Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed herein to a method for presenting a user interface comprising: presenting a user interface with at least one standard command button and an advanced button adjacent to the at least one standard command button; receiving a first selection; performing a standard command associated with the at least one standard command button when the received first selection selects the at least one standard command button; displaying at least one advanced command button above the advanced button when the received first selection selects the advanced button; receiving a second selection; and performing an advanced command associated with the at least one advanced command button when the received second selection selects the at least one advanced command button.

Abstract: A system and method is disclosed for performing error recovery in a data processing system that supports multiple processing partitions. One or more processors and I/O modules, as well as a portion of the address space of a main memory, is allocated to each partition. In this type of configuration, requests generated by units of multiple partitions are processed by the same queue and state logic of the main memory. When a failure occurs within one processing partition, one or more units are identified as being directly affected by the fault. All requests and responses from, and to, the affected units, as well as any logical residue of these requests and responses are removed from the shared memory queue and state logic in a manner that allows the other partition to continue issuing requests and responses to the memory in a normal manner that does not involve recovery operations.

Abstract: An inventive protocol for communicating between a management processor and host processors allows for the cooperative management of resources among host processors within a partition and also among a set of partitions in a computer system, wherein each partition may function under an instantiation of an operating system with a group of host processors. The protocol employs a message passing system using mailbox pairs in fixed but moveable or relocatable locations within the computer system shared memory. The messages share a format having specific codes or descriptors that act as codes for coordination of message interpretation. These codes include at least a validity flag and a sequence enumerator, and in a response message of a request/response message pair, a status indicator. Additionally, routing codes and function codes and code modifiers may be provided. Specific implementation details and messages are described to enable the smooth functioning of complex multiprocessor systems.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is disclosed for initiating execution of selected application processors in a clustered multiprocessor system without disrupting the addressing mode of the processors. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by initializing the processors in a conventional way, setting the addressing mode, and then leaving each of the processors in an active mode spinning on a designated Startup Address Location. To start an application processor, the OS simply write a target processor ID and a desired start-up address into the Startup Address Location. The application processor with the matching processor ID reads the Startup Address Location, jumps to the address specified in the Start-Up Address code section, and begins execution at that location. In another embodiment, a processor is provided that does not switch addressing modes when switched from a halt state.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for increasing the routing bandwidth of interrupts between cluster manager devices in a clustered multiprocessor system is disclosed. This is accomplished by providing special cluster manager devices that can convert “N” serial messages received from a local APIC to “M” parallel messages, wherein M is less than N. The special cluster manager device then transfers the “M” parallel messages to a receiving cluster manager device. The receiving cluster manager device converts the “M” parallel messages into the original “N” serial messages, and sends the “N” serial messages to the appropriate local APIC within the receiving cluster.

Abstract: Poisoning of specific memory locations as a process when a part of a multiprocessor computer system becomes faulty leads to ability to isolate specific data owned by individual failing units even in a shared memory area. Also continuous processing by non-failing units is allowable. A support processor handles non-immediate problems and allows resetting of memory locations formerly owned by failed units.