Apparatus and method for downloading core file in a network device

Claim 1

A method for saving an entire core file in a network routing or switching device connected to an external network by an external interface, comprising: monitoring the network device for a shutdown event; conducting a shutdown routine after detecting the shutdown event, the shutdown routine avoiding all unnecessary internal and network operations while copying the entire core file including the values of stack pointers, routine variables, a last operating instruction, values set by the last operating instruction, status register addresses, program counters and any other data stored in a main memory into a local memory internal to the network device and coupled directly to the main memory by a same internal bus that couples the local memory to a central processing unit while avoiding transferring any of the core file through the external interface to the external network and preventing transfer of the core file to any other device not coupled directly to the internal bus or to any device that needs a driver to receive data from the main memory; and storing the core file that identifies a cause of the shutdown event from the main memory to the local memory before completing the shutdown event, before resetting the network device and without using any external interface or device driver to store the core file.

Claim 2

A method for saving an entire core file in a network routing or switching device connected to an external network by an external interface, comprising: monitoring the network device for a shutdown event; conducting a shutdown routine after detecting the shutdown event, the shutdown routine avoiding all unnecessary internal and network operations while copying the entire core file including the values of stack pointers, routine variables, a last operating instruction, values set by the last operating instruction, status register addresses, program counters and any other data stored in a main memory into a local memory internal to the network device and coupled directly to the main memory by a same internal bus that couples the local memory to a central processing unit while avoiding transferring any of the core file through the external interface to the external network and preventing transfer of the core file to any other device not coupled directly to the internal bus or to any device that needs a driver to receive data from the main memory; and storing the core file that identifies a cause of the shutdown event from the main memory to the local memory before completing the shutdown event, before resetting the network device and without using any external interface or device driver to store the core file.

Claim 13

A system for identifying faults in a network router or switch device coupled to one or more external networks through network interface elements, comprising: a CPU controlling packet processing operations in the network device; a main memory coupled to the CPU for storing a core file in the network device; the network interface elements coupled to the CPU of the network device for processing packets from the external networks; a local memory coupled to the CPU storing an operating routine for the network device and a shutdown routine that is accessed by the CPU after detecting the shutdown event, the shutdown routine disabling access to the CPU by all devices that use drives to communicate with the CPU and disabling all the network interface elements while the CPU copies the core file from the main memory into the local memory after detecting a shutdown event; and an exception handler that jumps into the shutdown routine after detecting the shutdown event.

Claim 14

A system for identifying faults in a network router or switch device coupled to one or more external networks through network interface elements, comprising: a CPU controlling packet processing operations in the network device; a main memory coupled to the CPU for storing a core file in the network device; the network interface elements coupled to the CPU of the network device for processing packets from the external networks; a local memory coupled to the CPU storing an operating routine for the network device and a shutdown routine that is accessed by the CPU after detecting the shutdown event, the shutdown routine disabling access to the CPU by all devices that use drives to communicate with the CPU and disabling all the network interface elements while the CPU copies the core file from the main memory into the local memory after detecting a shutdown event; and an exception handler that jumps into the shutdown routine after detecting the shutdown event.

Claim 22

A method for saving a core file in a network router for routing data in a network, the network router coupled to an external network via network interface elements, comprising: monitoring the network router for a fatal error; disabling interrupts from the network interface elements in the router after detecting the fatal error; reading bytes of the core file in a main memory one at a time; compressing the bytes; storing the compressed bytes into a temporary buffer in the main memory; writing blocks of the compressed bytes into a local memory when the temporary buffer in the main memory is full; resetting the router after downloading the core file into the local memory; and outputting the core file from the local flash memory through the network interface elements to an external network device coupled to the router, the core file output from the local flash memory containing a state of the router at the time the fatal error occurred.

Claim 23

A method for saving a core file in a network router for routing data in a network, the network router coupled to an external network via network interface elements, comprising: monitoring the network router for a fatal error; disabling interrupts from the network interface elements in the router after detecting the fatal error; reading bytes of the core file in a main memory one at a time; compressing the bytes; storing the compressed bytes into a temporary buffer in the main memory; writing blocks of the compressed bytes into a local memory when the temporary buffer in the main memory is full; resetting the router after downloading the core file into the local memory; and outputting the core file from the local flash memory through the network interface elements to an external network device coupled to the router, the core file output from the local flash memory containing a state of the router at the time the fatal error occurred.