Peripheral Interconnect Multiplexer for Blade Expansion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing computer peripheral expansion systems require multiple separate peripheral interconnect buses (PIBs) for each blade peripheral expansion unit (BPEU), leading to increased complexity and physical space usage, as well as limitations in address sharing without contention.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a peripheral interconnect multiplexer that fans out an upstream PIB segment into two or more downstream interconnect channels, allowing connection to multiple BPEUs and enabling address sharing without contention through configuration information stored in the host blade.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple separate peripheral interconnect buses (PIBs) are used for each BPEU, then each BPEU can have dedicated data communication channels, but the system complexity and physical space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate PIB connections into a single shared PIB connection by introducing a multiplexer. The multiplexer allows multiple BPEUs to share one physical PIB interface, reducing the number of separate conductors and pins required while maintaining dedicated communication channels through time-division multiplexing.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiplexer serves multiple functions: it acts as a switch to connect different BPEUs to the host blade, provides address decoding to route communications to the correct BPEU, and enables address sharing among multiple BPEUs. This single component replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate PIB interfaces.
2Reliability
If multiple separate peripheral interconnect buses (PIBs) are used for each BPEU, then dedicated communication is ensured, but the physical space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple physical PIB connections into a single shared connection by using a multiplexer. This reduces the physical space required for connectors, conductors, and associated hardware while maintaining the functionality of dedicated communication channels through logical multiplexing.
3Ease of operation
If each PIB is configured to carry data communication between the host blade and only one type of BPEU, then communication protocol simplicity is maintained, but address sharing without contention is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The multiplexer acts as an intermediary between the host blade and multiple BPEUs. It receives address information from the host blade, decodes the address to identify the target BPEU, and routes the communication accordingly. This allows multiple BPEUs to share the same PIB interface while maintaining simple communication protocols through the multiplexer's address-based routing.
Data Source
AI summary
Computer peripheral expansion apparatus, methods of operation, and computer program products including blade peripheral expansion units (‘BPEUs’), each BPEU including a peripheral interconnect multiplexer coupled for peripheral interconnect data communications through an upstream peripheral interconnect bus (‘PIB’) segment to a host blade, the upstream PIB segment fanned out by the multiplexer into two or more peripheral downstream interconnect channels, the multiplexer connecting the upstream PIB segment to only one of the downstream channels at a time; and the two or more downstream peripheral interconnect channels, at least one of the downstream channels connected to at least one peripheral interconnect device (‘PID’) in the BPEU, the peripheral interconnect device being a device that communicates with the host blade according to a peripheral interconnect data communications protocol, one of the downstream channels configured to connect to an upstream PIB segment in another BPEU.