Adapter card and server

Abstract

The invention discloses an adapter card and a server, and is applied to the technical field of servers. The adapter card comprises a power supply connector, a signal transmission device and a signal processing device. And the signal transmission device comprises a clamping groove into which an external card is inserted and a cable fixed on the circuit board, the cable is connected with the clamping groove, and a signal of the external card is connected to the data interface of the mainboard through the cable. One end of the signal processing device is connected to the data interface through a cable, and the other end is connected to the clamping groove through a cable. The signal processing device is an electronic device which integrates a plurality of electronic elements and connecting lines among the electronic elements; an external card can be identified, an external card signal can be acquired, and the external card signal can be correspondingly processed; and the temperature of the adapter card can be monitored, the information of the board card can be stored, and data interaction with the mainboard can be realized. According to the invention, the problems of too heavy control load and long development period of the substrate management controller in the related art can be solved, and the development workload and workload of the substrate management controller are effectively reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of servers, and in particular to an adapter card and a server. Background Art

[0002] Riser cards are used to expand the high-speed connection interface of the server motherboard, ensuring that the motherboard is the same and can be expanded to be compatible with multiple component configurations. In order to meet the performance expansion of the server in terms of storage, network, memory and other aspects, the types of external cards supported by Riser cards are increasing.

[0003] In the related technology, all external card information of the riser card needs to be polled and collected by the baseboard management controller (BMC) of the motherboard, which results in a heavy load on the BMC. In addition, different external cards correspond to different processing and collection processes, which requires the BMC to perform a separate adaptation development process for each external card during the development process, generating different BMC development codes, which results in a long development cycle and high cost, making it difficult to achieve flexible and efficient component expansion.

[0004] In view of this, reducing the workload and development workload of the BMC and realizing flexible and efficient component introduction and expansion of the server are technical problems that need to be solved by technical personnel in this field.

[0005] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background technology section is only used to enhance the understanding of the background of the present application, and therefore may include information that does not constitute the prior art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention provides an adapter card and a server, which can effectively reduce the workload and development workload of a BMC and realize flexible and efficient component introduction and expansion of the server.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0008] In one aspect, the present invention provides an adapter card, including a power connector, a signal transmission device, and a signal processing device;

[0009] The signal transmission device includes a card slot and a cable fixed on a circuit board, the card slot is used to insert an external card, and the cable is connected to the card slot; the signal of the external card is connected to the data interface of the mainboard through the cable;

[0010] One end of the signal processing device is connected to the data interface through the cable, and the other end is connected to the card slot through the cable;

[0011] The signal processing device is an electronic device that integrates multiple electronic components and the connections between the electronic components; it is used to identify the external card and collect external card signals, and perform corresponding processing on the external card signals; it is also used to monitor the temperature of the adapter card, store board information, and exchange data with the main board.

[0012] In a first exemplary embodiment, the signal processing device includes an external card identification module and a power switching module;

[0013] The external card identification module is used to identify the card type of the external card, and the card type includes a first type card and a second type card; the second type card is a card that is powered when the server is in standby mode;

[0014] The power switching module includes a first power supply branch and a second power supply branch. The first power supply branch is connected to the mainboard through the power connector so as to control the power supply of the first type card through the baseboard management controller of the mainboard; the second power supply branch is connected to the controller of the signal processing device so as to perform corresponding power supply control on the second type card through the controller.

[0015] In a second exemplary embodiment, the signal processing device includes a controller;

[0016] The controller is used to collect external card signals, process the external card signals accordingly, and perform data exchange with the mainboard.

[0017] In a third exemplary embodiment, the controller includes a program counter, an instruction register, an instruction decoder, an address decoder, a timing generator, a micro-operation generating unit, and an interrupt mechanism;

[0018] Wherein, the program counter is used to store the address of the current instruction to ensure the sequential execution of the instructions;

[0019] The instruction register is used to store the instruction being executed; the instruction includes an operation code and an address code, the operation code is used to indicate the nature of the operation, and the address code is used to determine the operand address;

[0020] The instruction decoder is used to decode the operation code of the current instruction and generate a corresponding control level;

[0021] The address decoder is used to decode the address code of the current instruction and select a storage unit corresponding to the address code;

[0022] The timing generator is used to generate a time mark signal and control the generation of micro-operation commands;

[0023] The micro-operation generating unit is used to generate a micro-operation command for completing the operation specified by the instruction according to the time mark signal and the instruction property;

[0024] The interrupt mechanism is used to process interrupt requests and coordinate the operation of the computer system where the mainboard is located;

[0025] Each instruction constitutes a program for collecting external card signals, processing the external card signals accordingly, and performing data interaction with the mainboard.

[0026] In a fourth exemplary embodiment, the signal processing device includes a temperature monitoring module;

[0027] The temperature monitoring module includes a temperature sensor, a heat dissipation component, a control circuit and a drive circuit;

[0028] Wherein, the temperature sensor is used to monitor the temperature of the external card and send the collected temperature signal to the control circuit;

[0029] The heat dissipation component is used to dissipate heat from the external card and the adapter card;

[0030] The control circuit is used to generate a control signal for controlling the working state of the heat dissipation component according to the temperature signal and a preset working temperature condition;

[0031] The driving circuit is used to provide a matching current to the heat dissipation component according to the control signal.

[0032] In a fifth exemplary embodiment, the control circuit is further configured to generate an indicator light lighting signal when the temperature signal exceeds an alarm temperature threshold, and send the indicator light lighting signal to the indicator light of the adapter card.

[0033] In a sixth exemplary embodiment, the signal transmission device includes a pad;

[0034] The pads are connected to the pins of the card slot, the pins of the data interface, and the pins of the signal processing device respectively through the cables by welding.

[0035] In a seventh exemplary embodiment, the signal processing device includes a data memory;

[0036] The data storage device is used to store a computer program for realizing the signal processing device to identify the external card and collect external card signals, perform corresponding processing on the external card signals, monitor the temperature of the adapter card, and perform data exchange with the mainboard, and is also used to store board information;

[0037] The data storage device includes a storage cell array, a row and column address decoder, a sensitive amplifier, and a read-write circuit; the storage cell array includes a plurality of storage cells, each storage cell stores one bit of data; the row and column address decoder is used to convert the address signal received by the data storage device into a physical address corresponding to a read operation or a physical address corresponding to a write operation; the sensitive amplifier is used to amplify the signal read from the storage cell; the read-write circuit is used to write the board information or the computer program into the corresponding storage cell based on the row and column address decoder, and read the required data from the corresponding storage cell.

[0038] In an eighth exemplary embodiment, the storage unit includes a first field effect transistor, a second field effect transistor, a third field effect transistor, a fourth field effect transistor, a fifth field effect transistor, and a sixth field effect transistor;

[0039] Among them, the first field effect transistor, the second field effect transistor, the third field effect transistor and the fourth field effect transistor constitute a cross-coupled first inverter and a second inverter, and the first inverter and the second inverter are used to store computer programs and board information; the fifth field effect transistor and the sixth field effect transistor are control switches for the read and write bit lines of the storage cell array and the read and circuit.

[0040] Another aspect of the present invention provides a server, comprising a mainboard and at least one adapter card as described in any of the preceding items; the mainboard comprises at least one data interface, and the adapter card is connected to the data interface via a cable.

[0041] The advantage of the technical solution provided by the present invention is that the uplink and downlink signals of the riser card are connected by cables, which effectively simplifies the board structure of the riser card, is conducive to reducing the size of the board and reducing the power consumption of the board. The signal processing device collects and processes all data of the external card, is responsible for information interaction with the mainboard, monitors temperature information, and performs relevant management on the riser card itself. Not only does it further simplify the board structure of the riser card, reduce the size of the board, and reduce the power consumption of the board by replacing the field replaceable unit, temperature sensor, switch, and input and output expansion of the original riser card, but it is also easier to maintain; and it does not need to be managed by the BMC, which effectively reduces the BMC workload, reduces the workload of BMC development, shortens the BMC development cycle, and reduces development costs. The signal processing device can independently develop the riser card, avoid the problems caused by the BMC link management, enhance the flexibility of the overall server, and realize the flexible and efficient introduction and expansion of server components.

[0042] In addition, the present invention also provides a server for the adapter card, which further makes the adapter card more practical and the server has corresponding advantages.

[0043] The technical features mentioned above, the technical features to be mentioned below, and the technical features shown separately in the drawings can be arbitrarily combined with each other, as long as the combined technical features are not contradictory. All feasible feature combinations are technical contents clearly recorded in this article. Any of the multiple sub-features contained in the same sentence can be applied independently, and does not have to be applied together with other sub-features. It should be understood that the above general description and the detailed description below are only exemplary and cannot limit the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention or related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or related technical descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0045] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structural framework of an adapter card in the related art;

[0046] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structural framework of the adapter card provided by the present invention in an exemplary embodiment;

[0047] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structural framework of the adapter card provided by the present invention in another exemplary embodiment;

[0048] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a structural framework of a signal processing device provided by the present invention in an exemplary embodiment;

[0049] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of the server provided by the present invention in an exemplary application scenario. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Among them, the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations of the two are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. The term "exemplary" means "used as an example, embodiment or illustrative". Any embodiment described here as "exemplary" is not necessarily interpreted as being superior or better than other embodiments.

[0051] With the continuous development of computer technology, the application scenarios, computing types, user needs and software load types of servers are increasing. In order to meet various practical needs, servers use various types of external cards to achieve performance expansion in various aspects such as storage, network and memory. With the increase in the number and types of external cards, on the one hand, due to the need to adapt different components, some components are inevitably incompatible with each other, resulting in higher and higher server R&D costs; on the other hand, due to market competition and supply chain requirements, the same components often need to adapt to products from multiple manufacturers, and the subsequent maintenance costs also increase significantly.

[0052] Riser cards are used to expand the motherboard's high-speed connection interface. They are plugged into the motherboard's corresponding connectors through gold fingers or connected to the motherboard through cables. Figure 1 As shown, the Riser card of the related technology includes a gold finger, a power connector, an IO Expander (input and output expansion), a FRU (Field Replace Unit), a temperature sensor, and an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) Switch. Among them, the gold finger is responsible for plugging into the motherboard and communicating with the motherboard, such as transmitting PCIE (peripheral component interconnect express, a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard) signal, clock signal, and in-position signal to the motherboard; the temperature sensor is used to monitor the temperature of the external card; the FRU is used to store board information; the IO Expander receives and sends related signals and processes the signals; the I2C Switch is used to expand multiple I2C buses and enable the BMC to open corresponding channels, such as I2C0, I2C1, I2C2, and I2C3, for device access. It can be seen that the uplink signal connection of the riser card in the related art is realized by connecting the gold finger with the MCIO (Modular Connector Input Output) interface, which not only makes the riser card structure complex and has high power consumption, but also when the riser card is inserted into the external card, the server needs to manage these different external cards through the BMC during the development and maintenance process. This requires that in the development of the BMC, separate adaptation development processes be carried out for different types of external cards, and different BMC development codes are generated, which consumes a lot of manpower and material resources.

[0053] In view of this, the present invention provides a server single-slot riser card that is easier to maintain. The signal of the riser card is directly connected to the mainboard through a cable fixed on the circuit board. A signal processing device is used to interact with the mainboard, monitor the temperature information of the external card, and perform relevant management on the riser card itself, thereby solving the problems of poor flexibility, difficult BMC control, difficult maintenance, and long development cycle of the riser card in the related art. After introducing the technical solution of the present invention, various non-limiting embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. In order to better illustrate the present invention, numerous specific details are given in the specific embodiments below. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention can also be implemented without these specific details. In other examples, the methods, means, components and circuits well known to those skilled in the art are not described in detail in order to highlight the purpose of the present invention.

[0054] First see Figure 2 , Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structural framework of an adapter card provided in this embodiment in an exemplary embodiment, this embodiment may include the following contents:

[0055] The adapter card may include a power connector 21, a signal transmission device 22, and a signal processing device 23. The power connector 21 is connected to the power connector of the server motherboard and is used to receive P3V3 and P12V power supplied by the motherboard. The signal transmission device 22 includes a card slot 221 and a cable 222 fixed on the circuit board, wherein the number of the card slots 221 can be set according to actual needs. When there is one card slot, the adapter card is a single-slot adapter card, and the external card is inserted into the adapter card through the card slot 221. The cable is fixed on the circuit board of the adapter card, such as PCB (Printed Circuit Board). The connection between the components inside the adapter card, the uplink connection and the downlink connection are all carried out through the cable, that is, the cable 221 is connected to the card slot 221, so that the signal of the inserted external card is connected to the data interface of the server motherboard, such as the MCIO interface, through the cable 222. One end of the signal processing device 23 is connected to the data interface through the cable 222, and the other end is connected to the card slot 221 through the cable 222, so as to realize data interaction with the server mainboard and data collection with the inserted external card.

[0056] In this embodiment, the signal processing device 23 is an electronic device that integrates multiple electronic components and the connections between the electronic components. It is used to identify the external card and collect the external card signal, and process the external card signal accordingly; it is also used to monitor the temperature of the adapter card, store the board card information, and interact with the main board. In other words, the signal processing device 23 integrates multiple functions, which at least realize the identification of the inserted external card, can also collect the relevant signals of the inserted external card, and process the external card signal accordingly. In addition, the temperature inside the adapter card can be monitored, and the board card information can be stored. The board card information includes but is not limited to the board card serial number, project name, chassis silk screen and other information. It can also realize data interaction with the main board, such as the BMC and BIOS (Basic Input Output System) on the main board read the board card information, and the high-speed signal, clock signal, and in-place signal of the inserted external card can be transmitted to the main board through the data interface. That is, when the external card is inserted into the adapter card, all the information that originally needs to be processed by the BMC, such as in-place information, firmware information, temperature information, etc., is processed by the signal processing device 23. The adapter card only needs to be equipped with a signal processing device 23 to replace the temperature sensor, I2C Switch, IOExpander, and FRU in the adapter card in the related technology, thereby simplifying the internal structure of the adapter card, reducing the size of the adapter card, reducing power consumption, and making it easier to maintain. Furthermore, when the user has special needs, targeted secondary design can also be performed through the signal processing device 23, which shortens the development time of the overall riser card and is also conducive to shortening the later maintenance time.

[0057] In the technical solution provided in this embodiment, the uplink and downlink signals of the riser card are connected by cables, which effectively simplifies the board structure of the riser card, helps to reduce the size of the board, and reduces the power consumption of the board. The signal processing device collects and processes all data of the external card, is responsible for information interaction with the mainboard, monitors temperature information, and performs relevant management on the riser card itself. It not only further simplifies the board structure of the riser card, reduces the size of the board, reduces the power consumption of the board, and is easier to maintain by replacing the field replaceable unit, temperature sensor, switch, and input and output expansion of the original riser card; and it does not need to be managed by the BMC, which effectively reduces the BMC workload, reduces the workload of BMC development, shortens the BMC development cycle, and reduces development costs. The signal processing device can independently develop the riser card, avoids the problems caused by the BMC link management, enhances the flexibility of the overall server, and realizes flexible and efficient introduction and expansion of server components.

[0058] In order to further reduce the signal delay between the motherboard and the adapter card, reduce the possibility of structural interference, and be more conducive to the overall chassis structure design, based on the above embodiment, as Figure 3 As shown, the signal transmission device 22 of the present invention may include a pad, which is connected to the pins of the card slot, the pins of the data interface, and the pins of the signal processing device through the cable by welding. In other words, the relevant signals on the adapter card are no longer transmitted to the mainboard through the gold finger, and the signal transmission lines of the relevant high-speed signals and low-speed signals are fixed on the adapter card through the pad, and all signals are connected to the MCIO on the mainboard end through the cable to complete the signal transmission.

[0059] Considering that some external cards require the server to power them in standby mode, for example, when the external card is a smart network card, after it is inserted, the server is required to provide it with 12V power in standby mode. The current single-slot riser card in the related technology needs to identify the presence of the card through the BMC, and then inform the mainboard CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) or other controllers of the mainboard to control the corresponding voltage to power on, thereby completing the power supply operation. The whole process is complicated and has a high delay, which cannot meet the requirements of high-efficiency server startup. In view of this, the present invention also provides the following implementation method, which may include the following content:

[0060] The signal processing device 23 may also include an external card identification module and a power switching module; wherein the external card identification module is used to identify the card type of the external card, and the power switching module includes a first power supply branch and a second power supply branch, the first power supply branch is connected to the mainboard through the power connector to control the power supply of the first type of card through the baseboard management controller of the mainboard; the second power supply branch is connected to the controller of the signal processing device to perform corresponding power supply control on the second type of card through the controller.

[0061] In this embodiment, the card types include first type cards and second type cards; the second type card is a card that provides power in the server standby state, such as an intelligent network card, and the first type card is a card other than the second type card, that is, a common card. The external card identification module identifies the type of component plugged into the adapter card, and if it is a second type card, the corresponding power supply control is performed through the controller of the signal processing device, and the power supply is no longer transmitted to the BMC.

[0062] As can be seen from the above, this embodiment provides different types of power supply modes for different types of external cards. For cards that require power supply in the server standby state, the signal processing device of the adapter card is used to control the power supply, thereby meeting the needs of efficient server startup.

[0063] In order to further improve the recognition accuracy of the external card type, this embodiment also provides an exemplary implementation and structure of the external card recognition module, which may include the following contents:

[0064] The external card identification module may include an identity identification unit, a protocol unification unit, a device identification unit and an identity verification unit. Among them, the identity identification unit is used to connect the external card after the unified specification through the I2C link, and identify the identity information of the external card through the I2C link. The device identification unit unifies the communication specifications of all external cards into the I2C protocol. The device identification unit identifies the connected I2C device and reads the identity information from the identity address of the storage device of the I2C device. Identity verification unit: Verifies whether the I2C device is an external card based on whether the identity information conforms to the external card identity identification code format.

[0065] Furthermore, when there are multiple card slots for an external card, that is, when multiple external cards can be inserted at the same time, the external card identification module may also include an identity summary unit, an identity management unit, a data reading unit, and a traversal reading unit. Among them, the identity summary unit is used to summarize the identity information of all identified external cards. The identity management unit is used to generate a management resource tree based on all identified external card identity information, and deduplicate the external card identity information in the management resource tree. The data reading unit is used to traverse the external card storage device based on the summarized external card identity information to read the monitoring data of each external card. The traversal reading unit is used to read the voltage data and temperature data from the voltage storage address and temperature storage address of the external card storage device one by one according to the external card identity information on the resource management tree.

[0066] As can be seen from the above, in this embodiment, the above structures together constitute an external card identification module, so that it can efficiently identify and manage external cards.

[0067] Furthermore, in order to improve the data processing accuracy and processing efficiency of the signal processing device, based on the above embodiments, the signal processing device of this embodiment includes a controller; the controller can be used to collect external card signals, perform corresponding processing on the external card signals, and interact with the mainboard for data.

[0068] Among them, the controller may include one or more processing cores, such as a 4-core processor, an 8-core processor, and the controller may also be a microcontroller, a microprocessor or other data processing chip. The controller may be implemented in at least one hardware form of DSP (Digital Signal Processing), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and PLA (Programmable Logic Array). The controller may also include a main processor and a coprocessor. The main processor is a processor for processing data in the awake state, also known as a CPU (Central Processing Unit); the coprocessor is a low-power processor for processing data in the standby state. In some embodiments, the controller may be integrated with a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), which is responsible for rendering and drawing the content to be displayed on the display screen. In some embodiments, the controller may also include an AI (Artificial Intelligence) processor, which is used to process computing operations related to machine learning.

[0069] The controller is used to realize the computer program of collecting external card signals, processing the external card signals accordingly, and interacting with the mainboard. It can include or be divided into one or more program modules. The program module refers to a series of computer program instruction segments that can complete specific functions. The one or more program modules are stored in a data storage device and executed by the controller. In other words, the computer program for collecting external card signals, processing the external card signals accordingly, and interacting with the mainboard is composed of a series of instructions arranged in a specific order. The instruction is a command that the computer can directly recognize and execute, usually composed of an operation code and an address code. The operation code indicates what operation the computer performs, and the address code indicates the address of the data involved in the operation in the data storage device. Each instruction tells the controller to perform a specific operation. The controller automatically completes the required task by executing the instructions in the program. Accordingly, the controller may include a program counter, an instruction register, an instruction decoder, an address decoder, a timing generator, a micro-operation generating component, and an interrupt mechanism.

[0070] Among them, the program counter is used to store the address of the current instruction to ensure the sequential execution of the instruction; the instruction register is used to store the instruction being executed; the instruction includes an operation code and an address code, the operation code is used to indicate the nature of the operation, and the address code is used to determine the operand address; the instruction decoder is used to decode the operation code of the current instruction, generate a corresponding control level, and complete the function of analyzing the instruction. The address decoder is used to decode the address code of the current instruction and select a storage unit corresponding to the address code; the timing generator is used to generate a time mark signal and control the generation of micro-operation commands, the time mark signal includes but is not limited to the instruction cycle, bus cycle and clock cycle, and the micro-operation generating component is used to generate a micro-operation command to complete the operation specified by the instruction according to the time mark signal and the nature of the instruction; the interrupt mechanism is used to process interrupt requests and coordinate the operation of the computer system where the motherboard is located.

[0071] From the above, it can be seen that the controller of this embodiment works together through the program counter, instruction register, instruction decoder, address decoder, timing generator, micro-operation generating component and interrupt mechanism, so that the controller can read instructions, analyze instructions, execute instructions and process interrupt requests, thereby efficiently and accurately completing the tasks of collecting external card signals, performing corresponding processing on external card signals and interacting with the mainboard.

[0072] Further, the signal processing device 23 may also include a temperature monitoring module; the temperature monitoring module includes a temperature sensor, a heat dissipation component, a control circuit and a drive circuit. The temperature sensor is used to monitor the temperature of the external card, convert the temperature change into an electrical signal, and send the collected temperature signal to the control circuit, such as a thermistor, a thermocouple, etc. The heat dissipation component is used to dissipate heat for the external card and the adapter card. The heat dissipation component may be a heat sink or a combination of a heat sink and a fan. The heat sink may be made of metal such as aluminum or copper, which can effectively conduct heat away. The fan is used to accelerate the flow of air around the heat sink to improve the heat dissipation efficiency. The control circuit is used to generate a control signal for controlling the working state of the heat dissipation component according to the temperature signal and the preset working temperature condition, wherein the preset working temperature condition may be a preset temperature value or a temperature range. According to the preset working temperature condition and a preset control algorithm such as PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative control, a method based on proportional, integral and differential operations), a control signal may be output to adjust the working state of other components, thereby achieving accurate temperature monitoring and adjustment. The driving circuit is used to provide a matching current to the heat dissipation component according to the control signal. Furthermore, in order to protect the signal processing device from damage under abnormal circumstances, a transient protection module can also be set in the temperature monitoring module. The control circuit is also used to generate an indicator light lighting signal when the temperature signal exceeds the alarm temperature threshold, and send the indicator light lighting signal to the indicator light of the adapter card so that maintenance personnel can handle it as soon as possible, improve maintenance efficiency, and ensure the safety and stability of the server. Through the collaborative work of these devices, the temperature monitoring module can monitor and control the temperature of the signal processing device in real time to ensure that it operates within a safe working range.

[0073] Furthermore, the signal processing device may also include a data storage device; the data storage device is used to store a computer program that enables the signal processing device to identify the external card and collect external card signals, perform corresponding processing on the external card signals, monitor the temperature of the adapter card, and perform data interaction with the mainboard, and is also used to store board information; the data storage device includes a storage unit array, a row and column address decoder, a sensitive amplifier, and a read-write circuit; the storage unit array includes a plurality of storage units, each of which stores one bit of data. The row and column address decoder is used to convert the address signal received by the data storage device into a physical address corresponding to a read operation or a physical address corresponding to a write operation; the sensitive amplifier is used to amplify the signal read from the storage unit; the read-write circuit is used to write the board information or the computer program into the corresponding storage unit and read the required data from the corresponding storage unit based on the row and column address decoder.

[0074] The data storage device of this embodiment may include one or more computer-readable storage media, which may be non-transitory. The data storage device may also include high-speed random access memory and non-volatile memory, such as one or more disk storage devices and flash memory storage devices. In some embodiments, the data storage device may be an internal storage unit of an electronic device, such as a hard disk of a server. In other embodiments, the data storage device may also be an external storage device of an electronic device, such as a plug-in hard disk equipped on a server, a smart storage card (Smart Media Card, SMC), a secure digital (Secure Digital, SD) card, a flash card (Flash Card), etc. Further, the data storage device may also include both an internal storage unit and an external storage device of the electronic device. The data storage device may not only be used to store application software and various types of data installed in the electronic device, such as: the code of the program executed by the signal processing device in the process of processing relevant data, but also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output. In this embodiment, the data storage device is at least used to store the following signal processing device to realize the computer program of identifying the external card and collecting the external card signal, performing corresponding processing on the external card signal, monitoring the temperature of the adapter card and interacting with the mainboard for data, and is also used to store board information.

[0075] Each memory cell in the memory cell array shares electrical connections with other cells in rows and columns, wherein the horizontal connection is called a word line, and the vertical connection for data to flow into and out of the memory cell is called a bit line. A specific word line and bit line can be selected by inputting an address, and the intersection of the word line and the bit line is the selected memory cell. Each memory cell is uniquely selected in this way, and then read and write operations are performed on it. The read-write circuit includes a read circuit and a write circuit, and the memory cell includes a first field effect transistor, a second field effect transistor, a third field effect transistor, a fourth field effect transistor, a fifth field effect transistor, and a sixth field effect transistor. The first field effect transistor, the second field effect transistor, the third field effect transistor, and the fourth field effect transistor constitute a cross-coupled first inverter and a second inverter, and the first inverter and the second inverter are used to store computer programs and board information; the fifth field effect transistor and the sixth field effect transistor are control switches for the read and write bit lines of the memory cell array and the read and circuit. In the read and write operations, the storage unit has three states: standby, reading, and writing. In the idle state, the word line (WL) is set to 0, the fifth and sixth field effect transistors are disconnected, and the latch maintains the original state. In the read operation, the word line is set to 1, the fifth and sixth field effect transistors are turned on, and the latch discharges to the outside through the fifth and sixth field effect transistors and is amplified by the sensitive amplifier. Taking writing 1 as an example, the corresponding address value is first input into the row and column address decoder, a specific storage unit is selected, and then the write enable signal is enabled. The data "1" to be written is converted into "1" and "0" through the write circuit and added to the two bit lines BL and BLB of the selected unit respectively. At this time, the WL (word line) of the selected unit = 1, and the transistor of the corresponding storage unit is turned on, and the signals on BL and BLB are sent to the inverter respectively. The process of writing data "0" is similar. Taking reading 1 as an example, the reading process of SRAM takes reading "1" as an example. A certain column bit line is selected through the row and column address decoder to precharge BL and BLB to the power supply voltage VDD. After the precharging is completed, a certain row is selected through the row decoder, and the corresponding storage unit is selected. Since "1" is stored in it, WL=1, one inverter=1, and the other inverter=0. The corresponding transistor is turned on, and current flows through these two transistors to the ground, thereby reducing the potential of BLB, and a voltage difference is generated between the potentials of BL and BLB. When the voltage difference reaches a certain value, the sensitivity amplifier is turned on to amplify the voltage, and then sent to the output circuit to read out the data.

[0076] As can be seen from the above, this embodiment uses a data storage device to replace the FRU in the related art to store component information and computer program codes, and the device reading is more convenient, which effectively improves the data processing efficiency and data reading efficiency.

[0077] The present invention also provides an exemplary structure of a signal processing device, such as Figure 4 As shown, the signal processing device may include SRAM (Static Random-Access Memory) as a data storage device, a temperature monitoring module, a controller and an external card identification module. The working process of the signal processing device includes: first, the external card identification module identifies the type of the external card inserted on the adapter card. If it is a second type card, it notifies the controller to perform corresponding power supply control, and no longer supplies power by transmitting it to the BMC. The temperature monitoring module monitors the temperature and heat dissipation data information of the external card in real time. If the temperature of the external card exceeds the alarm temperature threshold, an alarm display can be performed through an external LED (light-emitting diode). SRAM replaces FRU to store component information and computer program code, and the device is more convenient to read; the controller controls the working process of the entire adapter card and is responsible for information interaction with the motherboard.

[0078] As can be seen from the above, the signal processing device of this embodiment has a relatively simple structure, can be quickly initialized and loaded after power-on, can quickly identify the type of external card, can immediately power the second type of card, provide more efficient management services, and greatly reduce the difficulty of maintenance.

[0079] Finally, the present invention also provides a server, see Figure 5 The server may include a mainboard and at least one adapter card as described in any of the above embodiments; the mainboard includes at least one data interface, such as a MICO interface, and the adapter card is connected to the data interface via a cable. Of course, the server may also include a chassis, a management board, a storage system, a central processing unit, a security module, a power supply unit, and a network interface card that provides a network connection.

[0080] In this specification, each embodiment is described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the embodiments can be referred to each other. For the server disclosed in the embodiment, since it corresponds to the adapter card disclosed in the embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the relevant parts can be referred to the description of the adapter card embodiment.

[0081] Professionals may further appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of the two. In order to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the composition and steps of each example have been generally described in the above description according to function. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professionals and technicians may use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of the present invention.

[0082] The above is a detailed introduction to an adapter card and a server provided by the present invention. This article uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present invention and its core idea. It should be pointed out that based on the embodiments of the present invention, for ordinary technicians in this technical field, all other embodiments obtained without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Without departing from the principles of the present invention, the present invention can also be improved and modified in a number of ways, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An adapter card, comprising a power connector, characterized in that: Also includes a signal transmission device and a signal processing device; The signal transmission device includes a card slot and a cable fixed on a circuit board, the card slot is used to insert an external card, and the cable is connected to the card slot; the signal of the external card is connected to the data interface of the mainboard through the cable; One end of the signal processing device is connected to the data interface through the cable, and the other end is connected to the card slot through the cable; The signal processing device is an electronic device that integrates multiple electronic components and the connections between the electronic components; it is used to identify the external card and collect external card signals, and perform corresponding processing on the external card signals; it is also used to monitor the temperature of the adapter card, store board information, and exchange data with the main board.

2. The adapter card according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signal processing device includes an external card identification module and a power switching module; The external card identification module is used to identify the card type of the external card, and the card type includes a first type card and a second type card; the second type card is a card that is powered when the server is in standby mode; The power switching module includes a first power supply branch and a second power supply branch. The first power supply branch is connected to the mainboard through the power connector so as to control the power supply of the first type card through the baseboard management controller of the mainboard; the second power supply branch is connected to the controller of the signal processing device so as to perform corresponding power supply control on the second type card through the controller.

3. The adapter card according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signal processing device includes a controller; The controller is used to collect external card signals, process the external card signals accordingly, and perform data exchange with the mainboard.

4. The adapter card according to claim 3, characterized in that: The controller includes a program counter, an instruction register, an instruction decoder, an address decoder, a timing generator, a micro-operation generating component and an interrupt mechanism; Wherein, the program counter is used to store the address of the current instruction to ensure the sequential execution of the instructions; The instruction register is used to store the instruction being executed; the instruction includes an operation code and an address code, the operation code is used to indicate the nature of the operation, and the address code is used to determine the operand address; The instruction decoder is used to decode the operation code of the current instruction and generate a corresponding control level; The address decoder is used to decode the address code of the current instruction and select a storage unit corresponding to the address code; The timing generator is used to generate a time mark signal and control the generation of micro-operation commands; The micro-operation generating unit is used to generate a micro-operation command for completing the operation specified by the instruction according to the time mark signal and the instruction property; The interrupt mechanism is used to process interrupt requests and coordinate the operation of the computer system where the mainboard is located; Each instruction constitutes a program for collecting external card signals, processing the external card signals accordingly, and performing data interaction with the mainboard.

5. The adapter card according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signal processing device includes a temperature monitoring module; The temperature monitoring module includes a temperature sensor, a heat dissipation component, a control circuit and a drive circuit; Wherein, the temperature sensor is used to monitor the temperature of the external card and send the collected temperature signal to the control circuit; The heat dissipation component is used to dissipate heat from the external card and the adapter card; The control circuit is used to generate a control signal for controlling the working state of the heat dissipation component according to the temperature signal and a preset working temperature condition; The driving circuit is used to provide a matching current to the heat dissipation component according to the control signal.

6. The adapter card according to claim 5, characterized in that: The control circuit is also used to generate an indicator light lighting signal when the temperature signal exceeds an alarm temperature threshold, and send the indicator light lighting signal to the indicator light of the adapter card.

7. The adapter card according to claim 1, characterized in that: The signal transmission device includes a pad; The pads are connected to the pins of the card slot, the pins of the data interface, and the pins of the signal processing device respectively through the cables by welding.

8. The adapter card according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The signal processing device includes a data storage device; The data storage device is used to store a computer program for realizing the signal processing device to identify the external card and collect external card signals, perform corresponding processing on the external card signals, monitor the temperature of the adapter card, and perform data exchange with the mainboard, and is also used to store board information; The data storage device includes a storage cell array, a row and column address decoder, a sensitive amplifier, and a read-write circuit; the storage cell array includes a plurality of storage cells, each storage cell stores one bit of data; the row and column address decoder is used to convert the address signal received by the data storage device into a physical address corresponding to a read operation or a physical address corresponding to a write operation; the sensitive amplifier is used to amplify the signal read from the storage cell; the read-write circuit is used to write the board information or the computer program into the corresponding storage cell based on the row and column address decoder, and read the required data from the corresponding storage cell.

9. The adapter card according to claim 8, characterized in that: The storage unit includes a first field effect transistor, a second field effect transistor, a third field effect transistor, a fourth field effect transistor, a fifth field effect transistor and a sixth field effect transistor; Among them, the first field effect transistor, the second field effect transistor, the third field effect transistor and the fourth field effect transistor constitute a cross-coupled first inverter and a second inverter, and the first inverter and the second inverter are used to store computer programs and board information; the fifth field effect transistor and the sixth field effect transistor are control switches for the read and write bit lines of the storage cell array and the read and circuit.

10. A server, characterized in that: It comprises a mainboard and at least one adapter card according to any one of claims 1 to 9; the mainboard comprises at least one data interface, and the adapter card is connected to the data interface via a cable.

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