Cableless Server Architecture for Simplified Connector Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of managing numerous cables and connectors within complex server systems, which can be difficult to locate and prone to damage, complicates maintenance and verification.
Innovation Solution
A cableless server system design utilizing a motherboard module, power distribution board module, power supply unit modules, network interface controller modules, fan modules, and a hyperscale GPU accelerator platform, interconnected via a plurality of circuit boards including main boards, linking boards, power distribution boards, fan boards, PCIe expander boards, and NVLink bridges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If cables and connectors are used to interconnect electronic circuit boards and components, then the server system can be assembled with standardized connections, but the complexity of locating and managing numerous connectors increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates cables and connectors from the server system by implementing direct board-to-board connections through edge connectors and contactless coupling mechanisms. This removes the intermediate cable layer, reducing connector management complexity while maintaining standardized connection capabilities through integrated edge connectors on circuit boards.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of separate cables and connectors into integrated edge connectors directly mounted on circuit boards. By combining power transmission, data communication, and mechanical coupling functions into unified board-level interfaces, the system reduces the number of discrete components while maintaining standardized connection capabilities.
2Reliability
If numerous cables are used to interconnect components, then power and data can be transmitted between modules, but maintaining and verifying cable connections becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes cables from the system entirely, replacing them with direct board-to-board connections through edge connectors and contactless coupling. This eliminates cable-related maintenance issues while maintaining reliable power and data transmission through integrated connection interfaces that provide both electrical and mechanical coupling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical cable connection system with direct board-level edge connector interfaces. This substitution eliminates the need for manual cable plugging and unplugging, providing more reliable connections that are less prone to degradation from repeated mechanical stress while maintaining ease of module replacement.
3Adaptability or versatility
If cables are used within the server system, then components can be interconnected flexibly, but cables are subject to inadvertent impingement from moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts cables from the server system interior, replacing them with rigid board-to-board connections through edge connectors. This eliminates cables that could be damaged by moving parts while maintaining adaptability through modular board designs that can be configured for different system layouts and moving component arrangements.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a system and method for enabling cableless connections within a server system. The server system comprises a motherboard (MB) module, a power distribution board (PDB) module, power supply unit (PSU) modules, network interface controller (NIC) modules, fan modules, graphic process unit (GPU) modules, and a hyperscale GPU accelerator (HGX) platform. These components of the server system are interconnected by a plurality of circuit boards. The plurality of circuit boards includes, but is not limited to, a main board, linking boards (BDs), a PDB, a fan board, a power linking board, peripheral-component-interconnect-express (PCIe) expander boards, a plurality of NVLink bridges, and HGX base boards.