Hard disk sorting device and server

Abstract

The application discloses a hard disk sorting device and a server, relates to the technical field of servers, and comprises a channel expansion module, a plurality of communication channels with fixed serial numbers, wherein the communication channels are used for one-to-one connection with hard disk backplanes, and the serial number of the hard disk backplane is the serial number of the communication channel connected with the hard disk backplane; and a controller connected with the channel expansion module and used for receiving hard disk connection information sent by the channel expansion module, wherein the hard disk connection information is used for indicating the serial numbers of the plurality of hard disk backplanes connected with the channel expansion module. The application solves the problem of low sorting accuracy of the hard disk management mechanism in the related art.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of servers, and more particularly to a hard disk sorting device and a server. Background Technology

[0002] To meet the ever-increasing demand for data storage, high-end servers are often equipped with multiple hard drive backplanes, allowing for expansion to hundreds or even thousands of hard drives. However, with the increase in the number of hard drives, their management and maintenance become increasingly complex. Specifically, when a hard drive fails during server operation, or when dynamic storage capacity adjustments are needed, hot-swapping of hard drives becomes very frequent. This requires servers to have efficient and accurate hard drive management mechanisms to ensure data security and system stability.

[0003] Within the relevant technical framework, when a server is configured with multiple hard drive backplanes, especially when front and rear backplanes are used interchangeably, the server cannot distinguish between hard drives on different backplanes, resulting in duplicate hard drive numbering. This makes it difficult for maintenance personnel to accurately locate faulty hard drives. In other words, the hard drive management mechanism in this technology suffers from low sorting accuracy. Utility Model Content

[0004] This application provides a hard disk sorting device and server to at least solve the problem of low sorting accuracy in hard disk management mechanisms in related technologies.

[0005] This application provides a hard disk sorting device, including: a channel expansion module, including multiple communication channels with fixed serial numbers, wherein the communication channels are used to connect to the hard disk backplane one by one, and the serial number of the hard disk backplane is the serial number of the communication channel connected to the hard disk backplane.

[0006] The controller, connected to the channel expansion module, is used to receive hard drive connection information sent by the channel expansion module. The hard drive connection information is used to indicate the serial numbers of the multiple hard drive backplanes connected to the channel expansion module.

[0007] This application also provides a server, including: the aforementioned hard disk sorting device;

[0008] The hard drive backplane, connected to the hard drive sorting device, is used to provide hard drive slots for connecting hard drives;

[0009] The chassis has at least one silkscreen on its exterior, which is used to indicate the serial number of the hard drive connected to the hard drive backplane.

[0010] This application provides a channel expansion module with channels of fixed serial numbers. Regardless of the type or model of the hard drive backplane connected to a channel, it will be assigned that channel's serial number, which is unique to that channel. The controller, connected to the channel expansion module, can obtain the serial number of the hard drive backplane connected to the channel expansion module. By fixing the connection order of the hard drive backplanes at the hardware level, the technical problem of low sorting accuracy in related hard drive management mechanisms can be solved. Attached Figure Description

[0011] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware environment of an optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0013] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0014] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an optional channel expansion module according to an embodiment of this application;

[0015] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0016] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an optional server according to an embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server according to an embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server according to an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an optional server silkscreen layout according to an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server silkscreen layout according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 11This is a schematic diagram of another optional server silkscreen layout according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of this application.

[0024] It should be noted that, in the description of this application, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. The terms "first," "second," etc., in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0025] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0026] According to one aspect of the embodiments of this application, a hard disk sorting apparatus is provided. As an optional implementation, the hard disk sorting apparatus may be applied to, but is not limited to, applications such as... Figure 1 The hardware environment of the server shown is as follows. The server 102 may include a hard disk sorting device, which can be connected to a hard disk backplane and can connect to multiple hard disks 104. The hard disk sorting device can sort the hard disks 104 connected to the hard disk backplane.

[0027] A server is a dedicated high-performance computer used to provide services, process data, store information, share resources, and perform computing tasks over a network. In data centers, enterprise IT architectures, cloud services, and other scenarios, servers are core infrastructure responsible for supporting various applications, services, and data processing needs. Built-in hardware management modules such as the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) can monitor the server's health status, including temperature, voltage, fan speed, and hard drive status, enabling remote management and automated operation and maintenance.

[0028] The hard drive backplane is a critical component of a server, primarily providing a unified interface for hard drives to facilitate signal transmission, data exchange, and power supply. The backplane features multiple hard drive interfaces for connection, supporting hot-swapping, allowing hard drives to be replaced without shutting down the server. Through internal wiring, the backplane connects the hard drives' read / write data and power requirements to the server motherboard or expansion cards, enabling multiple hard drives to be connected to the server system simultaneously. The hard drive backplane integrates management chips or monitoring modules, such as Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), to detect the hard drive's presence status, type (HDD or SSD), capacity, and other information, transmitting this information to the server's BMC or other management components for intelligent hard drive management and dynamic sorting.

[0029] Hard disk drives (HDDs; Solid State Drives (SSDs)) are devices used to store data in servers, mainly including two types: traditional mechanical hard drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs).

[0030] Hard disk drives (HDDs) use magnetic media to store data, accessing it by rotating platters and using read / write heads to access magnetic particles. HDDs offer large storage capacities but have relatively slow read / write speeds and are sensitive to vibration. Solid-state drives (SSDs), on the other hand, use flash memory or non-volatile memory chips as their storage medium. With no moving parts, they offer faster read / write speeds, greater durability, and lower power consumption. SSDs are suitable for applications requiring high performance and reliability, such as database servers and high-performance computing (HPC) systems.

[0031] In an alternative implementation, a large enterprise-level data center operates hundreds of high-end servers, each equipped with dozens or even hundreds of hard drives. In such a massive hardware architecture, hot-swapping of hard drives occurs almost every few hours—perhaps to replace a faulty drive or to expand storage capacity. Without an effective hard drive sorting system, after each hot-swap operation, maintenance personnel need to spend a significant amount of time recalibrating and verifying that the physical location of the hard drives matches the drive order displayed in the BMC monitoring system. This process is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive but also prone to errors. A hard drive sorting device detects the presence and type of hard drives, such as changes in the number of hard drives and their models. By acquiring hard drive information and combining it with the physical location and number of hard drives on the backplane, the system automatically calculates and updates the drive order, ensuring a one-to-one correspondence between the drive order and the hard drive locations silkscreened on the server chassis. When a hard drive is hot-swapped, the drive order is recalculated and synchronously updated to the server monitoring system, thus maintaining the correctness and consistency of the drive order at all times.

[0032] Embodiments of this application provide a hard disk sorting device. Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of an optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application; as shown Figure 2 As shown, the hard disk sorting device includes:

[0033] The channel expansion module 202 includes multiple communication channels with fixed serial numbers. Each communication channel is used to connect to a hard disk backplane, and the serial number of the hard disk backplane is the serial number of the communication channel to which the hard disk backplane is connected.

[0034] The controller 204 is connected to the channel expansion module and is used to receive hard disk connection information sent by the channel expansion module. The hard disk connection information is used to indicate the serial numbers of the multiple hard disk backplanes connected to the channel expansion module.

[0035] It should be noted that the combined use of the channel expansion module 202 and the controller 204 forms the core architecture for achieving automatic hard drive sorting and efficient management of the server. The channel expansion module 202 connects to different hard drive backplanes through multiple communication channels with fixed serial numbers (as shown by numbers ① to ⑧ in section 2). These communication channel numbers correspond one-to-one with the hard drive backplane numbers, ensuring that the location information of each hard drive is accurately transmitted to the controller 204. The controller 204 receives and processes the hard drive connection information from the channel expansion module 202. This information not only reflects the connection status of the hard drive backplanes but also includes detailed configuration and status data of the hard drives.

[0036] The channel expansion module 202 is a hardware module designed based on the I2C bus or a similar communication protocol. It integrates multiple communication channels, each with a fixed serial number. These communication channels connect to different hard drive backplanes via I2C or other serial data lines. In this way, even if the server is configured with multiple hard drive backplanes, the BMC (as part or all of the controller 204) can communicate efficiently and systematically with each hard drive backplane through the channel expansion module 202. The fixed serial number of each communication channel means that once a channel is connected to a specific hard drive backplane, this serial number becomes a unique identifier for the hard drive backplane, facilitating management and tracking by the BMC at the software level. The channel expansion module 202 establishes a stable communication link with each hard drive backplane through its internal communication channels, responsible for data transmission and signal forwarding.

[0037] Controller 204 is the intelligent management unit in the server hardware, primarily responsible for server monitoring, management, and maintenance. Controller 204 receives hard drive connection information from channel expansion module 202, including the serial number of each hard drive backplane and the status and configuration information of the hard drives connected to that backplane. Controller 204 obtains real-time hard drive connection information from channel expansion module 202 via I2C bus or other communication protocols, including the physical location, model, capacity, and health status of the hard drives. Based on the hard drive backplane serial number and the number of connected hard drives, controller 204 can automatically calculate the disk sequence number of each hard drive, ensuring rapid identification and location of each hard drive even after hot-swapping. When a hard drive fails, controller 204 can immediately locate the faulty hard drive on the server chassis based on its disk sequence number and backplane serial number, significantly improving the efficiency of fault location and handling.

[0038] In traditional server management, the lack of an effective hardware and software coordination mechanism often leads to mismatches between hard drive serial numbers and their actual physical locations during hot-swapping. By introducing a communication channel with fixed serial numbers and a corresponding connection to the hard drive backplane, along with automatic disk order calculation by the intelligent controller, the problem of out-of-order hard drives is effectively solved. By directly obtaining detailed hard drive information and status at the hardware level, rather than relying on complex software configurations or manual operations, the combined use of the controller 204 and the channel expansion module 202 enhances the server's hardware monitoring and management capabilities, enabling real-time monitoring and dynamic updates of hard drive status, and providing a solid foundation for intelligent server operation and maintenance.

[0039] This application provides a channel expansion module with channels of fixed serial numbers. Regardless of the type or model of the hard drive backplane connected to a channel, it will be assigned that channel's serial number, which is unique to that channel. The controller, connected to the channel expansion module, can obtain the serial number of the hard drive backplane connected to the channel expansion module. By fixing the connection order of the hard drive backplanes at the hardware level, the technical problem of low sorting accuracy in related hard drive management mechanisms can be solved.

[0040] In an optional implementation, the channel expansion module is connected to at least one hard disk backplane, and the hard disk backplane is connected to multiple communication channels one by one; the hard disk backplane is provided with multiple hard disk slots, each hard disk slot being used to connect a hard disk.

[0041] It's important to note that the hard drive backplane is a hardware platform within the server used for connecting and managing hard drives. It features a series of hard drive slots to support hot-swappable hard drives. Each hard drive backplane connects to a communication channel in the channel expansion module, enabling communication between the hard drives and the server monitoring system. The main functions and features of the hard drive backplane include: providing hardware interfaces such as SATA, SAS, and PCIe for hard drives, ensuring stable connection and efficient data transfer for different types of drives; hot-swappable backplanes allow for the non-destructive addition or removal of hard drives during server operation, improving system availability and flexibility; and a built-in CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) that monitors the hard drive status in real time, including temperature, voltage, and rotational speed. This information is transmitted to the BMC (Browser Control Center) via the communication channel for system monitoring and fault warning.

[0042] By mapping each hard drive backplane to a specific communication channel, the BMC can automatically calculate and assign hard drive serial numbers based on the channel number and information provided by the CPLD on the hard drive backplane. This ensures that each hard drive can be accurately identified and located even in environments with frequent hot-swapping operations. The one-to-one connection between the channel expansion module and the communication channel effectively enhances the system's internal communication capabilities, avoids overloading of a single communication channel, guarantees the real-time nature of hard drive status information, and improves the monitoring efficiency and response speed of the entire server system.

[0043] Effective hard drive management and real-time monitoring can promptly detect potential hard drive failures and allow for preventative measures to avoid data loss. Furthermore, well-organized hard drive management helps maintain data continuity and integrity during data migration and backup operations, further enhancing the data security of the server system.

[0044] In an optional implementation, at least one hard disk backplane is connected to a plurality of communication channels, including at least one of the following:

[0045] 1) At least one front-panel hard drive backplane is connected to multiple communication channels one by one;

[0046] 2) At least one rear hard drive backplane is connected to multiple communication channels one by one.

[0047] It should be noted that in server architecture, the design of front and rear backplanes is to optimize the installation, management, and heat dissipation of storage devices, and also aims to improve the storage flexibility and scalability of the server.

[0048] The front panel (or backplane) is located at the front of the server chassis, typically part of the chassis front panel, facing the user or maintenance personnel. Its front position makes replacing hard drives or performing maintenance easier and faster, without needing to disassemble the server chassis. The front panel is usually designed with good ventilation holes and heat dissipation paths to help cool the hard drives and maintain optimal operating temperatures. It is usually covered by a panel, which not only enhances the professional and clean appearance of the server but also helps prevent unauthorized hardware access.

[0049] The front panel (or backplane) is primarily responsible for connecting the hard drives at the front of the server. These drives are typically designed for frequent access and fast response times, such as for operating systems, applications, or frequently used data storage. Through the front panel, servers can quickly replace and expand storage devices while ensuring high system availability and ease of maintenance.

[0050] The rear panel, located at the back of the server chassis, is designed to provide more storage space and higher data throughput, and is typically used in large enterprise-level servers or data center environments. Rear panel designs can be more compact, supporting a greater number of hard drives, suitable for high-capacity data storage needs. RAID controllers or other storage enhancements may be integrated into the rear panel, providing data redundancy and performance optimization. Due to its concealed location, the rear panel may employ more specialized and complex cooling systems and cabling designs to cope with the heat and signal interference generated by high-density storage devices.

[0051] The rear panel is mainly responsible for connecting the hard drives at the back of the server. These hard drives are mainly used for tasks such as large-scale data storage, backup and archiving. They often do not require direct user access and focus more on data security, storage density and performance.

[0052] In an optional implementation, each front-panel hard drive backplane is connected to the BMC via an independent I2C bus channel. This means that if the server is configured with three front-panel hard drive backplanes, there will be three independent I2C buses connecting these backplanes respectively. By allocating an independent communication channel to each front-panel hard drive backplane, the BMC can accurately receive hard drive status information from each backplane, avoiding information interference and errors between backplanes, and ensuring accurate hard drive sorting and efficient management.

[0053] Similar to the front-panel backplane, the rear-panel backplanes are also connected to the BMC via independent I2C bus channels. If the server is configured with four rear-panel backplanes, then four I2C buses ensure independent communication between each backplane and the BMC. This independent communication channel design for the rear-panel backplanes further enhances the BMC's monitoring and management capabilities over the server's internal hard drives. Even in scenarios with frequent hot-swapping of hard drives, the BMC can quickly and accurately update the hard drive order, avoiding confusion and ensuring the continuity and stability of data services.

[0054] The CPLD on the hard drive backplane is responsible for real-time detection of the hard drive's presence status and type information, and feeds it back to the BMC through the communication channel. It is the core component for realizing automatic hard drive sorting and status monitoring.

[0055] In an optional implementation, the controller and the channel expansion module are connected via an I2C bus.

[0056] It should be noted that the I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) bus is also known as I... 2 The I2C bus is a protocol for serial communication between integrated circuits. The I2C bus is based on two lines (SCL: serial clock line, SDA: serial data line) to realize communication between multiple devices. It is widely used in the connection of devices such as microcontrollers, sensors, EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory), real-time clock (RTC), A / D and D / A converters.

[0057] In server hardware architecture, the I2C bus is commonly used for communication between the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) and various peripheral devices such as sensors, power management modules, and hard drive backplanes. The I2C bus is a crucial channel for communication between the BMC and the CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) on the hard drive backplane. Through the I2C bus, the BMC can obtain hard drive status information (such as presence / absence, temperature, etc.) from the CPLD on the hard drive backplane, and dynamically calculate and update the hard drive order based on this information, thus achieving intelligent management and maintenance of the hard drives.

[0058] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an optional channel expansion module according to an embodiment of this application; as shown... Figure 3 As shown, the channel expansion module may include an expansion chip, which can be connected via a connector (such as...) Figure 3 Connectors 1 to n shown are connected to the interface (e.g., Figure 3 The interfaces shown are 1 to n, and the interfaces are connected to the communication channel.

[0059] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application; as shown Figure 4 As shown, a first resistor and a second resistor can be placed between the controller and the channel expansion module to protect the circuit. Path switching can also be performed using an OR gate.

[0060] Specifically, the controller can connect to the first resistor via an I2C bus interface (e.g., I2C7). This interface is responsible for transmitting data and control signals and is the core channel for implementing automatic hard drive sorting. The first resistor can be 33Ω, and the second resistor can be 4.7kΩ. Resistors in the circuit play roles such as current limiting and voltage division, and they are crucial for stable signal transmission. A logic OR gate is used to perform logical operations in a circuit and can be used to describe a specific connection method in the circuit design, such as switching between multiple paths.

[0061] The I2C expander chip can be the PCA9548, which can expand a single I2C bus interface of the BMC (Browser Controller) into multiple interfaces, allowing the BMC to communicate with devices on multiple hard drive backplanes simultaneously. The address of the PCA9548 can be set to `1110_000X`, indicating that it can be addressed so that the BMC can recognize and communicate with a specific backplane.

[0062] The communication channel can be an I2C header, using different I2C interfaces to connect to the hard drive backplane interface. For example, FRONT_BP_NO1 to FRONT_BP_NO3 can be the I2C interfaces of the front hard drive backplane. REAR_BP_NO1 to REAR_BP_NO4 can be the I2C interfaces of the rear hard drive backplane.

[0063] The second resistor can be connected to the power supply, such as P3V3 AUX. P3V3 indicates a +3.3V power supply, which is one of the commonly used DC voltage standards between server motherboards and other hardware components. AUX means auxiliary power supply, which usually refers to an additional power supply provided in addition to the main power supply, used for specific hardware devices or to provide the necessary power to the system under specific conditions (such as standby or hibernation).

[0064] Through the PCA9548 expander, the BMC can communicate with devices on multiple hard drive backplanes, not just a single backplane. This allows the BMC to effectively manage and control the disk order of all hard drives, even if the server is configured with multiple hard drive backplanes. The BMC dynamically calculates a unique disk order for each hard drive in the system based on the backplane insertion order, the number of hard drives supported by each backplane, and the address information from the PCA9548. This ensures that even if the backplane configuration changes, the BMC can accurately identify each hard drive and achieve automated sorting. Each hard drive backplane's CPLD stores configuration information about the backplane, such as the number and type of supported hard drives. The BMC reads this information via the I2C bus to facilitate disk order calculation and management.

[0065] Figure 5This is a schematic diagram of another optional hard disk sorting device according to an embodiment of this application; the controller can be connected to multiple expansion chips to facilitate the connection of more hard disk backplanes. The number of communication channels of an expansion chip is fixed, so the number of communication channels can be increased by increasing the number of expansion chips. The order of the communication channels of multiple expansion chips is also fixed; the communication channels of each expansion chip are not reordered, but are uniformly ordered as a whole.

[0066] An embodiment of this application provides a server, which includes: a hard disk sorting device; a hard disk backplane connected to the hard disk sorting device for providing hard disk slots for connecting hard disks; and a chassis with at least one silkscreen on the outside of the chassis for indicating the serial number of the hard disk connected to the hard disk backplane.

[0067] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of an optional server according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 6 As shown, silkscreen markings can be installed on the server chassis. For example, PCIe0 indicates the PCIe devices connected to the server, FAN0 to FAN5 indicate the six fans installed on the server, and 0 to 7 indicate the eight connected hard drives. These silkscreen markings provide a physical serial number for each device. Clearly, if the silkscreen markings on each device match the serial numbers assigned to them by the backend, device location can be quickly determined in the event of a server problem.

[0068] It should be noted that, as mentioned earlier, the hard drive sorting device primarily undertakes the tasks of automatic hard drive sorting and information management. It consists of key components such as a channel expansion module and a controller (e.g., BMC), enabling dynamic monitoring and intelligent sorting of hard drives through communication with the hard drive backplane. The hard drive sorting device establishes connections with the hard drive backplane through multiple independent communication channels (e.g., I2C bus) to ensure the accuracy and real-time nature of information transmission. The device can receive information such as the hard drive's location status, type, and capacity from the hard drive backplane, providing data support for sorting and status monitoring. Based on the physical location of the hard drive backplane and the number of hard drive slots on each backplane, the device automatically calculates the hard drive order, maintaining consistency between the order and physical location even during hot-swapping operations. The device feeds back the calculated hard drive order information to the server's monitoring system, ensuring that the BMC or other monitoring modules can update the hard drive status and location information in real time.

[0069] The hard drive backplane is a hardware platform inside a server used to connect and manage hard drives. It is typically installed at the front or rear of the chassis and provides multiple hard drive slots for connection. The backplane supports hot-swapping of hard drives, allowing replacement without shutting down the server, improving system maintainability and availability. The backplane provides the necessary power and data interfaces for the hard drives, such as SATA and SAS interfaces, ensuring stable operation and data transfer. Monitoring components on the backplane, such as CPLDs, can monitor the hard drive status in real time, including temperature, voltage, and RPM, and transmit this information to the hard drive sorting device via communication channels for disk order calculation and fault warning.

[0070] The server chassis is the main framework of the server hardware, used to house and protect critical components such as hard drives, hard drive backplanes, and the server motherboard. Silkscreen markings provide physical location identifiers for the hard drives within the chassis, typically a sequence of numbers or letters that directly maps to the hard drive slot. Combined with the intelligent sorting algorithms of the hard drive sorting device, silkscreen markings help maintenance personnel quickly identify the physical location of faulty hard drives, eliminating the need for manual troubleshooting and significantly reducing fault location time. As an intuitive identifier, silkscreen markings guide maintenance personnel in hard drive replacement operations, avoiding errors from manual sorting and ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of maintenance work.

[0071] By working in tandem with the hard drive backplane and the hard drive sorting device, the accurate correspondence between hard drive order and physical location is ensured even in dynamic environments with frequent hot-swapping, avoiding the disorder issues of traditional management methods. The one-to-one correspondence between the silkscreen markings and the hard drive order allows maintenance personnel to quickly locate hard drive failures, significantly reducing troubleshooting and maintenance time and improving data center operational efficiency. Automatic sorting and rapid fault location reduce additional costs caused by human error, such as losses due to misoperation and redundant maintenance resources, thereby effectively lowering the overall operational cost of the data center. Real-time monitoring and intelligent sorting of hard drive status help to promptly detect and handle hard drive failures, ensuring stable server operation and reducing the risk of system downtime caused by hard drive management problems. This server architecture achieves automated management and intelligent sorting of server hard drives, greatly improving data center operational efficiency, reducing operational costs, and enhancing server system stability and data security, providing strong technical support for the efficient operation of modern data centers.

[0072] In an optional implementation, the hard disk sorting device is connected to the front hard disk backplane, which is located at the front of the chassis; the silkscreen on at least one hard disk slot on the front hard disk backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each hard disk slot, wherein the serial number of the hard disk slot is determined according to the serial number of the front hard disk backplane and the number of hard disk slots.

[0073] Servers typically feature multiple hard drive backplanes, with the front hard drive backplane located at the front of the server chassis. The front hard drive backplane is the hard drive backplane located at the front of the server chassis in the server hardware structure. It has multiple hard drive slots for users to easily connect and replace hard drives, especially suitable for hot-swapping operations. These hard drive slots are clearly marked with silkscreen labels, indicating the corresponding slot number to maintenance personnel in a visually intuitive way. Silkscreen printing refers to permanent markings directly printed or engraved on the surface of the chassis, usually including a sequence of numbers or letters, used to indicate the physical location and number of the hard drive slots.

[0074] The hard drive sorting device receives information from the hard drive backplane and dynamically calculates the hard drive sequence number based on this information, enabling automatic sorting of the hard drives in the server monitoring interface. This device connects to multiple hard drive backplanes, including the front hard drive backplane, and communicates with monitoring components such as CPLDs on the backplane via I2C bus or other communication protocols to collect key information such as the hard drive's presence status, model, and capacity. Then, based on this information and preset sorting rules, it automatically updates the hard drive sequence to ensure it matches the silkscreen markings on the server chassis.

[0075] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server according to an embodiment of this application, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the hard drive sorting device in the server may be connected to hard drive backplane 1, hard drive backplane 2, and hard drive backplane 3. The serial numbers of the hard drive backplanes correspond to the communication channels they are connected to. The front hard drive backplane may allow for the installation of 8 hard drives; therefore, the server chassis will have silkscreen markings (e.g., ...) etched at the corresponding positions on the hard drive backplanes. Figure 7 The location of the hard drive can be indicated by silkscreen printing (1 to 24 in the diagram).

[0076] The hard drive slots on the front-panel hard drive backplane are clearly marked for maintenance personnel. When a server hard drive fails, maintenance personnel can quickly locate the corresponding hard drive slot based on the drive order information on the BMC monitoring interface, greatly simplifying the fault location process. The hard drive sorting device is connected to the front-panel hard drive backplane via a dedicated communication channel, enabling it to acquire hard drive status information in real time. Combined with the hardware parameters provided by the CPLD on the backplane, it automatically calculates and updates the hard drive order, achieving seamless integration of hardware information and the monitoring system. When maintenance personnel perform hot-swapping operations, the hard drive sorting device can immediately detect and automatically adjust the drive order, ensuring that the drive order information remains accurate even in a dynamic environment of frequent hard drive insertions and removals, avoiding the chaos and inefficiency caused by traditional manual sorting.

[0077] In an optional embodiment, the hard disk sorting device is connected to a rear hard disk backplane, which is located at the rear of the chassis; the silkscreen on at least one hard disk slot on the rear hard disk backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each hard disk slot, wherein the serial number of the hard disk slot is determined according to the serial number of the rear hard disk backplane and the number of hard disk slots.

[0078] A rear hard drive backplane is a hardware component located at the rear of a server chassis. It primarily provides connectivity, power, and signal transmission for hard drives, and supports hot-swapping, allowing hard drives to be inserted or removed without damage while the server is running. Rear hard drive backplanes typically have multiple hard drive slots, each with a unique physical location for connecting specific hard drive devices, enabling the server to accommodate and efficiently manage more storage units.

[0079] Silkscreen printing refers to the indicative text or markings printed on the front panel of a server chassis or the backplane of a hard drive, used to indicate the physical location or functional characteristics of various hardware components, such as the hard drive slot number and interface type. Each hard drive slot on a rear hard drive backplane has its own unique silkscreen marking, displaying its corresponding slot number. These numbers are determined based on the backplane's serial number and the number of hard drive slots it contains, presenting a regular sorting method. This ensures that even when there are multiple rear hard drive backplanes within the same server, duplicate silkscreen serial numbers are avoided, achieving accurate identification of the hard drive slot location.

[0080] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server according to an embodiment of this application; as shown Figure 8 As shown, hard drive backplane 1 and hard drive backplane 2 can be rear-mounted hard drive backplanes, each with two drive bays. The order of the hard drive backplanes is determined by their physical communication channels, and the hard drives on them can be arranged sequentially. Silkscreen printing is then applied to the corresponding positions.

[0081] By connecting the hard drive sorting device to the rear hard drive backplane, the disk order is automatically calculated, avoiding the tedious steps and potential errors of manual sorting. This significantly improves the efficiency of maintenance personnel when handling hard drive failures or expanding capacity. The combined use of the rear hard drive backplane and the hard drive sorting device not only supports parallel connections of multiple backplanes but also automatically adjusts the disk order according to different server hardware configurations, adapting to the storage needs of servers in different scenarios.

[0082] In an optional embodiment, the hard disk sorting device connects at least one front hard disk backplane and at least one rear hard disk backplane, with the front hard disk backplane located at the front end of the chassis and the rear hard disk backplane located at the rear end of the chassis. Silkscreen printing on at least one hard disk slot on the front hard disk backplane displays the corresponding serial number for each hard disk slot, wherein the serial number of the hard disk slots on the front hard disk backplane is determined by the serial number of the front hard disk backplane and the number of hard disk slots in sequence. Similarly, silkscreen printing on at least one hard disk slot on the rear hard disk backplane displays the corresponding serial number for each hard disk slot, wherein the serial number of the hard disk slots on the rear hard disk backplane is determined by the serial number of the rear hard disk backplane and the number of hard disk slots in sequence.

[0083] The front panel hard drive backplane is located at the front of the server chassis. It features multiple hard drive slots, each with a silkscreened identifier indicating the hard drive's serial number. This silkscreening is a permanent sequence of numbers or letters engraved on the chassis or backplane surface to indicate the slot's location. The slot numbers on the front panel hard drive backplane are sequentially arranged based on the backplane's own serial number and the number of slots. For example, if there are three front panel hard drive backplanes, numbered 1, 2, and 3, each with eight slots, the first backplane's slots would be numbered 1-8, the second backplane's 9-16, and so on. Similarly, the rear panel hard drive backplane is installed at the rear of the server chassis, primarily for housing the server's internal hard drives, or as additional storage expansion when front-end space is insufficient. The hard drive slots on the rear panel hard drive backplane also have their own silkscreened identifiers indicating their serial numbers, which are also sequentially arranged based on the backplane's serial number and the number of slots.

[0084] The hard drive sorting device establishes connections with the front and rear hard drive backplanes through their respective communication channels. It is responsible for collecting hard drive status information transmitted from the backplanes, including their status, type, and capacity, and automatically calculates the virtual disk order based on this information. This calculation process is based on the physical location of the hard drive backplane (i.e., front or rear), the backplane number, and the actual number and position of the hard drive slots on the backplane, ensuring that the physical location of each hard drive matches its disk order displayed on the system monitoring interface.

[0085] The communication channels on a hard disk sorting device can be divided into front backplane channels and rear backplane channels, which can be connected to the corresponding backplanes. Different types of backplanes can be sorted individually. For example, in an 8-channel hard disk sorting device, the first four channels might be connected to the front backplane (numbered 1 to 4), and the last four channels might be connected to the rear backplane (also numbered 1 to 4).

[0086] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of an optional server silkscreen layout according to an embodiment of this application; as shown... Figure 9 As shown, a front hard drive backplane (such as...) can be connected to the hard drive sorting device. Figure 9 Front hard drive backplane 1, front hard drive backplane 2, and front hard drive backplane 3) and rear hard drive backplane (e.g., Figure 9 (Rear hard drive backplane 1 and rear hard drive backplane 2). The hard drives on the front hard drive backplane and the hard drives on the rear hard drive backplane can be arranged separately, such as... Figure 9 As shown, the front hard drive backplane may have silkscreen markings to indicate the order in which the hard drives are connected (i.e., silkscreen 1 to 24). The rear hard drive backplane may have silkscreen markings to indicate the order in which the hard drives are connected (i.e., silkscreen 1 to 4).

[0087] By combining the hard drive serial numbers silkscreened on the hard drive slots with the intelligent calculations of the hard drive sorting device, orderly management of hard drives is achieved. Regardless of how many times a hard drive is hot-swapped, the system can automatically identify and update the disk order, ensuring that maintenance personnel can quickly and accurately locate each hard drive, greatly improving troubleshooting efficiency. This architecture simplifies daily maintenance of server hard drives. Whether diagnosing hardware faults or managing data services at the software level, maintenance personnel can respond quickly based on clear physical location identification and system disk order information, reducing the need for manual intervention and lowering maintenance costs.

[0088] In an optional embodiment, the hard disk sorting device connects at least one front hard disk backplane and at least one rear hard disk backplane, with the front hard disk backplane located at the front end of the chassis and the rear hard disk backplane located at the rear end of the chassis; silkscreen printing on at least one hard disk slot on the front hard disk backplane and the rear hard disk backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each hard disk slot, wherein the serial number of the hard disk slot is determined by sequentially arranging the serial numbers of the front hard disk backplane and the rear hard disk backplane and the number of hard disk slots.

[0089] It should be noted that the hard drive sorting device is designed to connect at least one front hard drive backplane and at least one rear hard drive backplane. The front and rear hard drive backplanes are located at the front and rear of the server chassis, respectively. Both backplanes have multiple hard drive slots, each with a clear silkscreen marking indicating the hard drive number corresponding to that slot. The slot number is determined by a combination of the backplane number and the number of slots, ensuring orderly arrangement and management of hard drives regardless of the number of backplanes configured in the server or the number of slots on each backplane.

[0090] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server silkscreen layout according to an embodiment of this application; as shown Figure 10 As shown, a front hard drive backplane (such as...) can be connected to the hard drive sorting device. Figure 10Front hard drive backplane 1, front hard drive backplane 2, and front hard drive backplane 3) and rear hard drive backplane (e.g., Figure 10 (Rear hard drive backplane 1 and rear hard drive backplane 2). The hard drives on the front hard drive backplane and the hard drives on the rear hard drive backplane can be arranged in the same order, such as... Figure 10 As shown, the front hard drive backplane may have silkscreen markings to indicate the order in which the hard drives are connected (i.e., silkscreen 1 to 24). The rear hard drive backplane may have silkscreen markings to indicate the order in which the hard drives are connected (i.e., silkscreen 25 to 28).

[0091] By combining the silkscreen markings on the front and rear hard drive backplanes with the BMC software algorithm, automatic hard drive sorting is achieved. This disk order is strictly based on the actual physical location of the hard drives, ensuring that even after multiple hot-swapping operations, the disk order displayed in the BMC monitoring interface perfectly corresponds to their physical location within the chassis. When troubleshooting hard drive failures, maintenance personnel can directly refer to the silkscreened serial numbers on the hard drive backplanes, avoiding the complex manual disk order verification process. This significantly saves troubleshooting time, reduces the risk of human error, and ultimately lowers overall maintenance costs.

[0092] In an optional implementation, the serial number of the hard drive backplane is silkscreened on the backplane.

[0093] A hard drive backplane is a hardware platform inside a server used to support and manage hard drives. It is typically located at the front or rear of the server chassis and provides power, signal interfaces, and hot-swapping capabilities for the hard drives. The silkscreen markings on the hard drive backplane refer to numerical or alphanumeric identifiers printed on it using silkscreen printing technology. These markings clearly indicate the specific location or serial number of the hard drive backplane within the server. Silkscreening is usually done directly on the outer surface of the backplane, often in a transparent window of the chassis or in an easily visible location, allowing maintenance personnel to quickly identify the unique identifier of each hard drive backplane from outside the server.

[0094] A server may have multiple hard drive backplanes. For ease of management and location, each backplane is assigned a unique serial number, which is directly displayed on the backplane using silkscreen technology. For example, if a server has four front-panel backplanes, they might be labeled "FRONT_BP_01", "FRONT_BP_02", "FRONT_BP_03", and "FRONT_BP_04". Similarly, if multiple rear-panel backplanes are configured, they will be labeled "REAR_BP_01", "REAR_BP_02", etc., for differentiation. These silkscreen markings play a crucial role in server maintenance and troubleshooting, enabling maintenance personnel to quickly locate specific backplanes without opening the chassis or performing complex disk sequence analysis.

[0095] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of another optional server silkscreen layout according to an embodiment of this application; as shown Figure 11 As shown, the serial number can be printed on the back panel of the hard drive. For example, the front hard drive back panel 1 has silkscreen 1 printed on it, the front hard drive back panel 2 has silkscreen 2 printed on it, and the front hard drive back panel 3 has silkscreen 3 printed on it. The rear hard drive back panel 1 has silkscreen 1 printed on it, and the rear hard drive back panel 2 has silkscreen 2 printed on it.

[0096] When a server experiences a hard drive failure, maintenance personnel can quickly pinpoint the physical location of the faulty hard drive by viewing the hard drive failure information in the BMC monitoring interface and combining it with the silkscreen markings on the hard drive's backplane. This significantly reduces fault location and maintenance time. The intuitiveness and uniqueness of the silkscreen markings make maintenance operations simpler and clearer, reducing confusion and errors for maintenance personnel when dealing with server hardware and improving data center operational efficiency.

[0097] In alternative implementations, data storage arrays play a crucial role in data-intensive applications such as data centers, cloud computing centers, and large enterprise IT infrastructures. Storage arrays provide high-speed, high-capacity, and highly reliable storage services by aggregating multiple disks. Their core is the orderly management and efficient scheduling of disks to achieve optimal performance for data read / write operations and high stability of the storage system.

[0098] The hard drive sorting device can be installed in the storage array cabinet, and the hard drive slots can be upgraded to disk trays. The original CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) function is adaptively adapted to detect the presence and type of disks on the disk trays, such as traditional rotating hard disks (HDDs) and next-generation solid-state drives (SSDs). Furthermore, similar to the BMC (Battery Controller) in a server, a functional module is designed to communicate periodically with the detection unit, acquiring and processing various detailed disk information in real time, such as disk capacity, rotational speed, and interface type, thereby providing technical support for the efficient operation of the storage management system.

[0099] In a data storage array cabinet, multiple disk racks are arranged vertically or horizontally, each rack carrying one or more disks. A CPLD or similar intelligent detection unit is installed on each disk rack, capable of monitoring the disk's presence and type in real time, ensuring the system can quickly respond to hot-swapping operations. A functional module similar to a BMC is deployed in the central control system of the storage array cabinet. This module establishes a stable communication link with the detection unit on each disk rack, periodically querying detailed disk information. Using this information, the functional module can accurately calculate and update the logical disk order, ensuring it corresponds to the disk's physical location. Based on the physical layout of the storage array cabinet and the arrangement of the disk racks, the functional module uses flexible sorting rules, such as "bottom to top" or "left to right," to number and sort the disks. When a disk is inserted or removed, the detection unit immediately reports the change in disk status to the functional module, which then updates the disk order information.

[0100] Through this architecture, administrators can directly locate the physical location of the target disk based on the storage management system's display when performing disk maintenance, troubleshooting, or data migration. This avoids the enormous time and manpower costs associated with traditional manual searches, significantly improving operational efficiency. Orderly disk management not only simplifies operations but also facilitates data read / write scheduling algorithms. The system can select the optimal path based on the disk's physical location and performance characteristics (such as the high-speed response of SSDs), maximizing data read / write efficiency. Real-time monitoring of disk status and type ensures the storage system can respond promptly to disk insertion / removal events, reducing data service interruptions caused by disk order disorder and enhancing overall system stability and data storage reliability.

[0101] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that, in order to clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the components of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein have been generally described in terms of functionality in the foregoing description. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0102] The hard disk sorting device and server provided in this application have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The descriptions of the embodiments above are only for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of this application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to this application without departing from the principles of this application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A hard disk sorting device, characterized in that, include: The channel expansion module includes multiple communication channels with fixed serial numbers, wherein each communication channel is used to connect to a hard disk backplane, and the serial number of the hard disk backplane is the serial number of the communication channel to which the hard disk backplane is connected. A controller, connected to the channel expansion module, is used to receive hard disk connection information sent by the channel expansion module, wherein the hard disk connection information is used to indicate the serial numbers of the multiple hard disk backplanes connected to the channel expansion module.

2. The hard disk sorting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The channel expansion module is connected to at least one hard disk backplane, and the at least one hard disk backplane is connected to each of the multiple communication channels; The hard drive backplate is provided with multiple hard drive slots, each of which is used to connect a hard drive.

3. The hard disk sorting device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The at least one hard disk backplane is connected to each of the plurality of communication channels, including at least one of the following: At least one front-mounted hard disk backplane is connected to one of the multiple communication channels; At least one rear hard drive backplane is connected to one of the multiple communication channels.

4. The hard disk sorting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The controller is connected to the channel expansion module via an I2C bus.

5. A server, characterized in that, include: The hard disk sorting apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 4; The hard drive backplane, connected to the hard drive sorting device, is used to provide hard drive slots for connecting hard drives; The chassis has at least one silkscreen on its exterior, which indicates the serial number of the hard drive connected to the hard drive backplane.

6. The server according to claim 5, characterized in that, The hard drive sorting device is connected to the front hard drive backplane, which is located at the front of the chassis. The silkscreen on at least one hard drive slot of the front hard drive backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each of the at least one hard drive slot, wherein the serial number of the hard drive slot is determined according to the serial number of the front hard drive backplane and the number of hard drive slots.

7. The server according to claim 5, characterized in that, The hard disk sorting device is connected to the rear hard disk backplane, which is located at the rear of the chassis. The silkscreen on at least one hard drive slot on the rear hard drive backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each of the at least one hard drive slot, wherein the serial number of the hard drive slot is determined by the sequential arrangement of the serial number of the rear hard drive backplane and the number of hard drive slots.

8. The server according to claim 5, characterized in that, The hard drive sorting device is connected to at least one front hard drive backplane and at least one rear hard drive backplane. The front hard drive backplane is located at the front end of the chassis, and the rear hard drive backplane is located at the rear end of the chassis. The silkscreen on at least one hard drive slot of the front hard drive backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each of the at least one hard drive slot, wherein the serial number of the hard drive slot of the front hard drive backplane is determined according to the serial number of the front hard drive backplane and the number of hard drive slots. The silkscreen on at least one hard drive slot of the rear hard drive backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each of the at least one hard drive slot, wherein the serial number of the hard drive slot of the rear hard drive backplane is determined by the sequential arrangement of the serial number of the rear hard drive backplane and the number of hard drive slots.

9. The server according to claim 5, characterized in that, The hard drive sorting device is connected to at least one front hard drive backplane and at least one rear hard drive backplane. The front hard drive backplane is located at the front end of the chassis, and the rear hard drive backplane is located at the rear end of the chassis. The silkscreen printing on at least one hard drive slot on the front hard drive backplane and the rear hard drive backplane displays the serial number corresponding to each hard drive slot. The serial number of the hard drive slot is determined by arranging the serial numbers of the front hard drive backplane and the rear hard drive backplane in order with the number of hard drive slots.

10. The server according to claim 5, characterized in that, The serial number of the hard drive backplate is displayed on the silkscreen.

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