IP Library Granted Patent US 9,432,798
Granted Patent B2
US 9,432,798 · App. 14/259,541 · Granted Aug 30, 2016

NFC communication with an information handling system supplemented by a management controller

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,432,798
App. No.
14/259,541
Granted
Aug 30, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

Near Field Communication (NFC) supports server information handling system management through communication between a mobile information handling system and a baseboard management controller. Enhanced transfer by NFC of management information is provided by manipulating the NFC tag memory assigned for information transfer with the aid of a microcontroller coordinating NFC transfers at the baseboard management controller. The microcontroller manages tag memory and/or system memory so that the portable information handling system writes and reads information beyond the capabilities of unaided tag memory. In one embodiment, the baseboard management controller defines file locations in microcontroller memory so that an application associated with an external NFC device can obtain the files from an NFC transceiver managed by the microcontroller.

Claims (51)

1. An information handling system comprising:

a chassis operable to support processing components;

a processor disposed in the chassis and operable to execute instructions for processing information;

memory disposed in the chassis and interfaced with the processor, the memory operable to store the instructions and information;

a management controller disposed in the chassis and interfaced with the processor, the management controller operable manage operational conditions associated with processing components within the chassis including at least the processor;

a near field communication (NFC) transceiver disposed in the chassis and operable to wirelessly communicate with an NFC device external to the chassis; and

a microcontroller interfacing the management controller with the near field communication transceiver, the microcontroller managing memory interfaced with the NFC transceiver, the memory storing information in support of NFC transceiver wireless communications, the memory including persistent and non-persistent memory;

wherein the management controller populates management information in the microcontroller memory according to a file partitioning scheme that defines mapping to different memory locations; and

wherein the management controller populates the partition to store information that changes with greater than a predetermined frequency in non-persistent memory.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the management controller is further operable to define the partition predetermined relationship by populating a file location register of the microcontroller that associates file locations of the management controller memory view with types of memory of the microcontroller.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising a locking module stored in the microcontroller and operable to detect access by the management controller to management information stored in the microcontroller and, in response to detecting access, to lock the file from changes until completion of the access by the management controller.

4. The information handling system of claim 3 wherein the locking module is further operable to detect access by an external NFC device to management information stored in the microcontroller and, in response to detecting, to lock the file from changes by the management controller until completion of the access by the external NFC device.

5. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising an application associated with an external NFC device, the application having the partition defined by the management controller and operable to obtain selected of the management information by requesting information from selected addresses of the memory by reference the to the partition definition.

6. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising a security module operable to generate and exchange keys that enable secure configuration through NFC transactions.

7. An information handling system comprising:

a chassis operable to support processing components;

a processor disposed in the chassis and operable to execute instructions for processing information;

memory disposed in the chassis and interfaced with the processor, the memory operable to store the instructions and information;

a management controller disposed in the chassis and interfaced with the processor, the management controller operable manage operational conditions associated with processing components within the chassis including at least the processor;

a near field communication (NFC) transceiver disposed in the chassis and operable to wirelessly communicate with an NFC device external to the chassis; and

a microcontroller interfacing the management controller with the near field communication transceiver, the microcontroller managing memory interfaced with the NFC transceiver, the memory storing information in support of NFC transceiver wireless communications, the memory including persistent and non-persistent memory;

wherein the management controller populates management information in the microcontroller memory according to a file partitioning scheme that defines mapping to different memory locations; and

wherein the management controller populates the partition to store information that changes with less than a predetermined frequency in persistent memory.

8. A method for communication of management information between a server information handling system management controller and an external information handling system having a near field communication (NFC) device, the method comprising:

communicating management information from the management controller to a microcontroller;

storing the management information at memory of the microcontroller according to a logical file view of the microcontroller memory that is maintained by the management controller; and

communicating the management information from the microcontroller memory to an NFC transceiver coupled to the microcontroller;

communicating the management information with the NFC transceiver to the external NFC communication device;

defining with the management controller a file location register at the microcontroller, the file location register assigning a first set of files to persistent memory and a second set of files to non-persistent memory;

referencing the file location register with the microcontroller to store management information at the microcontroller;

storing a first type of management information in the persistent memory; and

storing a second type of management information in the non-persistent memory.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

communicating management information from the external NFC device through the NFC transceiver to the microcontroller;

storing the management information at the microcontroller based upon the file register definitions; and

communicating the management information from the microcontroller to the management controller.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the first type of information comprises identification information for the server information handling system.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the second type of information comprises event logs for the server information handling system.

12. The method of claim 8 further comprising:

requesting management information with an external NFC device communication;

in response to the requesting, locking the microcontroller memory; and

unlocking the microcontroller memory after completing a communication of the requested management information to the external NFC device.

13. A system for NFC transfers of information, the system comprising:

a portable information handling system having an NFC communication device and an NFC application stored in non-transitory memory, the NFC application operable to command the NFC communication device to communicate information with another NFC communication device; and

a server baseboard management controller operable to manage operations of a server information handling system based upon management information;

an NFC transceiver interfaced with the baseboard management controller and operable to perform NFC transfers of information; and

a microcontroller having memory, the microcontroller interfaced with the server baseboard management controller and the NFC transceiver, the microcontroller having a file location register referenced by the baseboard management controller to store management information in predetermined locations of the microcontroller memory, the microcontroller operable to command the NFC transceiver to communicate management information from the memory responsive to requests from the portable information handling system NFC communication device;

wherein the microcontroller memory comprises persistent memory and non-persistent memory and the file location register defines a first type of management information for storage in the persistent memory and a second type of management information for storage in the non-persistent memory.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the second type of management information comprises one or more logs that track operation of the server information handling system.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the microcontroller is further operable to respond to a request for management information by the portable information handling system NFC communication device with management information of less than all of the files defined by the file location register.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the microcontroller is further operable to lock the memory to prevent writes to the memory while providing management information in response to the portable information handling system request.

Assignments (15)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053546/0001) Recorded Jun 23, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 071642/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (045455/0001) Recorded May 20, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061753/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (040136/0001) Recorded Apr 26, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061324/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 3, 2021
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: DELL USA L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 058216/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 22, 2020
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053546/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 21, 2019
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 049452/0223 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040134/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040136/0001 →
RELEASE OF REEL 033625 FRAME 0688 (TL) Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SECUREWORKS, INC.
Reel/Frame 040027/0757 →
RELEASE OF REEL 033625 FRAME 0748 (NOTE) Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SECUREWORKS, INC.
Reel/Frame 040027/0050 →
RELEASE OF REEL 033625 FRAME 0711 (ABL) Recorded Sep 13, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; SECUREWORKS, INC.
Reel/Frame 040016/0903 →
SUPPLEMENT TO PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (NOTES) Recorded Aug 27, 2014
From: COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; SECUREWORKS, INC.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033625/0748 →
SUPPLEMENT TO PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (ABL) Recorded Aug 27, 2014
From: COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; SECUREWORKS, INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 033625/0711 →
SUPPLEMENT TO PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (TERM LOAN) Recorded Aug 27, 2014
From: COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; SECUREWORKS, INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 033625/0688 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 23, 2014
From: RAJU, ARULNAMBI; SHETTY, SUDHIR V.
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 032737/0687 →