Granted Patent B2

US 12,314,371 · App. 17/383,881 · Granted May 27, 2025

Inventors: Austin Patrick Bolen (Austin, TX); Chandrashekar Nelogal (Round Rock, TX)

Assignee: EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC

G06F21/44G06F13/4208G06F21/85

Abstract

Claims (73)

1. A method for authenticating a peripheral device, comprising:

generating, by the peripheral device, a vendor defined message (VDM) that advertises that the peripheral device is connected to a node, wherein the peripheral device comprises a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) device;

sending, by a PCIe switch of the node using software executing on a processor of the node, the VDM to a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the node;

receiving, by the BMC, the VDM specifying identifying information associated with the peripheral device and an allowed VDM channel for communication;

in response to receiving the VDM, generating, by the BMC, a request for authentication credentials and for identifying information of the peripheral device and placing the peripheral device in quarantine wherein, when in quarantine, the peripheral device can only communicate with the BMC over the allowed VDM channel;

sending the request to the peripheral device by the PCIe switch of the node using the software executing on the processor of the node through the allowed VDM channel;

receiving, by the peripheral device, the request;

in response to receiving the request, generating a message by the peripheral device, wherein the message comprises the authentication credentials and the identifying information;

sending the message to the BMC by the PCIe switch of the node using the software executing on the processor of the node through the allowed VDM channel;

receiving, by the BMC, the message;

obtaining, by the BMC and using at least a portion of the identifying information, a public key associated with the peripheral device;

making a determination, based on the authentication credentials and the public key, that the peripheral device is authentic; and

removing, in response to the determination, the peripheral device from the quarantine, wherein removing the peripheral device from the quarantine comprises:

sending:

a command to open a first peripheral communication channel with the peripheral device, and

a certificate to the peripheral device generated by the BMC acting as a certificate authority so that the peripheral device may use the certificate for future authentications,

wherein the command to open the first peripheral communication channel is sent to the PCIe switch via the processor,

wherein prior to making the determination that the peripheral device is authentic, a plurality of peripheral communication channels are blocked, wherein the plurality of peripheral communication channels comprises the first peripheral communication channel.

2. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer processor, enables the computer processor to perform a method for authenticating a peripheral device, comprising:

generating, by the peripheral device, a vendor defined message (VDM) that advertises that the peripheral device is connected to a node, wherein the peripheral device comprises a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) device;

sending, by a PCIe switch of the node using software executing on a processor of the node, the VDM to a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the node;

receiving, by the BMC, the VDM specifying identifying information associated with the peripheral device and an allowed VDM channel for communication;

in response to receiving the VDM, generating, by the BMC, a request for authentication credentials and for identifying information of the peripheral device and placing the peripheral device in quarantine wherein, when in quarantine, the peripheral device can only communicate with the BMC over the allowed VDM channel;

sending the request to the peripheral device by the PCIe switch of the node using the software executing on the processor of the node through the allowed VDM channel;

receiving, by the peripheral device, the request;

in response to receiving the request, generating a message by the peripheral device, wherein the message comprises the authentication credentials and the identifying information;

sending the message to the BMC by the PCIe switch of the node using the software executing on the processor of the node through the allowed VDM channel;

receiving, by the BMC, the message;

obtaining, by the BMC, and using at least a portion of the identifying information, a public key associated with the peripheral device;

making a determination, based on the authentication credentials and the public key, that the peripheral device is authentic; and

removing, in response to the determination, the peripheral device from the quarantine, wherein removing the peripheral device from the quarantine comprises:

sending:

a command to open a first peripheral communication channel with the peripheral device, and

a certificate to the peripheral device generated by the BMC acting as a certificate authority so that the peripheral device may use the certificate for future authentications,

wherein the command to open the first peripheral communication channel is sent to the PCIe switch via the processor,

wherein prior to making the determination that the peripheral device is authentic, a plurality of peripheral communication channels are blocked, wherein the plurality of peripheral communication channels comprises the first peripheral communication channel.

3. A node, comprising:

a processor;

a peripheral device;

a peripheral switch; and

a baseboard management controller (BMC), wherein the BMC is configured to perform a method for authenticating the peripheral device, comprising:

generating, by the peripheral device, a vendor defined message (VDM) that advertises that the peripheral device is connected to a node, wherein the peripheral device comprises a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) device;

sending, by a PCIe switch of the node using software executing on a processor of the node, the VDM to a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the node;

receiving, by the BMC, the VDM specifying identifying information associated with the peripheral device and an allowed VDM channel for communication;

in response to receiving the VDM, generating, by the BMC, a request for authentication credentials and for identifying information of the peripheral device and placing the peripheral device in quarantine wherein, when in quarantine, the peripheral device can only communicate with the BMC over the allowed VDM channel;

sending the request to the peripheral device by the PCIe switch of the node using the software executing on the processor of the node through the allowed VDM channel;

receiving, by the peripheral device, the request;

in response to receiving the request, generating a message by the peripheral device, wherein the message comprises the authentication credentials and the identifying information;

sending the message to the BMC by the PCIe switch of the node using the software executing on the processor of the node through the allowed VDM channel;

receiving, by the BMC, the message;

obtaining and using at least a portion of the identifying information, a public key associated with the peripheral device;

making a determination, based on the authentication credentials and the public key, that the peripheral device is authentic; and

removing, in response to the determination, the peripheral device from the quarantine, wherein removing the peripheral device from the quarantine comprises:

sending:

a command to open a first peripheral communication channel with the peripheral device, and

a certificate to the peripheral device generated by the BMC acting as a certificate authority so that the peripheral device may use the certificate for future authentications,

wherein the command to open the first peripheral communication channel is sent to the PCIe switch via the processor,

wherein prior to making the determination that the peripheral device is authentic, a plurality of peripheral communication channels are blocked, wherein the plurality of peripheral communication channels comprises the first peripheral communication channel.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifying information specifies a manufacturer of the peripheral device, and a model number of the peripheral device.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to receiving the command, the PCIe switch sends an interrupt to an operating system (OS) on the node,

wherein the BMC is located on the node, wherein the OS is not aware of the peripheral device prior to receiving the interrupt,

wherein after receiving the interrupt, the OS is able to communicate with the peripheral device.

6. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2 , wherein the identifying information specifies a manufacturer of the peripheral device, and a model number of the peripheral device.

7. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 2 , further comprising:

in response to receiving the command, the PCIe switch sends an interrupt to an operating system (OS) on the node,

wherein the BMC is located on the node, wherein the OS is not aware of the peripheral device prior to receiving the interrupt,

wherein after receiving the interrupt, the OS is able to communicate with the peripheral device.

8. The node of claim 3 , wherein the identifying information specifies a manufacturer of the peripheral device, and a model number of the peripheral device.

9. The node of claim 3 , further comprising:

in response to receiving the command, the PCIe switch sends an interrupt to an operating system (OS) on the node,

wherein the BMC is located on the node, wherein the OS is not aware of the peripheral device prior to receiving the interrupt,

wherein after receiving the interrupt, the OS is able to communicate with the peripheral device.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (1)

References Cited (22)