Hard-disk drive backplane module and server

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of hard-disk drive backplanes. Disclosed are a hard-disk drive backplane module and a server. The hard-disk drive backplane module comprises a first hard-disk drive backplane, which comprises a first gold finger, a redundant-array-of-independent-disks controller chip, a first connector and a first hard-disk drive interface, wherein the first gold finger is configured to connect to a first signal connector of a motherboard; some of pins of the first gold finger are connected to the first hard-disk drive interface, and are configured to transmit a first data signal; the redundant-array-of-independent-disks controller chip is connected to the other pins of the first gold finger, and is configured to perform conversion between a data signal of the first gold finger, a second data signal and a third data signal; the redundant-array-of-independent-disks controller chip is configured to transmit the second data signal to the first hard-disk drive interface and transmit the third data signal to the first connector; and the first connector is configured to transmit the third data signal to another hard-disk drive backplane. The present application can support different types of hard disk drives, and can support a relatively large number of hard disk drives, thereby meeting the storage requirements of a server.

Description

Hard disk backboard module and server

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications

[0002] The present application claims priority to the Chinese patent application No. 202410766963.6, filed on June 14, 2024, and entitled "Hard disk backboard module and server", the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of hard disk backboard, and relates to a hard disk backboard module and a server. BACKGROUND

[0004] As a core device for processing and storing data, the server has a higher and higher requirement for the storage capacity it can provide. The server case has various sizes such as 1U, 2U, and the hard disk has a certain size. When the hard disk is set, the number of hard disks that can be inserted is limited due to the size of the server and the number of interfaces of the server mainboard, and it is difficult to meet the storage demand. SUMMARY

[0005] Therefore, the present application provides a hard disk backboard module and a server to solve the problem that the hard disk backboard is difficult to meet the storage demand of the server.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a hard disk backboard module, comprising: a first hard disk backboard; the first hard disk backboard comprises: a first gold finger, a redundant array of independent disks chip, a first connector and at least one first hard disk interface.

[0007] The first gold finger is configured to be connected to a first signal connector of a mainboard;

[0008] Part of the pins of the first gold finger is connected to the first hard disk interface and is configured to transmit a first data signal with the first hard disk interface; the first data signal is a data signal supported by a hard disk of a first type;

[0009] The redundant array of independent disks chip is connected to another part of the pins of the first gold finger and is configured to convert the data signal of the first gold finger and at least one second data signal and at least one third data signal; the second data signal and the third data signal are both data signals supported by a hard disk of a second type;

[0010] The first data end of the redundant array of independent disks chip is connected to the first hard disk interface and is configured to transmit a second data signal with the first hard disk interface;

[0011] The second data terminal of the Redundant Array of Independent Disks chip is connected with the first connector and is configured to transmit a third data signal with the first connector; and the first connector is configured to transmit the third data signal with the other hard disk backplane.

[0012] In some embodiments, the first hard disk backplane further comprises a first logic controller.

[0013] The first logic controller is connected with the Redundant Array of Independent Disks chip through a serial bus and is configured to transmit a serial signal; the serial signal comprises a control signal and a monitoring signal of the Redundant Array of Independent Disks chip.

[0014] In some embodiments, the first hard disk backplane further comprises a super capacitor interface and a first memory; the first memory is connected with the Redundant Array of Independent Disks chip.

[0015] The super capacitor interface is configured to be connected with a super capacitor.

[0016] The first logic controller is further configured to control the super capacitor interface to supply power to the Redundant Array of Independent Disks chip in the case of power supply abnormality; and the Redundant Array of Independent Disks chip stores data into the first memory.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first hard disk backplane further comprises a second logic controller.

[0018] The second logic controller is connected with the first hard disk interface and the first connector and is configured to acquire hard disk state information of the corresponding hard disk and to perform hard disk lighting.

[0019] In some embodiments, the hard disk backplane module further comprises a second hard disk backplane; the second hard disk backplane comprises a first cable connector, a second connector and at least one second hard disk interface.

[0020] The first cable connector is configured to be connected with a second signal connector of a mainboard through a cable.

[0021] The second connector is configured to be connected with the first connector of the first hard disk backplane and to transmit the third data signal.

[0022] The second connector is connected with the second hard disk interface and is configured to transmit the third data signal with the second hard disk interface.

[0023] The first cable connector is connected with the second hard disk interface and is configured to transmit a fourth data signal with the second hard disk interface; the fourth data signal is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk.

[0024] In some embodiments, the number of the second hard disk interfaces is a plurality; and the second connector is connected with the plurality of second hard disk interfaces.

[0025] The second hard disk backplane further comprises a first switching chip.

[0026] The uplink interface of the first switching controller is connected with the serial signal pin in the second connector, and the plurality of downlink interfaces of the first switching chip are respectively connected with the plurality of second hard disk interfaces;

[0027] The first switching chip is configured to transmit the hard disk lighting signal to the second hard disk interface, and / or transmit the collected hard disk state information to the second connector.

[0028] In some embodiments, the second hard disk backboard comprises two first cable connectors, two second connectors and two second hard disk interfaces; all the second hard disk interfaces are divided into interface groups matching the number of the second connectors according to the distance between the second hard disk interfaces and the second connectors;

[0029] One of the first cable connectors is connected with the second hard disk interface of the nearest first interface group, and the other first cable connector is connected with the second hard disk interface of the nearest second interface group;

[0030] And, one of the second connectors is connected with the second hard disk interface of the nearest first interface group, and the other second connector is connected with the second hard disk interface of the nearest second interface group.

[0031] In some embodiments, the first cable connector is further configured to supply power to the second hard disk backboard;

[0032] Alternatively, the first hard disk backboard further comprises a first power supply connector, and the second hard disk backboard further comprises a second power supply connector;

[0033] The first power supply connector is connected with the power supply pin of the first gold finger, and the first power supply connector is configured to be connected with the second power supply connector; the second power supply connector is configured to supply power to the second hard disk backboard.

[0034] In some embodiments, the first hard disk backboard further comprises a second gold finger;

[0035] The RAID chip is further configured to convert the data signal of the first gold finger into at least one group of fifth data signals; the fifth data signal is a data signal supported by the second type of hard disk;

[0036] The third data end of the RAID chip is connected with the second gold finger and is configured to transmit the fifth data signal with the second gold finger;

[0037] The second gold finger is configured to be connected with other hard disk backboards and transmit the fifth data signal.

[0038] In some embodiments, the hard disk backplane module further comprises: a third hard disk backplane; the third hard disk backplane comprises: a second cable connector, a third connector and at least one third hard disk interface;

[0039] The second cable connector is configured to connect the third signal connector of the mainboard through the cable;

[0040] The third connector is configured to be connected with the second gold finger of the first hard disk backplane and transmit a fifth data signal;

[0041] The third connector is connected with the third hard disk interface and is configured to transmit the fifth data signal with the third hard disk interface;

[0042] The second cable connector is connected with the third hard disk interface and is configured to transmit a sixth data signal with the third hard disk interface; the sixth data signal is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk.

[0043] In some embodiments, the number of third hard disk interfaces is multiple, and the third connector is connected with the multiple third hard disk interfaces;

[0044] The third hard disk backplane further comprises a second switching chip;

[0045] The uplink interface of the second switching controller is connected with the serial signal pin in the third connector, and the multiple downlink interfaces of the second switching chip are respectively connected with the multiple third hard disk interfaces;

[0046] The second switching chip is configured to transmit a hard disk lighting signal to the third hard disk interface and / or transmit the collected hard disk status information to the third connector.

[0047] In some embodiments, the power supply pin of the second gold finger is connected with the power supply pin of the first gold finger, and the power supply pin of the second gold finger is configured to be connected with the power supply pin of the third connector; the power supply pin of the third connector is configured to supply power to the third hard disk backplane.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first hard disk interface is arranged on the long side of the first hard disk backplane, and the second gold finger is arranged on the wide side of the first hard disk backplane;

[0049] The third hard disk interface is arranged on the long side of the third hard disk backplane, and the third connector is arranged on the wide side of the third hard disk backplane;

[0050] The sum of the number of the first hard disk interfaces in the first hard disk backplane and the number of the third hard disk interfaces in the third hard disk backplane does not exceed the maximum number of hard disks that can be arranged in the width direction of the server.

[0051] In a second aspect, the application provides a server, comprising: a mainboard and a hard disk backplane module as in the first aspect;

[0052] The hard disk backplanes in the hard disk backplane module are horizontally arranged.

[0053] In some embodiments, the hard disk backplane module comprises a first hard disk backplane, a second hard disk backplane and a third hard disk backplane;

[0054] The first gold finger of the first hard disk backplane is connected to the first signal connector of the motherboard, the first connector of the first hard disk backplane is connected to the second connector of the second hard disk backplane, and the second gold finger of the first hard disk backplane is connected to the third connector of the third hard disk backplane;

[0055] The first cable connector of the second hard disk backplane is connected to the second signal connector of the motherboard through a cable, and the second cable connector of the third hard disk backplane is connected to the third signal connector of the motherboard through a cable;

[0056] The first hard disk backplane and the third hard disk backplane are arranged on the same layer as the motherboard, and the second hard disk backplane is arranged on another layer.

[0057] In some embodiments, the server comprises a first motherboard and a second motherboard, and the hard disk backplane module comprises two first hard disk backplanes and two second hard disk backplanes, and the second hard disk backplane comprises two first cable connectors, two second connectors and two second hard disk interfaces;

[0058] The first gold finger of one of the first hard disk backplanes is connected to the first signal connector of the first motherboard, and the first connector is connected to the second connector of the second hard disk backplane which is closer to the one of the first hard disk backplanes;

[0059] The first gold finger of the other of the first hard disk backplanes is connected to the first signal connector of the second motherboard, and the first connector is connected to the second connector of the second hard disk backplane which is closer to the other of the first hard disk backplanes;

[0060] The second signal connector of the first motherboard is connected to the first cable connector of each of the two second hard disk backplanes;

[0061] The second signal connector of the second motherboard is connected to the other first cable connector of each of the two second hard disk backplanes.

[0062] In the embodiment of the present application, the first part of pins in the first gold finger of the first hard disk backboard is directly connected with the first hard disk interface, so that the first type of hard disk can be directly supported; and the other part of pins in the first gold finger is connected with the redundant array of independent disks chip, and the data signal conversion is performed based on the redundant array of independent disks chip, so that the first hard disk interface can support the second type of hard disk. Moreover, the redundant array of independent disks chip converts the data signals of the second type of hard disk and provides the data signals to other hard disk backboards through the first connector, so that more hard disks can be supported and the storage capacity is ensured. The hard disk backboard module can support different types of hard disks, has a wide application range, and the redundant array of independent disks chip can provide the data signals of the second type of hard disk to other hard disk backboards, so that the storage requirements of the server can be met; the first hard disk backboard is directly inserted with the server mainboard through the first gold finger, which is convenient to disassemble and assemble, can realize modularization, simplify the assembly process, facilitate the deep decoupling of the module, and can reduce the number of cables of the whole machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0063] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific embodiments or the related art, the drawings needed to be used in the specific embodiments or the related art description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort.

[0064] FIG. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a first hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG. 2 is another structural schematic diagram of the first hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG. 3 is a top view schematic diagram of the first hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a second hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG. 5 is another structural schematic diagram of the second hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG. 6 is a top view schematic diagram of the second hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG. 7 is a structural schematic diagram of a third hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG. 8 is another structural schematic diagram of the third hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG. 9 is a top view schematic diagram of the third hard disk backboard according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0073] Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of a structure of a server according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0074] Fig. 11 is another schematic diagram of a structure of a server according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a hard disk distribution according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0076] Legend: 10, first hard disk backplane; 101, first golden finger; 102, redundant array of independent disks chip; 103, first connector; 104, first hard disk interface; 105, first logical controller; 106, super capacitor interface; 107, first memory; 108, second logical controller; 109, second golden finger; 110, voltage converter; 111, heat sink; 20, second hard disk backplane; 201, first cable connector; 202, second connector; 203, second hard disk interface; 204, first switching chip; 205, second power supply connector; 30, third hard disk backplane; 301, second cable connector; 302, third connector; 303, third hard disk interface; 304, second switching chip; 40, mainboard; 401, first signal connector; 402, second signal connector; 403, third signal connector; 501, first hard disk; 502, second hard disk; 503, third hard disk. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0077] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by a person of ordinary skill in the art without creative work fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0078] With the development of cloud computing applications, informatization gradually covers all fields of society, and people's daily work is increasingly communicated through the network. Network data volume is also growing explosively. As a core device for processing and storing data, the server has increasingly high requirements for performance and configuration. In order to meet the complex and diverse application scenarios of different users in various fields, the configuration of the server also needs to be flexible and variable.

[0079] Server hard drives usually have multiple sizes, such as 3.5 inches, 2.5 inches, etc., and different sizes of hard drives have different capacities and performance. For example, 3.5-inch hard drives have larger capacity and are suitable for large data centers, can accommodate more disk slices and storage media, and therefore have a capacity of up to 16TB or more. While 2.5-inch hard drives are usually used in laptops and small servers, the capacity is generally 500GB to 4TB. Such hard drives are smaller in size and weight, making them more portable and easier to install.

[0080] The typical appearance size of a 3.5-inch hard drive is about 14.7 cm (length) x 10.2 cm (width) x 2.6 cm (thickness), and for servers that support 3.5-inch hard drives, the server chassis size is more than 4U, U is a size unit of the server, and the height of a 1U server is 4.445 cm and the width is 48.3 cm. If a 2U chassis is selected, the chassis height is 8.89 cm, and the width of the 3.5-inch hard drive is 10.2 cm. The hard drive cannot be inserted vertically, and the horizontal insertion is affected by the width of the chassis, and at most only 4 hard drives can be inserted, which is difficult to meet the storage requirements, so a 4U chassis is generally selected, and the hard drive backplane is made into a vertical backplane, and the hard drive is inserted vertically. The number of hard drives can be determined according to the PCIe resources on the board and the application requirements.

[0081] The current backplane solution generally selects a 4U chassis to connect a vertical backplane, which occupies a large area and the thickness of the chassis is thicker than that of a 2U chassis, and the cost is higher. If a 2U server is used, the number of hard drives that can be inserted is limited, making it difficult to meet the storage requirements.

[0082] In some embodiments, a hard drive backplane module is provided, which can be applied to a server and can support multiple hard drives inserted into the server to meet the storage requirements. The hard drive backplane module at least includes a first hard drive backplane, which uses a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) chip to improve the capacity of the hard drive backplane and can access different types of hard drives. Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a first hard drive backplane according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, the first hard drive backplane 10 includes a first gold finger 101, a redundant array of independent disks chip 102, a first connector 103, and at least one first hard drive interface 104.

[0083] The first gold finger 101 is configured to connect a first signal connector 401 of a mainboard 40. Moreover, part of the pins of the first gold finger 101 are connected to the first hard drive interface 104 and are configured to transmit a first data signal with the first hard drive interface 104. The first data signal is a data signal supported by a hard drive of a first type.

[0084] The independent disk redundancy array chip 102 is connected with another part of the pins of the first gold finger 101, and is configured to convert the data signal (for example, a PCIe signal) of the first gold finger 101 into at least one group of second data signals and at least one group of third data signals; the second data signals and the third data signals are both data signals supported by the second type of hard disk.

[0085] The first data end of the independent disk redundancy array control chip 102 is connected with the first hard disk interface 104, and is configured to transmit the second data signal with the first hard disk interface 104; the second data end of the independent disk redundancy array control chip 102 is connected with the first connector 103, and is configured to transmit the third data signal with the first connector 103; the first connector 103 is configured to transmit the third data signal with other hard disk backplanes.

[0086] In some embodiments, the mainboard 40 is generally provided with one or more signal connectors, such as an MCIO (Mini Cool Edge I / O) connector, a 4C+ connector (a kind of X16 connector, such as SFF-TA-1002), etc., and the first hard disk backplane 10 can be directly inserted into a certain signal connector, i.e., a first signal connector 401, at the edge of the mainboard 40 through the first gold finger 101, so as to realize communication with the mainboard 40.

[0087] At present, the storage medium of the server can be divided into two categories according to different signals, one is the SAS / SATA (Serial Attached SCSI / Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) hard disk based on SAS / SATA signals, and the other is the NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) hard disk based on PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect express) signals. Among them, in order to enable the hard disk backplane module to access different types of hard disks, the pins of the first gold finger 101 are divided and connected with the independent disk redundancy array control chip 102 and the first hard disk interface 104 respectively. Among them, part of the pins of the first gold finger 101 are connected with the first hard disk interface 104, so that the first hard disk interface 104 can directly obtain the data signal transmitted by the server, i.e., the first data signal; if the data signal directly transmitted by the server is a PCIe signal, then the first data signal is also a PCIe signal, and correspondingly, the first type of hard disk is a hard disk supporting PCIe signals, such as an NVMe hard disk.

[0088] Another part of the first gold finger 101 is connected to the RAID control chip 102, which can realize tri-mode function, i.e., can support SATA hard disk, SAS hard disk and PCIe hard disk. In some embodiments, the RAID control chip 102 can realize conversion of different types of data signals, such as converting PCIe signal to SAS / SATA signal, so that the converted data signal can be applied to the second type of hard disk. In addition, the RAID control chip 102 is also used to convert to generate multiple sets of data signals suitable for the second type of hard disk, and provide the data signals to the hard disk through the first hard disk interface 104 and the first connector 103 respectively. For ease of description, the data signal provided to the first hard disk interface 104 is referred to as the second data signal, and the data signal provided to the first connector 103 is referred to as the third data signal.

[0089] For example, the first gold finger 101 is an X16 interface, such as an X16 lane PCIe GEN5 interface, which can connect a part of X8 pins to the first hard disk interface 104, thereby providing the first hard disk interface 104 with the first data signal, such as PCIe signal; another part of X8 pins is connected to the RAID control chip 102, so that the RAID control chip 102 can convert the data signal (generally PCIe signal) corresponding to this part of pins, thereby generating another type of data signal, i.e., the second data signal and the third data signal. For example, the RAID control chip 102 can realize conversion between PCIe signal and SAS / SATA signal, thereby generating SAS / SATA second data signal and third data signal, or converting SAS / SATA second data signal and third data signal to PCIe signal.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first connector 103 can be connected to other hard disk backplanes, thereby being able to transmit the third data signal with other hard disk backplanes, and using other hard disk backplanes makes the server using the hard plate backplane module be able to insert more hard disks.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 1, the first hard disk interface 104 can be inserted into the first hard disk 501, and the second hard disk backplane 20 (which will be described in detail later) connected to the first connector 103 can be inserted into the second hard disk 502; and the number of the first hard disk 501 and the second hard disk 502 can be multiple, thereby providing the server mainboard 40 with storage space of multiple hard disks.

[0092] It should be noted that if the first hard disk 501 is a first type of hard disk, the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 does not need to convert the data signal, that is, the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 does not need to provide the second data signal; when the first hard disk 501 is a second type of hard disk, the first gold finger 101 does not provide the first data signal to the first hard disk interface 104, but the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 provides the converted second data signal to the first hard disk interface 104. Similarly, when the second hard disk 502 is a second type of hard disk, the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 needs to generate the third data signal.

[0093] The hard disk backplane module provided by the embodiment can directly support the first type of hard disk by directly connecting part of the pins in the first gold finger 101 of the first hard disk backplane 10 to the first hard disk interface 104; and the other part of the pins in the first gold finger 101 is connected to the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102, and the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 is used to convert the data signal, so that the first hard disk interface 104 can support the second type of hard disk. Moreover, the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 converts the data signals of multiple second type hard disks and provides the data signals to other hard disk backplanes through the first connector 103, so that more hard disks can be supported and the storage capacity can be ensured. The hard disk backplane module can support different types of hard disks, has a wide range of applications, and the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 can provide the data signals of the second type of hard disk to other hard disk backplanes, so that the storage requirements of the server can be met; the first hard disk backplane 10 is directly plugged into the server motherboard through the first gold finger 101, which is convenient to disassemble and assemble, can realize modularization, simplify the assembly process, facilitate deep decoupling of the module, and can reduce the number of cables of the whole machine.

[0094] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 2, the first hard disk backplane 10 further includes a first logic controller 105. The first logic controller 105 is connected to the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102 through a serial bus and is configured to transmit a serial signal; the serial signal includes a control signal and a monitoring signal of the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102.

[0095] In some embodiments, the mainboard 40 and the first gold finger 101 of the first hard disk backplane 10 can transmit data signals (for example, PCIe signals), and can also transmit other signals required for the hard disk backplane to work, such as clock signals, power supply signals, serial signals, and the like. Generally, the serial signal is an I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) signal. The first hard disk backplane 10 is provided with a logic controller dedicated to the service of the RAID control chip 102, that is, a first logic controller 105. The first logic controller 105 can be, for example, a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or the like.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first logic controller 105 is connected to the RAID control chip 102 through a serial bus, so as to transmit corresponding serial signals. FIG. 2 illustrates the case where the serial signal is an I2C signal. In order to make the serial signal from the mainboard 40 applicable to the RAID control chip 102, the serial signal can be voltage-converted by a voltage converter 110; for example, the voltage converter 110 can be a Repeater. The serial signal includes control signals and monitoring signals of the RAID control chip 102, so as to realize the starting and state monitoring of the RAID control chip 102, for example, the serial signal includes an SPD (serial presence detect) signal, a power supply timing control signal of the RAID control chip 102, and the like.

[0097] In addition, the first logic controller 105 and the RAID control chip 102 can also be directly connected to obtain data in the RAID control chip 102, such as register data, and the like. The first logic controller 105 can also obtain a reset signal (RST) from the first gold finger 101, so as to realize the resetting of the RAID control chip 102.

[0098] In addition, in order to avoid the working temperature of the RAID control chip 102 in the first hard disk backplane 10 being too high, a cooling fin can also be arranged to cool the RAID control chip 102. FIG. 3 shows a top view of the first hard disk backplane 10; in FIG. 3, above the RAID control chip 102 is the first gold finger 101, which is provided with two first hard disk interfaces 104, that is, two hard disks can be accessed, for example, the first hard disk interface 104 can be an SFF-8639 hard disk interface, which can support a 3.5-inch SAS / SATA hard disk or an NVMe hard disk, and can also be compatible with a 2.5-inch SAS / SATA / NVMe hard disk. In addition, a cooling fin 111 is arranged at the middle position of the first hard disk backplane 10, and components such as the RAID control chip 102 and the first logic controller 105 that need to be cooled are located below the cooling fin 111.

[0099] A temperature sensor can be arranged for the first hard disk backplane 10 to detect the temperature of the first hard disk backplane 10 and avoid the temperature being too high. The temperature signal collected by the temperature sensor can also be accessed to the first gold finger 101 through the serial bus, so as to provide the temperature of the first hard disk backplane 10 to the mainboard 40.

[0100] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the first hard disk backplane 10 further includes a super capacitor interface 106 and a first memory 107; the first memory 107 is connected to the RAID control chip 102. The super capacitor interface 106 is configured to be connected to a super capacitor; the first logic controller 105 is further configured to control the super capacitor interface 106 to supply power to the RAID control chip 102 in the case of abnormal power supply; and the RAID control chip 102 stores data to the first memory 107.

[0101] In some embodiments, a super capacitor can be accessed to the first hard disk backplane 10 to realize abnormal power supply by using the super capacitor. The super capacitor interface 106 can be provided with a charging circuit, a voltage conversion circuit, etc.; in the case of normal power supply, the first logic controller 105 can control the charging circuit to work to charge the super capacitor; in the case of abnormal power supply (such as power failure) of the mainboard 40, the first logic controller 105 controls the voltage conversion circuit to work, so that the super capacitor can provide the voltage required for the working of the RAID control chip 102, so that the RAID control chip 102 can still work for a period of time in the case of power failure, so as to store data to the first memory 107, avoiding data loss due to power failure, etc. For example, the first memory 107 can be a DDR chip.

[0102] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the first hard disk backplane 10 further comprises a second logic controller 108; the second logic controller 108 can be a CPLD or the like. The second logic controller 108 is connected to the first hard disk interface 104 and the first connector 103, and is configured to obtain the hard disk status information of the corresponding hard disk and to perform hard disk lighting.

[0103] In some embodiments, the second logic controller 108 is connected to the first hard disk interface 104 to obtain the hard disk status information of the first hard disk 501 and to perform hard disk lighting; similarly, the second logic controller 108 is connected to the first connector 103 to obtain the hard disk status information of the second hard disk 502 and to perform hard disk lighting.

[0104] In some embodiments, the hard disk backplane module further comprises a second hard disk backplane 20, and the first connector 103 of the first hard disk backplane 10 is used to access the second hard disk backplane 20 and is connected to the second connector 202 of the second hard disk backplane 20. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 4, the second hard disk backplane 20 comprises a first cable connector 201, a second connector 202 and at least one second hard disk interface 203.

[0105] The first cable connector 201 is configured to be connected to the second signal connector 402 of the mainboard 40 through a cable. The second connector 202 is configured to be connected to the first connector 103 of the first hard disk backplane 10 and to transmit a third data signal. The second connector 202 is connected to the second hard disk interface 203 and is configured to transmit the third data signal with the second hard disk interface 203. The first cable connector 201 is connected to the second hard disk interface 203 and is configured to transmit a fourth data signal with the second hard disk interface 203; the fourth data signal is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk.

[0106] In some embodiments, the second hard disk backplane 20 is provided with two types of connectors, one of which is used to be connected to the second signal connector 402 of the mainboard 40, i.e. the first cable connector 201, and the other of which is used to be connected to the first connector 103 of the first hard disk backplane 10, i.e. the second connector 202. Among them, in order to facilitate the placement of the second hard disk backplane 20 in a suitable position of the server, the first cable connector 201 of the second hard disk backplane 20 is connected to the second signal connector 402 of the mainboard 40 through a cable, which can be a PCIe cable, an MCIO cable or the like.

[0107] In the second hard disk backboard 20, the first cable connector 201 can be directly connected to the second hard disk interface 203, so as to provide the second hard disk interface 203 with a data signal from the mainboard 40, which is similar to the first data signal and is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk. For the sake of distinction, the data signal provided by the first cable connector 201 to the second hard disk interface 203 is referred to as the fourth data signal, and the second hard disk interface 203 can access the first type of hard disk, for example, the accessed second hard disk 502 is an NVMe hard disk. Moreover, the second connector 202 can obtain another type of data signal, i.e., the third data signal, provided by the first hard disk backboard 10, so that the second hard disk interface 203 can also access the second type of hard disk, for example, the accessed second hard disk 502 is an SAS / SATA hard disk.

[0108] In some embodiments, the modular first hard disk backboard 10 and the second hard disk backboard 20 can be used in combination to ensure the storage capacity of the server; the second hard disk backboard 20 is connected to the mainboard 40 through a cable, so that the position of the second hard disk backboard 20 can be flexibly set, and the space of the server can be fully utilized. Moreover, the first hard disk backboard 10 can provide the third data signal suitable for the second type of device to the second hard disk backboard 20, so that the second hard disk backboard 20 can also support different types of hard disks.

[0109] In some embodiments, the server mainboard 40 can generally provide a second signal connector 402 with multiple channels, for example, the second signal connector 402 is a 4C+ connector, etc. In order to fully utilize the second signal connector 402 of the mainboard 40, the second hard disk backboard 20 can be provided with at least two first cable connectors 201, and different second hard disk interfaces 203 are connected by different first cable connectors 201; and by providing multiple first cable connectors 201, the connection mode between the first cable connector 201 and the second signal connector 402 is more diverse.

[0110] In some embodiments, FIG. 5 shows a structural schematic diagram of the second hard disk backboard 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the second hard disk backboard 20 at least includes two first cable connectors 201, two second connectors 202, and two second hard disk interfaces 203, and FIG. 5 takes four second hard disk interfaces 203 as an example.

[0111] In the second hard disk backboard 20, the first cable connector 201 can be directly connected to the second hard disk interface 203, so as to provide the second hard disk interface 203 with a data signal from the mainboard 40, which is similar to the first data signal and is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk. For the sake of distinction, the data signal provided by the first cable connector 201 to the second hard disk interface 203 is referred to as the fourth data signal, and the second hard disk interface 203 can access the first type of hard disk, for example, the accessed second hard disk 502 is an NVMe hard disk. Moreover, the second connector 202 can obtain another type of data signal, i.e., the third data signal, provided by the first hard disk backboard 10, so that the second hard disk interface 203 can also access the second type of hard disk, for example, the accessed second hard disk 502 is an SAS / SATA hard disk.

[0112] One of the first cable connectors 201 is connected to the second hard disk interface 203 of the nearest first interface group, and the other first cable connector 201 is connected to the second hard disk interface 203 of the nearest second interface group. Also, one of the second connectors 202 is connected to the second hard disk interface 203 of the nearest first interface group, and the other second connector 202 is connected to the second hard disk interface 203 of the nearest second interface group.

[0113] As shown in FIG. 5, the second signal connector 402 of the mainboard 40 can be an X16 connector, such as a 4C+ connector; if the second hard disk backplane 20 is provided with two first cable connectors 201, each of the first cable connectors 201 can be an X8 connector. The two first cable connectors 201 are respectively connected to the corresponding second hard disk interfaces 203. For example, the second signal connector 402 is a 4C+ connector, and the first cable connector 201 is an X8 connector. Each of the first cable connectors 201 can transmit two groups of X4 PCIe signals and two groups of clock signals, thereby directly providing the PCIe signals (i.e., the fourth data signals) for each of the second hard disk interfaces 203.

[0114] Also, the second hard disk backplane 20 is connected to the corresponding second hard disk interfaces 203 by using the plurality of second connectors 202. As shown in FIG. 5, the second hard disk backplane 20 is provided with two X4 second connectors 202, thereby providing the third data signals for the connected second hard disk interfaces 203; correspondingly, the first connector 103 can be an X8 connector or two X4 connectors, which is not limited here. For example, the second connector 202 is an X4 SlimSAS (thin SAS) connector, and the first connector 103 is an X8 SlimSAS connector, which are connected by a cable. The SlimSAS connector and the MCIO connector are both connector interfaces designed for PCIe, which are a kind of board-to-wire connector interfaces.

[0115] FIG. 6 shows a top view of the second hard disk backplane 20. As shown in FIG. 6, the second hard disk backplane 20 is in a strip shape, and is provided with two second connectors 202, four second hard disk interfaces 203, and two first cable connectors 201, which are not shown in FIG. 6. The two first cable connectors 201 can be respectively arranged beside the second connectors 202. The second hard disk backplane 20 shown in FIG. 6 can be divided into left and right parts, each of which corresponds to one first cable connector 201, one second connector 202, and two second hard disk interfaces 203. Therefore, the two second hard disk interfaces 203 on the left side can be used as one interface group (e.g., the first interface group), and the two second hard disk interfaces 203 on the right side can be used as another interface group (e.g., the second interface group).

[0116] For the first cable connector 201 on the left side, it can be connected with two second hard disk interfaces 203 on the left side, and provide fourth data signals to the two second hard disk interfaces 203; and for the second connector 202 on the left side, it is also connected with the two second hard disk interfaces 203 on the left side, and provides third data signals to the two second hard disk interfaces 203.

[0117] Similarly, for the first cable connector 201 on the right side, it can be connected with two second hard disk interfaces 203 on the right side, and provide fourth data signals to the two second hard disk interfaces 203; and for the second connector 202 on the right side, it is also connected with the two second hard disk interfaces 203 on the right side, and provides third data signals to the two second hard disk interfaces 203.

[0118] In some embodiments, by using multiple first cable connectors 201 and multiple second connectors 202, not only the interface resources provided by the mainboard 40 can be fully utilized, but also the mainboard 40 and the first hard disk backboard 10 can be flexibly connected. For example, two first cable connectors 201 of one second hard disk backboard 20 can be connected to the second signal connectors 402 of different mainboards 40, or two second connectors 202 of one second hard disk backboard 20 can be connected to different first hard disk backboards 10 (multiple first hard disk backboards 10 need to be set), which will be described in detail later.

[0119] In some embodiments, the number of second hard disk interfaces 203 is multiple, and the second connector 202 is connected with multiple second hard disk interfaces 203; as shown in FIG. 5, the second connector 202 is connected with two second hard disk interfaces 203. In order to transmit the serial signals of each second hard disk 502, the second hard disk backboard 20 further comprises a first switching chip 204; as shown in FIG. 5, the first switching chip 204 needs to be set for each second connector 202.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 5, the uplink interface of the first switching chip 204 is connected with the serial signal pin in the second connector 202, and multiple downlink interfaces of the first switching chip 204 are respectively connected with multiple second hard disk interfaces 203. The first switching chip 204 is configured to transmit hard disk lighting signals to the second hard disk interface 203, and / or transmit the collected hard disk status information to the second connector 202.

[0121] In some embodiments, in addition to transmitting the third data signals, the second connector 202 also transmits serial signals, such as I2C signals, with the first connector 103; for the case of transmitting serial signals of multiple second hard disks 502, a serial signal switching chip (Switch), i.e. the first switching chip 204, is set, so that multiple groups of serial signals can be branched out and connected to the corresponding second hard disk interfaces 203.

[0122] In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the second hard disk backboard 20 further comprises a temperature sensor and a second memory; wherein the temperature sensor and the second memory share the same serial bus with the uplink interface of the first exchange chip 204, that is, the temperature sensor and the second memory are also connected with the serial signal pins in the second connector 202. The temperature signal, memory data, hard disk lighting signal, hard disk state information, etc. are transmitted by time-sharing serial signals, so that the serial signal pins in the second connector 202 can be fully utilized.

[0123] In some embodiments, the temperature sensor is arranged on the second hard disk backboard 20 to collect the temperature signal of the second hard disk backboard 20 and transmit the temperature signal to the second connector 202 through the serial bus, and then transmit the temperature signal to the first hard disk backboard 10, which is transmitted to the mainboard 40 by the first hard disk backboard 10. For example, the temperature signal can be transmitted to the second logic controller 108 of the first hard disk backboard 10, and the temperature signal is transmitted to the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) of the mainboard 40 by the second logic controller 108. When there are multiple temperature sensors, the multiple temperature sensors are uniformly distributed; for example, two temperature sensors are arranged on the left and right sides of the second hard disk backboard 20 respectively to monitor the temperature on the left and right sides.

[0124] The second memory is used to read the configuration information of the corresponding hard disk and transmit it to the second connector 202, and then it can be transmitted to the mainboard based on the second logic controller 108 of the first hard disk backboard 10. For example, the second memory can be EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable read only memory, Electrically Erasable Programmable read only memory).

[0125] As shown in FIG. 5, the number of temperature sensors and second memories can be consistent with the number of second connectors 202, that is, one temperature sensor and second memory correspond to each second connector 202, to adapt to the case of multiple second connectors 202.

[0126] In some embodiments, for the second hard disk backboard 20, the first cable connector 201 can supply power for the second hard disk backboard 20. For example, the second signal connector 402 is a 4C+ connector, and the 12V power on the mainboard 40 can be transmitted through the 4C+ connector, so that power supply can be realized based on the first cable connector 201.

[0127] Alternatively, the second hard disk backplane 20 can also be powered by the first hard disk backplane 10. In some embodiments, the first hard disk backplane 10 further comprises a first power supply connector, and the second hard disk backplane 20 further comprises a second power supply connector 205; as shown in FIG. 6, two second power supply connectors 205 can be provided to supply power to the left and right parts respectively. The first power supply connector is connected to the power supply pin of the first gold finger 101, and is configured to be connected to the second power supply connector 205; the second power supply connector 205 is configured to supply power to the second hard disk backplane 20.

[0128] In some embodiments, the first gold finger 101 can take power from the mainboard 40 through the first signal connector 401 (for example, a 4C+ connector), and can adopt a P12V, P5V, etc. power supply scheme. The power supply pin of the first gold finger 101 can be connected to the first power supply connector, which can be a gold finger structure, and the first power supply connector is connected to the second power supply connector 205 of the second hard disk backplane 20, thereby realizing power supply to the second hard disk backplane 20.

[0129] In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the first hard disk backplane 10 further comprises a second gold finger 109.

[0130] The RAID control chip 102 is further configured to convert the data signals of the first gold finger 101 into at least one group of fifth data signals; the fifth data signals are data signals supported by the second type of hard disk; the third data end of the RAID control chip 102 is connected to the second gold finger 109 and is configured to transmit the fifth data signals with the second gold finger 109; and the second gold finger 109 is configured to be connected to other hard disk backplanes and transmit the fifth data signals.

[0131] In some embodiments, the RAID control chip 102 can convert the data signals of the mainboard 40 into a plurality of groups of other types of data signals, of which a part are the second data signals and the third data signals as described above, and another part are provided to the second gold finger 109, i.e. the fifth data signals. The second gold finger 109 can be connected to other hard disk backplanes and transmit the fifth data signals. As shown in FIG. 2, the second gold finger 109 is connected to the third hard disk backplane 30, thereby providing the fifth data signals to the third hard disk 503 connected to the third hard disk backplane 30, so that the third hard disk backplane 30 can also be inserted with the second type of hard disk.

[0132] If the first hard disk backplane 10 further comprises a second logic controller 108, the second logic controller 108 can also be connected with the second gold finger 109, so as to obtain the hard disk state information of the corresponding hard disk (the third hard disk 503) and perform hard disk lighting on the third hard disk 503. For the sake of simplifying the connection relationship, the connection relationship between the second logic controller 108 and the second gold finger 109 is not shown in FIG. 2.

[0133] In some embodiments, the hard disk backplane module further comprises a third hard disk backplane 30, which has substantially the same architecture as the second hard disk backplane 20. As shown in FIG. 7, the third hard disk backplane 30 comprises a second cable connector 301, a third connector 302 and at least one third hard disk interface 303.

[0134] The second cable connector 301 is configured to be connected with the third signal connector 403 of the mainboard 40 through a cable; the third connector 302 is configured to be connected with the second gold finger 109 of the first hard disk backplane 10 and transmit a fifth data signal. The third connector 302 is connected with the third hard disk interface 303 and configured to transmit the fifth data signal with the third hard disk interface 303; the second cable connector 301 is connected with the third hard disk interface 303 and configured to transmit a sixth data signal with the third hard disk interface 303; the sixth data signal is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk.

[0135] In some embodiments, similar to the second hard disk backplane 20 described above, the third hard disk backplane 30 is also provided with two types of connectors, one of which is used to be connected with the third signal connector 403 of the mainboard 40, i.e., the second cable connector 301, and the other of which is used to be connected with the first hard disk backplane 10, i.e., the third connector 302, the difference being that the third connector 302 is connected with the second gold finger 109 of the first hard disk backplane 10.

[0136] Inside the third hard disk backplane 30, the second cable connector 301 can be directly connected with the third hard disk interface 303, so as to provide the third hard disk interface 303 with a data signal from the mainboard 40, which is similar to the first data signal and is a data signal supported by the first type of hard disk. For the sake of distinction, the data signal provided by the second cable connector 301 to the third hard disk interface 303 is referred to as the sixth data signal, and the third hard disk interface 303 can access the first type of hard disk, for example, the accessed third hard disk 505 is an NVMe hard disk. Moreover, the third connector 302 can obtain another type of data signal provided by the first hard disk backplane 10 through the second gold finger 109, i.e., the fifth data signal, so that the third hard disk interface 303 can also access the second type of hard disk, for example, the accessed third hard disk 505 is an SAS / SATA hard disk.

[0137] And, similar to the second hard disk backplane 20, the number of third hard disk interfaces 303 is multiple, and the third connector 302 can be connected with the multiple third hard disk interfaces 303; correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 8, the third hard disk backplane 30 further comprises a second switching chip 304.

[0138] The uplink interface of the second switching chip 304 is connected with the serial signal pin in the third connector 302, and the multiple downlink interfaces of the second switching chip 304 are respectively connected with the multiple third hard disk interfaces 303; the second switching chip 304 is configured to transmit the hard disk lighting signal to the third hard disk interface 303, and / or transmit the collected hard disk status information to the third connector 302.

[0139] In addition, the third hard disk backplane 30 can also be provided with a temperature sensor and a corresponding memory, i.e., a third memory; the second switching chip 304, the temperature sensor, and the third memory of the third hard disk backplane 30 have the same working principle as the first switching chip 204, the temperature sensor, and the second memory of the second hard disk backplane 20, which will not be described here.

[0140] In some embodiments, the third hard disk backplane 30 mainly realizes the horizontal expansion of the first hard disk backplane 10, in order to fully utilize the interfaces of the mainboard 40, the third signal connector 403 connected by the third hard disk backplane 30 can be an interface that is not powered or unstable in power supply, such as an MCIO connector. In order to realize stable power supply for the third hard disk backplane 30, the second gold finger 109 is also provided with a corresponding power supply pin.

[0141] In some embodiments, the power supply pin of the second gold finger 109 is connected with the power supply pin of the first gold finger 101, and the power supply pin of the second gold finger 109 is configured to be connected with the power supply pin of the third connector 302; the power supply pin of the third connector 302 is configured to supply power to the third hard disk backplane 30.

[0142] In some embodiments, the third connector 302 of the third hard disk backplane 30 can obtain power from the second gold finger 109, and the power supply of the second gold finger 109 is also from the first gold finger 101 connected with the first signal connector 401, that is, the third hard disk backplane 30 is essentially powered by the first signal connector 401.

[0143] As shown in FIG. 2, the clock signal obtained by the first gold finger 101 can be provided to the redundant array of independent disks control chip 102, the first hard disk interface 104, and the second gold finger 109, so as to provide the third hard disk backplane 30 with clock. Alternatively, the third hard disk backplane 30 can also obtain the clock signal from the mainboard 40 side through the second cable connector 301, which is not limited here.

[0144] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 3, the first hard disk interfaces 104 are arranged on the long side of the first hard disk backplane 10, and the second gold fingers 109 are arranged on the wide side of the first hard disk backplane 10. As shown in FIG. 9, the third hard disk interfaces 303 are arranged on the long side of the third hard disk backplane 30, and the third connectors 302 are arranged on the wide side of the third hard disk backplane 30.

[0145] In some embodiments, when the first hard disk backplane 10 and the third hard disk backplane 30 are installed to the server, the third connectors 302 and the second gold fingers 109 can be plugged in, so as to form a long strip-shaped hard disk backplane (including the first hard disk backplane 10 and the third hard disk backplane 30), the overall structure of which can be similar to that of the second hard disk backplane 20 shown in FIG. 6, and more hard disks can be horizontally arranged.

[0146] In addition, the number of the first hard disk interfaces 104 in the first hard disk backplane 10 and the number of the third hard disk interfaces 303 in the third hard disk backplane 30 are not more than the maximum number of hard disks that can be arranged in the width direction of the server. In addition, the number of the second hard disk interfaces 203 in the second hard disk backplane 20 is also not more than the maximum number of hard disks that can be arranged in the width direction of the server.

[0147] For example, the width of a 2U server is 48.3 cm, and the width of a 3.5-inch hard disk is 10.2 cm, so when the hard disks are horizontally arranged, the 2U server can arrange at most 4 3.5-inch hard disks, that is, the maximum number of hard disks that can be arranged in the width direction of the server is 4. Correspondingly, the number of the second hard disk interfaces 203 in the second hard disk backplane 20 is at most 4, that is, at most four second hard disks 502 can be connected; and the sum of the number of the first hard disk interfaces 104 and the number of the third hard disk interfaces 303 is also at most 4, that is, the sum of the number of the first hard disks 501 and the number of the third hard disks 503 is at most 4, for example, the first hard disk backplane 10 is provided with two first hard disk interfaces 104, and the third hard disk backplane 30 is also provided with two third hard disk interfaces 303.

[0148] In some embodiments, the hard disk backplane module includes the modular first hard disk backplane 10, the second hard disk backplane 20, and the third hard disk backplane 30, and can be used in combination with part or all of the hard disk backplanes, so as to realize the depth decoupling of the server, arrange the hard disk backplanes based on the actual structure of the server while ensuring the storage capacity of the server, save the machine space and structural cost, and fully utilize the mainboard resources.

[0149] Based on the same application concept, the embodiments of the present application also provide a server, which includes a mainboard 40 and the above hard disk backplane module, and the hard disk backplanes in the hard disk backplane module are horizontally arranged. For example, the first hard disk backplane 10, the second hard disk backplane 20, and the third hard disk backplane 30 are horizontally arranged.

[0150] Different hard disk backplanes can be arranged in different layers. For example, the first hard disk backplane 10, the third hard disk backplane 30, and the mainboard 40 are arranged in the same layer; the second hard disk backplane 20 is arranged in another layer, for example, the upper layer of the mainboard 40.

[0151] In some embodiments, if the server is provided with only one mainboard 40, that is, the server is a single-channel architecture, three hard disk backplanes can be used to maximize the storage resources of the server. FIG. 10 shows a schematic diagram of an architecture of a server. As shown in FIG. 10, the hard disk backplane module used by the server includes the first hard disk backplane 10, the second hard disk backplane 20, and the third hard disk backplane 30.

[0152] The edge side of the mainboard 40 of the server is provided with a first signal connector 401 and a second signal connector 402, both of which can be 4C+ connectors. As described above, the first finger 101 of the first hard disk backplane 10 is connected to the first signal connector 401 of the mainboard 40, the first connector 103 of the first hard disk backplane 10 is connected to the second connector 202 of the second hard disk backplane 20, and the second finger 109 of the first hard disk backplane 10 is connected to the third connector 302 of the third hard disk backplane 30.

[0153] For example, the first connector 103 is an X8 SlimSAS connector, and the second hard disk backplane 20 includes two X4 second connectors 202, that is, X4 SlimSAS connectors. The cable of the first connector 103 can be divided into two parts, so as to communicate with the two second connectors 202 of the same second hard disk backplane 20, which can be seen from the solid arrows shown in FIG. 10.

[0154] For example, the first hard disk backplane 10 can generate eight groups of signals suitable for the second type of hard disk. Two groups are second data signals, connected to the first hard disk interface 104, four groups are third data signals, connected to the first connector 103, thereby providing four second hard disks 502, and the other two groups are fifth data signals, connected to the second finger 109, thereby providing two third hard disks 503.

[0155] In addition, the first cable connector 201 of the second hard disk backplane 20 is connected to the second signal connector 402 of the mainboard 40 through a cable; the second cable connector 301 of the third hard disk backplane 30 is connected to the third signal connector 403 of the mainboard 40 through a cable. If the second hard disk backplane 20 includes two first cable connectors 201, the two first cable connectors 201 are respectively connected to part of the pins of the second signal connector 402 to realize data transmission, which can be seen from the dashed arrows shown in FIG. 10.

[0156] The first hard disk backboard 10 and the third hard disk backboard 30 are arranged on the same layer as the mainboard 40, and the second hard disk backboard 20 is arranged on another layer. For example, since the mainboard 40 is generally arranged on the bottom layer, the first hard disk backboard 10 and the third hard disk backboard 30 can be arranged on the lower layer, and the second hard disk backboard 20 is arranged above the first hard disk backboard 10.

[0157] In some embodiments, for a server with only one path, such as a 2U server, the first hard disk backboard 10, the second hard disk backboard 20 and the third hard disk backboard 30 can be used to insert a maximum of eight 3.5-inch hard disks.

[0158] In some embodiments, if the server includes a multi-path mainboard, such as a double single-path server architecture including two mainboards, a first hard disk backboard 10 can be arranged for each mainboard, and a plurality of second hard disk backboards 20 are combined to meet the storage capacity requirements of the server. Since the plurality of first hard disk backboards 10 occupy the space of the third hard disk backboard 30, the third hard disk backboard 30 can not be used at this time.

[0159] FIG. 11 shows another schematic diagram of a server architecture. As shown in FIG. 11, the server includes two mainboards, i.e., a first mainboard 40a and a second mainboard 40b; the hard disk backboard module can include two first hard disk backboards 10 and two second hard disk backboards 20, and the second hard disk backboard 20 includes two first cable connectors 201, two second connectors 202 and two second hard disk interfaces 203.

[0160] The first gold finger 101 of one of the first hard disk backboards 10 is connected to the first signal connector 401 of the first mainboard 40a, and the first connector 103 is connected to the second connector 202 of the second hard disk backboard 20 which is closer to the one of the first hard disk backboards 10.

[0161] The first gold finger 101 of the other first hard disk backboard 10 is connected to the first signal connector 401 of the second mainboard 40b, and the first connector 103 is connected to the second connector 202 of the second hard disk backboard 20 which is closer to the other first hard disk backboard 10.

[0162] For example, the first connector 103 is an X8 SlimSAS connector, and each second hard disk backplane 20 includes two X4 second connectors 202, i.e., X4 SlimSAS connectors are arranged on the left and right sides. As shown in FIG. 11, for the left first hard disk backplane 10, the cable of the first connector 103 is split into two parts, one part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the left side of one second hard disk backplane 20, and the other part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the left side of another second hard disk backplane 20. Similarly, for the right first hard disk backplane 10, the cable of the first connector 103 is also split into two parts, one part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the right side of one second hard disk backplane 20, and the other part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the right side of another second hard disk backplane 20. See the solid arrows shown in FIG. 11.

[0163] For example, the first connector 103 is an X8 SlimSAS connector, and each second hard disk backplane 20 includes two X4 second connectors 202, i.e., X4 SlimSAS connectors are arranged on the left and right sides. As shown in FIG. 11, for the left first hard disk backplane 10, the cable of the first connector 103 is split into two parts, one part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the left side of one second hard disk backplane 20, and the other part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the left side of another second hard disk backplane 20. Similarly, for the right first hard disk backplane 10, the cable of the first connector 103 is also split into two parts, one part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the right side of one second hard disk backplane 20, and the other part of the cable is connected to the second connector 202 on the right side of another second hard disk backplane 20. See the solid arrows shown in FIG. 11.

[0164] In addition, the second signal connector 402 of the first mainboard 40a is connected to each first cable connector 201 of the two second hard disk backplanes 20. The second signal connector 402 of the second mainboard 40b is connected to each other first cable connector 201 of the two second hard disk backplanes 20. The first cable connector 201 is an X8 connector.

[0165] For example, for the first mainboard 40a, the second signal connector 402 is an X16 connector, such as a 4C+ connector, and the cable between the second signal connector 402 and the second hard disk backplane 20 is also split into two parts, one part of the cable is connected to the first cable connector 201 of one second hard disk backplane 20 close to the first mainboard 40a, such as the first cable connector 201 on the left side of FIG. 11, and the other part of the cable is connected to the first cable connector 201 of another second hard disk backplane 20 close to the first mainboard 40a, such as the first cable connector 201 on the left side. Similarly, for the second mainboard 40b, the cable between the second signal connector 402 and the second hard disk backplane 20 is also split into two parts, one part of the cable is connected to the first cable connector 201 on the right side of one second hard disk backplane 20, and the other part of the cable is connected to the first cable connector 201 on the right side of another second hard disk backplane 20. See the dashed arrows shown in FIG. 11.

[0166] As shown in FIG. 11, based on the two first hard disk backplanes 10 and two second hard disk backplanes 20 shown in FIG. 11, the server can be inserted with 12 horizontally arranged hard disks, including four first hard disks 501 at the bottom layer, and eight second hard disks 502 at the middle and upper layers. The distribution of the 12 hard disks is shown in FIG. 12.

[0167] In some embodiments, for a server with multiple mainboards, a first hard disk backplane 10 can be provided for each mainboard, and in combination with multiple second hard disk backplanes 20, each mainboard can be provided with sufficient storage capacity to meet the storage requirements. Moreover, by splitting the cable and connecting it to the appropriate connector, the hard disks on the left and right sides can each provide storage services for different mainboards, and the hard disks in a second hard disk backplane 20 can serve different mainboards.

[0168] The hard disk backplane module provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a 2U server, and can support 3.5-inch hard disks and be compatible with 2.5-inch hard disks. The space of the server is divided into three layers, and each layer is horizontally arranged with a corresponding hard disk backplane. Moreover, it can support single-channel systems and double-channel systems. As shown in FIG. 10, in a single-channel system, 8 SAS / SATA / NVMe hard disks in the front window can be configured, as shown in FIG. 11, in a double-channel system, 12 SAS / SATA / NVMe hard disks in the front window can be configured, so that the mainboard resources can be fully utilized. Compared with the traditional server, the mainboard specifications of the server are compatible with different platforms and single channels, and have standardized external interfaces. The overall system adopts a board-to-board insertion scheme, the core module interface is standardized, the modules are deeply decoupled, and are evolved separately. By replacing the modules, different platforms, single-channel systems, and double-channel systems can be switched, and the application range is wide.

[0169] In addition, when the 2U server is horizontally arranged with hard disks, gaps are left between the hard disks, which can be used as air outlets, so that the maximum utilization rate of the hard disks can be achieved under the premise of ensuring the heat dissipation performance.

[0170] Although the embodiments of the present application are described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, various modifications and changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application, and such modifications and changes fall within the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A hard disk backplane module, characterized by, The application relates to a hard disk backboard. The first hard disk backboard (10) comprises a first golden finger (101), an independent disk redundant array control chip (102), a first connector (103) and at least one first hard disk interface (104). The first golden finger (101) is configured to be connected with a first signal connector (401) of a mainboard (40). Part of the pins of the first golden finger (101) is connected with the first hard disk interface (104) and is configured to transmit a first data signal with the first hard disk interface (104); the first data signal is a data signal supported by a first type of hard disk. The independent disk redundant array control chip (102) is connected with another part of the pins of the first golden finger (101) and is configured to convert the data signal of the first golden finger (101) into at least one group of second data signals and at least one group of third data signals; the second data signals and the third data signals are both data signals supported by a second type of hard disk. A first data end of the independent disk redundant array control chip (102) is connected with the first hard disk interface (104) and is configured to transmit the second data signal with the first hard disk interface (104). A second data end of the independent disk redundant array control chip (102) is connected with the first connector (103) and is configured to transmit the third data signal with the first connector (103); the first connector (103) is configured to transmit the third data signal with other hard disk backboards. The first hard disk backboard (10) further comprises a first logic controller (105).

2. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1, wherein, The first logic controller (105) is connected with the independent disk redundant array control chip (102) through a serial bus and is configured to transmit a serial signal; the serial signal comprises a control signal and a monitoring signal of the independent disk redundant array control chip (102). The first hard disk backboard (10) further comprises a super capacitor interface (106) and a first memory (107); the first memory (107) is connected with the independent disk redundant array control chip (102).

3. The hard disk backplane module of claim 2, wherein, The super capacitor interface (106) is configured to be connected with a super capacitor. The first logic controller (105) is further configured to control the super capacitor interface (106) to supply power for the independent disk redundant array control chip (102) in the case of power supply abnormality; the independent disk redundant array control chip (102) stores data into the first memory (107). The first hard disk backboard (10) further comprises a second logic controller (108).

4. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1, wherein, The second logic controller (108) is connected with the first hard disk interface (104) and the first connector (103) and is configured to acquire hard disk state information of corresponding hard disks and to perform hard disk lighting. The application further relates to a second hard disk backboard (20).

5. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1, wherein, The second hard disk backboard (20) comprises a first cable connector (201), a second connector (202) and at least one second hard disk interface (203). ​ ​ The first cable connector (201) is configured to connect the second signal connector (402) of the mainboard (40) through a cable; The second connector (202) is configured to be connected with the first connector (103) of the first hard disk backplane (10) and transmit the third data signal; The second connector (202) is connected with the second hard disk interface (203) and is configured to transmit the third data signal with the second hard disk interface (203); The first cable connector (201) is connected with the second hard disk interface (203) and is configured to transmit a fourth data signal with the second hard disk interface (203); the fourth data signal is a data signal supported by a first type of hard disk.

6. The hard disk backplane module of claim 5, wherein, The number of the second hard disk interfaces (203) is multiple, and the second connector (202) is connected with multiple second hard disk interfaces (203); The second hard disk backplane (20) further comprises a first switching chip (204); The uplink interface of the first switching chip (204) is connected with the serial signal pin in the second connector (202), and multiple downlink interfaces of the first switching chip (204) are respectively connected with multiple second hard disk interfaces (203); The first switching chip (204) is configured to transmit a hard disk lighting signal to the second hard disk interface (203) and / or transmit the collected hard disk state information to the second connector (202).

7. The hard disk backplane module of claim 5 or 6, wherein, The second hard disk backplane (20) comprises two first cable connectors (201), two second connectors (202) and two second hard disk interfaces (203); all the second hard disk interfaces (203) are divided into interface groups matched with the number of the second connectors (202) according to the distance between the second connectors (202); One of the first cable connectors (201) is connected with the second hard disk interface (203) of the nearest first interface group, and the other first cable connector (201) is connected with the second hard disk interface (203) of the nearest second interface group; And one of the second connectors (202) is connected with the second hard disk interface (203) of the nearest first interface group, and the other second connector (202) is connected with the second hard disk interface (203) of the nearest second interface group.

8. The hard disk backplane module according to claim 5, wherein The first cable connector (201) is further configured to supply power to the second hard disk backplane (20); Alternatively, the first hard disk backplane (10) further comprises a first power supply connector, and the second hard disk backplane (20) further comprises a second power supply connector (205); The first power supply connector is connected with the power supply pin of the first gold finger (101), and the first power supply connector is configured to be connected with the second power supply connector (205); the second power supply connector (205) is configured to supply power to the second hard disk backplane (20).

9. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1 or 5, wherein, The first hard disk backplane (10) further comprises a second gold finger (109); The RAID control chip (102) is further configured to convert the data signal of the first pin (101) into at least one group of fifth data signals; the fifth data signal is a data signal supported by a second type of hard disk; A third data terminal of the RAID control chip (102) is connected with the second pin (109) and is configured to transmit the fifth data signal with the second pin (109); The second pin (109) is configured to be connected with other hard disk backplanes and transmit the fifth data signal.

10. The hard disk backplane module of claim 9, wherein, Further comprising: A third hard disk backplane (30); the third hard disk backplane (30) comprises a second cable connector (301), a third connector (302) and at least one third hard disk interface (303); The second cable connector (301) is configured to be connected with a third signal connector (403) of a mainboard (40) through a cable; The third connector (302) is configured to be connected with the second pin (109) of the first hard disk backplane (10) and transmit the fifth data signal; The third connector (302) is connected with the third hard disk interface (303) and is configured to transmit the fifth data signal with the third hard disk interface (303); The second cable connector (301) is connected with the third hard disk interface (303) and is configured to transmit a sixth data signal with the third hard disk interface (303); the sixth data signal is a data signal supported by a first type of hard disk.

11. The hard disk backplane module of claim 10, wherein, The number of the third hard disk interfaces (303) is plural, and the third connector (302) is connected with the plural third hard disk interfaces (303); The third hard disk backplane (30) further comprises a second switching chip (304); An uplink interface of the second switching chip (304) is connected with a serial signal pin in the third connector (302), and plural downlink interfaces of the second switching chip (304) are respectively connected with the plural third hard disk interfaces (303); The second switching chip (304) is configured to transmit a hard disk lighting signal to the third hard disk interface (303) and / or transmit collected hard disk state information to the third connector (302).

12. The hard disk backplane module of claim 10, wherein, A power supply pin of the second pin (109) is connected with a power supply pin of the first pin (101), and the power supply pin of the second pin (109) is configured to be connected with a power supply pin of the third connector (302); the power supply pin of the third connector (302) is configured to supply power to the third hard disk backplane (30).

13. The hard disk backplane module according to claim 10, wherein: The first hard disk interface (104) is arranged on a long side of the first hard disk backplane (10), and the second pin (109) is arranged on a wide side of the first hard disk backplane (10); The third hard disk interface (303) is arranged on a long side of the third hard disk backplane (30), and the third connector (302) is arranged on a wide side of the third hard disk backplane (30); The number of the first hard disk interfaces (104) in the first hard disk backplane (10) and the number of the third hard disk interfaces (303) in the third hard disk backplane (30) are not more than the maximum number of hard disks that can be arranged in the width direction of the server.

14. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1, wherein the first connector (103) is connected to another hard disk backplane and is configured to transmit a third data signal with the another hard disk backplane.

15. The hard disk backplane module of claim 5, wherein the first hard disk interface (104) is configured to insert a first hard disk (501), and the second hard disk backplane (20) connected to the first connector (103) is configured to insert a second hard disk (502).

16. The hard disk backplane module of claim 2, wherein a heat sink (111) is arranged at the middle of the first hard disk backplane (10), and the RAID control chip (102) and the first logic controller (105) are arranged below the heat sink (111). The hard disk backplane module further comprises: a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the first hard disk backplane (10); wherein the temperature signal collected by the temperature sensor is accessed to the first gold finger (101) through a serial bus. The second hard disk backplane (20) further comprises a temperature sensor and a second memory.

17. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1, wherein, The temperature sensor and the second memory are connected to the serial signal pins in the second connector (202). It comprises:

18. The hard disk backplane module of claim 1, wherein, a mainboard (40) and the hard disk backplane module according to any one of claims 1 to 18; The hard disk backplanes in the hard disk backplane module are arranged horizontally.

19. A server, comprising: The hard disk backplane module comprises a first hard disk backplane (10), a second hard disk backplane (20) and a third hard disk backplane (30); The first gold finger (101) of the first hard disk backplane (10) is connected to the first signal connector (401) of the mainboard (40), the first connector (103) of the first hard disk backplane (10) is connected to the second connector (202) of the second hard disk backplane (20), and the second gold finger (109) of the first hard disk backplane (10) is connected to the third connector (302) of the third hard disk backplane (30); The first cable connector (201) of the second hard disk backplane (20) is connected to the second signal connector (402) of the mainboard (40) through a cable; and the second cable connector (301) of the third hard disk backplane (30) is connected to the third signal connector (403) of the mainboard (40) through a cable; 20. The server of claim 14, wherein, The first hard disk backplane (10) and the third hard disk backplane (30) are arranged on the same layer as the mainboard (40); and the second hard disk backplane (20) is arranged on another layer. ​ ​ ​ 21. The server of claim 14, wherein, The server comprises a first mainboard (40a) and a second mainboard (40b); the hard disk backboard module comprises two first hard disk backboards (10) and two second hard disk backboards (20), and the second hard disk backboard (20) comprises two first cable connectors (201), two second connectors (202) and two second hard disk interfaces (203); The first gold finger (101) of one of the first hard disk backboards (10) is connected with the first signal connector (401) of the first mainboard (40a), and the first connector (103) is connected with the second connector (202) of the second hard disk backboard (20) which is closer to the one of the first hard disk backboards (10); The first gold finger (101) of another of the first hard disk backboards (10) is connected with the first signal connector (401) of the second mainboard (40b), and the first connector (103) is connected with the second connector (202) of the second hard disk backboard (20) which is closer to the another of the first hard disk backboards (10); The second signal connector (402) of the first mainboard (40a) is connected with the first cable connector (201) of one of the second hard disk backboards (20); The second signal connector (402) of the second mainboard (40b) is connected with the first cable connector (201) of another of the second hard disk backboards (20).

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