Mutual keep-alive system between BMC management board and network switch board based on ARM array server

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of ARM array servers, and discloses a mutual keep-alive system of a BMC management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server, comprising a BMC management board, a network switch board, a heat dissipation unit, a power module and multiple groups of service boards, wherein the BMC management board is respectively connected to the network switch board, the heat dissipation unit, the power module and multiple groups of service boards, and the network switch board is also connected to multiple groups of service boards; the BMC management board and the network switch board are connected via a control bus; the BMC management board and the network switch board have a heartbeat signal, an in-position and power-on status detection signal, and a low-speed control signal, which are used to remotely recover the BMC management board when a non-hardware failure type fault occurs on the BMC management board. The system provided by the present invention can remotely analyze and recover the BMC management board when a fault occurs on the BMC management board itself, thereby reducing the operation and maintenance cost of the server.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ARM array servers, and in particular to a mutual keep-alive system between a BMC management board and a network switching board based on an ARM array server. Background Art

[0002] In the ARM array server hardware system, in addition to multiple groups of business boards, a BMC management board responsible for controlling and managing the entire hardware system and a network switch board for business network switching are also required. The BMC management board is mainly used to control and manage the hardware unit modules of the entire machine (such as multiple groups of business boards, network switch boards, cooling unit modules, power modules, etc.), and is at the core of management in the server hardware system. Therefore, the operating stability and online fault recovery capabilities of the BMC management board are crucial.

[0003] The network switch board is responsible for the network switching function of each business board in the server system and provides a unified business network interface to the outside world. Its function is equivalent to that of a Layer 2 Ethernet switch. It is the business aggregation and switching center for multiple groups of business boards and is also the core unit module of the server system.

[0004] In the current mainstream ARM array server hardware design scheme in the market, if the network switch board, business board cards, cooling unit module, etc. fail, the BMC management board can be used to remotely analyze and locate the cause of the fault and perform online fault recovery; however, if the BMC management board itself fails, the entire server equipment will lose connection, and the server operation and maintenance personnel will not be able to remotely control and manage the server. They can only go to the data center to perform on-site operation and maintenance of the server's BMC management board, which not only reduces the availability of the server, but also increases the operation and maintenance costs of the server. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides a mutual keep-alive system of a BMC management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server. When a fault occurs on the BMC management board itself, remote fault analysis and fault recovery can be performed on it, thereby reducing the operation and maintenance cost of the server.

[0006] The present invention provides a mutual keep-alive system of a BMC management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server, comprising a BMC management board, a network switch board, a heat dissipation unit, a power module and multiple groups of service boards, wherein the BMC management board is respectively connected to the network switch board, the heat dissipation unit, the power module and the multiple groups of service boards, and the network switch board is also connected to the multiple groups of service boards;

[0007] The BMC management board and the network switch board are connected via a control bus, which includes an I2C bus, a UART bus, and an Ethernet bus; a heartbeat signal, an in-place and power-on status detection signal, and a low-speed control signal are provided between the BMC management board and the network switch board, and the heartbeat signal, the in-place and power-on status detection signal, and the low-speed control signal are used to perform remote fault recovery on the BMC management board when a non-hardware failure fault occurs to the BMC management board.

[0008] Further, the heartbeat signal is a PWM waveform with a fixed frequency; the processor of the BMC management board outputs a first heartbeat signal, the processor of the network switch board receives the first heartbeat signal, and the first heartbeat signal is the heartbeat signal of the BMC management board; the processor of the network switch board outputs a second heartbeat signal, the processor of the BMC management board receives the second heartbeat signal, and the second heartbeat signal is the heartbeat signal of the network switch board;

[0009] If the first heartbeat signal received by the network switch board is interrupted for a set time, the network switch board determines that the BMC management board has failed, and the network switch board takes fault recovery measures for the BMC management board, wherein the failure is a freeze or an operating system abnormality.

[0010] Furthermore, the I2C bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to obtain each other's current, voltage, temperature, and FRU information. The UART bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to obtain each other's processor system debug information and system software and hardware operation information, and can enter serial port commands to perform hardware debugging and control. The Ethernet bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to exchange data with each other, and to transmit control management data with each other through the network.

[0011] Further, the in-place and power-on status detection signals include an in-place signal and a power-on detection signal, the in-place signal is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to detect whether the other party's board is physically installed in the server chassis, and the power-on status detection signal is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to detect whether the other party is in a working state;

[0012] When the BMC management board is in an abnormal state, the server operation and maintenance personnel remotely log in to the network switch board through the network of the network switch board, and then perform fault analysis / debugging and online fault recovery on the BMC management board through the UART bus and I2C bus.

[0013] Furthermore, the low-speed control signal includes a reset signal and a power-on and power-off control signal.

[0014] Furthermore, when the server operation and maintenance personnel are unable to perform online fault recovery of the BMC management board through the presence and power-on status detection signals, the BMC management board is restarted through the reset signal, or the BMC management board is controlled to be powered off and then powered on to restore its working status; if the BMC management board operating system starts abnormally, the operating system of the BMC management board is reinstalled / upgraded through the UART bus or Ethernet bus to restore the BMC management board to normal working status.

[0015] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0016] The present invention provides a mutual keep-alive system between a BMC management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server. When a non-hardware failure occurs to the BMC management board (such as a freeze, software failure such as operating system damage), server operation and maintenance personnel do not need to go to the equipment site for operation and maintenance. The BMC management board can be analyzed online and remotely recovered through the server's network switch board, which greatly improves the availability of the server, greatly reduces the operation and maintenance cost of the server, and improves the timeliness of server operation and maintenance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 The present invention is a schematic diagram of the structure of the mutual keep-alive system of the BMC management board and the network switch board based on the ARM array server.

[0018] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the transmission of heartbeat signals between the BMC management board and the network switch board in the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of transmitting in-place and power-on status detection signals between the BMC management board and the network switch board in the present invention.

[0020] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of transmitting low-speed control signals between the BMC management board and the network switch board in the present invention.

[0021] The realization of the purpose, functional features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] It should be noted that all directional indications in the embodiments of the present invention (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) are only used to explain the relative position relationship, movement status, etc. between the components under a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indication will also change accordingly.

[0024] In addition, the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. in the present invention are only used for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but they must be based on the ability of ordinary technicians in the field to implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be deemed that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present invention.

[0025] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0026] In the common ARM array servers currently on the market, the BMC management board is the only management component of the entire server. The BMC management board is used to manage the various hardware unit modules in the server (such as multiple business boards, network switch boards, cooling unit modules, power modules, etc.), and no hardware unit module can control and manage the BMC management board. Therefore, once it fails (such as freezing, operating system abnormality), there is no other solution to remotely recover from the failure (such as resetting and restarting, powering on and off again, reinstalling the operating system, etc.), and it can only be operated and maintained on site. Because the network switch boards of common ARM array servers are all implemented by mid-to-high-end network switch chips and their peripherals, and the network switch chips that cooperate with the network switching function will have a built-in or external CPU processor, so the control and management functions of the BMC management board can be realized through the CPU processor. The patent of this invention proposes a system for the BMC management board and the network switch board to keep each other alive and manage each other, which is used to solve the above technical pain points.

[0027] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a mutual keep-alive system of a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server, comprising a BMC management board, a network switch board, a heat dissipation unit, a power module and multiple groups of business boards, wherein the BMC management board is respectively connected to the network switch board, the heat dissipation unit, the power module and the multiple groups of business boards, and the network switch board is also connected to the multiple groups of business boards;

[0028] The BMC management board and the network switch board are connected via a control bus, and the control bus includes an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit, communication protocol) bus, a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver / Transmitter, asynchronous serial communication protocol) bus, an Ethernet bus, a USB, and a GPIO (General Purpose Input Output, general input and output interface);

[0029] The present invention adds three signals between the BMC management board and the network switch board to ensure that the BMC management board can be remotely restored when a non-hardware failure occurs. There are heartbeat signals, in-position and power-on status detection signals, and low-speed control signals between the BMC management board and the network switch board. The heartbeat signals, in-position and power-on status detection signals, and low-speed control signals are used to remotely restore the BMC management board when a non-hardware failure occurs.

[0030] like Figure 2 As shown, the first signal is a heartbeat signal: the heartbeat signal is a PWM (PulseWidth Modulation) waveform with a fixed frequency; the heartbeat signal between the BMC management board and the network switch board, the processor of the BMC management board outputs a first heartbeat signal (the heartbeat signal of the BMC management board is a PWM waveform with a fixed frequency), the processor of the network switch board receives the first heartbeat signal, and the first heartbeat signal is the heartbeat signal of the BMC management board; the processor of the network switch board outputs a second heartbeat signal (the heartbeat signal of the network switch board is a PWM waveform with a fixed frequency), the processor of the BMC management board receives the second heartbeat signal, and the second heartbeat signal is the heartbeat signal of the network switch board;

[0031] When the first heartbeat signal received by the network switch board is interrupted for a set time, the network switch board determines that the BMC management board has a fault (freeze, operating system abnormality, etc.), and the network switch board takes fault recovery measures for the BMC management board, wherein the fault is freeze, operating system abnormality.

[0032] like Figure 3As shown, the second signal is a detection signal of the in-position and power-on status: a management control bus between the BMC management board and the network switch board, such as an I2C bus, a UART bus, an Ethernet bus, etc., wherein the I2C bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to mutually obtain each other's current, voltage, temperature, FRU information, etc., the UART bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to mutually obtain each other's processor system debug information and system software and hardware operation information, and can enter serial port commands to perform hardware debugging and control, the Ethernet bus is used as a high-speed bus for the BMC management board and the network switch board to perform data volume (large data volume) transmission interaction with each other, such as online system installation / upgrade, application software upgrade, etc., and can also perform control management data transmission with each other through the network;

[0033] The in-place and power-on status detection signals include an in-place signal and a power-on detection signal. The in-place signal is used between the BMC management board and the network switch board to detect whether the other party's board is physically installed in the server chassis. The power-on status detection signal is used between the BMC management board and the network switch board to detect whether the other party is in a working state. These two signals are prerequisites for the above-mentioned three types of buses to be put into operation. The control and management of the network switch board by the BMC management board is a routine operation of a general server and will not be repeated here.

[0034] When the BMC management board is in an abnormal state (such as freezing, i.e., the heartbeat signal is lost), the server operation and maintenance personnel remotely log in to the network switch board through the network of the network switch board, and then perform fault analysis / debugging and online fault recovery on the BMC management board through the UART bus and I2C bus.

[0035] like Figure 4 As shown, the third signal is a low-speed control signal: a low-speed control signal between the BMC management board and the network switch board, and the low-speed control signal includes a reset signal and a power-on and power-off control signal. The control and management of the network switch board by the BMC management board is a routine operation of a general server and will not be repeated here. When the server operation and maintenance personnel are unable to perform online fault recovery on the BMC management board through the in-place and power-on status detection signals, the BMC management board is restarted through the reset signal, or the BMC management board is controlled to be powered off and then powered on to restore its working status; if the BMC management board operating system starts abnormally, the operating system of the BMC management board is reinstalled / upgraded through the UART bus or Ethernet bus to restore the BMC management board to normal working status.

[0036] The present invention provides a mutual keep-alive system between a BMC management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server. When a non-hardware failure occurs to the BMC management board (such as a freeze, software failure such as operating system damage), server operation and maintenance personnel do not need to go to the equipment site for operation and maintenance. The BMC management board can be analyzed online and remotely recovered through the server's network switch board, which greatly improves the availability of the server, greatly reduces the operation and maintenance cost of the server, and improves the timeliness of server operation and maintenance.

[0037] It should be noted that, in this article, the terms "include", "comprises" or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, device, article or method including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, device, article or method. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "includes a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, device, article or method including the element.

[0038] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and does not limit the patent scope of the present invention. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, are also included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A mutual keep-alive system between a BMC management board and a network switch board based on an ARM array server, characterized in that: It includes a BMC management board, a network switch board, a heat dissipation unit, a power module and multiple groups of business boards, wherein the BMC management board is respectively connected to the network switch board, the heat dissipation unit, the power module and multiple groups of business boards, and the network switch board is also connected to multiple groups of business boards; The BMC management board and the network switch board are connected via a control bus, and the control bus includes an I2C bus, a UART bus, and an Ethernet bus; a heartbeat signal, an in-position and power-on status detection signal, and a low-speed control signal are provided between the BMC management board and the network switch board, and the heartbeat signal, the in-position and power-on status detection signal, and the low-speed control signal are used to remotely recover the BMC management board when a non-hardware failure occurs to the BMC management board; The I2C bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to obtain each other's current, voltage, temperature, and FRU information. The UART bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to obtain each other's processor system debug information and system software and hardware operation information, and can enter serial port commands to perform hardware debugging and control. The Ethernet bus is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to exchange data with each other, and to transmit control management data with each other through the network; The in-place and power-on status detection signals include an in-place signal and a power-on detection signal. The in-place signal is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to detect whether the other party's board is physically installed in the server chassis. The power-on status detection signal is used for the BMC management board and the network switch board to detect whether the other party is in a working state. When the BMC management board is in an abnormal state, the server operation and maintenance personnel remotely log in to the network switch board through the network of the network switch board, and then perform fault analysis / debugging and online fault recovery on the BMC management board through the UART bus and I2C bus.

2. The mutual keep-alive system between the BMC management board and the network switch board based on the ARM array server according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The heartbeat signal is a PWM waveform with a fixed frequency; the processor of the BMC management board outputs a first heartbeat signal, and the processor of the network switch board receives the first heartbeat signal, and the first heartbeat signal is the heartbeat signal of the BMC management board; The processor of the network switch board outputs a second heartbeat signal, and the processor of the BMC management board receives the second heartbeat signal, where the second heartbeat signal is the heartbeat signal of the network switch board; If the first heartbeat signal received by the network switch board is interrupted for a set time, the network switch board determines that the BMC management board has failed, and the network switch board takes fault recovery measures for the BMC management board, wherein the failure is a freeze or an operating system abnormality.

3. The mutual keep-alive system between the BMC management board and the network switch board based on the ARM array server according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The low-speed control signal includes a reset signal and a power-on and power-off control signal.

4. The mutual keep-alive system between the BMC management board and the network switch board based on the ARM array server according to claim 3 is characterized in that: When the server operation and maintenance personnel are unable to perform online fault recovery of the BMC management board through the presence and power-on status detection signals, the BMC management board is restarted through the reset signal, or the BMC management board is controlled to be powered off and then powered on to restore its working status; if the BMC management board operating system is abnormally started, the operating system of the BMC management board is reinstalled / upgraded through the UART bus or Ethernet bus to restore the BMC management board to normal working status.

Images