latches (B1 to Bn) are being changed by the service processor (16) at the time of the instruction in step 8), the latches (C1 to Cn) are changed by the instruction by the CPU (18). The service processor (
16) without waiting for the setting change to be completed.
3. The configuration control method according to claim 2, wherein the configuration change according to the command in step 18) is terminated.