Techniques of providing policy options to enable and disable system components

1. A method of operating a computer system, the computer system including an initialization component of a host, comprising:

determining, at the initialization component executed on a central processing unit (CPU) of the host and executed prior to that an operating system of the host is executed on the CPU, presence or absence of a plurality of hardware components of the host;

generating, at the CPU, a first series of indicators indicating the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components; and

sending, from the CPU to a service processor of the host, a message in accordance with a management protocol, the message including the first series of indicators.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining an inventory list of hardware components of the host; and

determining, based on the inventory list, the plurality of hardware components whose presence or absence are to be determined.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

sending a request to the service processor in accordance with the management protocol, the request being for retrieving a second series of indicators indicating enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present;

receiving a response from the service processor, the response including the second series of indicators; and

disabling or enabling the ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present according to the second series of indicators.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computer system further includes the service processor, the method further comprising:

receiving the message from the initialization component;

extracting the first series of indicators from the message;

determining, based on the first series of indicators, presence or absence of each one of the plurality of hardware components; and

storing the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components in a data store.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:

determining enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are determined to be present; and

generating a second series of indicators indicating the enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

receiving, from the initialization component, a request for retrieving the second series of indicators; and

sending, to the initialization component, a response including the second series of indicators.

7. A method of operating a computer system, the computer system including an initialization component of a host, comprising:

determining, at the initialization component, presence or absence of a plurality of hardware components of the host;

generating a first series of indicators indicating the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components; and

sending, to a service processor of the host, a message in accordance with a management protocol, the message including the first series of indicators;

wherein the computer system further includes the service processor, the method further comprising:

receiving the message from the initialization component;

extracting the first series of indicators from the message;

determining, based on the first series of indicators, presence or absence of each one of the plurality of hardware components;

storing the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components in a data store;

determining enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are determined to be present; and

generating a second series of indicators indicating the enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present,

wherein at least of the first series of indicators and the second series of indicators is a bitmap.

8. A computer system, the computer system including an initialization component of a host, comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:

determine, at the initialization component executed on a central processing unit (CPU) of the host and executed prior to that an operating system of the host is executed on the CPU, presence or absence of a plurality of hardware components of the host;

generate, at the CPU, a first series of indicators indicating the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components; and

send, from the CPU to a service processor of the host, a message in accordance with a management protocol, the message including the first series of indicators.

9. The computer system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

obtain an inventory list of hardware components of the host; and

determine, based on the inventory list, the plurality of hardware components whose presence or absence are to be determined.

10. The computer system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

send a request to the service processor in accordance with the management protocol, the request being for retrieving a second series of indicators indicating enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present;

receive a response from the service processor, the response including the second series of indicators; and

disable or enable the ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present according to the second series of indicators.

11. The computer system of claim 8 , wherein the computer system further includes the service processor, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive the message from the initialization component;

extract the first series of indicators from the message;

determine, based on the first series of indicators, presence or absence of each one of the plurality of hardware components; and

store the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components in a data store.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are determined to be present; and

generate a second series of indicators indicating the enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive, from the initialization component, a request for retrieving the second series of indicators; and

send, to the initialization component, a response including the second series of indicators.

14. A computer system, the computer system including an initialization component of a host, comprising:

a memory; and

at least one processor coupled to the memory and configured to:

determine, at the initialization component, presence or absence of a plurality of hardware components of the host;

generate a first series of indicators indicating the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components; and

send, to a service processor of the host, a message in accordance with a management protocol, the message including the first series of indicators;

wherein the computer system further includes the service processor, configured to:

receive the message from the initialization component;

extract the first series of indicators from the message;

determine, based on the first series of indicators, presence or absence of each one of the plurality of hardware components; and

store the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components in a data store;

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

determine enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are determined to be present; and

generate a second series of indicators indicating the enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present,

wherein at least of the first series of indicators and the second series of indicators is a bitmap.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable code for operating a computer system, the computer system including an initialization component of a host, comprising code to:

determine, at the initialization component, presence or absence of a plurality of hardware components of the host;

generate a first series of indicators indicating the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components; and

send, to a service processor of the host, a message in accordance with a management protocol, the message including the first series of indicators.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the code is further configured to:

obtain an inventory list of hardware components of the host; and

determine, based on the inventory list, the plurality of hardware components whose presence or absence are to be determined.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the code is further configured to:

send a request to the service processor in accordance with the management protocol, the request being for retrieving a second series of indicators indicating enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present;

receive a response from the service processor, the response including the second series of indicators; and

disable or enable the ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present according to the second series of indicators.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the computer system further includes the service processor, wherein the code is further configured to:

receive the message from the initialization component;

extract the first series of indicators from the message;

determine, based on the first series of indicators, presence or absence of each one of the plurality of hardware components; and

store the determined presence or absence of the plurality of hardware components in a data store.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the code is further configured to:

determine enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are determined to be present; and

generate a second series of indicators indicating the enablement or disablement of ones of the plurality of hardware components that are present.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein the code is further configured to:

receive, from the initialization component, a request for retrieving the second series of indicators; and

send, to the initialization component, a response including the second series of indicators.