A method for verification of configuration data which is expressive of the configuration of a computer system. A computer system having configuration data stored therein, further includes an identifier for uniquely identifying the computer system. A copy of the stored configuration data is encoded via an encoding method which uses the identifier, and the encoded configuration data is encrypted via an encryption method which uses a private key. Subsequently, the encrypted configuration data is decrypted via a decryption method using a public key producing a decrypted result. The decrypted result may either be decoded using the identifier and compared to the stored configuration data or alternatively the stored configuration data may be encoded using the identifier and compared to the decrypted result.
A data processing system includes a plurality of components, a power control network, processing resources, and a memory that contains initialization firmware. At system startup, the power control network initiates supply of power to the plurality of components and collects information regarding which components are supplied power. In addition, the initialization firmware initializes the plurality of components to establish a configuration. If an ambiguity in the configuration arises, the initialization firmware resolves the ambiguity utilizing the information collected by the power control network.
A transportable memory apparatus including cache memory and a backup battery is provided that is capable of being removed from a first computer system and installed within a second computer system. The transportable memory apparatus includes a control bus that provides appropriate signals such that the presence and status of the transportable memory apparatus can be detected in order to permit the computer system that includes the transportable memory apparatus to be appropriately initialized. As such, methods for initializing a computer system that may include a transportable memory apparatus are also provided.
A transportable memory apparatus including cache memory and a backup battery is provided that is capable of being removed from a first computer system and installed within a second computer system. The transportable memory apparatus includes a control bus that provides appropriate signals such that the presence and status of the transportable memory apparatus can be detected in order to permit the computer system that includes the transportable memory apparatus to be appropriately initialized. As such, methods for initializing a computer system that may include a transportable memory apparatus are also provided.
A computer includes an electronic storage device that stores configuration data indicating whether a first optional component and a second optional component are installed in the computer. The computer also includes an electronic memory device that stores BIOS code including code sections associated with operation of the first and second optional components. A processor executes the BIOS code and, upon doing so, is programmed to access the configuration data to determine if the first and second optional components are installed, to execute the section of the BIOS code associated with the first optional component only if the first optional component is installed, and to execute the section of the BIOS code associated with the second optional component only if the second optional component is installed.
A system and method for scaling the performance of a data processing system is disclosed. According to one method, a level of system performance is purchased for use with the data processing system. This purchased performance level is described in Millions of Instructions Per Second (MIPS) or a similar unit of measure. A system administrator selects which resources within the data processing system will be enabled, as well as how those resources will be configured. The enabled system resources will include one or more instruction processors. The performance of each of the enabled processors is then scaled to achieve the purchased system performance level. Performance scaling is performed in a manner that takes into account characteristics associated with the selected configuration as well as the system architecture.
