Server enterprise hard disk slot function testing device and method

Abstract

The application relates to the field of server function testing, and particularly discloses a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device and method, which comprises a board card, a plurality of ordinary hard disk interfaces, a microcontroller and a communication module; the microcontroller and the communication module are connected with the enterprise-level hard disk interfaces; during testing, the enterprise-level hard disk interfaces are connected to a server, and one corresponding mode ordinary hard disk is connected to each ordinary hard disk interface; the microcontroller communicates with the server through the communication module, controls the enterprise-level hard disk interface to select the corresponding ordinary hard disk interface according to a server command, and enables the server to perform enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing on the corresponding mode hard disk. The application uses ordinary hard disks to replace enterprise-level hard disks to perform enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing, greatly reduces the testing cost, controls the mode selection through the microcontroller, does not need manual plugging and replacing, improves the testing efficiency, prolongs the service life of the hard disk, and further reduces the testing cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of server functional testing, and specifically to a server enterprise-level hard disk slot functional testing device and method. Background Technology

[0002] When testing server boards, it's necessary to check whether the hard drive bays meet design requirements. Currently, enterprise-grade hard drives are mainly divided into NVMe and SATA drives. Enterprise-grade hard drives are generally expensive, while the demand for them in server testing environments is extremely high. Furthermore, the testing environment requires frequent plugging and unplugging, significantly shortening the lifespan of the hard drives and greatly increasing testing costs. Simultaneously, server testing needs to test the performance of both SATA and NVMe hard drives. Previously, testing the functionality of hard drive bays required manual replacement of SATA and NVMe hard drives, resulting in wasted testing time. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention provides a server enterprise-level hard drive slot function testing device and method. The device utilizes a board for interface conversion and is controlled by a microcontroller. It enables the use of ordinary hard drives instead of enterprise-level hard drives for testing enterprise-level hard drive slot functions, significantly reducing testing costs. Furthermore, it supports the insertion of hard drives in multiple modes, with the microcontroller controlling mode selection, eliminating the need for manual insertion and replacement, thus improving testing efficiency, extending hard drive lifespan, and further reducing testing costs.

[0004] In a first aspect, the technical solution of the present invention provides a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device, including a board, on which an enterprise-level hard disk interface, multiple ordinary hard disk interfaces, a communication module and a microcontroller are provided; one of the ordinary hard disk interfaces corresponds to one hard disk mode. Multiple standard hard drive interfaces and a microcontroller are connected to the enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces, and the communication module is connected to the microcontroller. During testing, the enterprise-grade hard drive interface is plugged into the server, and each ordinary hard drive interface is plugged into one ordinary hard drive of the corresponding mode. The microcontroller communicates with the server through the communication module and controls the enterprise-grade hard drive interface to select the corresponding ordinary hard drive interface according to the server's commands, so that the server can perform enterprise-grade hard drive slot function tests on the hard drives of the corresponding modes.

[0005] Furthermore, the board is also equipped with a sensor module, which is connected to the microcontroller to detect the board's dynamic status information; when the server BMC test slot transmits and receives hard drive dynamic status information, the microcontroller sends the information detected by the sensor module to the server BMC. The board's dynamic status information includes board temperature and board power consumption.

[0006] Furthermore, the microcontroller contains hard drive static information; when the server BMC test slot transmits and receives hard drive static information, the microcontroller sends the recorded hard drive static information to the server BMC.

[0007] The static information of the hard disk includes FRU information and hard disk attribute information.

[0008] Furthermore, the board is also equipped with a load module to increase the board's power consumption.

[0009] Furthermore, the communication module is a wireless communication module.

[0010] Furthermore, the board also has an ID setting module, which connects to the microcontroller and is used to set the board's unique ID.

[0011] Furthermore, the board is also equipped with a power module to provide power to the board.

[0012] Furthermore, enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces are U.2 hard drive interfaces, while ordinary hard drive interfaces include SATA and NVMe interfaces.

[0013] Secondly, the technical solution of the present invention provides a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method, including the following steps: Receive strobe commands sent by the server; Parse the gating command and, based on the hard drive mode contained in the gating command, control the enterprise-level hard drive interface to select the corresponding ordinary-level hard drive interface. The server performs enterprise-level hard drive slot functionality tests on the corresponding hard drive modes.

[0014] Furthermore, the method specifically includes: The server communicates with ordinary hard drives through enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces and selected ordinary hard drive interfaces to perform hard drive read / write, bandwidth, and speed performance tests. The server BMC performs functional testing, including: Real-time detection of whether BMC commands are received from the server; If not received, continue checking; If received, determine the type of the server BMC command; If the server BMC command is to retrieve disk static information, then the recorded disk static information will be sent to the server BMC. If the server BMC command is to obtain the dynamic status information of the hard drive, then the dynamic status information of the board detected by the sensor module will be sent to the server BMC.

[0015] This invention provides a server enterprise-level hard drive slot function testing device and method, which, compared to existing technologies, has the following advantages: An enterprise-level hard drive interface and a regular hard drive interface are set on the board. The enterprise-level hard drive interface is converted to the regular hard drive interface, allowing a regular hard drive to replace the enterprise-level hard drive for testing. The mode selection is handled by a microcontroller, eliminating the need for manual operation and improving testing efficiency. This invention uses a board to implement interface conversion and a microcontroller for control, enabling a regular hard drive to replace the enterprise-level hard drive for testing enterprise-level hard drive slot functions. This significantly reduces testing costs and simultaneously supports the insertion of hard drives in multiple modes. The microcontroller controls the mode selection, eliminating the need for manual insertion and replacement, improving testing efficiency, extending hard drive lifespan, and further reducing testing costs. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection relationship between the board and the server in a specific embodiment of the device of Embodiment 1 of the present invention during testing.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device provided in Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the connection relationship between the board and the server in a specific embodiment of the device of Embodiment 2 of the present invention during testing.

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the board structure of a specific embodiment of the device of Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method provided in Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow principle of a specific embodiment of the method in Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are merely some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0026] Example 1 Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device provided in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 1 As shown, the device includes a board with an enterprise-grade hard disk interface, multiple ordinary hard disk interfaces, a communication module, and a microcontroller.

[0027] One ordinary hard drive interface corresponds to one hard drive mode. Each ordinary hard drive interface is connected to one ordinary hard drive of the corresponding mode, realizing the switching of hard drives in different modes.

[0028] Multiple standard hard drive interfaces and a microcontroller are connected to the enterprise-level hard drive interfaces, and a communication module is connected to the microcontroller. During testing, the enterprise-level hard drive interfaces are plugged into the server, and each standard hard drive interface is connected to a standard hard drive of the corresponding mode. The microcontroller communicates with the server through the communication module, and controls the enterprise-level hard drive interfaces to select the corresponding standard hard drive interfaces according to the server's commands, enabling the server to perform enterprise-level hard drive slot function tests on the corresponding hard drives.

[0029] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the board and the server in a specific embodiment during testing. It can be understood that the enterprise-grade hard drive interface is connected to the server's enterprise-grade hard drive interface, and the server sends commands to the microcontroller on the board via a communication module. For ease of testing, in this specific embodiment, data transmission between the server and the microcontroller is conducted wirelessly. That is, a wireless communication module is installed on the board and connected to the microcontroller, supporting communication with the server. Correspondingly, a wireless transmitter can be connected to the server, for example, to the server's USB port. The server transmits commands to the wireless transmitter via the USB port, and the wireless communication module on the board receives the commands and transmits them to the microcontroller.

[0030] After receiving the command from the server, the microcontroller parses it to determine the hard drive mode required for this test, and then transmits the hard drive mode to the enterprise-level hard drive interface, which selects the corresponding ordinary hard drive interface for the hard drive mode.

[0031] It should be noted that the circuitry of the enterprise-grade hard drive interface includes circuits corresponding to each hard drive mode, and the appropriate circuit is selected based on instructions from the microcontroller. For example, in some specific embodiments, the enterprise-grade hard drive interface is a U.2 hard drive interface, while ordinary hard drive interfaces include SATA and NVMe interfaces. The U.2 hard drive interface includes circuitry for communication with the SATA interface and circuitry for communication with the NVMe interface. The microcontroller sends high and low level instructions to the U.2 hard drive interface; a high level selects the SATA interface for testing the SATA mode hard drive, while a low level selects the NVMe interface for testing the NVMe mode hard drive.

[0032] After the enterprise-level hard drive interface selects a regular hard drive interface, a pathway is established between the server, the enterprise-level hard drive interface, the regular hard drive interface, and the connected regular hard drive. Data transmission between the server and the regular hard drive enables testing of the enterprise-level hard drive slot function, including sending data to the hard drive for tests such as hard drive read / write, bandwidth, and speed.

[0033] The server enterprise-level hard drive slot function testing device provided in this invention has an enterprise-level hard drive interface and a regular hard drive interface on the board. The device connects to the regular hard drive interface via the enterprise-level interface, allowing a regular hard drive to replace the enterprise-level hard drive for testing. The mode selection is handled by a microcontroller, eliminating the need for manual operation and improving testing efficiency. This invention uses a board to implement interface conversion and a microcontroller for control, enabling a regular hard drive to replace the enterprise-level hard drive for testing enterprise-level hard drive slot functions. This significantly reduces testing costs and simultaneously supports the insertion of hard drives in multiple modes. The microcontroller selects the mode, eliminating the need for manual insertion and removal, improving testing efficiency, extending hard drive lifespan, and further reducing testing costs.

[0034] Example 2 Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device provided in an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the device includes a board with an enterprise-grade hard disk interface, multiple ordinary hard disk interfaces, a sensor module, a communication module, and a microcontroller.

[0035] One standard hard drive interface corresponds to one hard drive mode, and each standard hard drive interface can be plugged into one standard hard drive of the corresponding mode to achieve switching between different hard drive modes. Multiple standard hard drive interfaces and the microcontroller are connected to the enterprise-level hard drive interface, and the sensor module and communication module are connected to the microcontroller.

[0036] For enterprise-level hard drive interface designs, testing involves many tests that differ from those for consumer applications, such as BMC access to hard drive information and the operation of various LEDs on the server backplane. BMC access to hard drive information includes obtaining dynamic status information of the hard drive, including hard drive temperature and power consumption. This embodiment uses a regular hard drive instead of an enterprise-level hard drive. To support testing of the BMC's hard drive information access function, this embodiment includes a sensor module on the board. This sensor module collects the board's dynamic status information, including board temperature and power consumption, and uses this board dynamic status information to feed back to the server's BMC, replacing the hard drive dynamic status information.

[0037] During testing, enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces are plugged into the server, and each regular hard drive interface is connected to a corresponding regular hard drive. The microcontroller communicates with the server via a communication module, controlling the enterprise-grade hard drive interface to select the appropriate regular hard drive interface according to server commands, enabling the server to perform enterprise-grade hard drive slot function tests on the corresponding hard drive mode. Simultaneously, in the selected hard drive mode, the server's BMC sends commands to the enterprise-grade hard drive interface to access hard drive information, thus enabling the server BMC to test the hard drive slot's transmission and reception of hard drive information. When the server BMC tests the hard drive's dynamic status information, the microcontroller sends the information detected by the sensor module to the server BMC.

[0038] The server BMC tests the slot's ability to send and receive hard drive information. Besides acquiring dynamic hard drive status information, it also tests the acquisition of static hard drive information, including FRU information and hard drive attribute information. In this embodiment, to support the server BMC's acquisition of static hard drive information, the static hard drive information is pre-programmed into the microcontroller. When the server BMC tests the slot's ability to send and receive static hard drive information, the microcontroller sends the recorded static hard drive information to the server BMC. Of course, if the slot's function for acquiring static hard drive information is normal, the server BMC will receive the static hard drive information sent by the microcontroller; otherwise, it will not. The same principle applies to the server BMC acquiring dynamic hard drive status information.

[0039] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the connection between the board and the server in a specific embodiment during testing. It can be understood that the enterprise-grade hard drive interface is connected to the server's enterprise-grade hard drive interface, and the server sends commands to the microcontroller on the board via a communication module. For ease of testing, in this specific embodiment, data transmission between the server and the microcontroller is conducted wirelessly. That is, a wireless communication module is installed on the board and connected to the microcontroller, supporting communication with the server. Correspondingly, a wireless transmitter can be connected to the server, for example, to the server's USB port. The server transmits commands to the wireless transmitter via the USB port, and the wireless communication module on the board receives the commands and transmits them to the microcontroller.

[0040] After receiving the command from the server, the microcontroller parses it to determine the hard drive mode required for this test, and then transmits the hard drive mode to the enterprise-level hard drive interface, which selects the corresponding ordinary hard drive interface for the hard drive mode.

[0041] After the enterprise-level hard drive interface selects a regular hard drive interface, a pathway is established between the server, the enterprise-level hard drive interface, the regular hard drive interface, and the connected regular hard drive. Data transmission between the server and the regular hard drive enables testing of the enterprise-level hard drive slot function, including sending data to the hard drive for hard drive read / write, bandwidth, and speed tests, as well as testing the server's BMC slot function.

[0042] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment based on the above embodiments. A load module is added to the board to increase its power consumption. Because a standard hard drive is used instead of an enterprise-grade hard drive, and standard hard drives consume less power than enterprise-grade hard drives, a load module is added to the board to increase its power consumption and give it load parameters similar to those of an enterprise-grade hard drive, thus improving the effectiveness of the test interface performance. The microcontroller can dynamically adjust the power consumption of the load module based on information collected by the sensor module, achieving different load variations and better testing of the server hard drive interface performance.

[0043] In addition, the board also features an ID setting module that connects to the microcontroller. This module is used to set a unique ID for the board, enabling batch or individual control of board actions, suitable for server testing scenarios. The board also includes a power module to provide power to the board.

[0044] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a board structure according to a specific embodiment. In this embodiment, the board is equipped with a U.2 hard drive interface, a SATA interface, a VNME interface, a microcontroller, a sensor module, a load module, a wireless communication module, an ID setting module, and a power supply module. The SATA interface, VNME interface, and microcontroller are connected to the U.2 hard drive interface, the sensor module, load module, wireless communication module, and ID setting module are connected to the microcontroller, and the power supply module supplies power to the board.

[0045] During testing, the board of this specific embodiment is connected to the server. It should be noted that multiple boards can be connected to the server simultaneously. The server is equipped with multiple enterprise-grade hard disk interfaces that are connected to the U.2 hard disk interfaces of each board. The wireless communication device connected to the USB interface of the server communicates wirelessly with each board to achieve batch testing.

[0046] Example 3 The foregoing has described in detail an embodiment of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device. Based on the server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device described in the above embodiment, the present invention also provides a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method corresponding to the device.

[0047] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method provided by an embodiment of the present invention, as shown below. Figure 7 As shown, the method includes the following steps.

[0048] S1 receives the strobe command sent by the server.

[0049] S2 parses the strobe command and, based on the hard disk mode contained in the strobe command, controls the enterprise-level hard disk interface to select the corresponding ordinary-level hard disk interface.

[0050] S3, the server performs enterprise-level hard drive slot function tests on the hard drives of the corresponding mode.

[0051] After the board is connected, the hard drive function and the microcontroller function are independent of each other. Testing the enterprise-level hard drive slot function includes two aspects: one is the server testing the hard drive's read speed, bandwidth, and other functions; the other is the server BMC performing special function tests, including the server BMC reading relevant information from the hard drive. The microcontroller continuously monitors whether the server BMC sends commands. If the microcontroller detects a command from the server BMC, it parses the command type. If access to static hard drive information is required, the microcontroller directly sends the pre-recorded static hard drive information to the server BMC. If access to dynamic hard drive status information is required, the microcontroller obtains information collected by the sensor module and sends it to the server BMC.

[0052] Specifically, step S3 includes the following processes: 1) The server communicates with ordinary hard drives through enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces and selected ordinary hard drive interfaces to perform hard drive read / write, bandwidth, and speed performance tests. 2) The server BMC performs functional testing, including: Real-time detection of whether BMC commands are received from the server; If not received, continue checking; If received, determine the type of the server BMC command; If the server BMC command is to retrieve disk static information, then the recorded disk static information will be sent to the server BMC. If the server BMC command is to obtain the dynamic status information of the hard drive, then the dynamic status information of the board detected by the sensor module will be sent to the server BMC.

[0053] It should be noted that if the server BMC's access to the hard drive slots is functioning correctly, the server BMC will receive the information sent by the microcontroller. If the server BMC's access to the hard drive slots is malfunctioning, the server BMC will not receive the information sent by the microcontroller. The microcontroller and the server BMC interact through an enterprise-grade hard drive interface. The microcontroller integrates the information that needs to be sent to the server BMC into a format that conforms to the corresponding rules before transmitting it to the server BMC.

[0054] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of a specific embodiment. The hard drive modes include NVMe and SATA. The server switches to NVMe mode via a USB control board. Testing is performed in this mode, including server-side testing of NVMe hard drive read / write speeds, bandwidth, and data rate, as well as testing of LED indicators, hard drive information, and temperature load supported by the server's BMC in NVMe mode. The server then switches to SATA mode via USB control board for further testing. After testing, the server switches back to NVMe mode via USB control board. The LED test refers to the server assigning an indicator light to each hard drive mode. In each hard drive mode, the server's BMC reads the hard drive mode and instructs the server to illuminate the corresponding indicator light, checking whether the indicator light illuminates correctly.

[0055] The server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method of this embodiment is implemented based on the aforementioned server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device. Therefore, the specific implementation method can be found in the embodiment section of the server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device mentioned above. Thus, the specific implementation method can be referred to the description of the corresponding embodiments, and will not be elaborated here.

[0056] Furthermore, since the server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method of this embodiment is based on the aforementioned server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device, its function corresponds to the function of the aforementioned device, and will not be described again here.

[0057] The above-disclosed embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Any non-creative variations that can be conceived by those skilled in the art, as well as any improvements and modifications made without departing from the principles of the present invention, should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device, characterized in that, The board includes an enterprise-grade hard drive interface, multiple standard hard drive interfaces, a communication module, and a microcontroller; each standard hard drive interface corresponds to one hard drive mode. Multiple standard hard drive interfaces and a microcontroller are connected to the enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces, and the communication module is connected to the microcontroller. During testing, the enterprise-grade hard drive interface is plugged into the server, and each ordinary hard drive interface is connected to one ordinary hard drive of the corresponding mode. The microcontroller communicates with the server through the communication module, and controls the enterprise-grade hard drive interface to select the corresponding ordinary hard drive interface according to the server's commands, so that the server can perform enterprise-grade hard drive slot function tests on the hard drives of the corresponding modes. The board is also equipped with a sensor module, which is connected to the microcontroller to detect the board's dynamic status information. When the server BMC test slot transmits and receives hard drive dynamic status information, the microcontroller sends the information detected by the sensor module to the server BMC. The board's dynamic status information includes board temperature and board power consumption; The microcontroller contains hard drive static information; when the server BMC test slot transmits or receives hard drive static information, the microcontroller sends the recorded hard drive static information to the server BMC. Among them, the static information of the hard disk includes FRU information and hard disk attribute information; The board also has a load module to increase the board's power consumption; the microcontroller dynamically adjusts the power consumption of the load module based on the dynamic status information of the board detected by the sensor module. Enterprise-grade hard drives use the U.2 interface, while standard hard drive interfaces include SATA and NVMe.

2. The server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The communication module is a wireless communication module.

3. The server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The board also has an ID setting module, which connects to the microcontroller and is used to set the board's unique ID.

4. The server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The board also has a power module to provide power to the board.

5. A method for testing the functionality of server enterprise-level hard disk slots, characterized in that, This method is implemented based on the apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4; the method includes the following steps: Receive strobe commands sent by the server; Parse the gating command and, based on the hard drive mode contained in the gating command, control the enterprise-level hard drive interface to select the corresponding ordinary-level hard drive interface. The server performs enterprise-level hard drive slot functionality tests on the corresponding hard drive modes.

6. The server enterprise-level hard disk slot function testing method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method specifically includes: The server communicates with ordinary hard drives through enterprise-grade hard drive interfaces and selected ordinary hard drive interfaces to perform hard drive read / write, bandwidth, and speed performance tests. The server BMC performs functional testing, including: Real-time detection of whether BMC commands are received from the server; If not received, continue checking; If received, determine the type of the server BMC command; If the server BMC command is to retrieve disk static information, then the recorded disk static information will be sent to the server BMC. If the server BMC command is to obtain the dynamic status information of the hard drive, then the dynamic status information of the board detected by the sensor module will be sent to the server BMC.

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