Data transmission system, method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a data transmission system, method and device, the data transmission system comprises a photoelectric hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer extension PCIe host and PCIe equipment, the photoelectric hybrid cable comprises an optical cable part and a cable part, and the optical cable part is used for transmitting a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe equipment; the first data signal comprises an optical signal corresponding to a high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus; the cable part is used for transmitting a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe equipment; the second data signal comprises an electric signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus. Thus, the data transmission system can transmit high-speed data signals based on the optical cable part and directly transmit low-speed signals based on the cable part, rapid transmission of PCIe data information can be ensured, the low-speed signals do not need to be specially processed, and the transmission cost and the transmission time delay are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of data transmission, and particularly to a data transmission system, method, and device. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous popularization and deepening of digital transformation, more and more enterprises have established data centers. To support the huge traffic growth in the data center, enterprises usually replace the Ethernet architecture with a network architecture based on the Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) high-speed communication protocol. In this way, an optical link can be established based on PCIe optical interconnection to build a high-performance cluster network.

[0003] In the scenario of PCIe optical interconnection, for specific low-speed signals such as sideband signals corresponding to specific PCIe functions, in the related art, the specific low-speed signals are usually converted into optical signals through an optoelectronic conversion module and transmitted based on optical fibers. This method requires custom processing for the optoelectronic conversion module of specific low-speed signals, resulting in high data transmission costs, and the optoelectronic conversion process for specific low-speed signals also increases the transmission delay. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a data transmission system, method, and device, which can achieve fast transmission of PCIe low-speed signals, reduce data transmission costs and transmission delay.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of this application provides a data transmission system, including an optical-electrical hybrid cable, a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) host, and a PCIe device; the optical-electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; wherein,

[0006] The optical cable part is used to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus.

[0007] The cable part is used to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

[0008] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe bus includes a first PCIe bus and a second PCIe bus; the first PCIe bus and a first optoelectronic conversion module are provided in the PCIe host; the second PCIe bus and a second optoelectronic conversion module are provided in the PCIe device; wherein,

[0009] The first optoelectronic conversion module is used to convert the high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into the first data signal;

[0010] The optical cable part is used to transmit the first data signal from the first optoelectronic conversion module to the second optoelectronic conversion module;

[0011] The second optoelectronic conversion module is used to convert the first data signal into the high-speed data signal and transmit it to the second PCIe bus.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the cable part is used to transparently transmit the second data signal sent by the first PCIe bus to the second PCIe bus; the number of signal cables included in the cable part is the same as the number of signals of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe host further includes a first microcontroller; the first microcontroller is used to encode multiple low-speed signals sent by the first PCIe bus into one second data signal.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe device further includes a second microcontroller; the cable part is used to transmit the one second data signal from the first microcontroller to the second microcontroller;

[0015] The second microcontroller is used to receive the one second data signal transmitted by the cable part, decode the one second data signal into multiple low-speed signals, and transmit the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, the cable part includes a pair of signal cables; the pair of signal cables are used to transmit a clock line signal and a bidirectional data line signal.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the optical cable part includes multiple optical fibers; the number of the optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, the types of the first optoelectronic conversion module and the second optoelectronic conversion module include an active optical cable (AOC), an on-board optical module (OBO), a near-packaged optical module (NPO), or a co-packaged optical module (CPO).

[0019] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission method, which is applied to a data transmission system. The data transmission system includes an optical-electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion (PCIe) host, and a PCIe device; the optical-electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; the method includes:

[0020] Transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable portion; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus.

[0021] Transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable portion; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the PCIe bus includes a first PCIe bus and a second PCIe bus; the first PCIe bus and a first optical-electric conversion module are provided in the PCIe host; the second PCIe bus and a second optical-electric conversion module are provided in the PCIe device; the transmitting of the first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable portion includes:

[0023] Convert the high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into the first data signal through the first optical-electric conversion module.

[0024] Transmit the first data signal from the first optical-electric conversion module to the second optical-electric conversion module through the optical cable portion.

[0025] Convert the first data signal into the high-speed data signal through the second optical-electric conversion module and transmit it to the second PCIe bus.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the transmitting of the second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable portion includes:

[0027] Pass through the cable portion the second data signal sent by the first PCIe bus to the second PCIe bus; the number of signal cables included in the cable portion is the same as the number of signals of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal.

[0028] In a possible implementation, a first microcontroller is further included in the PCIe host; the method further includes:

[0029] Encode the multiple low-speed signals sent by the first PCIe bus into one second data signal through the first microcontroller.

[0030] In a possible implementation, a second microcontroller is further included in the PCIe device; the transmitting of the second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable portion includes:

[0031] Transmit the second data signal of the one path from the first microcontroller to the second microcontroller through the cable part;

[0032] Receive the second data signal of the one path transmitted by the cable part through the second microcontroller, decode the second data signal of the one path into multiple low-speed signals, and transmit the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the cable part includes a pair of signal cables; the pair of signal cables are used for transmitting a clock line signal and a bidirectional data line signal.

[0034] In a possible implementation manner, the optical cable part includes multiple optical fibers; the number of the optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner, the types of the first optical-electric conversion module and the second optical-electric conversion module include an active optical cable (AOC), an on-board optical module (OBO), a near-packaged optical module (NPO), or a co-packaged optical module (CPO).

[0036] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a data transmission device, which is applied to a data transmission system and includes an optical-electric hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer extension (PCIe) host, and a PCIe device; the optical-electric hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; the device includes:

[0037] A first transmission module, configured to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable part; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to a high-speed data signal of a PCIe bus;

[0038] A second transmission module, configured to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable part; the second data signal includes an electric signal corresponding to a low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

[0039] The data transmission system, method, and device provided by the embodiments of the present application. The data transmission system includes an optical and electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device. The optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part. The optical cable part is used to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device. The first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus. The cable part is used to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device. The second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus. In this way, the data transmission system can transmit high-speed data signals based on the optical cable part and directly transmit low-speed signals based on the cable part, ensuring the fast transmission of PCIe data information, without the need for special processing of low-speed signals, reducing the transmission cost and transmission delay. Description of the Drawings

[0040] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0041] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a data transmission system provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0042] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the transmission of PCIe low-speed signals through the cable part provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0043] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the transmission of PCIe low-speed signals through the cable part after encoding processing provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0044] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of PCIe data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0045] Figure 6 It is another schematic diagram of PCIe data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0046] Figure 7 It is another schematic diagram of PCIe data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0047] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0048] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a data transmission device provided by the embodiments of the present application. Detailed Embodiments

[0049] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of this application, the following further describes this application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments and drawings described herein are only for explaining this application and not for limiting this application. It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties, and the collection, use, and processing of relevant data need to comply with relevant laws, regulations, and standards, and corresponding operation entrances are provided for users to select authorization or rejection.

[0050] With the continuous expansion of data in the data center, in order to support the huge traffic growth in the data center, the data center can replace the Ethernet architecture with a network architecture based on the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) high-speed communication protocol. In most current data centers, the local PCIe present in the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is converted to the Ethernet protocol through Network Interface Cards (NICs) and Local Area Network (LAN) adapter cards on the motherboard. Therefore, PCIe is restricted to communication within a single server, while the Ethernet protocol is used for connections between servers within a rack and for connections between racks at the Top of rack (Tor).

[0051] Moreover, converting PCIe to Ethernet using adapters has several disadvantages: the need to use various Input / Output (I / O) interconnection technologies, increased latency, higher cost, more space occupancy, and higher power consumption. Therefore, it is very beneficial to use local PCIe throughout the data center. To adopt this strategy, the adapter card can be replaced by a PCIe card, which acts as a network interface. In this way, the PCIe protocol can be used for connections between servers within a rack and further for connections between racks.

[0052] The Peripheral Component Interconnect Special Interest Group (PCI-SIG) has developed a basic specification that defines the PCIe architecture, signaling, protocol, and software. It also includes the mechanical and electrical specifications for PCIe cards that define the interface form factor, as well as the PCIe external cabling specifications that define the external interface connectors and cables. However, there is currently no specification or standard for transmitting the PCIe protocol over an optical link. Copper cables are difficult to meet the long-distance interconnection scenario due to high loss, high latency, and high power consumption. Optical transmission has become the trend of PCIe interconnection due to its advantages such as low loss, low latency, immunity to electromagnetic interference, small distortion of the transmitted signal, low power consumption, and cost savings. Non-transparent bridge communication through an optical fiber link allows for the aggregation of remote hosts, enabling a high-performance cluster network based on the PCIe protocol.

[0053] The PCIe optical interconnection requirements are reflected in two aspects. One is in the long-distance interconnection scenario between servers and between racks based on the PCIe protocol. In this scenario, the transmission distance is relatively long and it is not very sensitive to latency. On the other hand, in the PCIe 6.0 specification, the use of the high-order modulation method of 4-level Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM4) enables the transmission rate to be upgraded to 64 Gigatransfers per second (GT / s). At the same time, the release of the Compute Express Link (CXL) 3.0 specification based on the high-speed serial protocol of PCIe 6.0 expands the memory sharing and memory expansion range to multiple hosts, further enhancing the resource pooling requirements. This scenario not only has requirements for the transmission distance but is also sensitive to latency.

[0054] Specifically, in the PCIe optical interconnection scenario, the implementation of transmitting PCIe data information using an optical link is relatively simple. However, there are some low-speed signals with specific functions in PCIe, such as hot plug, receiver detection, electrical idle support, and linear clock channels, which are sideband signals. These low-speed signals cannot be directly transmitted by optical fibers because optical fibers are an optical medium and cannot directly transmit electrical signals. In addition, since the optical transmission systems traditionally used for Ethernet do not consider the specific functional signals of PCIe, it is difficult to couple these low-speed signals into the PCIe data signals for transmission.

[0055] In the related art, specific functional signals of PCIe usually use multiple optoelectronic conversion modules to convert electrical signals into optical signals and transmit them through multiple optical fibers, and then use multiple optoelectronic converters at the receiving end to convert them into electrical signals for processing. This data transmission method in the related art requires the use of multiple optoelectronic conversion modules, and the optoelectronic conversion modules for specific low-speed signals of PCIe need to be specially customized and cannot reuse the existing modules in the Ethernet industry chain, resulting in a relatively high system cost. Moreover, multiple optoelectronic conversion modules increase the system delay, which is not conducive to the expansion of memory applications. In addition, there is no processing method for the above special signals in the PCIe specification. Therefore, PCIe device manufacturers have different processing means for PCIe. If the optoelectronic conversion method is used, different customizations may be required for different manufacturers, with a high cost and certain challenges in availability.

[0056] To solve the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a data transmission system, method and device. The data transmission system is a PCIe optical interconnection system based on an optical-electrical hybrid cable. The optical-electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part. The high-speed data signals of the PCIe bus are transmitted through the optical cable part, and the low-speed signals are transmitted through the cable part. In this way, in the embodiments of the present application, there is no need to specially process the sideband signals, and the fast transmission of low-speed signals such as sideband signals can be realized, which can be applied to any PCIe manufacturer's equipment and has a low transmission delay.

[0057] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the application scenario provided by the embodiments of the present application. Please refer to Figure 1 In the related art, in the PCIe optical interconnection scenario, the low-speed signals of PCIe usually need to be converted by an optoelectronic conversion module and then the signals are transmitted through an optical fiber. This transmission method has a relatively high cost and a large data transmission delay.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, the PCIe optical interconnection system transmits data through an optical-electrical hybrid cable. The optical cable part is used to transmit the optical signals corresponding to the high-speed data signals, and the cable part is used to transmit the electrical signals corresponding to the low-speed signals. In this way, the fast transmission of PCIe low-speed signals can be realized, without the need for optoelectronic conversion processing of the low-speed signals, which can reduce the transmission cost and transmission delay.

[0059] The following details the solutions shown in the present application through specific embodiments. It should be noted that the following several embodiments can exist independently or be combined with each other. For the same or similar content, it will not be repeated in different embodiments.

[0060] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a data transmission system provided by the embodiments of the present application. Please refer to Figure 2, the data transmission system includes an optical and electrical hybrid cable 201, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host 202, and a PCIe device 203; the optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part. Among them, the optical cable part is used to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus. The cable part is used to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present application, the data transmission system may include an optical and electrical hybrid cable for realizing data interconnection between a PCIe host and a PCIe device. The optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part. The optical cable part may refer to an optical fiber, and the cable part may specifically refer to a copper cable. Of course, it may also include cables of other materials, such as gold, silver, aluminum, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The first data signal may refer to an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus. Among them, the high-speed data signal refers to a data signal in the PCIe bus where "the signal edge time is less than 4 to 6 times the interconnection transmission delay". In traditional Signal Integrity (SI), the high-speed data signal depends on the edge rate of the signal and the path length of the circuit board line. When there is a certain proportional relationship between the two, the signal can be regarded as a high-speed data signal. The second data signal may refer to an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus. The low-speed signal may refer to a data signal in the PCIe bus that does not belong to "the signal edge time is less than 4 to 6 times the interconnection transmission delay".

[0062] In a possible implementation manner, the low-speed signal includes a sideband signal, a power signal, and a ground signal.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present application, the sideband signal in PCIe refers to some signals that do not belong to the PCIe protocol specification and need to be transmitted through separate pins. The sideband signal is optional in the PCI bus and can only be used inside a processor system and cannot leave this processor environment. Common sideband signals in PCIe include: 100MHz reference clock signal (CREFCLK), device presence detection signal (CPRSNT#), wake-up signal (CWAKE#), power-on (CPWRON#), and global reset signal (CPERST#). Of course, the sideband signal also includes other types of signals. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The power signal may refer to a power-related signal in the PCIe bus. The ground signal refers to the ground signal (Ground, GND) in the PCIe bus.

[0064] In the embodiments of the present application, the data transmission system can transmit the first data signal through the optical cable part. For example, the PCIe host can transmit the first data signal to the PCIe device through the optical cable part in the optical-electrical hybrid cable. At the same time, the data transmission system can implement the transmission of the second data signal through the cable part in the optical-electrical hybrid cable. For example, the PCIe host can transmit the first data signal to the PCIe device through the cable part. In this way, the data transmission system can achieve the fast transmission of low-speed signals in the PCIe bus based on the cable part without special processing of the low-speed signals, which can reduce the system cost and transmission delay.

[0065] The data transmission method provided by the embodiments of the present application. In the data transmission system, there are an optical-electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device. The optical-electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part. The optical cable part is used to transmit the first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device. The first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus. The cable part is used to transmit the second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device. The second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus. In this way, the data transmission system can transmit the high-speed data signal based on the optical cable part and directly transmit the low-speed signal based on the cable part, which can ensure the fast transmission of PCIe data information without special processing of the low-speed signals, reducing the transmission cost and transmission delay.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe bus includes a first PCIe bus and a second PCIe bus. The PCIe host is provided with a first PCIe bus and a first optical-electrical conversion module. The PCIe device is provided with a second PCIe bus and a second optical-electrical conversion module. Among them,

[0067] The first optical-electrical conversion module is used to convert the high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into the first data signal. The optical cable part is used to transmit the first data signal from the first optical-electrical conversion module to the second optical-electrical conversion module. The second optical-electrical conversion module is used to convert the first data signal into a high-speed data signal and transmit it to the second PCIe bus.

[0068] In the embodiment of the present application, the first PCIe bus in the PCIe host can send high-speed data signals to the first optical-electric conversion module. The first optical-electric conversion module can convert the high-speed data signals to obtain first data signals. Then, the PCIe host can transmit the first data signals from the first optical-electric conversion module to the second optical-electric conversion module in the PCIe device through the optical fiber part in the optical-electric hybrid cable. The second optical-electric conversion module in the PCIe device can convert the first data signals into high-speed data signals and transmit the high-speed data signals to the second PCIe bus in the PCIe device. In this way, the data transmission system can achieve fast transmission of the high-speed data signals of the PCIe bus through the optical fiber part.

[0069] In a possible implementation manner, the optical fiber part includes multiple optical fibers; the number of optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels.

[0070] In the embodiment of the present application, the optical-electric hybrid cable is composed of multiple optical fibers and multiple cables. Among them, the number of optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels, that is, the number of channels of the high-speed data signals is the same as the number of channels of the PCIe device slots, generally it can be x1, x4, x8, and x16. Since each channel includes data transmission and reception, the number of optical fibers in the optical fiber part is generally twice the number of channels. Of course, in another possible implementation manner, the number of optical fibers in the optical fiber part can also be the same as the number of channels, so that each optical fiber can achieve data transmission and reception. The specific corresponding relationship between the number of optical fibers and the number of PCIe channels can be flexibly set based on actual needs, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this. The length of the optical-electric hybrid cable has no specific limitation, generally between 1 meter and 100 meters. The optical fiber can specifically be in the form of single-mode optical fiber, multi-mode optical fiber, multi-core optical fiber, or hollow optical fiber, etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not limit this.

[0071] In order to fully comply with the PCIe standard, the optical-electric conversion module needs to comply with the PCIe data channel and provide optical-electric conversion (EO / OE) on the data channel, and be able to transmit signals at a speed of 2.5, 5.0, 8.0, 16, 32, or 64 Gb / s (or higher) per channel, which specifically depends on the implemented PCIe level. In addition, each transmission channel and each reception channel can be coupled to a separate optical fiber. Exemplarily, if it is an x4 channel, 8 optical fibers are required, where 4 optical fibers are used for data transmission and the remaining 4 optical fibers are used for data reception. In a possible implementation manner, the optical-electric conversion module can provide 1 transmission channel and 1 reception channel, so as to implement a full-duplex data channel that can be used for PCIe1.0 to PCIe6.0 speeds (or higher).

[0072] In an embodiment of the present application, when the data transmission system transmits the second data signal through the cable part, it can directly transmit multiple low-speed signals through multiple signal cables, so no special development is required and the transmission method is simple; in addition, the data transmission system can also encode multiple low-speed signals to form a second data signal for transmission, which can reduce the number of signal cables required for the cable part and reduce the cable cost. The following describes two specific transmission methods for low-speed signals:

[0073] Low-speed signal transmission method 1:

[0074] In a possible implementation manner, the cable part is used to transparently transmit the second data signal sent by the first PCIe bus to the second PCIe bus; the number of signal cables included in the cable part is the same as the number of signal lines of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal.

[0075] In an embodiment of the present application, the first PCIe bus in the PCIe host can directly transparently transmit the second data signal corresponding to the low-speed signal to the second PCIe bus of the PCIe device through the cable part. The number of signal cables required in the cable part is the same as the number of signal lines of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal. For example, the second data signal can include 7 types of low-speed signals, and correspondingly, 7 signal cables are also required in the cable part. Each signal cable can realize the transceiver pair transmission of a single low-speed signal. In this way, the low-speed signal in the PCIe bus can be directly transparently transmitted through the cable part, with low latency, simple development work, no need to change the software configuration and timing, and is friendly to the PCIe system.

[0076] Exemplarily, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of a PCIe low-speed signal through the cable part provided by an embodiment of the present application. As Figure 3 shown, at the PCIe host end, the PCIe bus includes PCIe high-speed data signals and low-speed signals. The high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus is converted into an optical signal (i.e., the first data signal) through the first optical-electric conversion module and transmitted through the optical fiber (optical cable part) in the optical-electric hybrid cable. After being converted into a high-speed data signal through the second optical-electric conversion module at the PCIe device end, the high-speed data signal is then transmitted to the second PCIe bus of the PCIe device. The low-speed signal in the first PCIe bus is directly transparently transmitted to the second PCIe bus at the device end through the cable part in the optical-electric hybrid cable. The low-speed signal can include a power signal, a ground signal (GND), a clock signal (CREFCLK), a presence signal (CPRSNT#), a wake-up signal (CWAKE#), a power-on signal (CPWRON#), and a reset signal (CPERST#).

[0077] Low-speed signal transmission method 2:

[0078] In a possible implementation, the PCIe host further includes a first microcontroller; the first microcontroller is configured to encode multiple low-speed signals transmitted by the first PCIe bus into a second data signal. In a possible implementation, the PCIe device further includes a second microcontroller; the cable part is configured to transmit a second data signal from the first microcontroller to the second microcontroller; the second microcontroller is configured to receive the second data signal transmitted by the cable part, decode the second data signal into multiple low-speed signals, and transmit the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present application, the PCIe host of the data transmission system may include a first microcontroller, and the PCIe device includes a second microcontroller. Among them, the microcontroller can be used to encode multiple signals into one signal or decode one signal into multiple signals. Specifically, the controller can adopt a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) chip, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Microcontroller Unit (MCU), or other chips that can implement this function. The control method and communication protocol can be in forms including the Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI), Management Data Input / Output (MDIO), and Controller Area Network (CAN), etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific type of microcontrol, control method, and communication protocol.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, both the PCIe host and the PCIe device in the data transmission system include a microcontroller translation unit. The first microcontroller in the PCIe host can encode the multiple low-speed signals on the first PCIe bus into a single second data signal, and then send the single second data signal to the second microcontroller in the PCIe device through the cable part in the optical-electrical hybrid cable. Subsequently, the second microcontroller performs decoding processing. After receiving the single second data signal, the second microcontroller in the PCIe device can perform decoding processing on the single second data signal to obtain multiple low-speed signals, and then transmit the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus, realizing the transmission of low-speed signals. In this way, by encoding and transmitting the low-speed signals, the number of signal cables in the cable part of the optical-electrical hybrid cable can be reduced.

[0081] In a possible implementation manner, the cable part includes a pair of signal cables; the pair of signal cables is used to transmit a clock line signal and a bidirectional data line signal.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present application, both the PCIe host and the PCIe device in the data transmission system are provided with microcontrollers, which can be used to implement the encoding of multiple low-speed signals into a single second data signal and the decoding of a single second data signal into multiple low-speed signals. In this way, the transceiver of a single second data signal can be transmitted through a pair of signal cables in the cable part, and the number of signal cables used in the cable part can be reduced. Exemplarily, the two signal cables can be used for a clock line signal (Clock Signal, SCL) and a bidirectional data line signal (Serial Data, SDA), and each signal cable can perform signal transmission in both directions. The cable part can be a copper cable, specifically, it can be of types such as coaxial or twisted pair, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0083] Exemplarily, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the transmission of PCIe low-speed signals after encoding processing through the cable part provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 4 shown, the PCIe host includes a first microcontroller, and the PCIe device includes a second microcontroller. Multiple low-speed signals from the first PCIe bus pass through the first microcontroller, and the multiple low-speed signals are encoded into a single second data signal. Then, the PCIe host sends the single second data signal to the PCIe device through the cable part. In the PCIe device, the single second data signal is decoded into multiple low-speed signals by the second microcontroller, realizing the decoding and translation at the opposite end. This data transmission method can reduce the number of signal cables in the cable part, but requires certain development work. It needs to be encoded through an MCU or a logic chip, and logical or timing coordination with different PCIe devices is required.

[0084] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, in the data transmission system, the PCIe host and the PCIe device transmit PCIe bus data through an optical-electrical hybrid cable. At this time, the optical-electrical hybrid cable can be an overall cable structure obtained by mixing the optical cable part and the cable part. However, inside the PCIe host and the PCIe device, the optical cable part and the cable part can be separated. The optical cable part is connected to the PCIe bus through the first optical-electrical conversion module; the cable part can be directly connected to the PCIe bus or can be connected to the PCIe bus through a microcontroller. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In this way, the connection between the data transmission system and the optical-electrical hybrid cable is more flexible and has stronger scalability.

[0085] In a possible implementation manner, the types of the first optical-electrical conversion module and the second optical-electrical conversion module include active optical cable (AOC), on-board optical module (OBO), near-packaged optical module (NPO), or co-packaged optical module (CPO).

[0086] In the embodiments of the present application, the types of the optical-electrical conversion modules (the first optical-electrical conversion module and the second optical-electrical conversion module) may include active optical cables (Active Optical Cables, AOC), pluggable optical-electrical conversion modules, on-board optical modules (On Board Optics, OBO), near-packaged optical modules (Near packaged optics, NPO), or co-packaged optical modules (Co-packaged optics, CPO), etc. The packaging forms may include QSF+, QSFP, QSFP-DD, CDFP, OSFP, OSFP-XD, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific types and packaging forms of the optical-electrical conversion modules.

[0087] In the embodiments of the present application, the optoelectronic conversion module (the first optoelectronic conversion module and the second optoelectronic conversion module) may specifically include a laser, a driver (Driver), a photoelectric detector (Photoelectric Detector, PD), a trans-impedance amplifier (Trans-Impedance Amplifier, TIA), and optionally digital signal processing (Digital Signal Processing, DSP), etc. The types of optoelectronic conversion modules include but are not limited to multimode vertical cavity surface emitting laser (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser, VCSEL) solutions, directly modulated laser (Directly Modulated Laser, DML) solutions, externally modulated laser (External Modulated Laser, EML) solutions, silicon photonics modulation solutions, and thin film lithium niobate modulation solutions. Lasers include but are not limited to forms such as VCSEL, Fabry Perot (FP) lasers, distributed feedback (Distribute Feedback, DFB), distributed Bragg reflector (Distributed Bragg Reflector, DBR) lasers, etc. The photodetector PD includes but is not limited to forms such as p-type semiconductor - intrinsic - n-type semiconductor (positive-intrinsic-negative, PIN), avalanche photodiode (avalanche photodiode, APD), etc. Of course, the specific types of optoelectronic conversion modules and the specific types of each component can be flexibly selected based on actual requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0088] Exemplarily, Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of PCIe data transmission provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 6As shown, in this embodiment, the number of channels of the PCIe device is x1, and the optical - electrical conversion module used is AOC (Active Optical Cable). The module internally includes a Transmitter Optical Subassembly (TOSA), a Receiver Optical Subassembly (ROSA), and a Driver. Among them, TOSA includes a VCSEL laser, and ROSA includes a PD and a TIA. Specifically, the high - speed data transmission (Tx) signal of the first PCIe bus of the PCIe host is modulated by the Driver into the laser signal in the TOSA to obtain a first data signal, and then is transmitted through the multimode optical fiber (optical cable part) in the optical - electrical hybrid cable to the ROSA in the AOC module of the PCIe device. The PD in the ROSA converts the received optical signal (the first data signal) into an electrical signal (high - speed data signal), and is amplified by the TIA and transmitted to the second PCIe bus of the PCIe device. The communication process between the PCIe device side and the PCIe host side is the same as the above process. In this way, 2 multimode optical fibers are required for signal transceiver. At the same time, the low - speed signal of the first PCIe bus of the PCIe host is transmitted through the cable part ( Figure 5 in which is a copper cable) in the optical - electrical hybrid cable to the second PCIe bus of the PCIe device. The low - speed signal includes 7 kinds of signals, and 7 copper cables can be correspondingly used for transmission.

[0089] Exemplarily, Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another PCIe data transmission provided by the embodiment of the present application. As Figure 6 shown, in this embodiment, the number of channels of the PCIe device is x1, and the optical - electrical conversion module used is an On - Board Optical Module (OBO). The module internally includes a TOSA, a ROSA, and a Drive. Among them, TOSA includes a VCSEL laser, and ROSA includes a PD and a TIA. Specifically, the high - speed data Tx signal of the first PCIe bus of the PCIe host is modulated by the Driver into the laser signal in the TOSA to obtain a first data signal, and then is transmitted through the multimode optical fiber (optical cable part) in the optical - electrical hybrid cable to the ROSA in the AOC module of the PCIe device. The PD in the ROSA converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal, and is amplified by the TIA and transmitted to the second PCIe bus of the PCIe device. The communication process between the PCIe device side and the PCIe host side is the same as the above process. Therefore, 2 multimode optical fibers are required for signal transceiver. At the same time, the low - speed signal of the first PCIe bus of the PCIe host is transmitted through the copper cable in the optical - electrical hybrid cable to the second PCIe bus of the PCIe device. The low - speed signal includes 7 kinds of signals and 7 copper cables are required for transmission. Figure 6 And Figure 5The difference is that OBO is in the form of on-board, does not have the pluggable form of AOC, has a higher integration level, but lacks flexibility.

[0090] Exemplarily, Figure 7 Another schematic diagram of PCIe data transmission provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. As Figure 7 shown, the number of channels of the PCIe device is x1, and the optoelectronic conversion module used is AOC (active optical cable). The module internally includes TOSA, ROSA, and Driver, where TOSA includes a VCSEL laser, and ROSA includes a PD and a TIA. Specifically, the high-speed data Tx signal of the first PCIe bus of the PCIe host is modulated by the Driver into the laser signal in the TOSA to obtain a first data signal, and then is transmitted through the multimode optical fiber in the optical and electrical hybrid cable to the ROSA in the AOC module at the PCIe device end. The PD in the ROSA converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal, and amplifies and transmits it to the second PCIe bus at the PCIe device end via the TIA. The communication process between the PCIe device end and the PCIe host end is the same as the above process, so 2 optical fibers are required for transceiver signals. At the same time, a microcontroller MCU is added at both the PCIe host end and the PCIe device end, which is responsible for encoding multiple low-speed signals into one signal for transmission. The I2C protocol can be used, and the multiple low-speed signals can be Figure 7 the seven low-speed signals shown in. After encoding the seven low-speed signals by the first microcontroller at the PCIe host end, a second data signal is obtained, which specifically includes a clock signal line and a bidirectional data line; then it is transmitted through the copper cable in the optical and electrical hybrid cable to the second microcontroller at the PCIe device end, and the second microcontroller decodes the second data signal into multiple low-speed signals and transmits them to the second PCIe bus. In this way, the low-speed signals of PCIe can be transmitted through two copper cables, reducing the number of copper cables in the optical and electrical hybrid cable.

[0091] Compared with the method of transmitting PCIe sideband signals by using optoelectronic / electro-optical conversion in the related art, in the data transmission system of the embodiment of the present application, the sideband signals and other PCIe low-speed signals are directly transmitted through the cable part in the optical and electrical hybrid cable, and the PCIe high-speed data signals are transmitted through the optical cable part, which can reduce loss and delay, save costs, and transmit the sideband signals through cables such as copper cables, saving the optoelectronic / electro-optical conversion device, which can save costs, reduce delay and power consumption. And, since the PCIe standard specification does not define the processing method of sideband signals, the processing of sideband signals by different PCIe device manufacturers is inconsistent. If an optoelectronic / electro-optical conversion device is used, it needs to be customized according to different manufacturer types, resulting in higher costs. However, in the embodiment of the present application, fast transmission is based on the cable part, and no special processing is required for low-speed signals, and the adaptability is relatively wide, and it can be applied to any PCIe device factory.

[0092] In addition, the data transmission method in the embodiments of the present application is simple, flexible, and highly reliable. The high-speed data signals and low-speed signals such as sideband signals are transmitted separately. The high-speed data signals can be transmitted in a manner that multiplexes Ethernet optical transmission, and the low-speed signals such as sideband signals can be directly transmitted through cables, which can enhance the reliability and stability of the system.

[0093] The data transmission method in the PCIe optical interconnection of the embodiments of the present application is applicable to PCIe devices launched by different manufacturers. These PCIe devices of different manufacturers usually have inconsistent processing of low-speed signals such as sideband signals, and it is difficult to achieve interconnection and interoperability of different PCIe devices only through optical fiber connections. However, in the PCIe optical interconnection method based on the optical and electrical hybrid cable in the embodiments of the present application, the high-speed data signals are transmitted through optical fibers, and the low-speed signals such as sideband signals are transmitted through cables such as copper cables, which can reduce the system cost and transmission delay.

[0094] Based on the above embodiments, Figure 8 FIG. is a schematic flowchart of a data transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present application. This data transmission method is applied to a data transmission system, which includes an optical and electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device; the optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; as Figure 8 shown, this data transmission method includes:

[0095] S801: Transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable part; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus.

[0096] S802: Transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable part; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

[0097] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe bus includes a first PCIe bus and a second PCIe bus; the PCIe host is provided with a first PCIe bus and a first optical and electrical conversion module; the PCIe device is provided with a second PCIe bus and a second optical and electrical conversion module; transmitting the first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable part includes:

[0098] Converting the high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into a first data signal through the first optical and electrical conversion module;

[0099] Transmitting the first data signal from the first optical and electrical conversion module to the second optical and electrical conversion module through the optical cable part;

[0100] The first data signal is converted into a high-speed data signal by the second optoelectronic conversion module and transmitted to the second PCIe bus.

[0101] In a possible implementation, the second data signal is transmitted between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through a cable section, including:

[0102] The second data signal sent by the first PCIe bus is transparently transmitted to the second PCIe bus through the cable section; the number of signal cables included in the cable section is the same as the number of signals of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal.

[0103] In a possible implementation, the PCIe host further includes a first microcontroller; the method further includes:

[0104] The first microcontroller encodes multiple low-speed signals sent by the first PCIe bus into one second data signal.

[0105] In a possible implementation, the PCIe device further includes a second microcontroller; transmitting the second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable section includes:

[0106] Transmitting one second data signal from the first microcontroller to the second microcontroller through the cable section;

[0107] The second microcontroller receives one second data signal transmitted by the cable section, decodes one second data signal into multiple low-speed signals, and transmits the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus.

[0108] In a possible implementation, the cable section includes a pair of signal cables; the pair of signal cables is used to transmit a clock line signal and a bidirectional data line signal.

[0109] In a possible implementation, the optical cable section includes multiple optical fibers; the number of optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the types of the first optoelectronic conversion module and the second optoelectronic conversion module include an active optical cable (AOC), an on-board optical module (OBO), a near-packaged optical module (NPO), or a co-packaged optical module (CPO).

[0111] For the specific implementation manners of the steps in the above data transmission method, reference may be made to the foregoing description of the data transmission system, which can achieve the same functions and technical effects, and are not described in detail in the embodiments of the present application. Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of a data transmission device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Please refer to Figure 9, the data transmission device 90 is applied to a data transmission system, which includes an optical and electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device; the optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; the data transmission device 90 may include:

[0112] A first transmission module 91, configured to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable part; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus.

[0113] A second transmission module 92, configured to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable part; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

[0114] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe bus includes a first PCIe bus and a second PCIe bus; the PCIe host is provided with a first PCIe bus and a first optical and electrical conversion module; the PCIe device is provided with a second PCIe bus and a second optical and electrical conversion module; the first transmission module 91 is specifically configured to:

[0115] Convert the high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into a first data signal through the first optical and electrical conversion module;

[0116] Transmit the first data signal from the first optical and electrical conversion module to the second optical and electrical conversion module through the optical cable part;

[0117] Convert the first data signal into a high-speed data signal through the second optical and electrical conversion module and transmit it to the second PCIe bus.

[0118] In a possible implementation manner, the second transmission module 92 is specifically configured to:

[0119] Pass through the cable part the second data signal sent by the first PCIe bus to the second PCIe bus; the number of signal cables included in the cable part is the same as the number of signals of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal.

[0120] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe host further includes a first microcontroller; the device 90 is further configured to:

[0121] Encode multiple low-speed signals sent by the first PCIe bus into one second data signal through the first microcontroller.

[0122] In a possible implementation manner, the PCIe device further includes a second microcontroller; the second transmission module 92 is specifically configured to:

[0123] Transmit a second data signal from the first microcontroller to the second microcontroller through the cable part;

[0124] Receive a second data signal transmitted by the cable part through the second microcontroller, decode the second data signal into multiple low-speed signals, and transmit the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus.

[0125] In a possible implementation manner, the cable part includes a pair of signal cables; the pair of signal cables is used to transmit a clock line signal and a bidirectional data line signal.

[0126] In a possible implementation manner, the optical cable part includes multiple optical fibers; the number of optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels.

[0127] In a possible implementation manner, the types of the first optoelectronic conversion module and the second optoelectronic conversion module include an active optical cable AOC, an on-board optical module OBO, a near-packaged optical module NPO, or a co-packaged optical module CPO.

[0128] The data transmission device 90 provided by the embodiments of the present application can execute the technical solutions shown in the above method embodiments, and the implementation principles and beneficial effects are similar, and will not be elaborated here.

[0129] In the present application, the term "including" and its variations may refer to non-limiting inclusion; the term "or" and its variations may refer to "and / or". In the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish similar objects, and do not have to be used to describe a specific order or sequence. In the present application, "multiple" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0130] The above are only partial embodiments of the present application. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principle of the present application, several improvements and refinements can be made, and these improvements and refinements should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A data transmission system, characterized in that, It includes an optical and electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device; The optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; wherein, The optical cable part is used to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus; The cable part is used to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to the low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein The PCIe bus includes a first PCIe bus and a second PCIe bus; the first PCIe bus and a first optical and electrical conversion module are provided in the PCIe host; the second PCIe bus and a second optical and electrical conversion module are provided in the PCIe device; wherein, The first optical and electrical conversion module is used to convert the high-speed data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into the first data signal; The optical cable part is used to transmit the first data signal from the first optical and electrical conversion module to the second optical and electrical conversion module; The second optical and electrical conversion module is used to convert the first data signal into the high-speed data signal and transmit it to the second PCIe bus.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein The cable part is used to transparently transmit the second data signal sent by the first PCIe bus into the second PCIe bus; the number of signal cables included in the cable part is the same as the number of signals of the low-speed signals included in the second data signal.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein A first microcontroller is further included in the PCIe host; the first microcontroller is used to encode multiple low-speed signals sent by the first PCIe bus into one second data signal.

5. The system according to claim 4, characterized in that, A second microcontroller is further included in the PCIe device; the cable part is used to transmit the one second data signal from the first microcontroller to the second microcontroller; The second microcontroller is used to receive the one second data signal transmitted by the cable part, decode the one second data signal into multiple low-speed signals, and transmit the multiple low-speed signals to the second PCIe bus.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein The cable part includes a pair of signal cables; the pair of signal cables are used to transmit a clock line signal and a bidirectional data line signal.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The optical cable part includes multiple optical fibers; the number of optical fibers corresponds to the number of PCIe channels.

8. The system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that The types of the first optical and electrical conversion module and the second optical and electrical conversion module include active optical cable AOC, on-board optical module OBO, near-packaged optical module NPO, or co-packaged optical module CPO.

9. A data transmission method, characterized in that Applied to a data transmission system, the data transmission system includes an optical and electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device; The optical and electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable part and a cable part; the method includes: Transmitting a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable part; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to the high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus; Transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable portion; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to a low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

10. A data transmission device, characterized in that, Applied to a data transmission system, the data transmission system includes an optical-electrical hybrid cable, a high-speed serial computer expansion PCIe host, and a PCIe device; The optical-electrical hybrid cable includes an optical cable portion and a cable portion; the apparatus includes: A first transmission module, configured to transmit a first data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the optical cable portion; the first data signal includes an optical signal corresponding to a high-speed data signal of the PCIe bus; A second transmission module, configured to transmit a second data signal between the PCIe host and the PCIe device through the cable portion; the second data signal includes an electrical signal corresponding to a low-speed signal of the PCIe bus.

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