CN107992169A - A kind of Server Extension system - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application discloses a server expansion system, which includes a power supply module, a PCIE expansion module, a storage expansion module and a management module. The power supply module is used to supply power to the system; the PCIE expansion module is used to expand the PCIE slot of the host system; the storage expansion module is used to expand the storage space of the host system; the management module is used to monitor the performance of each module, and to monitor the The firmware and CPLD code of the system are burned. The server extension system has high flexibility, good compatibility with the host system, and is convenient for popularization and use.

Description

A server expansion system

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of servers, in particular to a server expansion system.

Background technique

With the development of server technology and the expansion of server application fields, users put forward new requirements for server architecture. Specifically, the surge of data information makes the storage space of the server need to be continuously expanded, and the diversification of customer needs makes the server need to be connected with different PCIE (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, external device interconnection bus) cards. Therefore, expanding the storage space and PCIE of the server is an urgent problem to be solved.

At present, when the storage space and PCIE slots of the server cannot meet the demand, the whole host system is usually replaced, that is, the host system with small storage space and few PCIE slots is replaced with a host system with larger storage space and more PCIE slots. To meet the storage needs and diverse needs of current users.

However, in the current way of expanding the storage space and PCIE of the server, the flexibility of system expansion is too poor due to the replacement of the entire host system, and the replacement of the entire host system requires re-commissioning of the server, which is not conducive to user experience.

Contents of the invention

An embodiment of the present application provides a server expansion system to solve the problem of poor system expansion flexibility caused by replacing the entire host system in the prior art. CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device, complex programmable logic device) Redriver chip SAS (Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface, serial connection port)

In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiment of the present application discloses the following technical solutions:

A server expansion system, the system is connected to the server host system through a cable, and the system includes:

a power supply module, configured to supply power to the system;

PCIE expansion module, used to expand the PCIE slot of the host system;

The storage expansion module is used to expand the storage space of the host system;

The management module is used to monitor the performance of the power supply module, the PCIE expansion module and the storage expansion module, and is used to burn the firmware and CPLD codes of the system.

Optionally, the PCIE expansion module includes an adapter unit and a PCIE slot, wherein the adapter unit includes a first connector connected to the host system and a second connector connected to the PCIE slot.

Optionally, the switching unit is provided with a signal repeater, and the signal repeater is respectively connected to the first connector and the second connector.

Optionally, the PCIE expansion module is provided with a switch for switching between different PCIE slots.

Optionally, the storage expansion module includes a hard disk slot and a disk expansion connection unit, and the disk expansion connection unit is used for connecting a hard disk and a disk array board.

Optionally, the disk expansion connection unit includes multiple disk expansion controllers and multiple disk connectors, and the multiple disk expansion controllers are connected in cascade through the disk connectors.

Optionally, any one of the multiple disk expansion controllers is provided with multiple ports, and the multiple ports are used to connect the hard disk, the disk array board, and the disk connector.

Optionally, the management module includes an EMC management chip and a serial communication port, the EMC management chip is used to monitor the performance parameters of the power supply module, the PCIE expansion module and the storage expansion module, and the serial communication port is used for Burn the firmware and CPLD codes of the system.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application may include the following beneficial effects:

An embodiment of the present application provides a server expansion system, which includes a power supply module, a PCIE expansion module, a storage expansion module, and a management module. The server expansion system provided by this application is a system with independent functions, which is connected to the server host system through cables. In the case of insufficient storage space and insufficient PCIE slots, the flexibility is high. In the embodiment of the present application, the server expansion system is provided with an independent management module. The management module in this embodiment operates independently of the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller, Baseboard Management Controller) of the host system, and is jointly controlled by the SMC of the server host system. (System Management Controller, System Management Controller). Therefore, the server extension system in this embodiment is well compatible with the server host system, and the server extension system in this embodiment has good compatibility. The PCIE expansion module in the embodiment of the present application is provided with a switch, which can switch between different PCIE slots according to customer requirements, and further improves the flexibility of the server expansion system in the present application. The storage expansion module of the embodiment of the present application is provided with a disk expansion connection unit. The disk expansion connection unit includes a plurality of disk expansion controllers and a plurality of disk connectors. Expanding the number of hard disks, this structural design further improves the flexibility of the server expansion system in this application. In addition, the management module of the embodiment of the present application is also provided with a serial communication port, which can very flexibly and conveniently burn the firmware and CPLD codes in the server expansion system without burning through the host system, which is beneficial to improve the system Flexibility to expand.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the application.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, for those of ordinary skill in the art, In other words, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings on the premise of not paying creative work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a server expansion system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another server expansion system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Symbol means:

1-power supply module, 2-PCIE expansion module, 21-transition unit, 22-PCIE slot, 23-signal repeater, 3-storage expansion module, 31-hard disk slot, 32-disk expansion connection unit, 4 -Management module, 41-EMC management chip, 42-serial communication port.

Detailed ways

In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described The embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, but not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of this application.

Embodiment one

Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a server expansion system provided by an embodiment of the present application. As can be seen from Figure 1, the server expansion system in the embodiment of the present application mainly includes four parts: a power supply module 1, a PCIE expansion module 2, a storage expansion module 3, and a management module 4, and the server expansion system is connected to the server host system through a cable .

Wherein, the power supply module 1 is used to supply power to the system. The power supply module 1 in this embodiment may be composed of PDU (PowerDistribution Unit, power distribution unit), PSU (Power Supply Unit, power supply unit) and VR (VoltageRegulator voltage regulator) chips. Among them, the PDU is connected to the 220V AC power supply, the PSU is used to convert the 220V AC power to the 12V voltage required by the server expansion system in this embodiment, and the VR chip is used to convert the 12V voltage to hard disks and other components in the server expansion system required voltage.

The PCIE expansion module 2 is used to expand the PCIE slot of the host system. When the PCIE slot of host computer system can't meet the diverse needs of customers, different PCIE slots can be expanded by the PCIE expansion module 2 in the embodiment of the application, and the type and quantity of specific PCIE slots can be set according to actual conditions. The server expansion system in the embodiment of the present application is connected to the server host system through the PCIE expansion module 2 . That is: one end of the PCIE expansion module 2 is connected to the server host system, and the other end is connected to the storage expansion module 3 in the server expansion system.

The storage expansion module 3 is used to expand the storage space of the host system. The storage method adopted by the storage expansion module 3 in the embodiment of the present application is the same as that in the prior art, such as hard disk storage. A specific storage method may be determined according to customer requirements, and will not be described in detail here. The setting of the storage expansion module 3 can flexibly expand the storage space of the server host system, and greatly relieve the storage pressure of the server host system.

The management module 4 is used to monitor the performance of the power supply module 1, the PCIE expansion module 2 and the storage expansion module 3, and is used to burn system firmware and CPLD codes. The management module 4 in the embodiment of the present application is independent of the BMC in the server host system, and is in a parallel relationship with the BMC in the server host system. Specifically, the management module 3 in this embodiment independently manages the server extension system, and the BMC independently manages the server host system, and both are managed and controlled by the SMC of the server host system. This structural design of the management module 4 can not only ensure the compatibility of the service expansion system but also greatly improve the flexibility of the server expansion system. The performance monitoring of other modules by the management module 4 mainly includes monitoring information such as temperature, voltage value and fan speed of each module, and the working status and performance indicators of each module can be checked at any time through the communication interface. In addition, the firmware and CPLD codes in the server expansion system can also be burned through the management module 4, mainly including storing the firmware and CPLD codes in the expansion module 3 and the CPLD codes in the PCIE expansion module 2.

To sum up, as a system with independent functions, the server expansion system provided by the embodiment of the present application can solve the problem of insufficient storage space and In the case of insufficient PCIE slots, it is not necessary to replace the entire host system. The server expansion system has high flexibility and good compatibility. Due to its good compatibility, the server expansion system in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to most host systems. Moreover, this method of independently designing storage expansion and PCIE slot expansion can avoid replacing the host system, which is conducive to saving costs.

Embodiment two

Referring to FIG. 2 on the basis of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another server expansion system provided by the embodiment of the present application. As can be seen from FIG. 2 , the PCIE expansion module 2 in the embodiment of the present application includes two parts: an adapter unit 21 and a PCIE slot 22 . The adapter unit 21 further includes a first connector and a second connector, the first connector is used to connect to a connector of the host system, and the second connector is used to connect to the PCIE slot 22 . Since the model of the first connector is used to connect to the host system, in this embodiment, the model of the first connector must be consistent with the model of the connector of the host system. In addition, the quantity of the first connector and the second connector is determined according to the specification of the PCIE expansion module 2 in actual use.

The PCIE slot 22 includes various commonly used cards, and can be plugged with various commonly used PCIE cards, such as PCIE X8, PCIEX16 and the like. Customers can adjust the PCIE slots according to their needs, for example: 16 PCIE X8 slots can be used, or 8 PCIE X16 slots can be adjusted according to customer needs. In the embodiment of the present application, a switch may also be provided, and different PCIE slots may be switched through the switch, which can further improve the flexibility of setting the PCIE expansion module.

Further, in order to enhance the transmission quality of the signal in the PCIE expansion module 2, a signal repeater 23 is arranged between the first connector and the second connector of the adapter unit 21, and the signal repeater 23 can adopt a redriver chip to fulfill. This is equivalent to adding a redriver chip to each PCIE card, which can effectively enhance the signal quality and help improve the performance of the server expansion system.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2 , it can be seen that the storage expansion module 3 in this embodiment includes a hard disk slot 31 and a disk expansion connection unit 32 , and the disk expansion connection unit 32 is used for connecting a hard disk and a disk array board.

In this embodiment, the disk expansion unit 32 includes multiple disk expansion controllers and multiple disk connectors, and the multiple disk expansion controllers are connected in cascade through the disk connectors. In addition, any one of the multiple disk expansion controllers is provided with multiple ports, and the multiple ports are used for connecting hard disks, disk array boards, and disk connectors.

The disk expansion controller in this embodiment is a SAS (Serial Attached Small Computer System Interface, serial connection port) Expander, the disk connector can be a minisas connector, and the disk array board is a RAID card. SASExpander is a controller with expansion function, which can convert fewer ports into more ports according to customer needs, and multiple SAS Expanders are cascaded through minisas connectors. The number of SAS Expanders can be determined according to customer needs, that is, the number of hard disks can be expanded by increasing the number of cascaded SAS Expanders according to customer needs. Among them, each SAS Expander is provided with a plurality of ports for connecting RAID cards, minisas connectors and hard disks.

Taking the SASExpander with 40 ports as an example, 8 of the 40 ports are used to connect to the RAID card, and the RAID card can be plugged into the PCIE slot 22 of the PCIE expansion module 2 in the server expansion system, so as to realize the server host system Information transfer with the service extension system. Since SAS Expander supports the cascading function, 4 ports among the 40 ports are used for cascading between this SAS Expander and the previous SAS Expander, and 4 ports are used for cascading between the SAS Expander and the next SAS Expander. The remaining 24 ports are used to connect with 24 hard disks respectively.

It can also be seen from FIG. 2 that the management module 4 in the embodiment of the present application includes an EMC management chip 41 and a serial communication port 42 . Wherein, the EMC management chip 41 is used for monitoring the performance parameters of the power supply module 1, the PCIE expansion module 2 and the storage expansion module 3; the serial communication port 42 is used for burning the firmware and CPLD codes in the server expansion system. Specifically, the functions of the EMC management chip 41 have been described in detail in Embodiment 1, and will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present application, the serial communication port 42 can be a COM port. When the firmware of the SAS Expander in the server expansion system needs to be burned, the firmware of the SAS Expander can be burned online by connecting the COM port to upload the burning signal. When it is necessary to burn the CPLD codes of the PCIE expansion module 2 and the storage expansion module 3 in the server expansion system, you can also burn the relevant CPLD codes online by connecting the COM port.

For parts not described in detail in this embodiment, reference may be made to Embodiment 1 shown in FIG. 1 , and the two may refer to each other, and will not be described in detail here.

The above descriptions are only specific implementation manners of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (8)

1. a kind of Server Extension system, it is characterised in that the system is connected by cable with server host system, described System includes：

Power supply module (1), for the system power supply；

PCIE expansion modules (2), for extending the PCIE slots of host computer system；

Storage expanding module (3), for extending the memory space of host computer system；

Management module (4), for the property to the power supply module (1), PCIE expansion modules (2) and storage expanding module (3) It can be monitored, and, carry out burning for the firmware to the system and CPLD codes.

A kind of 2. Server Extension system according to claim 1, it is characterised in that PCIE expansion modules (2) bag Adapter unit (21) and PCIE slots (22) are included, wherein, the adapter unit (21) includes the first connection of connection host computer system Device and the second connector for connecting the PCIE slots (22).

3. a kind of Server Extension system according to claim 2, it is characterised in that set in the adapter unit (21) There is signal repeater (23), the signal repeater (23) is connected with first connector, the second connector respectively.

4. according to a kind of Server Extension system described in Claims 2 or 3, it is characterised in that the PCIE expansion modules (2) switch is provided with, for being switched over to different PCIE slots.

A kind of 5. Server Extension system according to claim 1, it is characterised in that storage expanding module (3) bag Include hard-disk slots (31) and disk expansion connection unit (32), the disk expansion connection unit (32) be used to connecting hard disk and Disk array board.

A kind of 6. Server Extension system according to claim 5, it is characterised in that the disk expansion connection unit (32) multiple disk extending controllers and multiple disk connectors are included, by described between the multiple disk extending controller Disk connector is connected by the way of cascade.

A kind of 7. Server Extension system according to claim 6, it is characterised in that the multiple disk extending controller In any one disk extending controller in be provided with multiple ports, the multiple port is used to connect the hard disk, disk Array board and disk connector.

8. a kind of Server Extension system according to claim 1, it is characterised in that the management module (4) includes EMC Managing chip (41) and communication port (42), the EMC managing chips (41) be used for monitor the power supply module (1), The performance parameter of PCIE expansion modules (2) and storage expanding module (3), the communication port (42) are used for the system The firmware and CPLD codes of system carry out burning.