CN110502462B

CN110502462B - OCP adapter card and server

Info

Publication number: CN110502462B
Application number: CN201910735671.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 逯宗堂
Original assignee: Suzhou Inspur Intelligent Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Suzhou Inspur Intelligent Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-09
Filing date: 2019-08-09
Publication date: 2021-07-06
Anticipated expiration: 2039-08-09
Also published as: CN110502462A

Abstract

The invention provides an OCP adapter card and a server, comprising: a SATA connector configured to connect to a motherboard SATA connector on a server motherboard via a cable; an SAS connector configured for connection to a RAID card on a motherboard by a cable; the OCP connector is configured to be plugged into an OCP slot of the mainboard to receive a PCIE signal from the CPU; the hard disk connector is configured to be connected with the SATA connector, the SAS connector and the OCP connector and connected with an external hard disk; and the ID pin is configured to be connected to a PCH of the mainboard in a plug-in state, so that the BIOS identifies the OCP adapter card according to the ID pin signal accessed to the PCH and correspondingly configures a PCIE signal output by the CPU. The invention can expand the application of the OCP interface and meet various requirements of customers.

Description

OCP adapter card and server

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of computers, and more particularly, to an OCP riser card and a server.

Background

With the development of computer technology, OCP is widely used in the field of servers, and the standard of an OCP card is a mezzanine card standard established by the organization of OCP (open computer project), and OCP is also widely used not only in high-density servers but also in general-purpose servers. Sometimes, however, the customer does not need an OCP card, but because the socket only supports standard OCP cards, the location is now free. When a user does not need an OCP card and needs more NVME storage hard disks, great research and development cost is brought if redesign is carried out, and the research and development period is prolonged, so that the OCP adapter card supporting the NVME can solve the problem.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, an embodiment of the present invention provides an OCP adapter card, so that a user can use the adapter card to externally connect a storage hard disk through an OCP interface when the user does not need the OCP card and needs more storage hard disks.

Based on the above object, an aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides an OCP adapter card, including:

a SATA connector configured to connect to a motherboard SATA connector on a server motherboard via a cable;

an SAS connector configured for connection to a RAID card on the motherboard by a cable;

the OCP connector is configured to be plugged into an OCP slot of a mainboard to receive a PCIE signal from the CPU;

the hard disk connector is configured to be connected with the SATA connector, the SAS connector and the OCP connector and connected with an external hard disk;

and the ID pin is configured to be connected to the PCH of the mainboard in a plug-in state, so that the BIOS identifies the OCP adapter card according to the ID pin signal accessed to the PCH and correspondingly configures a PCIE signal output by the CPU.

In some embodiments, the OCP riser card further comprises a CPLD, the CPLD being connected to each of the SATA connector, the SAS connector, and the OCP connector and configured to control a hard disk lamp.

In some embodiments, the ID pin is always held low.

In some embodiments, the ID pin is further configured to cause BIOS to configure the CPU to output 4 pcie x4 signals based on the ID pin being low in a state of the PCH connected to the motherboard.

In some embodiments, the hard disk connector is 4 U.2 connectors.

In some embodiments, said OCP riser card comprises 4 of said SATA connectors, 4 of said SAS connectors, and 2 of said OCP connectors.

Another aspect of an embodiment of the present invention provides a server, including:

the server mainboard comprises a BIOS, a mainboard SATA connector, a RAID card, a CPU and a PCH;

an OCP riser card comprising:

a SATA connector configured to connect to a motherboard SATA connector on the motherboard via a cable;

the OCP connector is configured to be plugged into an OCP slot of the mainboard to receive a PCIE signal from the CPU;

In some embodiments, the BIOS is configured to identify the card being accessed as an OCP riser card based on the low level connection to the PCH.

In some embodiments, the BIOS is configured to cause the CPU to output 4 pcie x4 signals in response to identifying the OCP riser card.

In some embodiments, the BIOS is configured to identify the board connected to the PCH as a standard OCP card and configure the CPU to output 1 pcie x16 signal according to the high level connected to the PCH.

The invention has the following beneficial technical effects: the OCP adapter card provided by the embodiment of the invention solves the problem that an OCP interface cannot be used for connecting an external hard disk, and the server OCP interface does not need to be redesigned, so that the research and development cost is saved, the research and development period is shortened, the application of the OCP interface is expanded, and various requirements of customers are met.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other embodiments can be obtained by using the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall design of the connection between a server motherboard and an external board card according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a server motherboard according to the present invention connected to a standard OCP card;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the connection between a server motherboard and an OCP adapter card according to the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic design diagram of an OCP adapter card according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described below. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples and that other embodiments may take various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; certain features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. As one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate, various features illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated or described. The combination of features shown provides a representative embodiment for a typical application. However, various combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the teachings of the present invention may be desired for certain specific applications or implementations.

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the following embodiments of the present invention are described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Based on the above object, an embodiment of the present invention provides an OCP adapter card, including: a SATA connector configured to connect to a motherboard SATA connector on a server motherboard via a cable; an SAS connector configured for connection to a RAID card on a motherboard by a cable; the OCP connector is configured to be plugged into an OCP slot of the mainboard to receive a PCIE signal from the CPU; the hard disk connector is configured to be connected with the SATA connector, the SAS connector and the OCP connector and connected with an external hard disk; and the ID pin is configured to be connected to a PCH of the mainboard in a plug-in state, so that the BIOS identifies the OCP adapter card according to the ID pin signal accessed to the PCH and correspondingly configures a PCIE signal output by the CPU.

In some embodiments, fig. 1 shows an overall design diagram of connection between a server motherboard and an external board according to the present invention. The card inserted into the OCP slot is provided with an ID pin, and the type of the card inserted into the OCP slot can be distinguished according to different levels of the ID pins of different cards. When the ID is 1, the position of the OCP is the standard OCP card, and when the ID is 0, the position of the OCP is the OCP adapter card.

In some embodiments, the ID pin is connected to the PCH of the server motherboard, and after connecting to the PCH, the BIOS configures the output of the PCIE according to the level of the ID pin. When the ID is 1, the CPU is configured to output 1 pcie x16, and when the ID is 0, the CPU is configured to output 4 pcie x 4.

In some embodiments, fig. 2 shows a design diagram of connecting a server motherboard with a standard OCP card according to the present invention. The standard OCP card has a reserved pin, which is not connected to the circuit, and therefore can be regarded as keeping a high level, that is, ID is 1 at this time, after the pin is connected to PCH, the BIOS recognizes the card as the standard OCP card according to the high level of the connected PCH, and configures the CPU to output 1 pcie x 16.

In some embodiments, fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a design of a connection between a server motherboard and an OCP riser card according to the present invention. The ID pin of the OCP adapter is grounded, so that it can be regarded as being kept at a low level, that is, the ID is 0 at this time, after the pin is connected to the PCH, the BIOS identifies the board as an OCP adapter according to the low level of the connected PCH, and configures the CPU to output 4 pcie xs 4. In some embodiments, the CPU outputs 4 pcie xs 4 to 4 hard disk connectors (e.g., U.2 hard disk connector), respectively, so that 4 hard disks can be supported. The SATA connector on the OCP adapter card is connected to the SATA connector on the mainboard through a cable so as to receive SATA signals (including SGPIO (serial general IO) signals) from the mainboard; the SAS connector on the OCP riser card is connected to the SAS connector on the motherboard by a cable to receive SAS signals (including SGPIO (signal)) from the motherboard.

In some embodiments, fig. 4 shows a schematic design of an OCP riser card according to the present invention. The OCP adapter card includes 4 SATA connectors, connects SATA signals from the motherboard to the OCP adapter card through a cable, and finally inputs into a hard disk connector (shown in this example in the form of U.2 hard disk connectors, although other types of hard disk connectors are possible); the OCP adapter card comprises 4 SAS connectors, SAS signals from a mainboard are connected to the OCP adapter card through cables, and the SAS signals are finally input into a hard disk connector. PCIE signals from the CPU are accessed to the OCP adapter card through the standard OCP connector and are respectively input into the hard disk connector. In this embodiment, after the BIOS identifies that the board card plugged into the OCP slot is an OCP adapter card, the CPU is configured to output 4 pcie xs 4, and finally, the output is respectively input into 4 hard disk connectors (for example, U.2 hard disk connectors), so that 4 hard disks can be supported.

In some embodiments, the OCP adapter card further includes a CPLD, the CPLD receives signals from the SATA connector, the SAS connector and the quasi-OCP connector of the OCP adapter card, and the CPLD receives a corresponding signal according to the type of the hard disk inserted, so as to control the lighting of the hard disk lamp inserted into the hard disk.

Where technically feasible, the technical features listed above for the different embodiments may be combined with each other or changed, added, omitted, etc. to form further embodiments within the scope of the invention.

It can be seen from the foregoing embodiments that the OCP adapter card provided in the embodiments of the present invention solves the problem that the OCP interface cannot be used to connect to an external hard disk, and the server OCP interface does not need to be redesigned, thereby saving the research and development cost, shortening the research and development cycle, expanding the application of the OCP interface, and meeting various requirements of the client.

In view of the above object, in another aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, an embodiment of a server is provided, which includes:

the server mainboard comprises a BIOS, a mainboard SATA connector, a RAID card, a CPU and a PCH; an OCP riser card comprising:

a SATA connector configured to be connected to a motherboard SATA connector on a motherboard by a cable;

an SAS connector configured for connection to a RAID card on a motherboard by a cable;

and the ID pin is configured to be connected to a PCH of the mainboard in a plug-in state, so that the BIOS identifies the OCP adapter card according to the ID pin signal accessed to the PCH and correspondingly configures a PCIE signal output by the CPU.

In some embodiments, the BIOS is configured to identify the card being accessed as an OCP riser card based on the low level connection to the PCH. Wherein, in some embodiments, the BIOS is configured to cause the BIOS configuration CPU to output 4 PCIEX4 signals in response to identifying the OCP riser card.

In some embodiments, the BIOS is configured to identify the board connected to the PCH as a standard OCP card and configure the CPU to output 1 pcie x16 signal, based on the high level connected to the PCH.

It can be seen from the foregoing embodiments that the server provided in the embodiments of the present invention expands the application of the OCP interface, and can select different schemes according to different requirements of a client, thereby meeting various requirements of the client and not increasing the cost.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as software or hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with the following components designed to perform the functions described herein: a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of these components. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP, and/or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes Compact Disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), floppy disk, blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

It should be understood that, as used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly supports the exception. It should also be understood that "and/or" as used herein is meant to include any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

The numbers of the embodiments disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention are merely for description, and do not represent the merits of the embodiments.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by a program instructing relevant hardware, where the program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and the above-mentioned storage medium may be a read-only memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like.

The above-described embodiments are possible examples of implementations and are presented merely for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that: the discussion of any embodiment above is meant to be exemplary only, and is not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure, including the claims, of embodiments of the invention is limited to these examples; within the idea of an embodiment of the invention, also technical features in the above embodiment or in different embodiments may be combined and there are many other variations of the different aspects of an embodiment of the invention as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, substitutions, improvements, and the like that may be made without departing from the spirit and principles of the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An OCP riser card, comprising:

an ID pin configured to be connected to a PCH of the motherboard in a plugged state, so that a BIOS identifies the OCP adapter card according to the ID pin signal accessed to the PCH and correspondingly configures a PCIE signal output by a CPU;

a CPLD connected to the SATA connector, the SAS connector, and the OCP connector and configured to control a hard disk lamp.

2. The OCP riser card of claim 1, wherein the ID pin remains low at all times.

3. The OCP riser card of claim 2, wherein the ID pin is further configured to cause the BIOS to configure the CPU to output 4 pcie x4 signals based on the ID pin being low in a state of being connected to the PCH of the motherboard.

4. The OCP riser card of claim 3, wherein the hard disk connector is 4 U.2 connectors.

5. The OCP riser card of claim 4, wherein the OCP riser card comprises 4 of the SATA connectors, 4 of the SAS connectors, and 2 of the OCP connectors.

6. A server, comprising:

an OCP riser card comprising:

7. The server of claim 6, wherein the BIOS is configured to identify the board being accessed as an OCP adapter card based on the low level connection to the PCH.

8. The server of claim 7, wherein the BIOS is configured to cause the CPU to output 4 PCIEX4 signals in response to identifying the OCP riser card.

9. The server of claim 6, wherein the BIOS is configured to recognize that the board connected to the PCH is a standard OCP card and to configure the CPU to output 1 PCIEX16 signal, based on the high level connected to the PCH.