Abstract:
The invention is to provide a centralized computer system, i.e., the so-called blade PC system. The centralized computer system according to the invention includes a plurality of centralized and bladed hosts. In particularly, the centralized computer system according to the invention enables two sets of I/O peripherals to operate the same host in a hardware-driven way.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to a centralized computer system, i.e., the so-called blade PC system and, more particularly, to a hardware-driven way for enabling a display of one set of I/O peripherals to video monitor N hosts being operated. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Many commercial businesses and enterprises make extensive use of personal computers (PCs) in their daily operations. In a typical manner, each user of a PC in the enterprise has a networked PC at his/her desk or in the working area. As the number of networked computer systems utilized in an enterprise increases, the management of resources in the network may become increasingly complex and expensive. Therefore, some of the manageable issues involved in maintaining a large number of networked computer systems are required to be taken into consideration, including the ease of installation and deployment, the topology and physical logistics of the network, asset management, scalability (the cost and effort involved in increasing the number of units), troubleshooting network or unit problems, support costs, software tracking and management, the issue of physical space such as space of the floor space or room on the desk, as well as security issues regarding physical assets, information protection, software control, and computer viruses. 
         [0005]    To overcome the mentioned-above problems, many IT companies have developed the centralized computer systems. Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an infrastructure of a typical centralized computer system  1 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the centralized computer system  1  includes a plurality of hosts  12 , where each host  12  is equipped with and operated by a set of peripherals  14  including at least one peripheral device. The hosts  12  in the centralized computer system  1  are bladed, i.e., each of the hosts  12  is implemented into a “card”. In other words, each host  12  comprised on a circuit card includes the components of the standard computer system. The centralized computer system  1  also includes a network  16  to provide the hosts  12  to communicate with the remote peripheral devices. As shown in  FIG. 1 , each set of peripherals  14  may include a display  142 , a keyboard  144 , a mouse  146 , and/or other peripheral devices for human interface. The centralized computer system  1  communicates with one set of peripherals  14  coupled to the host  12  by sending and receiving encoded I/O signals transmitted via the network  16 . In general, a host switch (not shown in  FIG. 1 ), connecting with the I/O interface of a host  12  in the centralized computer system  1 . Relatively, each set of I/O peripherals  14  is equipped with a peripheral switch  148  coupled to all of the peripheral devices of the set of I/O peripherals  14 . And, the I/O signals transmitted between one host  12  and the assigned set of I/O peripherals  14  are encoded and decoded by the corresponding host switch and the corresponding peripheral switch  148 , transmitted via the network  16 . The network  16  may be a Local Area Network (LAN), such as an intranet, or a Wide Area Network (WAN), such as the Internet, though other networks are taken into account. 
         [0006]    On summary, the distinct features and advantages of the typical centralized computer system are as follows: 
         [0000]    (a) the centralized computer system can includes at least ten hosts in a chassis;
 
(b) because the hosts are bladed to reduce the volume, more hosts can be configured;
 
(c) because the centralized computer system is a highly integrated system, providing a management host to control and search the whole system is necessary;
 
(d) the hosts are centralized in the computer room to prevent man-made destruction and information stealing;
 
(e) by means of the setting of certain software, the user can read and retreat data but copy;
 
(f) because the hosts are centralized in the computer room, the user won&#39;t hear the noise generated by fans;
 
(g) with the centralized computer system, there are only a keyboard, a mouse, a display and a network connector on the user&#39;s desk, i.e., the user has more spatial usability;
 
(h) with the centralized computer system, two sets of I/O peripherals are enabled to operate the same host;
 
(i) with the centralized computer system, the manager can seamlessly monitor other hosts without being found out by other users; and
       (j) with the centralized computer system, seamlessly broadcasting to all users is much easier.       
 
         [0008]    However, the solutions for enabling a display of a set of I/O peripherals to video monitor N hosts nowadays are all required to utilize software. That is, the host computer and the guest computer all need to install the same application software before the display of the set of I/O peripherals performs video monitoring. And, all processes should be operated under the operating system (OS). In addition, the monitoring function can be operated only when application software supporting the monitoring function is driven. 
         [0009]    Accordingly, one scope of the invention is to provide a centralized computer system where a display of one set of I/O peripherals is enabled to video monitor N hosts in a hardware-driven way rather than a software-driven way. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    The invention is to provide a controlling method used in a centralized computer system. The centralized computer system comprises a network, N hosts, N host switches connecting with the N hosts and linking to the network, N first I/O peripheral switches linking to the network, N first sets of I/O peripherals, a second peripheral switch linking to the network, and a second set of I/O peripherals, wherein N is a natural number. Each first set of I/O peripherals connects to one of the N first peripheral switches. The second set of I/O peripherals connects to the second peripheral switch. The second set of I/O peripherals comprises a display electrically connected to the second peripheral switch. Each first set of I/O peripherals is assigned to operate one of the N hosts, such that a plurality of I/O signals transmitted, via the network, between the host and the assigned first set of I/O peripherals are encoded and decoded by the host switch connecting with the host and the first peripheral switch. In this controlling method, the display of the second set of I/O peripherals is used to video monitor the N hosts. 
         [0011]    According to the controlling method of the invention for the centralized computer system, first, at each of the N host switches, a video signal of the I/O signals is down-sampled, the down-sampled video signal is encoded, and then the encoded down-sampled video signal is redirected to the second peripheral switch via the network. Afterward, at the second peripheral switch, the N encoded down-sampled video signals transmitted from the N host switches are received respectively, and the encoded down-sampled video signals are decoded to obtain the N down-sampled video signals. Then, a synthetic video signal is produced by utilizing the N down-sampled video signals, and the synthetic video signal is outputted to the display of the second set of I/O peripherals. 
         [0012]    Additionally, the invention is to provide a centralized computer system comprising a network, N hosts, N host switches, N first I/O peripheral switches, N first sets of I/O peripherals, a second peripheral switch, and a second set of I/O peripherals, where N is a natural number. Each of the N host switches connects with one of the N hosts and links to the network. The N first I/O peripheral switches links to the network respectively. Each of the N first sets of I/O peripherals is electrically connected to one of the N first peripheral switches. The second peripheral switch links to the network. The second set of I/O peripherals is electrically connected to the second peripheral switch and comprises a display. 
         [0013]    Each first set of I/O peripherals is assigned to operate one of the N hosts, such that a plurality of I/O signals transmitted, via the network, between the host and the assigned first set of I/O peripherals are encoded and decoded by the host switch connecting with the host and the first peripheral switch. Each host switch down-samples a video signal of the I/O signals. Each host switch encodes the down-sampled video signal and redirects the encoded down-sampled video signal to the second peripheral switch via the network. The second peripheral switch receives the N encoded down-sampled video signals transmitted from the N host switches respectively, decodes the encoded down-sampled video signals to obtain the N down-sampled video signals, produces a synthetic video signal by utilizing the N down-sampled video signals, and outputs the synthetic video signal to the display of the second set of I/O peripherals. Whereby, the display of the second set of I/O peripherals is capable of video monitoring the N hosts. 
         [0014]    The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDED DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an infrastructure of a typical centralized computer system; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating an infrastructure of a centralized computer system according to a preferred embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating the video signal transmitting paths for a partial infrastructure of a centralized computer system shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0018]    The invention is to provide a centralized computer system and a controlling method thereof and, more particularly, under the infrastructure, the invention utilizes a hardware-driven way rather than a software-driven way to enable a display of a second set of I/O peripherals to video monitor N hosts being operated. By the descriptions of the preferred embodiments of the invention in the following, the features, spirits, advantages, and convenience of the implement are illustrated adequately. 
         [0019]    Referred to  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating an infrastructure of a centralized computer system  2  according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the centralized computer system  2  comprises a network  28 , N hosts  22 , N host switches  222 , N first I/O peripheral switches  248 , N first sets of I/O peripherals  24 , a second peripheral switch  268 , and a second set of I/O peripherals  26 , where N is a natural number. Each of the N host switches  222  connects with one of the N hosts  22  and links to the network  28 . The N first I/O peripheral switches  248  and the second peripheral switch  268  link to the network  28  respectively. 
         [0020]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , each of the N first sets of I/O peripherals  24  comprises a display  242  and M first I/O peripheral devices, such as a keyboard  244 , a mouse  246 , and so on, wherein M is a natural number. Each of the N first sets of I/O peripherals  24  is electrically connected to one of the N first peripheral switches  248 . 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the second set of I/O peripherals  26  comprises a display  262  and P second I/O peripheral devices, such as a keyboard  264 , a mouse  266 , and so on, wherein P is a natural number. The second set of I/O peripherals  26  is electrically connected to the second peripheral switch  268  and comprises the display  262 . 
         [0022]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , each first set of I/O peripherals  24  is assigned to operate one of the N hosts  22 , such that a plurality of I/O signals transmitted, via the network  28 , between the host  22  and the assigned first set of I/O peripherals  24  are encoded and decoded by the host switch  222  connecting with the host  22  and the first peripheral switch  248  connecting with the assigned first set of I/O peripherals  24 . 
         [0023]    In practical applications, referring to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a partial infrastructure of the centralized computer system  2  shown in  FIG. 2 , so as to illustrate transmitting paths of the video signals. As shown in  FIG. 3 , each host switch  222  utilizes a scaling module  2222  to down-sample a video signal P 1  of the I/O signals, utilizes an encoder  2224  to encode the down-sampled video signal P 1 ′, and redirects the encoded down-sampled video signal P 1 ″ to the second peripheral switch  268  via the network  28 . The host  22  connecting with the host switch  222  outputs the I/O signals. 
         [0024]    The second peripheral switch  268  receives the N encoded down-sampled video signals P 1 ″ transmitted from the N host switches  222  respectively, decodes the encoded down-sampled video signals P 1 ″ to obtain the N down-sampled video signals P 1 ′ by a decoder  2682 , utilizes the N down-sampled video signals P 1 ′ to produce a synthetic video signal by a video synthesis module  2684 , and outputs the synthetic video signal to the display  262  of the second set of I/O peripherals  26 . Whereby, the display  262  of the second set of I/O peripherals  26  is capable of video monitoring the N hosts  22 . 
         [0025]    In this embodiment, the video signal P 1  of the I/O signals outputted by one of the N hosts  22  is down-sampled according to a rate of 1/N. 
         [0026]    In this embodiment, the synthetic video signal is produced by utilizing the N down-sampled video signals P 1 ′ on the basis of the physical addresses of the N host switches  222 . 
         [0027]    According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a controlling method for the centralized computer system shown in  FIG. 2  is illustrated in the following. It should be emphasized that each first set of I/O peripherals  24  is assigned to operate one of the N hosts  22 , such that a plurality of I/O signals transmitted, via the network  28 , between the host  22  and the assigned first set of I/O peripherals  24  are encoded and decoded by the host switch  222  connecting with the host  22  and the first peripheral switch  248  connecting with the assigned first set of I/O peripherals  24 . Particularly, the controlling method is capable of enabling the display  262  of the second set I/O peripherals  26  to video monitor the N hosts  22 . 
         [0028]    According to the controlling method of the invention, first, at each of the N host switches  222 , the scaling module  2222  is used to down-sample the video signal P 1  of the I/O signals. The encoder  2224  is used to encode the down-sampled video signal P 1 ′, and the encoded down-sampled video signal P 1 ″ is redirected to the second peripheral switch  268  via the network  28 . 
         [0029]    Afterward, at the second peripheral switch  268 , the N encoded down-sampled video signals P 1 ″ transmitted from the N host switches  222  are received respectively. The decoder  2682  is used to decode the encoded down-sampled video signals P 1 ″ to obtain the N down-sampled video signals P 1 ′. The video synthesis module  2684  is used to produce a synthetic video signal from the N down-sampled video signals P 1 ′, and the synthetic video signal is outputted to the display  262  of the second set of I/O peripherals  26 . 
         [0030]    Compared to the prior art, according to the centralized computer system  2  and the controlling method thereof, obviously, the invention utilizes the hardware-driven way to enable the display  262  of the second set of I/O peripherals to video monitor the N hosts  22  being operated, so as to avoid the inconvenience of the software-driven way. 
         [0031]    With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.