Apparatus and method for downloading core file in a network device

Claim 1

A system for saving an entire core file in a network routing or switching device connected to an external network by an external interface, comprising: means for monitoring the network device for a shutdown event; means for 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 means for 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 system for saving an entire core file in a network routing or switching device connected to an external network by an external interface, comprising: means for monitoring the network device for a shutdown event; means for 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 means for 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 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: means for monitoring the network router for a fatal error; means for disabling interrupts from the network interface elements in the router after detecting the fatal error; means for reading bytes of the core file in a main memory one at a time; means for compressing the bytes; means for storing the compressed bytes into a temporary buffer in the main memory; means for writing blocks of the compressed bytes into a local memory when the temporary buffer in the main memory is full; means for resetting the router after downloading the core file into the local memory; and means for 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 14

A system 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: means for monitoring the network router for a fatal error; means for disabling interrupts from the network interface elements in the router after detecting the fatal error; means for reading bytes of the core file in a main memory one at a time; means for compressing the bytes; means for storing the compressed bytes into a temporary buffer in the main memory; means for writing blocks of the compressed bytes into a local memory when the temporary buffer in the main memory is full; means for resetting the router after downloading the core file into the local memory; and means for 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 15

A system for downloading a core file in a network device connected to an external network via an external interface, comprising: means for monitoring the network device for a shutdown event; means for conducting a shutdown routine after detecting the shutdown event, the shutdown routine copying the core file into a local memory internal to the network device instead of transferring the core file through the external interface to the external network; means for allowing a user to select either local flash memory or boot flash memory as the local memory; and means for storing the core file in the local memory that identifies a cause of the shutdown event.

Claim 16

A system for downloading a core file in a network device connected to an external network via an external interface, comprising: means for monitoring the network device for a shutdown event; means for conducting a shutdown routine after detecting the shutdown event, the shutdown routine copying the core file into a local memory internal to the network device instead of transferring the core file through the external interface to the external network; means for allowing a user to select either local flash memory or boot flash memory as the local memory; and means for storing the core file in the local memory that identifies a cause of the shutdown event.