System and method for providing secure console access with multiple smart NICs using NC-SL and SPDM

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11445028-B2
Application number	US-202017138424-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 30, 2020
Priority date	Dec 30, 2020
Publication date	Sep 13, 2022
Grant date	Sep 13, 2022

Abstract

An information handling system includes a data handling device and a baseboard management controller (BMC). The data handling device includes a co-processor configured to instantiate a device operating system for the data handling device. The data handling device includes a Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) endpoint. The BMC establishes a serial terminal session with the device operating system via the MCTP endpoint.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An information handling system, comprising:
a first data handling device including a first co-processor configured to instantiate a first device operating system for the first data handling device, and further including a first Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) endpoint; and
a baseboard management controller (BMC) configured to establish a first serial terminal session with the first device operating system via the first MCTP endpoint;
wherein the first serial terminal session is established utilizing a network controller sideband interface passthrough type MCTP command; and
wherein after establishing the first serial terminal session, the first serial terminal session is further maintained utilizing an encapsulated format type MCTP command.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the first data handling device comprises a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) based network interface card (NIC).

3. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein after establishing the first serial terminal session, the first serial terminal session is further maintained utilizing a Security Protocol and Data Model (SPDM) type MCTP command (MCTP Type 5).

4. The information handling system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second data handling device coupled to a host processing system, the second data handling device including a second co-processor configured to instantiate a second device operating system for the second data handling device and further including a second MCTP endpoint;
wherein the BMC is further configured to establish a second serial terminal session with the second device operating system via the second MCTP endpoint, to establish a virtual serial terminal session with the first device operating system via the first MCTP endpoint and with the second device operating system via the second MCTP endpoint.

5. The information handling system of claim 4 , wherein the BMC includes a persistent serial database configured to store a keyboard input string.

6. The information handling system of claim 5 , wherein the BMC is further configured to provide the keyboard input string to the first data handling device and to the second data handling device via the virtual serial terminal session.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the BMC is further configured to configure the first device operating system via the first serial terminal session.

8. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the first data handling device comprises at least one of a storage controller, a graphics controller, a co-processor, a data processing off-load engine, a field programmable gate array, a graphics processing unit, and an application specific integrated circuit.

9. A method, comprising:
instantiating, by a processor of an information handling system, a host operating system for the information handling system;
instantiating, by a first co-processor of a first data handling device of the information handling system, a first device operating system for the first data handling device, wherein the first data handling system includes a first management component transport protocol (MCTP) endpoint; and
establishing, by a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the information handling system, a first serial terminal session with the first device operating system via the first MCTP endpoint;
establishing, by the BMC, the first serial terminal session utilizing a network controller sideband interface passthrough type MCTP command; and
after establishing the first serial terminal session, further maintaining the first serial terminal session utilizing a Security Protocol and Data Model type MCTP command.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first data handling device comprises a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) based network interface card (NIC).

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising after establishing the first serial terminal session, further maintaining the first serial terminal session utilizing the Security Protocol and Data Model (SPDM) type MCTP command.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
instantiating, by a second co-processor of a second data handling device of the information handling system, a second device operating system for the second data handling device, wherein the second data handling device includes a second MCTP endpoint; and
establishing, by the BMC, a second serial terminal session with the second device operating system via the second MCTP endpoint.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising storing a keyboard input string in a persistent serial database of the BMC.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising providing the keyboard input string to the first data handling device and to the second data handling device via the virtual serial terminal session.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising configuring the first device operating system via the first serial terminal session.

16. An information handling system, comprising:
a host processing system including a processor configured to instantiate a host operating system for the information handling system;
a first data handling device coupled to the host processing system, the first data handling device including a first co-processor configured to instantiate a first device operating system for the first data handling device and further including a first management component transport protocol (MCTP) endpoint; and
a baseboard management controller configured to establish a first serial terminal session with the first device operating system via the first MCTP endpoint;
wherein the first serial terminal session is established utilizing a network controller sideband interface passthrough type MCTP command; and
wherein after establishing the first serial terminal session, the first serial terminal session is further maintained utilizing an encapsulated format type MCTP command.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Maddukuri Akkiah
• Stevens Robert
• Paulraj Deepaganesh
• Jreij Elie
• Bisa Rama

Classifications

• H04L69/26

  Special purpose or proprietary protocols or architectures (network applications for proprietary or special purpose networking environments H04L67/12) · CPC title

• H04L67/141 Primary

  Setup of application sessions (admission control or resource allocation in data switching networks H04L47/70) · CPC title

• G06F9/4406 Primary

  Loading of operating system · CPC title

• G06F15/7807

  System on chip, i.e. computer system on a single chip; System in package, i.e. computer system on one or more chips in a single package · CPC title

• G06F9/3877

  using a secondary processor, e.g. coprocessor (peripheral processor G06F13/12) · CPC title