Server expansion module, server, configuration method, device and medium

Abstract

The present invention provides a server expansion module, a server, a configuration method, a device and a medium, and relates to the technical field of servers, including an expansion adapter board and an expansion board group, wherein: an upstream connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board is connected to a server mainboard, a downstream connector of the expansion adapter board is connected to the expansion board group, and the expansion adapter board is used to determine a target upstream connector according to a preset connection relationship between an interface type of the upstream connector and a hardware type of a hardware device connected to the expansion board group, and based on the target upstream connector, a communication signal generated by the server mainboard is sent to the expansion board group; the expansion board group is composed of a plurality of boards of different functional types, each board is used to connect hardware devices of different hardware types, and sends the received communication signal to the corresponding connected hardware device. The present invention makes the board configuration more flexible and diverse.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of servers, and in particular to a server expansion module, a server, a configuration method, a device and a medium. Background Art

[0002] The server backplane and riser card are important components of the server hardware architecture. The backplane meets the server's demand for high-capacity storage by providing additional hard disk slots, while the riser card improves the server's expansion capability and overall performance by optimizing the use of PCI slots and improving heat dissipation conditions.

[0003] With the acceleration of technology upgrades, different generations of server hardware often have different requirements for the design of backplanes and riser cards. In order to adapt to diverse customer needs, manufacturers need to invest a lot of resources in customized design, which prolongs the product launch cycle and increases the uncertainty of market response. Secondly, the specifications and interface standards of backplanes and riser cards may differ between servers of different brands and models, which brings inconvenience to users when upgrading or replacing hardware, and may even cause compatibility issues, affecting the overall stability of the system.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a server expansion module, server, configuration method, device and medium to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a server expansion module, a server, a configuration method, a device and a medium.

[0006] The present invention provides a server expansion module, comprising an expansion adapter board and an expansion board group, wherein:

[0007] The upstream connectors of each interface type in the expansion adapter board are connected to the server mainboard, and the downstream connector of the expansion adapter board is connected to the expansion board group. The expansion adapter board is used to determine the target upstream connector according to the preset connection relationship between the interface type of the upstream connector and the hardware type of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group, and send the communication signal generated by the server mainboard to the expansion board group based on the target upstream connector;

[0008] The expansion board group is composed of a plurality of boards of different functional types, each of which is used to connect to the hardware devices of different hardware types and send the received communication signal to the corresponding connected hardware device.

[0009] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the board at least includes a serial hard disk interface board, a non-volatile memory host controller interface specification board and a slot expansion board, wherein the board is connected to the downstream connector through a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector in the expansion board group.

[0010] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the upstream connector includes a high-speed data transmission upstream connector, a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector and an integrated circuit bus upstream connector, wherein:

[0011] The high-speed data transmission upstream connector is connected to the high-speed data transmission connector in the server mainboard, and is used to send the serial general input and output signals obtained from the disk array card of the server mainboard to the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board, and send the serial hard disk signals obtained from the disk array card of the server mainboard to the downstream connector;

[0012] The high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector is connected to the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector in the server mainboard, and is used to send the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard signal obtained from the programmable logic device and the central processing unit of the server mainboard to the downstream connector, and send the sideband signal generated in the signal modulation process to the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board;

[0013] The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is interconnected with the baseboard management controller on the server mainboard through the integrated circuit bus connector in the server mainboard, so that the baseboard management controller can obtain device information corresponding to the connected hardware device through the expansion adapter board.

[0014] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the expansion adapter board further includes an integrated circuit bus converter, a temperature sensor and a field replaceable unit, wherein:

[0015] The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is further used to send device information corresponding to the connected hardware device to the baseboard management controller through the integrated circuit bus converter;

[0016] The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is also used to send the temperature information collected by the temperature sensor, the programmable logic device information of the expansion adapter board, and the status information of the field replaceable unit to the baseboard management controller through the integrated circuit bus converter.

[0017] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, there are multiple high-speed data transmission upstream connectors and high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connectors, wherein each of the high-speed data transmission upstream connectors and the corresponding high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connectors are constructed as a high-speed upstream connector group.

[0018] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the downstream connectors are multiple high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connectors, and the number of the multiple high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connectors corresponds to the number of the high-speed upstream connector group.

[0019] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board is also used to send the lighting signal to the corresponding connected board through the downstream connector.

[0020] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the expansion adapter board also includes a joint test workgroup interface, and the joint test workgroup interface is used to upgrade the firmware file of the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board.

[0021] According to a server expansion module provided by the present invention, the upstream connector also includes a power upstream connector, and the power upstream connector is used to obtain a power supply voltage from the server mainboard, so as to convert the power supply voltage into a target voltage corresponding to the connected hardware device through a variable resistor.

[0022] The present invention also provides a server, which includes a server mainboard and the server expansion module.

[0023] The present invention also provides a server configuration method based on the above server expansion module, comprising:

[0024] Determine a target upstream connector in the expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to the hardware device connected to the expansion board group, wherein the preset connection relationship is constructed based on a connection relationship between an interface type of an upstream connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board and a hardware type of a hardware device connected to the expansion board group;

[0025] The communication signal generated by the server mainboard is sent to the corresponding hardware device through the target upstream connector to establish communication between the server mainboard and the corresponding hardware device.

[0026] According to a server configuration method provided by the present invention, determining a target uplink connector in an expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to a hardware device connected to an expansion board group includes:

[0027] Determining the hardware type information of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group;

[0028] If the hardware device is obtained as a non-volatile memory host controller interface hard disk or expansion device according to the hardware type information, then an upstream connector of a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard interface is determined as the target upstream connector;

[0029] If the hardware device is obtained as a serial hard disk according to the hardware type information, then an upstream connector of a high-speed data transmission interface is determined as the target upstream connector.

[0030] According to a server configuration method provided by the present invention, the method further includes:

[0031] Receive first input information, wherein the first input information includes operation information for adjusting the number of boards in the expansion board group;

[0032] In response to the first input information, after determining that the number of boards in the expansion board group has been adjusted, the firmware file of the programmable logic device of the expansion adapter board is upgraded based on the configuration function requirement information of the adjusted boards in the expansion board group.

[0033] The present invention also provides an electronic device, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the processor executes the program, any of the server configuration methods described above is implemented.

[0034] The present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the server configuration method described in any one of the above is implemented.

[0035] The server expansion module, server, configuration method, device and medium provided by the present invention form a server expansion module by expanding an adapter board and a subsequent expansion board group, which not only reduces the number of types of backplanes and riser cards, but also improves the reusability of boards between different platforms, making the board configuration more flexible and diverse. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are 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.

[0037] Figure 1A schematic diagram of the structure of the server expansion module provided by the present invention;

[0038] Figure 2 A schematic structural diagram of an expansion adapter board with multiple connectors provided by the present invention;

[0039] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the server mainboard and the expansion module provided by the present invention;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a server configuration method provided by the present invention;

[0041] Figure 5 This is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are 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.

[0043] With the continuous development of information technology, the configuration methods of server backplanes and riser cards are also being continuously optimized and upgraded. Different configuration requirements will also lead to differences in board design, and more manpower is needed to develop backplanes and riser cards with different requirements.

[0044] In the related art, there are two main types of backplane configurations: 1. Independent plug-in backplane configuration, in which multiple plug-ins are set on the mainboard, each backplane is connected to a plug-in on the mainboard, and the mainboard controller distinguishes the position of each backplane in the system according to the connection port, thereby accessing the corresponding backplane; 2. Cascade backplane configuration, in which only a few connection ports need to be reserved on the mainboard, and multiple backplanes are cascaded, that is, multiple backplanes are connected in series to a connection port on the mainboard in sequence, and the address of each backplane is configured using the Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), so that the mainboard can access the corresponding backplane by accessing different bus addresses. For riser cards, in the related art, factors such as riser card structure and installation, riser card support and slots need to be considered, and they should be designed and manufactured according to needs.

[0045] In the related art, for independent plug-in backplane configuration, this method requires the backplane to be redesigned after the demand changes, resulting in high development costs; for cascaded backplane configuration, when one of the multiple backplanes cannot be read by the mainboard, it is impossible to determine whether the cause of the problem is that the corresponding backplane address is not configured or the connection port on the mainboard does not match the backplane, and the root cause of the problem needs to be manually checked, resulting in low server stability. At the same time, in the server, due to the large number of riser cards used, it is necessary to continuously develop riser cards that meet the configuration under different usage requirements, which greatly occupies R&D manpower.

[0046] In view of the problems existing in the related technology, the present invention proposes a universal solution design for a server expansion module. The expansion module is mainly composed of an expansion adapter board and an expansion board group composed of various boards and cards, which can be assembled according to needs. It not only reduces the number of types of backplanes and riser cards, but also improves the reusability of boards and cards between different platforms, making the board configuration more flexible and diverse, and effectively reducing the required research and development effort.

[0047] Figure 1 The structural diagram of the server expansion module provided by the present invention is as follows: Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides a server expansion module, including an expansion adapter board 101 and an expansion board group 102, wherein:

[0048] The upstream connectors 1011 of each interface type in the expansion adapter board 101 are connected to the server mainboard 103, and the downstream connectors 1012 of the expansion adapter board 101 are connected to the expansion board group 102. The expansion adapter board 101 is used to determine the target upstream connector according to the preset connection relationship between the interface type of the upstream connector 1011 and the hardware type of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group 102, and based on the target upstream connector, send the communication signal generated by the server mainboard 103 to the expansion board group 102;

[0049] The expansion board group 102 is composed of a plurality of boards of different functional types, each of which is used to connect to the hardware devices of different hardware types and send the received communication signal to the corresponding connected hardware device.

[0050] In the present invention, the expansion adapter board 101 is one of the core components in the server expansion module, connecting the server mainboard 103 and the expansion board group 102. Its main task is to ensure that the communication signal generated by the server mainboard 103 can be accurately transmitted to each expansion board, thereby controlling or interacting with the hardware devices connected to these boards. The upstream connector 1011 is used to connect to the corresponding interface on the server mainboard 103. These interface types may include high-speed serial computer expansion bus standards (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, referred to as PCIE), Slimline standards and serial SCSI / serial ports (Serial Attached SCSI / Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, referred to as SAS / SATA) and other standards to support data transmission requirements of different types and speeds. Each upstream connector 1011 corresponds to a specific function or resource on the server mainboard 103.

[0051] The downstream connector 1012 is responsible for connecting to each board in the expansion board group 102. The downstream connector 1012 is matched according to the requirements and interface types of the boards to ensure that the signal can flow smoothly to the target board.

[0052] In the present invention, the PCIE signals and SAS / SATA signals on the expansion adapter board 101 can be transmitted to the corresponding SAS / SATA board, NVME board and SLOT board on the expansion board group 102 through the downstream connector 1012, thereby reducing the number of connectors to be used, saving space on the board, and the unused pins of the downstream connector can be effectively used, thereby improving the utilization rate of the connector pins.

[0053] The expansion adapter board 101 has a built-in complex programmable logic device (CPLD), which can determine and select a target upstream connector according to the corresponding relationship between different interface types on the server mainboard 103 and the hardware types of the hardware devices in the expansion board group 102. Then, the communication signal (such as control instructions, data stream, etc.) generated by the server mainboard 103 is forwarded to the corresponding downstream connector 1012 through the target upstream connector, and then transmitted to the corresponding expansion board.

[0054] In the present invention, the expansion board group 102 is a collection of multiple boards of different functional types, each of which is designed for a specific hardware type or application requirement. These boards include but are not limited to network interface cards, RAID controller cards, GPU accelerator cards, and storage expansion cards, etc., which are connected to the server motherboard 103 through the expansion adapter board 101, greatly expanding the functions and performance of the server.

[0055] In the present invention, each board is designed with an interface directly connected to the hardware device, such as an Ethernet port, a SAS / SATA interface, etc., so as to communicate with various external hardware devices (such as network switches, storage devices, displays, etc.). When the expansion adapter board 101 transmits the communication signal of the server motherboard 103 to the expansion board group 102, each board will receive these signals and convert them into instructions or data formats suitable for the hardware device to understand according to its own function, and finally realize the interaction with the hardware device.

[0056] The server expansion module provided by the present invention is composed of an expansion adapter board and a subsequent expansion board group, which not only reduces the number of types of backplanes and riser cards, but also improves the reusability of boards between different platforms, making the board configuration more flexible and diverse.

[0057] Based on the above embodiment, the board at least includes a serial hard disk interface board, a non-volatile memory host controller interface specification board and a slot expansion board, wherein the board is connected to the downstream connector through a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector in the expansion board group.

[0058] In the present invention, a serial hard disk interface board (such as a SAS / SATA interface board) is used as a hard disk interface standard to provide high-speed data transmission capabilities and support hot-swap functions, so that the server can access SAS / SATA hard disks, thereby expanding storage capacity and meeting the growing data storage needs. The non-volatile memory host controller interface specification board (NVMe board) can fully utilize the performance of non-volatile storage media through the PCIE bus, which can significantly reduce storage latency and increase data transmission speed.

[0059] A slot expansion board (SLOT) is a board used to expand computer functions. It provides additional slots or interfaces, allowing users to add various peripherals or functional modules according to their needs, such as graphics cards, sound cards, and network cards.

[0060] In the present invention, the boards (including SATA boards, NVMe boards and slot expansion boards) in the server expansion module are usually connected to the downstream connector in the expansion adapter board through a PCIE connector. This connection method utilizes the high bandwidth and low latency characteristics of the PCIE bus to ensure efficient transmission of data between the boards and the server motherboard. The present invention uses a PCIE connector for connection, which can not only improve the data transmission speed, but also increase the flexibility and scalability of the system; at the same time, different boards can be added or replaced as needed to meet different application requirements. In the present invention, the interface connectors corresponding to the non-volatile memory host controller interface specification board and the slot expansion board can communicate with the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector according to the type of access device and communication requirements, and select the PCIE protocol or the I2C protocol for communication.

[0061] On the basis of the above embodiments, the upstream connector includes a high-speed data transmission upstream connector, a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector and an integrated circuit bus upstream connector, wherein:

[0062] The high-speed data transmission upstream connector is connected to the high-speed data transmission connector in the server mainboard, and is used to send the serial general input and output signals obtained from the disk array card of the server mainboard to the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board, and send the serial hard disk signals obtained from the disk array card of the server mainboard to the downstream connector;

[0063] The high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector is connected to the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector in the server mainboard, and is used to send the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard signal obtained from the programmable logic device and the central processing unit of the server mainboard to the downstream connector, and send the sideband signal generated in the signal modulation process to the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board;

[0064] The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is interconnected with the baseboard management controller on the server mainboard through the integrated circuit bus connector in the server mainboard, so that the baseboard management controller can obtain device information corresponding to the connected hardware device through the expansion adapter board.

[0065] In the present invention, the expansion adapter board plays an important role in connecting the server mainboard with various hardware devices (such as disk array cards, expansion cards, etc.). The upstream connector on the expansion adapter board is responsible for efficiently and reliably connecting these hardware devices with the corresponding components on the server mainboard. These upstream connectors include high-speed data transmission upstream connectors, high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connectors and integrated circuit bus upstream connectors. Each connector has its specific functions and effects. Specifically, the high-speed data transmission upstream connector is mainly used to connect with the high-speed data transmission connector on the server mainboard, and is used to transmit the serial general purpose input and output (Serial General Purpose Input Output, referred to as SGPIO) signals and serial hard disk (such as SATA hard disk) signals from the server mainboard disk array card (RAID card). When the disk array card receives data or instructions from the hard disk, these data or instructions are first sent to the server mainboard in the form of serial general purpose input and output signals. The high-speed data transmission upstream connector captures these signals and sends them to the programmable logic device (PLD or FPGA) on the expansion adapter board for preliminary processing or forwarding; at the same time, the connector also sends the serial hard disk signal obtained from the disk array card directly to the downstream connector for further transmission to other hardware devices or boards.

[0066] The high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector is responsible for connecting to the PCIE connector on the server motherboard to achieve high-speed data transmission. When the PLD / FPGA or central processing unit (CPU) on the server motherboard needs to send data to the device on the expansion adapter board, the data is first encapsulated into PCIE standard signals and sent to the expansion adapter board through the PCIE upstream connector. On the expansion adapter board, these signals are further processed or forwarded to the downstream connector and finally reach the target device. At the same time, the sideband signals (such as control signals, status signals, etc.) generated during the signal modulation process will also be sent to the PLD / FPGA on the expansion adapter board for further processing.

[0067] The IC bus upstream connector is connected to the baseboard management controller (BMC) through the IC bus (such as the I2C bus) connector on the server motherboard. The BMC is a key component in the server responsible for monitoring and managing the hardware status. It communicates with various hardware devices on the server (including devices on the expansion adapter board) through the IC bus. When the BMC needs to obtain information about the hardware device connected to the expansion adapter board (such as device model, serial number, status, etc.), it first sends a request to the expansion adapter board through the IC bus upstream connector. The IC bus interface on the expansion adapter board receives these requests and sends the corresponding device information back to the BMC. In this way, the BMC can understand the status and information of all connected devices in real time, thereby achieving comprehensive management and monitoring of the entire server.

[0068] On the basis of the above embodiment, the expansion adapter board further includes an integrated circuit bus converter, a temperature sensor and a field replaceable unit, wherein:

[0069] The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is further used to send device information corresponding to the connected hardware device to the baseboard management controller through the integrated circuit bus converter;

[0070] The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is also used to send the temperature information collected by the temperature sensor, the programmable logic device information of the expansion adapter board, and the status information of the field replaceable unit to the baseboard management controller through the integrated circuit bus converter.

[0071] In the present invention, the expansion adapter board serves as a bridge between the mainboard and various hardware devices in the server system. It is not only responsible for data transmission, but also integrates multiple functional components to enhance the monitoring, management and maintenance capabilities of the system. These components include integrated circuit bus converters, temperature sensors and field replaceable units (FRUs). For details, please refer to Figure 1As shown, the integrated circuit bus converter is responsible for converting and bridging signals on the integrated circuit bus (such as the I2C bus). Since different hardware devices use different bus protocols or interface standards, the integrated circuit bus converter can ensure that these devices can communicate effectively with the baseboard management controller (BMC). When the BMC needs to obtain device information of the connected hardware device, it first sends a request through the integrated circuit bus upstream connector. After receiving these requests, the integrated circuit bus converter converts them into a format suitable for the target hardware device as needed. Then, it sends these requests to the corresponding hardware device, collects the device information, and converts this information back to the format corresponding to the BMC, and finally sends it back to the BMC through the integrated circuit bus upstream connector.

[0072] The temperature sensor is used to monitor the temperature of the expansion adapter board and its surrounding environment, which is an important measure to ensure stable operation of the system and timely detect potential overheating problems. The temperature sensor continuously collects temperature data and sends it to the BMC through the integrated circuit bus upstream connector. Based on the received temperature information, the BMC can execute corresponding cooling strategies, such as increasing the fan speed or triggering an alarm.

[0073] Field replaceable units are components that can be safely removed and replaced during system operation without shutting down the entire system. In the expansion adapter board, each FRU contains its own status information, such as serial number, manufacturing date, health status, etc. This information is essential for system fault diagnosis, maintenance and asset management. When the BMC needs to query the status information of the FRU, it sends a request to the IC bus upstream connector, and the FRU responds to the request and returns its status information.

[0074] Based on the above embodiment, there are multiple high-speed data transmission upstream connectors and high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connectors, wherein each high-speed data transmission upstream connector and the corresponding high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector are constructed into a high-speed upstream connector group.

[0075] Based on the above embodiment, the downstream connectors are a plurality of high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connectors, and the number of the plurality of high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connectors corresponds to the number of the high-speed upstream connector group.

[0076] Figure 2 The structural diagram of the expansion adapter board with multiple connectors provided by the present invention can be referred to Figure 2As shown, multiple groups of upstream PCIE connectors and Slimline connectors can be reserved on the expansion adapter board to obtain multiple groups of bus signals from the motherboard or RAID card; at the same time, multiple downstream PCIE connectors need to be designed accordingly. In the present invention, according to the board configuration requirements required in the server (connecting different numbers and types of hard disks or different numbers of PCIE cards), the corresponding number of SAS / SATA boards, NVME boards and SLOT boards can be combined with the expansion adapter board into a whole, that is, a server expansion module, so that it can be flexibly matched according to design requirements, effectively reducing the number of backplane types and improving the reusability of boards.

[0077] On the basis of the above embodiment, the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board is also used to send the lighting signal to the corresponding connected board through the downstream connector.

[0078] Lighting signal is a way to indicate the hardware status or operation status in a computer system. By lighting or extinguishing the LED light, you can intuitively understand whether the hardware device is working normally or in a specific state (such as processing data, errors, etc.). In the present invention, the CPLD in the expansion adapter board receives lighting signal requests from the server motherboard or other hardware components. These requests contain information about the hardware status, such as whether the board is successfully identified, whether there is an error, etc. After receiving the signal, the CPLD will judge and process these signals according to preset logical rules, for example, check the validity of the request, determine the color that the LED light should display (if the LED supports multiple colors) or the flashing mode, etc.

[0079] The processed lighting signals will be converted by CPLD into a signal format suitable for the downstream connector, including parameters such as voltage level, pulse width and timing, to ensure that they can be correctly identified by the downstream connector and transmitted to the target board.

[0080] Finally, the CPLD sends the processed lighting signal to the corresponding connected board through the downstream connector on the expansion adapter board. When the lighting signal reaches the board, the LED light (i.e., status indicator) on the board will display accordingly according to the signal's instructions.

[0081] On the basis of the above embodiment, the expansion adapter board further includes a joint test working group interface, and the joint test working group interface is used to upgrade the firmware file of the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board.

[0082] The Joint Test Action Group (JTAG) interface is mainly used for programming, debugging and firmware upgrade of programmable logic devices (such as CPLD, FPGA). In the present invention, the JTAG interface is integrated into the expansion adapter board to upgrade the firmware file of the programmable logic device on the expansion adapter board, so as to update the function or repair the fault of the expansion adapter board without removing or replacing the hardware components.

[0083] Specifically, in the present invention, firstly, the firmware files of the current programmable logic device are obtained. These files contain the configuration information of the device, the description of the logic circuit, etc., which are the basis for the normal operation of the device. Then, a JTAG programmer or adapter is used to connect it to the JTAG interface on the expansion adapter board, and the firmware upgrade program is started through the JTAG programmer or the corresponding software tool. At this time, the program will automatically detect the type of the connected device, the current firmware version and other information, and prepare to write the new firmware file into the device.

[0084] Furthermore, the new firmware file is written into the programmable logic device through the JTAG interface. During the upgrade process, data verification, error detection and other steps are performed to ensure the correctness and integrity of the firmware file. After the firmware upgrade is completed, verification and testing are required to confirm whether the new firmware functions normally, including checking the status of the LED indicator, testing the communication between the board and the server, etc. If the verification and test results are normal, it is determined that the firmware upgrade is successfully completed. At this time, the JTAG interface connection is disconnected and the server is powered on so that the new firmware file can take effect and meet the current functional requirements.

[0085] Based on the above embodiment, the upstream connector further includes a power upstream connector, which is used to obtain a power supply voltage from the server mainboard, so as to convert the power supply voltage into a target voltage corresponding to the connected hardware device through a variable resistor.

[0086] In the present invention, reference may be made to Figure 1 As shown in the figure, the server expansion module consists of two independent parts: the expansion adapter board and the expansion board group that can be flexibly equipped with SAS / SATA board, NVME board and SLOT board. Among them, the expansion adapter board directly draws power from the server motherboard through the power (PWR) connector (such as P12V, P3V3, P3V3_STBY and P5V), and can be interconnected with the BMC on the motherboard through the I2C bus, so that the BMC can access the FRU, temperature sensor, CPLD, I2C Switch (integrated circuit bus converter) and the NVME hard disk and PCIE card connected after the I2C Switch.

[0087] For the required PCIE signal, the expansion adapter board directly obtains the relevant signal through the PCIE connector, and some sideband signals are input into the CPLD of the expansion adapter board, and then the PCIE bus signal is transmitted to the downstream PCIE connector. In the present invention, the expansion adapter board obtains the SGPIO signal and the SAS / SATA signal from the RAID card through the Slimline connector (i.e., the high-speed data transmission upstream connector), and then the SGPIO signal is transmitted to the CPLD of the expansion adapter board, and the SAS / SATA signal is transmitted to the downstream PCIE connector.

[0088] When it is necessary to turn on the light and other signals, the CPLD of the expansion adapter board can be input to the corresponding SAS / SATA board and NVME board through the downstream PCIE connector. In addition, the SAS / SATA board, NVME board and SLOT board of the expansion board group can obtain the required I2C signal, PCIE signal, SAS / SATA signal, sideband signal and power supply from the expansion adapter board through the PCIE connector.

[0089] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the server motherboard and the expansion module provided by the present invention can be referred to Figure 3 As shown, the present invention provides a connection method between a server mainboard and an expansion module, and the specific steps are as follows:

[0090] Step 1: Connect a corresponding number of SAS / SATA boards, NVME boards, and SLOT boards to the expansion adapter board through cables to form the required server expansion module;

[0091] Step 2. Since the expansion adapter board can subsequently support SAS / SATA boards, NVME boards, and SLOT boards, after determining the hard disk to which each expansion adapter board is to be connected, the upstream connection relationship corresponding to each downstream PCIE connector on the expansion adapter board can be obtained. If you need to connect an NVME hard disk, the upstream PCIE connector of the expansion adapter board needs to be connected to the PCIE connector on the motherboard end, and the Slimline connector can be left vacant at this time; if you need to connect a SAS / SATA hard disk, the upstream Slimline connector of the expansion adapter board needs to be connected to the Slimline connector of the RAID card, and the PCIE connector can be left vacant at this time; if the SLOT board is supported, the upstream PCIE connector of the expansion adapter board needs to be connected to the PCIE connector on the motherboard end, and the Slimline connector can be left vacant at this time;

[0092] Step 3, the server mainboard provides power supply and SMBUS bus connection to the expansion adapter board on the expansion module through the power connector and the I2C connector;

[0093] Step 4, the server mainboard provides a PCIE signal and related sideband signals to the expansion adapter board on the expansion module through a PCIE connector (such as an MCIO connector);

[0094] Step 5: The RAID card provides SAS / SATA signals and SGPIO signals to the expansion adapter board on the expansion module through the Slimline connector;

[0095] Step 6: In the expansion module, the expansion adapter board transmits I2C signals, PCIE signals, SAS / SATA signals, sideband signals and power supply to the SAS / SATA board, NVME board and SLOT board through the PCIE connector;

[0096] Step 7. After completing the above installation and configuration, install the required hard disk on the expansion module, and then refresh the FW file of the CPLD in the expansion adapter board through the JTAG interface to meet the current functional requirements. Finally, power on the server to complete the design requirements.

[0097] Step 8. If you need to modify the current configuration to meet different requirements, you can modify the number of SLOT boards, NVME boards, and SAS / SATA boards in step 1. Then, according to the required configuration, follow step 2 to connect the motherboard and RAID card, and then repeat steps 3 to 7.

[0098] The present invention further provides a server, which includes a server mainboard and the server expansion module described in the above embodiments.

[0099] In the present invention, the server expansion module described in the above embodiments is provided in the server to expand the functions and performance of the server. The server expansion module improves the reusability of boards between different platforms by means of expansion adapter boards and expansion board groups, wherein the expansion adapter board connects the server mainboard and the expansion board group, and its main task is to ensure that the communication signals generated by the server mainboard can be accurately transmitted to each expansion board, and then control or interact with the hardware devices connected to these boards. The expansion board group is a collection of boards of multiple different functional types, each of which is designed for a specific hardware type or application requirement. These boards include but are not limited to network interface cards, RAID controller cards, GPU accelerator cards, and storage expansion cards, etc., which are connected to the server mainboard through the expansion adapter board, greatly expanding the functions and performance of the server. In the present invention, each board is designed with an interface directly connected to the hardware device, such as an Ethernet port, a SAS / SATA interface, etc., so as to communicate with various external hardware devices (such as network switches, storage devices, displays, etc.). When the expansion adapter board transmits the communication signal of the server motherboard to the expansion board group, each board will receive these signals and convert them into instructions or data formats suitable for the hardware device to understand according to its own function, and finally realize the interaction with the hardware device.

[0100] The server provided by the present invention forms a server expansion module by expanding the adapter board and the subsequent expansion board group, which not only reduces the number of types of backplanes and riser cards, but also improves the reusability of boards between different platforms, making the board configuration more flexible and diverse.

[0101] Figure 4 A flow chart of the server configuration method provided by the present invention is shown as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the present invention also provides a server configuration method based on the server expansion module described in the above embodiments, including:

[0102] Step 401, determining a target uplink connector in an expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to a hardware device connected to the expansion board group, wherein the preset connection relationship is constructed based on a connection relationship between an interface type of an uplink connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board and a hardware type of a hardware device connected to the expansion board group;

[0103] Step 402: Send the communication signal generated by the server mainboard to the corresponding hardware device through the target upstream connector to establish communication between the server mainboard and the corresponding hardware device.

[0104] In the present invention, the expansion adapter board connects the server mainboard with various expansion boards (such as GPU, RAID controller, network interface card, etc.). Each expansion board has its specific hardware type and communication requirements. In order to ensure that the server mainboard can communicate with these expansion boards correctly, it is necessary to predefine and store a connection relationship, that is, which types of upstream connectors (located on the expansion adapter board, used to connect the server mainboard) should be connected to which types of expansion boards. Specifically, according to the design and hardware compatibility requirements of the server system, a preset connection relationship table or database is constructed, which records in detail the corresponding relationship between the interface type of each type of upstream connector on the expansion adapter board and the hardware type of the expansion board that can be connected.

[0105] During system startup or configuration, the types of all hardware devices currently connected to the expansion board group are identified through hardware detection, user input, etc. In the present invention, the interface type of the target upstream connector corresponding to each connected hardware device is determined by searching a preset connection relationship table or database. After the target upstream connector is determined, the communication signal generated by the server mainboard is sent to the corresponding hardware device through the connector to establish a communication link between them, thereby realizing data exchange and command control between the server mainboard and the expansion board.

[0106] The server configuration method provided by the present invention forms a server expansion module by expanding the adapter board and the subsequent expansion board group, which not only reduces the number of types of backplanes and riser cards, but also improves the reusability of boards between different platforms, making the board configuration more flexible and diverse.

[0107] On the basis of the above embodiment, the step of determining the target uplink connector in the expansion adapter board based on the preset connection relationship corresponding to the hardware device connected to the expansion board group includes:

[0108] Determining the hardware type information of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group;

[0109] If the hardware device is obtained as a non-volatile memory host controller interface hard disk or expansion device according to the hardware type information, then an upstream connector of a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard interface is determined as the target upstream connector;

[0110] If the hardware device is obtained as a serial hard disk according to the hardware type information, then an upstream connector of a high-speed data transmission interface is determined as the target upstream connector.

[0111] In the present invention, when it is identified that the connected device is a non-volatile memory host controller interface hard disk or a similar expansion device, the upstream connector corresponding to the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard interface (such as PCIE) is selected as the target upstream connector. If it is identified that the connected device is a serial hard disk, the upstream connector corresponding to the high-speed data transmission interface (Slimline connector) is selected as the target upstream connector. The present invention determines whether the corresponding upstream connector is currently connected based on the type of hardware device connected to its expansion board group, and can ensure that the interface most suitable for the characteristics of the device is used for data transmission and communication, thereby optimizing overall performance and efficiency.

[0112] Based on the above embodiment, the method further includes:

[0113] Receive first input information, wherein the first input information includes operation information for adjusting the number of boards in the expansion board group;

[0114] In response to the first input information, after determining that the number of boards in the expansion board group has been adjusted, the firmware file of the programmable logic device of the expansion adapter board is upgraded based on the configuration function requirement information of the adjusted boards in the expansion board group.

[0115] In the present invention, the administrator of the system or device may adjust the number of boards in the expansion board group according to actual needs, including adding, reducing or replacing different types of boards to meet specific functional or performance requirements. In the present invention, the change in the number of boards can be detected by the change of the electrical state of the hardware interface (such as bus, pin, etc.) or the update of the configuration information at the software level. When the change in the number of boards is detected, the configuration and functional requirement information of each board in the adjusted expansion board group is collected, including the type, model, supported interface protocol, required data transmission rate, whether specific control logic is required, etc. of the board.

[0116] Furthermore, based on the collected board configuration function requirement information, evaluate whether the firmware of the current programmable logic device (such as FPGA, CPLD, etc.) on the expansion adapter board meets the new requirements. If the firmware does not meet the requirements, or there is a better firmware version that can improve system performance or add new functions, then a firmware upgrade is required. After deciding to upgrade the firmware, write the prepared firmware file to the programmable logic device on the expansion adapter board to complete the firmware upgrade process to meet the configuration and function requirements of the boards in the adjusted expansion board group.

[0117] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided by the present invention, such as Figure 5As shown, the electronic device may include: a processor (Processor) 501, a communication interface (Communications Interface) 502, a memory (Memory) 503 and a communication bus 504, wherein the processor 501, the communication interface 502, and the memory 503 complete mutual communication through the communication bus 504. The processor 501 may call the logic instructions in the memory 503 to execute the server configuration method, which includes: determining the target uplink connector in the expansion adapter board based on the preset connection relationship corresponding to the hardware device connected to the expansion board group, wherein the preset connection relationship is constructed based on the connection relationship between the interface type of the uplink connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board and the hardware type of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group; and sending the communication signal generated by the server mainboard to the corresponding hardware device through the target uplink connector to establish communication between the server mainboard and the corresponding hardware device.

[0118] In addition, the logic instructions in the above-mentioned memory 503 can be implemented in the form of a software functional unit and can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium when it is sold or used as an independent product. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present invention. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (ROM, Read-Only Memory), random access memory (RAM, Random Access Memory), disk or optical disk, etc. Various media that can store program codes.

[0119] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and the computer program includes program instructions. When the program instructions are executed by a computer, the computer can execute the server configuration method provided by the above-mentioned methods, and the method includes: determining a target upstream connector in an expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to a hardware device connected to an expansion board group, wherein the preset connection relationship is constructed based on the connection relationship between the interface type of the upstream connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board and the hardware type of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group; sending a communication signal generated by a server mainboard to the corresponding hardware device through the target upstream connector to establish communication between the server mainboard and the corresponding hardware device.

[0120] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, is implemented to execute the server configuration method provided by the above-mentioned embodiments, the method comprising: determining a target upstream connector in an expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to a hardware device connected to an expansion board group, wherein the preset connection relationship is constructed based on a connection relationship between an interface type of an upstream connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board and a hardware type of a hardware device connected to the expansion board group; sending a communication signal generated by a server mainboard to the corresponding hardware device through the target upstream connector to establish communication between the server mainboard and the corresponding hardware device.

[0121] The device embodiments described above are merely illustrative, wherein the units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the scheme of this embodiment. Ordinary technicians in this field can understand and implement it without paying creative labor.

[0122] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that each implementation method can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course, can also be implemented by hardware. Based on this understanding, the above technical solution is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, a disk, an optical disk, etc., including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment or some parts of the embodiments.

[0123] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A server expansion module, characterized in that: Includes expansion adapter board and expansion board set, including: The upstream connectors of each interface type in the expansion adapter board are connected to the server mainboard, and the downstream connector of the expansion adapter board is connected to the expansion board group. The expansion adapter board is used to determine the target upstream connector according to the preset connection relationship between the interface type of the upstream connector and the hardware type of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group, and send the communication signal generated by the server mainboard to the expansion board group based on the target upstream connector; The expansion board group is composed of a plurality of boards of different functional types, each of which is used to connect to the hardware devices of different hardware types and send the received communication signal to the corresponding connected hardware device; The board at least comprises a serial hard disk interface board, a non-volatile memory host controller interface specification board and a slot expansion board, wherein the board is connected to the downstream connector via a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector in the expansion board set; The upstream connector includes a high-speed data transmission upstream connector, a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector and an integrated circuit bus upstream connector, wherein: The high-speed data transmission upstream connector is connected to the high-speed data transmission connector in the server mainboard, and is used to send the serial general input and output signals obtained from the disk array card of the server mainboard to the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board, and send the serial hard disk signals obtained from the disk array card of the server mainboard to the downstream connector; The high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connector is connected to the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connector in the server mainboard, and is used to send the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard signal obtained from the programmable logic device and the central processing unit of the server mainboard to the downstream connector, and send the sideband signal generated in the signal modulation process to the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board; The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is interconnected with the baseboard management controller on the server mainboard through the integrated circuit bus connector in the server mainboard, so that the baseboard management controller can obtain device information corresponding to the connected hardware device through the expansion adapter board.

2. The server expansion module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The expansion adapter board also includes an integrated circuit bus converter, a temperature sensor and a field replaceable unit, wherein: The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is further used to send device information corresponding to the connected hardware device to the baseboard management controller through the integrated circuit bus converter; The integrated circuit bus upstream connector is also used to send the temperature information collected by the temperature sensor, the programmable logic device information of the expansion adapter board, and the status information of the field replaceable unit to the baseboard management controller through the integrated circuit bus converter.

3. The server expansion module according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are a plurality of the high-speed data transmission upstream connectors and the high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connectors, wherein each of the high-speed data transmission upstream connectors and the corresponding high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard upstream connectors form a high-speed upstream connector group.

4. The server expansion module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The downstream connectors are a plurality of high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connectors, and the number of the plurality of high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard connectors corresponds to the number of the high-speed upstream connector group.

5. The server expansion module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board is also used to send the lighting signal to the corresponding connected board through the downstream connector.

6. The server expansion module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The expansion adapter board also includes a joint test working group interface, and the joint test working group interface is used to upgrade the firmware file of the programmable logic device in the expansion adapter board.

7. The server expansion module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upstream connector also includes a power upstream connector, which is used to obtain a power supply voltage from the server mainboard, so as to convert the power supply voltage into a target voltage corresponding to the connected hardware device through a variable resistor.

8. A server, characterized in that: The server comprises a server mainboard and a server expansion module as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A server configuration method based on the server expansion module according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: include: Determine a target upstream connector in the expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to the hardware device connected to the expansion board group, wherein the preset connection relationship is constructed based on a connection relationship between an interface type of an upstream connector of each interface type in the expansion adapter board and a hardware type of a hardware device connected to the expansion board group; The communication signal generated by the server mainboard is sent to the corresponding hardware device through the target upstream connector to establish communication between the server mainboard and the corresponding hardware device.

10. The server configuration method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The step of determining a target uplink connector in the expansion adapter board based on a preset connection relationship corresponding to a hardware device connected to the expansion board group includes: Determining the hardware type information of the hardware device connected to the expansion board group; If the hardware device is obtained as a non-volatile memory host controller interface hard disk or expansion device according to the hardware type information, then an upstream connector of a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard interface is determined as the target upstream connector; If the hardware device is obtained as a serial hard disk according to the hardware type information, then an upstream connector of a high-speed data transmission interface is determined as the target upstream connector.

11. The server configuration method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive first input information, wherein the first input information includes operation information for adjusting the number of boards in the expansion board group; In response to the first input information, after determining that the number of boards in the expansion board group has been adjusted, the firmware file of the programmable logic device of the expansion adapter board is upgraded based on the configuration function requirement information of the adjusted boards in the expansion board group.

12. An electronic device comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor executes the computer program, the server configuration method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 is implemented.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the server configuration method according to any one of claims 9 to 11 is implemented.

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