IP Library › Granted Patent US 9,747,182
Granted Patent B2
US 9,747,182 · App. 14/838,974 · Granted Aug 29, 2017

System and method for in-service diagnostics based on health signatures

Inventors: Bryan James Thornley (Burnet, TX); Claude Lano Cox (Austin, TX); Nikhil Manohar Vichare (Austin, TX); Vinod Makhija (Austin, TX)
Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
G06F11/263G06F11/00G06F11/079G06F11/0736G06F11/0784G06F11/3688G06F11/3692
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,747,182
App. No.
14/838,974
Filed
Aug 28, 2015
Granted
Aug 29, 2017
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2114
USPC
714/25
Abstract

In accordance with the present disclosure, a system and method are herein disclosed for providing in-service diagnostics based on health signatures of an information handling system. In one embodiment, the health of an information handling system is periodically probed by a software agent running as a service. The service polls a set of probes from interfaces on the host system and tracks parameters indicative of system and component health and performance. An analytics engine processes the data to identify anomalies and outliers, and to detect signatures that are precursors to potential service incidents. A rule set matches signatures to potential actions. Based on the detected signatures and rule sets, the service is operable to select, schedule, and execute one or more diagnostic tests. If an information handling system or component thereof fails a diagnostic test, the results are archived to persistent storage and communicated to an administrator.

Claims (56)

1. A method for providing diagnostics in an information handling system having a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the method comprising:

sensing that the information handling system is resuming from a system crash; and

obtaining a crash health signature, wherein the crash health signature comprises crash data;

determining a type of crash based, at least in part, on the crash data of the crash health signature, wherein the crash health signature is indicative of at least one of memory corruption, hardware configuration, and software configuration;

tracking one or more parameters indicative of health of the information handling system;

storing, on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, data related to the plurality of parameters;

generating one or more statistics based, at least in part, on the plurality of parameters;

selecting, based on at least one of, the crash data and at least one of the plurality of parameters, a diagnostic test to execute;

scheduling the selected diagnostic test;

executing the selected diagnostic test; and

obtaining a validation code from the selected diagnostic test.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected diagnostic test is scheduled and executed while the information handling system is operational.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the selected diagnostic test is scheduled for and executed during a reboot of the information handling system.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining the plurality of parameters from a telemetry service.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of parameters are indicative of at least one of a thermistor, a fan speed, a battery data, a basic input/output log (BIOS), a crash, and a connector mating.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the crash data comprises at least one of an error code, identification of a crashing driver, and identification of a crashing application.

7. A non-transitory, computer readable storage medium comprising executable instructions to cause at least one processor, of an information handling system, coupled to the computer readable storage medium to:

sense that the information handling system is resuming from a system crash; and

obtain a crash health signature, wherein the crash health signature comprises crash data;

determine a type of crash based, at least in part, on the crash data of the crash health signature, wherein the crash health signature is indicative of at least one of memory corruption, hardware configuration, and software configuration;

track one or more parameters indicative of health of the information handling system;

store, on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, data related to the plurality of parameters;

generate one or more statistics based, at least in part, on the plurality of parameters;

select, based on at least one of, the crash data and at least one of the plurality of parameters, a diagnostic test to execute;

schedule the selected diagnostic test;

execute the selected diagnostic test; and

obtain a validation code from the selected diagnostic test.

8. The non-transitory, computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the selected diagnostic test is scheduled and executed while the information handling system is operational.

9. The non-transitory, computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the selected diagnostic test is scheduled for and executed during a reboot of the information handling system.

10. The non-transitory, computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to:

obtain the plurality of parameters from a telemetry service.

11. The non-transitory, computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of parameters are indicative of at least one of a thermistor, a fan speed, a battery data, a basic input/output log (BIOS), a crash, and a connector mating.

12. The non-transitory, computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the crash data comprises at least one of an error code, identification of a crashing driver, and identification of a crashing application.

13. The non-transitory, computer readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to:

send an alert, wherein the alert comprises at least one of the crash health signature and the validation code.

14. An information handling system, comprising:

at least one processor; and

a non-transitory, computer readable storage medium coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the non-transitory, computer readable storage medium comprises instructions that cause the at least one processor to:

sense that the information handling system is resuming from a system crash; and

obtain a crash health signature, wherein the crash health signature comprises crash data;

determine a type of crash based, at least in part, on the crash data of the crash health signature, wherein the crash health signature is indicative of at least one of memory corruption, hardware configuration, and software configuration;

track one or more parameters indicative of health of the information handling system;

store, on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium, data related to the plurality of parameters;

generate one or more statistics based, at least in part, on the plurality of parameters;

select, based on at least one of, the crash data and at least one of the plurality of parameters, a diagnostic test to execute;

schedule the selected diagnostic test;

execute the selected diagnostic test; and

obtain a validation code from the selected diagnostic test.

15. The information handling system of claim 14 , wherein the selected diagnostic test is scheduled and executed while the information handling system is operational.

16. The information handling system of claim 14 , wherein the selected diagnostic test is scheduled for and executed during a reboot of the information handling system.

17. The information handling system of claim 14 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to:

obtain the plurality of parameters from a telemetry service.

18. The information handling system of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of parameters are indicative of at least one of a thermistor, a fan speed, a battery data, a basic input/output log (BIOS), a crash, and a connector mating.

19. The information handling system of claim 14 , wherein the crash data comprises at least one of an error code, identification of a crashing driver, and identification of a crashing application.

20. The information handling system of claim 14 , wherein the monitoring a plurality of parameters indicative of the health of the information handling system and its components comprises monitoring parameters related to a battery in the information handling system.

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: 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; 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 037160 FRAME 0142 (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.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040027/0812 →
RELEASE OF REEL 037160 FRAME 0239 (TL) Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040028/0115 →
RELEASE OF REEL 037160 FRAME 0171 (ABL) Recorded Sep 13, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040017/0253 →
SUPPLEMENTAL PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT - NOTES Recorded Nov 25, 2015
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; BOOMI, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS FIRST LIEN COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 037160/0142 →
SUPPLEMENTAL PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT - TERM LOAN Recorded Nov 25, 2015
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; BOOMI, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 037160/0239 →
SUPPLEMENTAL PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT - ABL Recorded Nov 25, 2015
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; BOOMI, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 037160/0171 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 28, 2015
From: THORNLEY, BRYAN JAMES; COX, CLAUDE LANO; VICHARE, NIKHIL MANOHAR; MAKHIJA, VINOD
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 036448/0742 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 13790033 · Mar 8, 2013
Related Publication 20160232069A1 · Aug 11, 2016