External plug-in card management method based on expansion card, expansion card and server system

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides an external plug-in card management method based on an expansion card, the expansion card and a server system.The method comprises the steps that after a micro-control unit of the expansion card is powered on, information of the expansion card, expansion information of the expansion card and information of all external plug-in cards connected with the expansion card are collected; processing the information of the expansion card, the expansion information of the expansion card and the information of each external plug-in card into a data packet in a preset format; and under the condition that an information acquisition request sent by a baseboard management controller of the server is received, sending the data packet to the baseboard management controller. Through the application, the problems of low efficiency and high cost caused by management of the external plug-in card through a substrate controller of a server are solved, and the external plug-in card management function is integrated through the micro-control unit of the expansion card, so that the effect of efficient and low-cost management of the external plug-in card is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the computer field, and in particular, to an external card management method based on an expansion card, an expansion card, and a server system. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of computer technology, servers have more and more requirements in application scenarios, computing types, user needs and software loads, and a diversified development trend has emerged. In order to meet various different needs, the number and types of various plug-in cards on the market have increased sharply, expanding server performance in various aspects such as storage, network and memory.

[0003] The server can be expanded with plug-in cards through expansion cards (for example, Riser cards) to expand the server performance. Each server can be installed with a variety of plug-in cards in various types and quantities, and it is necessary to be able to effectively manage different plug-in cards throughout the life cycle of server development and maintenance.

[0004] In the related art, the management of plug-in cards is mainly implemented through the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) on the server motherboard. The BMC needs to be developed separately when adapting each plug-in card, which has high server R&D costs. In addition, the motherboard may not be ready after the expansion card is installed, which leads to a disconnect between hardware and software development. In the process of managing the plug-in cards, the BMC needs to read the information of each plug-in card, which has low management efficiency and affects the progress of other businesses. Summary of the invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide an external card management method based on an expansion card, an expansion card, and a server system, so as to at least solve the problems of low efficiency and high cost caused by managing the external card through the baseboard controller of the server in the related art.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present application, a method for managing an external card based on an expansion card is provided, wherein the expansion card is provided with a microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit integrates an external card management function, the method comprising: after the microcontroller unit of the expansion card is powered on, collecting information of the expansion card, extended information of the expansion card, and information of each external card connected to the expansion card; processing the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card, and information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format; and upon receiving an information acquisition request sent by a baseboard management controller of a server, sending the data packet to the baseboard management controller.

[0007] In an exemplary embodiment, a temperature sensor, a storage space, and a plurality of general input and output pins are provided on the microcontroller unit, and collecting information of the expansion card, extended information of the expansion card, and information of each external card connected to the expansion card includes: reading the board information of the expansion card stored in the storage space; reading the temperature information of the expansion card collected by the temperature sensor; and reading the extended information of the expansion card, the board information of the external card, and the temperature information of the external card through the plurality of general input and output pins.

[0008] In an exemplary embodiment, processing the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card, and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format includes: packing the board information of the expansion card into an expansion card information data packet; packing the extended information of the expansion card into an extended information data packet; packing the board information of the external card into an external card information data packet; packing the temperature information of the expansion card and the temperature information of the external card into a heat dissipation management information data packet; and combining the expansion card information data packet, the extended information data packet, the external card information data packet, and the heat dissipation management information data packet into a data packet in a preset format.

[0009] In an exemplary embodiment, each expansion card is connected to the baseboard management controller via an integrated circuit bus.

[0010] In an exemplary embodiment, upon receiving an information acquisition request sent by a baseboard management controller, sending a data packet to the baseboard management controller includes: upon receiving a first interrupt message sent by the baseboard management controller, sending the data packet to the baseboard management controller via a standard interface using an intelligent platform management interface protocol, wherein the first interrupt message is an interrupt message for the information acquisition request; upon completion of sending the data packet, sending a second interrupt message to the baseboard management controller, wherein the interrupt message is used to indicate completion of sending the data packet, and the baseboard management controller acquires the data packet upon receiving the second interrupt message.

[0011] In an exemplary embodiment, a power supply electronic fuse is provided on the expansion card, and the microcontroller unit controls the power supply of any target external card among the external cards in the following manner: the microcontroller unit identifies the type of the target external card after startup; when the target external card is a first type external card, the target external card is powered by enabling the electronic fuse, wherein the first type external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is in standby mode; when the target external card is a second type external card, the electronic fuse is enabled to power the target external card when it is detected that the target power pin is powered on, wherein the second type external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is powered on, and the target power pin is used to power the expansion card after the server is powered on.

[0012] In an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes: developing an expansion card and a baseboard management controller separately, wherein, in the process of developing the expansion card, an external card management function is integrated into a microcontroller unit of the expansion card; standardizing the interface between the expansion card and the baseboard management controller, wherein the interface standardization includes setting a communication protocol and setting a data transmission format; after the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are developed, verifying the external card management function of the expansion card through the baseboard management controller, wherein, in the process of verifying the external card management function, the baseboard management controller and the expansion card exchange information through the standardized interface; in the case where the external card on the expansion card changes, updating the code of the external card management function, and updating the extension information and the external card information of the expansion card according to the change of the external card to obtain an updated expansion card; verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card through the baseboard management controller, wherein, in the process of verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card, the baseboard management controller and the updated expansion card exchange information through the standardized interface.

[0013] According to another embodiment of the present application, an expansion card is provided, comprising: a printed circuit board; a plurality of peripheral component interconnect express slots, which are arranged on the printed circuit board and are respectively used to insert different external cards; a peripheral component interconnect express connector, which is arranged on the printed circuit board and is used to connect to the peripheral component interconnect express slots on the mainboard of the server to transmit data with the mainboard; a microcontroller unit, which is provided with a temperature sensor, a storage space and a plurality of general input and output pins, the temperature sensor is used to collect temperature information, the storage space stores information of the expansion card, and the plurality of general input and output pins are respectively used to communicate with different external cards, wherein the microcontroller unit is connected to the plurality of peripheral component interconnect express slots and the peripheral component interconnect express slot of the mainboard through different integrated circuit buses.

[0014] According to another embodiment of the present application, a server system is also provided, including: at least one expansion card, wherein each expansion card is connected to an external plug-in card; a server mainboard, provided with a central processing unit and a baseboard management controller, the central processing unit is connected to the expansion card through a peripheral component interconnect fast connector, and each expansion card is connected to the baseboard management controller through an integrated circuit bus, wherein, when the baseboard management controller sends an information acquisition request to a microcontroller unit of any expansion card, the microcontroller unit of the expansion card encapsulates the collected information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card, and the information of each external plug-in card into a data packet through a preset protocol, and sends the data packet to the baseboard management controller.

[0015] According to another embodiment of the present application, an electronic device is provided, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to run the computer program to execute the steps in any one of the above method embodiments.

[0016] Through the present application, since the expansion card is provided with a microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit is integrated with an external card management function, hardware decoupling and software decoupling of the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are achieved, which facilitates the development and maintenance of the expansion card and the baseboard management controller. After the microcontroller unit of the expansion card is powered on, the external card management is performed, and the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card connected to the expansion card are collected and processed into a data packet in a preset format, and sent to the baseboard management controller upon receiving an information acquisition request sent by the baseboard management controller. There is no need for the baseboard management controller to poll each external card in turn, which improves the efficiency of information collection and processing. Therefore, the problems of low efficiency and high cost caused by managing the external card through the baseboard controller of the server in the related art can be solved, and the effect of managing the external card efficiently and at low cost can be achieved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 It is a hardware structure block diagram of a mobile terminal of an external card management method based on an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the layout of an external plug-in card on the rear window of a chassis of a server in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an expansion card according to the related art;

[0021] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a server system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0022] Figure 6 is a flow chart of an external card management method based on an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an optional expansion card according to this embodiment;

[0024] Figure 8 is a structural block diagram of an external card management device based on an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with the embodiments.

[0027] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0028] The method embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present application can be executed in a mobile terminal, a computer terminal or a similar computing device. Taking running on a mobile terminal as an example, Figure 1 1 is a hardware structure block diagram of a mobile terminal of an external card management method based on an expansion card in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 As shown, the mobile terminal may include one or more ( Figure 1 Only one is shown in the figure) a processor 102 (the processor 102 may include but is not limited to a microprocessor microcontroller unit or a processing device such as a programmable logic device FPGA) and a memory 104 for storing data, wherein the mobile terminal may also include a transmission device 106 and an input / output device 108 for communication functions. It can be understood by those skilled in the art that Figure 1 The structure shown is for illustration only and does not limit the structure of the mobile terminal. Figure 1 More or fewer components as shown, or with Figure 1 Different configurations shown.

[0029] The memory 104 can be used to store computer programs, for example, software programs and modules of application software, such as the computer program corresponding to the plug-in card management method based on the expansion card in the embodiment of the present application. The processor 102 executes various functional applications and data processing by running the computer program stored in the memory 104, that is, to implement the above method. The memory 104 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic storage devices, flash memory, or other non-volatile solid-state memory. In some instances, the memory 104 may further include a memory remotely arranged relative to the processor 102, and these remote memories may be connected to the mobile terminal via a network. Examples of the above-mentioned network include, but are not limited to, the Internet, an intranet, a local area network, a mobile communication network, and combinations thereof.

[0030] The transmission device 106 is used to receive or send data via a network. The specific example of the above network may include a wireless network provided by a communication provider of the mobile terminal. In one example, the transmission device 106 includes a network adapter (Network Interface Controller, referred to as NIC), which can be connected to other network devices through a base station so as to communicate with the Internet. In one example, the transmission device 106 can be a radio frequency (RF) module, which is used to communicate with the Internet wirelessly.

[0031] It should be noted that in terms of server design, the system can be divided into modules such as chassis, motherboard (or management board), front window storage and rear window expansion card. External cards are mainly placed in the rear window expansion card area. The interfaces between modules are standardized, space is reserved within the module and flexible configuration is allowed to meet customer needs for differentiated and customized servers. Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the layout of the plug-in card on the rear window of the chassis of a server in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 As shown, the expansion card can be a Riser card. The Riser card on the rear window of the chassis is installed in the PCIE (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) slot corresponding to the motherboard through a gold finger, or through a cable connector to the corresponding interface of the motherboard. At least 8 slots (SLOT, Slot Connector) can be expanded through the Riser card: SLOT0, SLOT1, SLOT2, SLOT3, SLOT4, SLOT5, SLOT6, SLOT7 to install different PICE external cards. In addition, the Riser card is also provided with a power supply unit (PSU, Power Supply Unit): PSU0, PSU1.

[0032] This embodiment provides an expansion card. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 3 As shown, including:

[0033] The printed circuit board is used to carry the various components of the expansion card and connect the various components through wiring.

[0034] A plurality of peripheral component interconnect (PCI) fast slots are arranged on the printed circuit board and are used to insert different external cards respectively.

[0035] Among them, the fast peripheral component interconnect slot is also called PCIE (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) slot, such as Figure 3As shown, three PCIE slots can be set: SLOT0, SLOT1 and SLOT2.

[0036] The peripheral component interconnect express connector is arranged on the printed circuit board and is used for connecting with the peripheral component interconnect express slot on the main board of the server to transmit data with the main board.

[0037] Among them, the peripheral component interconnect connector is also known as the PCIE connector, and the motherboard is also known as the MB (Motherboard). Figure 3 As shown, the PCIE connector may be a Riser Golden Finger, which is connected to a PCIE slot corresponding to the MB through the golden finger.

[0038] The microcontroller unit is provided with a temperature sensor, a storage space and a plurality of general input / output pins. The temperature sensor is used to collect temperature information. The storage space stores information of the expansion card. The plurality of general input / output pins are respectively used to communicate with different external cards. The microcontroller unit is connected to a plurality of peripheral component interconnect express slots and a peripheral component interconnect express slot of a mainboard through different integrated circuit buses.

[0039] Among them, the microcontroller unit is also called MCU (Microcontroller Unit), for example, it can be an STM32 chip. The MCU is provided with a temperature sensor (for real-time acquisition of temperature information of the riser card), a storage space (for storing the board information of the riser card, which may include the board model and firmware version, etc.) and a plurality of general-purpose input / output (GPIO, General-purpose input / output) pins, that is, functions such as board information storage, temperature monitoring of the riser card, and acquisition of extended information are integrated on the MCU. The MCU expands the I2C_Host signal connected from the gold finger to 3 I2Cs, and each slot (Slot) of the riser card is connected to one I2C (SLOT0, SLOT1 and SLOT2 are connected to I2C0, I2C1 and I2C2 respectively), and then connects the PCIE external card through the PCIE CONN (PCI Express Connector, PCIE edge connector) of the slot.

[0040] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an expansion card according to the related art, such as Figure 4As shown, in order to meet the I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) connection, the Riser card in the related art will introduce an I2C Switch (Inter-Integrated Circuit Bus Switch) chip, and set up independent logic chips Fru (Field Replaceable Unit, field replaceable unit, used to collect board information), Temp Sensor (temperature sensor, used to monitor the temperature of the Riser card) and IOExpander (input / output expander, such as PCA9555 chip, used to expand GPIO, obtain board in-place information and PCIE interface location information, etc.), etc. These logic chips are connected to the I2C Switch chip. The I2C Switch will expand the I2C_Host signal connected from the gold finger to 4 I2Cs, SLOT0, SLOT1 and SLOT2 are connected to I2C0, I2C1 and I2C2 respectively. In order to avoid address conflicts, these logic chips are also connected using a single I2C (I2C3).

[0041] It should be noted that the I2C Switch chip in the related technology is a chip that performs operations passively. The management function of the external card is implemented by the BMC. There are many types of external cards, and the flexibility of introducing external cards is low. Each new external card introduced requires separate adaptation and development by the BMC, such as heat dissipation control adaptation, asset information adaptation, etc., which consumes a lot of development and maintenance costs.

[0042] In this embodiment, the MCU of the riser card replaces the mainboard BMC to realize all the external card management functions, and all the information that originally needs to be processed by the BMC can be processed by the MCU. On the one hand, it is no longer necessary to set up multiple logic chips for information collection on the riser card, which saves the space of the riser card and saves the I2C that needs to be allocated to multiple logic chips. On the other hand, based on the I2C out-of-band management module of the BMC compatible with the mainboard, the information collection and information processing functions for the external card are integrated on the MCU, realizing the hardware decoupling and software decoupling of the riser card and the BMC. During product development, the external card types that may be used can be adapted by the separate development and pre-adaptation of the riser, realizing flexible adaptation of the external card, reducing the BMC development work when adapting the new card on each project, shortening the adaptation development cycle, and during product maintenance, only the riser card needs to be updated, without code changes to the BMC, reducing the workload during product maintenance.

[0043] This embodiment provides a server system. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a server system according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 5 As shown, including:

[0044] At least one expansion card, wherein each expansion card is connected to an external card. It should be noted that the expansion card of this embodiment is the riser card provided with a micro control unit and integrating all external card management functions.

[0045] The server motherboard is provided with a central processing unit and a baseboard management controller. The central processing unit is connected to the expansion card through a peripheral component interconnect fast connector, and each expansion card is connected to the baseboard management controller through an integrated circuit bus. When the baseboard management controller sends an information acquisition request to a micro control unit of any expansion card, the micro control unit of the expansion card encapsulates the collected information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card into a data packet through a preset protocol, and sends the data packet to the baseboard management controller.

[0046] The server motherboard is also the MB (Motherboard) of the server, and the central processing unit is the CPU (Central Processing Unit, referred to as CPU). CPU0 is set on the MB, and CPU0 is set with PCIE card slots P0, P1 and P2. Figure 4 In the figure, two Riser cards are connected to the PCIE slots corresponding to the MB through gold fingers respectively to connect to the BMC. The CPU0 card slot is provided with a PCIE CONN (PCIE connector), and the CPU0 card slot is PCIE connected to the Riser card slot.

[0047] In addition, the MB can also be provided with BIOS and CPU1. The CPU1 card slot is connected to the Riser card slot via PCIE. Similar to the BMC, the BIOS can also be connected to two Riser cards via I2C to obtain corresponding information.

[0048] It should be noted that the external card management function in the related technology is implemented through the BMC on the mainboard. The BMC needs to poll and access each external card. In order to avoid the problem caused by too long polling time, it is necessary to connect one more I2C to each riser card and the BMC. For example, two I2Cs are set between the riser card and the BMC. The riser card is connected to 5 external cards. One I2C reads the data of two external cards, and the other I2C reads the data of three external cards, so as to avoid too much pressure on one I2C and ensure that the temperature and other data of the external cards read are real-time and valid.

[0049] In this embodiment, the management function of the external card is integrated into the MCU of the riser card, replacing various logic chips. The BMC only needs to poll the MCU on each riser to let it transmit the processed data back. The BMC and the riser card can save one I2C channel, reducing the number of I2C channels used by the BMC, making up for the cost difference caused by the MCU. In addition, although the BIOS will also connect to each external card through I2C to obtain corresponding information, this embodiment can avoid address conflicts when the same riser card is installed in different locations in the server through two PCA9641 dual host switching chips (that is, as long as two identical riser cards are connected to different PCA9641 dual host switching chips, the I2C addresses will not conflict).

[0050] It should also be noted that the external card management function in the relevant technology is implemented through the BMC on the motherboard. All information on the riser card, including the external card information, needs to be collected and processed by the BMC, resulting in a heavy load on the BMC. In addition, the development of the riser card is limited by the motherboard and BMC software. The development and testing of the external card management function must be carried out simultaneously with other BMC functions, which affects the development and testing progress of the BMC. The development and testing of the BMC directly affects the development and testing progress of the project.

[0051] In this embodiment, the riser card is a separate board that is independent of the main board in hardware and can be installed separately. Different PCIE plug-in cards are isolated as independent components, and the management and adaptation functions of the riser card and the plug-in card are separated and integrated into the MCU of the riser card. By designing standard BMC and MCU communication protocols, the BMC and MCU are also decoupled in software development, which greatly simplifies the workload required for server adaptation of new components, reduces the workload of centralized development of the BMC, speeds up product development and testing, and improves the efficiency and cost of development and maintenance of the BMC and riser cards.

[0052] This embodiment provides an external card management method based on an expansion card running on the above server system. Figure 6 is a flow chart of a method for managing an external card based on an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 As shown, the process includes the following steps:

[0053] Step S602: After the micro control unit of the expansion card is powered on, the expansion card information, the expansion card extension information and the information of each external card connected to the expansion card are collected.

[0054] It should be noted that the expansion card can be a riser card, which is provided with a micro control unit, and the micro control unit integrates an external card management function. The execution subject of this embodiment can be the micro control unit of the expansion card, and the external card management function includes the function of information collection.

[0055] Among them, the information of the riser card may include the board information and temperature information of the riser card. The board information may include the board model and firmware version, etc. The extended information of the riser card may include the number of card slots, the location of the card slots and the supported PCIE bandwidth information, etc. The external card is inserted into the riser card through the card slot and communicates with the riser card using PCIE. The external card can be a GPU (graphics processing unit), network card, storage card, etc. The information of the external card may include its own board information and temperature information.

[0056] Step S604: Process the expansion card information, the expansion card extension information, and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format.

[0057] It should be noted that in addition to the function of information collection, the external card management function also includes the function of information processing. The microcontroller unit processes the collected information into a data packet in a preset format, where the preset format can be the format specified by the communication protocol established by the microcontroller unit and the baseboard management controller (for example, 32 bytes of data are sent at a time, and what each byte represents), so that the microcontroller unit and the baseboard management controller can communicate through a standard interface.

[0058] Step S606: When receiving the information acquisition request sent by the baseboard management controller of the server, send the data packet to the baseboard management controller.

[0059] It should be noted that in the related art, the baseboard management controller is required to read the information of each external card by itself. In this embodiment, the microcontroller unit of the expansion card is integrated with the external card management function. The microcontroller unit reads the information of each external card, collects and processes the information, and sends the processed information to the baseboard management controller through the standard interface, thereby improving the efficiency and convenience of the baseboard management controller in obtaining information.

[0060] Through the present application, since the expansion card is provided with a microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit is integrated with an external card management function, hardware decoupling and software decoupling of the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are achieved, which facilitates the development and maintenance of the expansion card and the baseboard management controller. After the microcontroller unit of the expansion card is powered on, the external card management is performed, and the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card connected to the expansion card are collected and processed into a data packet in a preset format, and sent to the baseboard management controller upon receiving an information acquisition request sent by the baseboard management controller. There is no need for the baseboard management controller to poll each external card in turn, which improves the efficiency of information collection and processing. Therefore, the problems of low efficiency and high cost caused by managing the external card through the baseboard controller of the server in the related art can be solved, and the effect of managing the external card efficiently and at low cost can be achieved.

[0061] In an exemplary embodiment, a temperature sensor, a storage space, and a plurality of general input and output pins are provided on the microcontroller unit, and collecting information of the expansion card, extended information of the expansion card, and information of each external card connected to the expansion card includes: reading the board information of the expansion card stored in the storage space; reading the temperature information of the expansion card collected by the temperature sensor; and reading the extended information of the expansion card, the board information of the external card, and the temperature information of the external card through the plurality of general input and output pins.

[0062] That is to say, the functions of storing board information, monitoring riser card temperature, obtaining GPIO expansion information, etc. are separated from the baseboard controller and integrated into the microcontroller unit. All information that originally needs to be collected and processed by the baseboard controller can be collected and processed by the microcontroller unit, and all external card management functions can be realized by replacing the mainboard baseboard controller with the microcontroller unit.

[0063] Through this embodiment, on the one hand, it is no longer necessary to set up multiple logic chips on the riser card (for example, Fru for storing board information, temperature sensor for monitoring the temperature of the riser card, IO Expander for expanding GPIO), which saves the space of the riser card and saves the I2C that needs to be allocated to multiple logic chips. On the other hand, based on the I2C out-of-band management module of the baseboard controller compatible with the motherboard, the modular development of the external card management function in software is realized, and the hardware decoupling and software decoupling of the riser card and the baseboard management controller are realized. The type of external card that may be used can be adapted by the separate development and pre-adaptation of the riser, which reduces the baseboard controller development work when adapting new cards in each project, shortens the adaptation development cycle, and when maintaining the product, only the riser card needs to be updated, reducing the workload of the baseboard controller during product maintenance.

[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, processing the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card, and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format includes: packing the board information of the expansion card into an expansion card information data packet; packing the extended information of the expansion card into an extended information data packet; packing the board information of the external card into an external card information data packet; packing the temperature information of the expansion card and the temperature information of the external card into a heat dissipation management information data packet; and combining the expansion card information data packet, the extended information data packet, the external card information data packet, and the heat dissipation management information data packet into a data packet in a preset format.

[0065] The baseboard controller can communicate with the microcontroller units on all riser cards to obtain relevant information. In order to facilitate communication between the two, corresponding communication protocols are formulated according to the riser card and external card management functions. The basic communication protocol is formulated as follows: Riser card information data packet: that is, riser information. GPIO extension information data packet: the microcontroller unit can be used to identify how many card slots the current riser card supports, whether an external card is in place on each card slot, and which CPU slot the PCIE connected to each card slot comes from. External card information data packet: external card model information on each card slot, heat dissipation data information (for example, maximum temperature). Heat dissipation management information data packet: includes information about the temperature sensor built into the microcontroller unit and temperature information of the external card on each card slot.

[0066] This embodiment specifies the information transmission format between the baseboard controller and the microcontroller unit by designing the communication protocol between the baseboard controller and the microcontroller unit, which greatly simplifies the workload required for the server to adapt new components.

[0067] In an exemplary embodiment, each expansion card is connected to the baseboard management controller via an integrated circuit bus.

[0068] It should be noted that when the external card management function is implemented through the baseboard management controller on the mainboard, the baseboard management controller needs to poll and access each external card. In order to avoid the problem of long polling time, it is necessary to connect one more I2C to each riser card and the baseboard management controller. For example, the riser card is connected to 5 external cards, and two I2Cs are set between the riser card and the baseboard management controller. One I2C reads the data of 2 external cards, and the other I2C reads the data of 3 external cards, so as to avoid too much pressure on one I2C and ensure that the temperature and other data of the external cards read are real-time and valid.

[0069] In this embodiment, the management function of the external card is integrated into the microcontroller unit of the riser card, replacing various logic chips in the original design. The baseboard management controller only needs to poll the microcontroller unit on each riser card to let it transmit the processed key data back to the baseboard management controller. The I2C between the microcontroller unit and the riser card can be saved as one I2C channel, reducing the number of I2C channels used by the baseboard management controller on the mainboard, making up for the cost difference caused by the MCU.

[0070] In an exemplary embodiment, upon receiving an information acquisition request sent by a baseboard management controller, sending a data packet to the baseboard management controller includes: upon receiving a first interrupt message sent by the baseboard management controller, sending the data packet to the baseboard management controller via a standard interface using an intelligent platform management interface protocol, wherein the first interrupt message is an interrupt message for the information acquisition request; upon completion of sending the data packet, sending a second interrupt message to the baseboard management controller, wherein the interrupt message is used to indicate completion of sending the data packet, and the baseboard management controller acquires the data packet upon receiving the second interrupt message.

[0071] It should be noted that when the microcontroller unit communicates with the baseboard management controller, there is a large amount of data. For example, one riser card is connected to three external cards, and the information of the external cards is packaged with the riser card's own information. The amount of data may be very large. When the baseboard management controller polls, it needs to read the data immediately, and there is a problem that the data reading takes too long.

[0072] This embodiment adopts the IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface, the standard interface adopts the intelligent platform management interface) protocol to realize the communication between the micro control unit and the baseboard management controller. The main thread of the baseboard management controller can hang an interrupt when polling, send a first interrupt message to the micro control unit, and then process other transactions. The micro control unit actively sends a packaged data packet to the baseboard management controller through the IPMI protocol, and sends a second interrupt message to the baseboard management controller after sending the data. After the baseboard management controller receives the second interrupt message, the main thread puts down the transaction being processed, and continues to process the original transaction after receiving the data packet, thereby reducing the time for the baseboard management controller to poll and read data.

[0073] Through this embodiment, when the microcontroller unit and the baseboard management controller transmit a large amount of data, they communicate through the IPMI protocol. Without affecting the normal processing of other services by the baseboard management controller, the baseboard management controller can obtain the information transmitted by the expansion card in a timely manner, thereby achieving the effect of further reducing the workload of the baseboard management controller.

[0074] In an exemplary embodiment, a power supply electronic fuse is provided on the expansion card, and the microcontroller unit controls the power supply of any target external card among the external cards in the following manner: the microcontroller unit identifies the type of the target external card after startup; when the target external card is a first type external card, the target external card is powered by enabling the electronic fuse, wherein the first type external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is in standby mode; when the target external card is a second type external card, the electronic fuse is enabled to power the target external card when it is detected that the target power pin is powered on, wherein the second type external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is powered on, and the target power pin is used to power the expansion card after the server is powered on.

[0075] It should be noted that after the server is powered on, if the power button is not pressed, it is in standby mode. Ordinary external cards are powered on only after the server is powered on. For some special external network cards, the server is required to power them in standby mode. For example, the smart network card requires the server to provide it with 12V power in standby mode.

[0076] In the related art, the baseboard management controller can only identify the presence of a specific external card, and then inform the CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) to control the corresponding voltage to power on. However, the firmware of the baseboard management controller is relatively complex, and it takes a long time to load, and there is a risk of freezing. It is difficult to meet the needs of fast startup of special boards by identifying and managing these special boards through the baseboard management controller.

[0077] In this embodiment, a micro control unit is set in the riser card, and the power-on management of the external card is performed by the micro control unit. Since the micro control unit has a simple structure, it can be loaded quickly after power-on. The micro control unit can quickly identify the type of the external card and perform power-on management.

[0078] Figure 7 : is a schematic diagram of an optional expansion card according to this embodiment. The plug-in card has two 3.3V power pins and a group of 12V power pins. The 12V power pin and one of the 3.3V power pins are both powered on when the computer is turned on, and the other 3.3V power pin is powered on when the computer is in standby mode ( Figure 7(not shown in the figure), the external card needs to be powered on when working, and a 12V power supply needs to be provided. If it is only detected that it does not need to be powered on, a 3.3V power supply can be used to supply power in standby mode. In this embodiment, a power supply eFuse (electronic fuse) is added to the Riser card, and a microcontroller unit is used for control. When it is identified as a second-type external card, it means that it is an ordinary card and needs to be powered on when the server is powered on. By detecting the P3V3 (that is, the target power pin) that is powered on and then enabling the eFuse, a normal 12V power supply is provided. When it is identified as a first-type external card (for example, a smart network card), it means that the external card needs to be powered on when the server is on standby, and the eFuse can be enabled immediately to provide 12V.

[0079] Through this embodiment, the power-on management function of different types of external cards is provided through the microcontroller unit on the riser card, and the fast power-on management function of the external cards is realized. The power-on requirements of the external cards that require power-on and standby power-on can be met, and the problem of the baseboard management controller loading time being too long and unable to meet the power-on requirements of the external cards that require standby power-on can be avoided.

[0080] In an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes: developing an expansion card and a baseboard management controller separately, wherein, in the process of developing the expansion card, an external card management function is integrated into a microcontroller unit of the expansion card; standardizing the interface between the expansion card and the baseboard management controller, wherein the interface standardization includes setting a communication protocol and setting a data transmission format; after the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are developed, verifying the external card management function of the expansion card through the baseboard management controller, wherein, in the process of verifying the external card management function, the baseboard management controller and the expansion card exchange information through the standardized interface; in the case where the external card on the expansion card changes, updating the code of the external card management function, and updating the extension information and the external card information of the expansion card according to the change of the external card to obtain an updated expansion card; verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card through the baseboard management controller, wherein, in the process of verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card, the baseboard management controller and the updated expansion card exchange information through the standardized interface.

[0081] It should be noted that for different PCIE external cards, the temperature collection method, heat dissipation control method, etc. may be different. In the related technology, the external cards are managed by the baseboard management controller, and the baseboard management controller needs to adapt to different external cards. When the external cards change, the baseboard management controller must modify the code, re-issue the version and re-test. The baseboard management controller not only needs to read the information of the external card, but also needs to read and process other transactions. Frequent version replacement is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the cost is high.

[0082] In this embodiment, the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are developed separately, the external card management function is modularized, integrated on the microcontroller unit of the expansion card, and then the interface between the microcontroller unit and the baseboard management controller is standardized. The baseboard management controller does not need to maintain the external card management function code, but only needs to adapt the standardized interface of the microcontroller unit. When there is a change in the external card, there is no need to change the code of the baseboard management controller, nor is there any need to execute various links such as version release and testing on the baseboard management controller. It is only necessary to update the information that the microcontroller unit needs to read, and adjust the code as needed (for example, when the program code such as heat dissipation regulation changes, the corresponding code is changed, and when the program code such as heat dissipation regulation does not change, the existing code does not need to be changed). The microcontroller unit can be refreshed flexibly and continuously. Even if there are many changes in the microcontroller unit, the microcontroller unit can be updated online through the diagnostic system during factory production, and the microcontroller unit can be tested through the baseboard management controller after the change is completed, thereby reducing the development and maintenance costs of the riser card and the baseboard management controller, and improving the efficiency of development and maintenance.

[0083] It should be noted that when developing a riser card, it is necessary to develop the interactive information and interactive logic between the microcontroller unit and the baseboard management controller, including the collection of information from the riser card and the plug-in card, and to organize the information into a standardized information protocol. A table can be maintained in the microcontroller unit to record the information of the riser card, the extended information of the riser card, the information of each plug-in card inserted into the riser card, and the communication protocol. When the plug-in card on the riser card changes, the table maintained by the microcontroller unit is updated.

[0084] In an exemplary embodiment, when an external card is removed from an expansion card, the expansion information of the expansion card is updated according to the removed external card, and the information of the removed external card is deleted to obtain an updated expansion card, and the external card management function of the updated expansion card is verified through the baseboard management controller.

[0085] For example, in the table maintained by the microcontroller unit, the slot position of the removed external card can be changed to not in place to update the extended information, and the board information (including board model, firmware version) and storage address of the temperature information of the removed external card can be deleted. In this way, the update of the external card is achieved when the external card is removed, and then communication with the baseboard management controller is performed through the standard interface to verify the external card management function.

[0086] In an exemplary embodiment, the method also includes: when a new external card is added to the expansion card, updating the expansion information of the expansion card according to the new external card, adding the information of the new external card to obtain an updated expansion card, and verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card through the baseboard management controller.

[0087] For example, in the table maintained by the microcontroller unit, the slot position of the newly added external card can be changed to in place to implement the update of the extended information, and the board information (including board model, firmware version) and storage address of the temperature information of the newly added external card can be added. In this way, the update of the external card is implemented when a new external card is added, and then communication with the baseboard management controller through the standard interface is performed to verify the external card management function.

[0088] In an exemplary embodiment, the method further includes: in the case of replacing an external card on the expansion card, updating the extension information of the expansion card according to the replaced external card and the replaced external card, deleting the information of the replaced external card, adding the information of the replaced external card, obtaining the updated expansion card, and verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card through the baseboard management controller.

[0089] For example, in the table maintained by the microcontroller unit, the slot position of the removed external card can be changed to not in place to update the extended information, and the board information (including board model, firmware version) and the storage address of the temperature information of the removed external card can be deleted; the slot position of the inserted external card can be changed to in place to update the extended information, and the board information (including board model, firmware version) and the storage address of the temperature information of the inserted external card can be added. In this way, the update of the external card is realized when the external card is replaced, and then communication with the baseboard management controller is performed through the standard interface to verify the external card management function.

[0090] Through this embodiment, when changes such as removal, addition or replacement of the external card occur, there is no need to change the code of the baseboard management controller, nor is there any need to re-release and test the baseboard management controller. Only the microcontroller unit of the riser card needs to be modified, and then the external card management function of the modified microcontroller unit is tested through the baseboard management controller, thereby reducing the maintenance cost of the external card and improving the maintenance efficiency of the external card.

[0091] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for a terminal device (which can be a mobile phone, computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0092] In this embodiment, a plug-in card management device based on an expansion card is also provided, which is used to implement the above-mentioned embodiments and preferred implementation modes, and the descriptions that have been made will not be repeated. As used below, the term "module" can be a combination of software and / or hardware that implements a predetermined function. Although the devices described in the following embodiments are preferably implemented in software, the implementation of hardware, or a combination of software and hardware, is also possible and conceivable.

[0093] The expansion card is provided with a micro control unit, which integrates the external card management function. Figure 8 is a structural block diagram of an external card management device based on an expansion card according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Figure 8 As shown, the device includes: a collection unit 802 , a processing unit 804 and a sending unit 806 .

[0094] The acquisition unit 802 is used to acquire information of the expansion card, extended information of the expansion card, and information of each external card connected to the expansion card after the micro control unit of the expansion card is powered on.

[0095] The processing unit 804 is used to process the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format.

[0096] The sending unit 806 is used to send a data packet to the baseboard management controller when receiving an information acquisition request sent by the baseboard management controller of the server.

[0097] In this embodiment, after the microcontroller unit of the expansion card is powered on, the acquisition unit 802 acquires the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card connected to the expansion card; the processing unit 804 processes the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format; the sending unit 806 sends the data packet to the baseboard management controller when receiving the information acquisition request sent by the baseboard management controller of the server. Since the expansion card is provided with a microcontroller unit, and the microcontroller unit is integrated with the external card management function, the hardware decoupling and software decoupling of the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are realized, which facilitates the development and maintenance of the expansion card and the baseboard management controller. There is no need for the baseboard management controller to poll each external card in turn, which improves the efficiency of information acquisition and processing. Therefore, the problems of low efficiency and high cost caused by the management of external cards by the baseboard controller of the server in the related art can be solved, and the effect of managing external cards efficiently and at low cost can be achieved.

[0098] In an exemplary embodiment, a temperature sensor, a storage space, and a plurality of general input and output pins are provided on the microcontroller unit, and the acquisition unit 802 includes: a first reading module, used to read the board information of the expansion card stored in the storage space; a second reading module, used to read the temperature information of the expansion card acquired by the temperature sensor; and a third reading module, used to read the extension information of the expansion card, the board information of the external card, and the temperature information of the external card through a plurality of general input and output pins.

[0099] In an exemplary embodiment, the processing unit 804 includes: a first packaging module, used to package the board information of the expansion card into an expansion card information data packet; a second packaging module, used to package the extended information of the expansion card into an extended information data packet; a third packaging module, used to package the board information of the external card into an external card information data packet; a fourth packaging module, used to package the temperature information of the expansion card and the temperature information of the external card into a heat dissipation management information data packet; a combining module, used to combine the expansion card information data packet, the extended information data packet, the external card information data packet and the heat dissipation management information data packet into a data packet in a preset format.

[0100] In an exemplary embodiment, each expansion card is connected to the baseboard management controller via an integrated circuit bus.

[0101] In an exemplary embodiment, the sending unit 806 includes: a first sending module, which is used to send a data packet to the baseboard management controller through a standard interface using an intelligent platform management interface protocol when a first interrupt message sent by the baseboard management controller is received, wherein the first interrupt message is an interrupt message for an information acquisition request; a second sending module, which is used to send a second interrupt message to the baseboard management controller when the data packet is sent, wherein the interrupt message is used to indicate that the data packet has been sent, and the baseboard management controller obtains the data packet when the second interrupt message is received.

[0102] In an exemplary embodiment, a power supply electronic fuse is provided on the expansion card, and the device also includes a power supply unit, which is used to control the power supply of any target external card among the external cards through a micro control unit, and the power supply unit includes: an identification module, which is used to identify the type of the target external card identified by the micro control unit after startup; a first power supply module, which is used to enable the electronic fuse to power the target external card when the target external card is a first type of external card, wherein the first type of external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is in standby; and a second power supply module, which is used to enable the electronic fuse to power the target external card when it is detected that the target power pin is powered on when the target external card is a second type of external card, wherein the second type of external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is powered on, and the target power pin is used to power the expansion card after the server is powered on.

[0103] In an exemplary embodiment, the device further includes: a development unit, which is used to develop an expansion card and a baseboard management controller respectively, wherein in the process of developing the expansion card, the external card management function is integrated into the microcontroller unit of the expansion card; a standardization unit, which is used to standardize the interface between the expansion card and the baseboard management controller, wherein the interface standardization includes setting a communication protocol and setting a data transmission format; after the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are developed, the external card management function of the expansion card is verified through the baseboard management controller, wherein in the process of verifying the external card management function, the baseboard management controller and the expansion card exchange information through the standardized interface; an update unit, which is used to update the code of the external card management function when the external card on the expansion card changes, and update the expansion information of the expansion card and the information of the external card according to the change of the external card to obtain an updated expansion card; a verification unit, which is used to verify the external card management function of the updated expansion card through the baseboard management controller, wherein in the process of verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card, the baseboard management controller and the updated expansion card exchange information through the standardized interface.

[0104] It should be noted that the above modules can be implemented by software or hardware. For the latter, it can be implemented in the following ways, but not limited to: the above modules are all located in the same processor; or the above modules are located in different processors in any combination.

[0105] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program is configured to execute the steps of any of the above method embodiments when running.

[0106] In an exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium may include, but is not limited to, various media that can store computer programs, such as a USB flash drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a mobile hard disk, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0107] An embodiment of the present application further provides an electronic device, Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application, such as Fig. 9 As shown, the electronic device 90 includes a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program, and the processor is configured to run the computer program to execute the steps in any one of the above method embodiments.

[0108] In an exemplary embodiment, the electronic device may further include a transmission device and an input / output device, wherein the transmission device is connected to the processor, and the input / output device is connected to the processor.

[0109] For specific examples in this embodiment, reference may be made to the examples described in the above embodiments and exemplary implementation modes, and this embodiment will not be described in detail herein.

[0110] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present application can be implemented by a general computing device, they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed on a network composed of multiple computing devices, they can be implemented by a program code executable by a computing device, so that they can be stored in a storage device and executed by the computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a different order from that herein, or they can be made into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps therein can be made into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the present application is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

[0111] The above description is only the preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A method for managing an external card based on an expansion card, characterized in that: The expansion card is provided with a micro control unit, and the micro control unit is integrated with an external card management function. The method comprises: After the micro control unit of the expansion card is powered on, the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card connected to the expansion card are collected; Processing the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format; When receiving an information acquisition request sent by a baseboard management controller of a server, the data packet is sent to the baseboard management controller.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The microcontroller unit is provided with a temperature sensor, a storage space and a plurality of general input and output pins, and collects information of the expansion card, extended information of the expansion card and information of each external card connected to the expansion card, including: Reading the board information of the expansion card stored in the storage space; Reading the temperature information of the expansion card collected by the temperature sensor; The expansion information of the expansion card, the board information of the external card and the temperature information of the external card are read through the plurality of general input and output pins.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Processing the information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card, and the information of each external card into a data packet in a preset format includes: Packing the board information of the expansion card into an expansion card information data packet; Packing the extended information of the extended card into an extended information data packet; Packing the board information of the external card into an external card information data packet; Packing the temperature information of the expansion card and the temperature information of the external card into a heat dissipation management information data packet; The expansion card information data packet, the extended information data packet, the plug-in card information data packet and the heat dissipation management information data packet are combined into the data packet in the preset format.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the expansion cards is connected to the baseboard management controller via an integrated circuit bus.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that In case of receiving an information acquisition request sent by a baseboard management controller, sending the data packet to the baseboard management controller includes: In the case of receiving a first interrupt message sent by the baseboard management controller, sending the data packet to the baseboard management controller through a standard interface using an intelligent platform management interface protocol, wherein the first interrupt message is an interrupt message of an information acquisition request; When the data packet is sent, a second interrupt message is sent to the baseboard management controller, wherein the interrupt message is used to indicate that the data packet has been sent. When the baseboard management controller receives the second interrupt message, it acquires the data packet.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The expansion card is provided with a power supply electronic fuse, and the micro control unit controls the power supply of any target external card among the external cards in the following manner: The micro control unit identifies the type of the target external card after startup; In the case where the target external card is a first type external card, powering the target external card by enabling the electronic fuse, wherein the first type external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is in standby mode; In the case where the target external card is a second type external card, the electronic fuse is enabled to power the target external card when it is detected that the target power pin is powered on, wherein the second type external card is an external card that needs to be powered on when the server is powered on, and the target power pin is used to power the expansion card after the server is powered on.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: Developing the expansion card and the baseboard management controller separately, wherein, in the process of developing the expansion card, the external card management function is integrated into the micro control unit of the expansion card; Standardizing the interface between the expansion card and the baseboard management controller, wherein the interface standardization includes setting a communication protocol and setting a data transmission format; After the expansion card and the baseboard management controller are developed, the external card management function of the expansion card is verified by the baseboard management controller, wherein in the process of verifying the external card management function, the baseboard management controller and the expansion card exchange information through a standardized interface; When the external card on the expansion card changes, the code of the external card management function is updated, and the extension information of the expansion card and the information of the external card are updated according to the change of the external card to obtain an updated expansion card; The external card management function of the updated expansion card is verified by the baseboard management controller, wherein, during the process of verifying the external card management function of the updated expansion card, the baseboard management controller and the updated expansion card exchange information through a standardized interface.

8. An expansion card, characterized in that: include: Printed circuit boards; A plurality of peripheral component interconnect quick slots are arranged on the printed circuit board and are used to insert different external cards respectively; A peripheral component interconnect express connector, arranged on the printed circuit board, for connecting to a peripheral component interconnect express slot on a mainboard of the server to transmit data with the mainboard; A microcontroller unit is provided with a temperature sensor, a storage space and a plurality of general purpose input / output pins, wherein the temperature sensor is used to collect temperature information, the storage space stores information of the expansion card, and the plurality of general purpose input / output pins are respectively used to communicate with different external cards, wherein the microcontroller unit is connected to the plurality of peripheral component interconnect express slots and the peripheral component interconnect express slot of the mainboard through different integrated circuit buses.

9. A server system, characterized in that: include: At least one expansion card as claimed in claim 8, wherein each expansion card is connected to an external plug-in card; The server motherboard is provided with a central processing unit and a baseboard management controller, wherein the central processing unit is connected to the expansion card via a peripheral component interconnect fast connector, and each expansion card is connected to the baseboard management controller via an integrated circuit bus, wherein when the baseboard management controller sends an information acquisition request to a microcontroller unit of any expansion card, the microcontroller unit of the expansion card encapsulates the collected information of the expansion card, the extended information of the expansion card and the information of each external card into a data packet via a preset protocol, and sends the data packet to the baseboard management controller.

10. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that: When the processor executes the computer program, the steps of the method described in any one of claims 1 to 7 are implemented.

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