Abstract:
A server including a backplane, first and second EM units is provided. The signal of the first EM unit is determined whether or not to be transmitted to a bus at the backplane according to statuses of the first EM unit and other EM unit(s). The signal of the second EM unit is determined whether or not to be transmitted to the bus according to statuses of the second EM unit and other EM unit(s). Thus, the server prevents the first and the second EM units on the backplane simultaneously connected to the backplane to cause a signal short between the first and the second EM units.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a system management protection device of a server. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system management protection device for a server, for connecting the first or the second enclosure management (EM) unit in the server to a backplane of the server. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    With the increasing expansion of information flow, many enterprises gradually integrate their servers to a centralized data center and also integrate a plurality of small servers distributed everywhere in the enterprises into one place, so as to reduce the high cost and difficulty caused by the dispersed management, thereby forming a new-style server, which is called a blade server. The blade server has the advantages of small volume, space saving, easy to manage, a low cost, and rapid architecture, and is compatible with different operating systems. The blade server integrates a processor, a memory, and a hard disk onto a single motherboard, so as to form a motherboard with server system functions. Each of the motherboards is called one server blade, and the server blades are installed on a backplane and share one chassis, power supply, keyboard, mouse, and display. 
         [0005]    In order to manage the shared resources, two EM boards (EM) are mounted on the backplane of the blade server, in which one EM is active and the other EM is redundant. In this manner, if the active EM is broken down or damaged, the redundant EM will be switched into the active EM instantly to protect the system, such that the system may still manage the entire operation of the blade server during the breakdown and damage of the active EM. The active EM and the redundant EM usually have independent circuits respectively, and now in order to save space, the circuits of the two are integrated into one. In the blade server, the active EM and the redundant EM are both directly connected to the backplane via a bus. When the main EM is damaged, the connection between the main EM and the backplane bus cannot be efficiently cut off, resulting in the crosstalk of signals of the main and redundant EMs, thus leading to false actions of the circuit and further damaging the chips or circuits in the EMs. 
         [0006]    Therefore, it is an urgent problem to be solved in the art how to provide a new system management protection device for a server, capable of instantly cutting off the connection signal between the main EM and the redundant EM when the main EM in the server malfunctions, so as to prevent a signal short occurring in the server. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a server, in which one of a first and a second EM units is connected to a bus of a backplane, and the other one is disconnected with the bus, so as to prevent the crosstalk of the signals of the first and the second EM units and to prevent burning chips or circuits in a management unit due to false actions of the circuit in the management unit. 
         [0008]    In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a server, which includes a backplane, a first EM unit, and a second EM unit. The first EM unit includes a first switch unit and a first protect-control unit. The first switch unit is connected to the backplane through a bus, so as to determine whether or not to allow a signal of the first EM unit to be transmitted to the bus through the first switch unit according to a first switch signal. The first protect-control unit outputs the first switch signal and determines an enable status of the first switch signal according to statuses of the first EM unit and other EM units. The second EM unit includes a second switch unit and a second protect-control unit. The second switch unit is connected to the backplane through the bus, so as to determine whether or not to allow a signal of the second EM unit to be transmitted to the bus through the second switch unit according to a second switch signal. The second protect-control unit outputs the second switch signal, and determines an enable status of the second switch signal according to statuses of the second EM unit and other EM units. 
         [0009]    In the present invention, the first EM unit and the second EM unit are operated by each other to control the switch unit therein to be turned on or turned off, so as to determine the connection relation between the first EM unit and the bus and determine the connection relation between the second EM unit and the bus. As such, either the first EM unit or the second EM unit is in an active EM unit status. That is to say, when accidents occur and cause the first EM unit and the second EM unit both in the active EM unit status, the present invention can prevent the first and the second EM units connected to the bus simultaneously, thereby preventing the unreliable operation resulting form the burning of the circuit or even the breakdown of the server caused by the signal short. 
         [0010]    In order to the make aforementioned and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, preferred embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. 
         [0011]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the basic architecture of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  shows the first protect-control unit in  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  shows the first protect-control unit in  FIG. 1  according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the basic architecture of a server according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a first EM unit  110 , a second EM unit  120 , and other module units (not shown) of the server  100  are all connected to a backplane  130  through a bus  23 . The bus  23  can be a universal serial bus (USB) or a bus of another type. The first EM unit  110  of server  100  includes a first switch unit  111 , a first protect-control unit  112 , and a first pick unit  113 , and the second EM unit  120  includes a second switch unit  121 , a second protect-control unit  122 , and a second pick unit  123 . 
         [0017]    The first switch unit  111  and the second switch unit  121  are connected to the backplane  130  through the bus  23 . The first switch unit  111  determines whether or not to allow a signal EMS 1  of the first EM unit  110  to be transmitted to the bus  23  through the first switch unit  111  according to a first switch signal D 1  of the first protect-control unit  112 . The signal EMS 1  indicates that an internal circuit (not shown) of the first EM unit  110  is to access the bus  23 . Similarly, the second switch unit  121  determines whether or not to allow a signal EMS 2  of the second EM unit  120  to be transmitted to the bus  23  through the second switch unit  121  according to a second switch signal D 2  output by the second protect-control unit  122 . The signal EMS 2  indicates an internal circuit (not shown) of the second EM unit  120  is to access the bus  23 . In this embodiment, when the switch signal D 1  (or D 2 ) is logic 0, the switch unit  111  (or  121 ) is turned on and when the switch signal D 1  (or D 2 ) is logic 1, the switch unit  111  (or  121 ) is turned off. 
         [0018]    The first pick unit  113  is used to pick up a status of the first EM unit  110  and output a first status message A 1  accordingly. The second pick unit  123  is used to pick up a status of the second EM unit  120  and output a second status message A 2  accordingly. The status message A 1  or A 2  indicates that the EM unit  110  or  120  is in an active or an inactive status, respectively. In this embodiment, when the status message A 1  (or A 2 ) is logic 0, it indicates that the EM unit  110  (or  120 ) is an active EM unit. When the status message A 1  (or A 2 ) is logic 1, it indicates that the EM unit  110  (or  120 ) is an inactive EM unit. 
         [0019]    The first protect-control unit  112  determines an enable status of the first switch signal D 1  according to statuses of the first EM unit  110  and other EM units (for example, the EM unit  120 ). The second protect-control unit  122  determines an enable status of the second switch signal D 2  according to statuses of the second EM unit  120  and other EM units (for example, the EM unit  110 ). In this embodiment, the protect-control unit  122  outputs a first notification message C 1  to the protect-control unit  112  and the notification message C 1  indicates a status of the second EM unit  120 . The protect-control unit  112  determines the level of the first switch signal D 1  according to a first default level setting B 1 , the first status message A 1 , and the logic status of the first notification message C 1 . 
         [0020]    Herein, in the first default level setting B 1 , logic 0 indicates a main EM unit and logic 1 indicates a secondary EM unit. In this embodiment, the first default level setting B 1  can be grounded to set the EM unit  110  as the main EM unit. Additionally, if the first notification message C 1  is logic 1, it indicates that the status of the second EM unit  120  is an active EM unit. Otherwise, if the first notification message C 1  is logic 0, it indicates that the status of the second EM unit  120  is an inactive EM unit. Therefore, the first protect-control unit  112  can be realized according to a truth table of Table 1.  FIG. 2  shows the first protect-control unit  112  according to an embodiment of the present invention. In Table 1, the protect-control unit  112  can be realized by using an AND gate  210  and an OR gate  220 . 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Truth Table of First Protect-Control Unit 112 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                 Notification 
                   
               
               
                 Status Message A1 
                 Level Setting B1 
                 Message C1 
                 Switch Signal D1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
               
               
                 0 
                 0 
                 1 
                 0 
               
               
                 0 
                 1 
                 0 
                 0 
               
               
                 0 
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 0 
                 0 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0021]      FIG. 3  shows another embodiment of the first protect-control unit  112  in  FIG. 1 . The first protect-control unit  112  includes a first transmission-processing module  310  and a first operation-processing module  320 . The operation-processing module  320  receives the first notification message C 1  transmitted by the second protect-control unit  122  through the first transmission-processing module  310 , so as to acquire the status of the second EM unit  120 . The first operation-processing module  320  operates and processes according to the first default level setting B 1 , the first status message A 1 , and the first notification message C 1 , so as to generate the first switch signal D 1 . In this embodiment, the operation-processing module  320  performs mathematical calculations according to Boolean expression D 1 =A 1 +B 1 ·C 1 . Therefore, the first operation-processing module  112  can include a first AND gate and a first OR gate. A first input end and a second input end of the first AND gate receive the first default level setting B 1  and the first notification message C 1 , respectively. A first input end and a second input end of the first OR gate receive the output of the first AND gate and the first status message A 1 , respectively, so as to output the first switch signal D 1 . 
         [0022]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , the protect-control unit  122  can be realized according to a truth table of Table 2. The implementation method of the protect-control unit  122  is similar to that of the protect-control unit  112  and will not be repeated herein. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Truth Table of Second Protect-Control Unit 122 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   
                 Notification 
                   
               
               
                 Status Message A2 
                 Level Setting B2 
                 Message C2 
                 Switch Signal D2 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
                 0 
               
               
                 0 
                 0 
                 1 
                 0 
               
               
                 0 
                 1 
                 0 
                 0 
               
               
                 0 
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 0 
                 0 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 1 
                 0 
                 1 
               
               
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
                 1 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0023]    From Tables 1 and 2, when the server  100  detects that the first EM unit  110  is in an active status (i.e., the status message A 1  is logic 0, and the notification message C 2  is logic 1) and the server  100  detects that the second EM unit  120  is in a inactive status (i.e., the status message A 2  is logic 1, and the notification message C 1  is logic 0), the first switch signal D 1  is logic 0 and the second switch signal D 2  is logic 1. At this time, the switch unit  111  is controlled by the switch signal D 1  to be turned on, such that the first EM unit  110  is connected to the bus  23  on the backplane  130  through the switch unit  111 . The switch unit  121  is controlled by the switch signal D 2  to be turned off, such that the second EM unit  120  is disconnected with the bus  23  on the backplane  130 . 
         [0024]    When the server  100  detects that the first EM unit  110  is in an active status (i.e., the status message A 1  is logic 1, and the notification message C 2  is logic 0) and the server  100  detects that the second EM unit  120  is in a inactive status (i.e., the status message A 2  is logic 0, and the notification message C 1  is logic 1), the first switch signal D 1  is logic 1 and the second switch signal D 2  is logic 0. At this time, the switch unit  121  is controlled by the switch signal D 2  to be turned on, such that the second EM unit  120  is connected to the bus  23  on the backplane  130  through the switch unit  121 . The switch unit  111  is controlled by the switch signal D 1  to be turned off, such that the first EM unit  110  is disconnected with the bus  23  on the backplane  130 . 
         [0025]    When the status message A 1  of the first EM unit  210  is logic 0 and the notification message C 1  is logic 1. It can be known from the above that the first EM unit  110  and the second EM unit  120  in such a status are both in an active status. At this time, the protect-control unit  112  switches the switch signal D 1  to be logic 0 according to the default level setting B 1 ; and the protect-control unit  122  switches the switch signal D 2  to be logic 1 according to the default level setting B 2  (for example, presetting the level setting B 2  as logic 1). At this time, the switch unit  111  is controlled by the switch signal D 1  to be turned on. The switch unit  121  is controlled by the switch signal D 2  to be turned off. Therefore, this embodiment may solve the defect that the server malfunctions when the first EM unit  110  and the second EM unit  120  are both in an active status, so as to further avoid the problem that the server cannot run effectively, and even the internal circuit of the server is burned and the server is broken down when the first and second EM units in an active status in the conventional server without any protection mechanism are both connected to the bus on the backplane due to a signal short. 
         [0026]    Furthermore, as shown in Table 1, when the status message A 1  of the first EM unit  110  is logic 1 and the notification message C 1  is logic 0 (i.e., the first EM unit  110  and the second EM unit  120  are both in a inactive status), the first switch signal D 1  and the second switch signal D 2  are both logic 1, such that the switch unit  111  and  121  are both in a turn-off status. Therefore, the first EM unit  110 , the second EM unit  120 , and the bus  23  on the backplane  130  are not connected, which indicates that the server  100  is abnormal. At this time, an alert signal is sent through the server  100  for a server maintenance staff to maintain the server accordingly, such that the server  100  may run reliably and stably which is known persons in the art and is not the characteristic of the present invention, so it will not be repeated herein again. 
         [0027]    In view of the above, in the server  100  in the aforementioned embodiments, the switch units  111  and  121  are controlled to be turned on/off mainly through the mutual operation of the protect-control units  112  and  122 , such that the first EM unit  110  or the second EM unit  120  are connected to the bus  23  on the backplane  130  through the corresponding switch unit  111  or  121 . Therefore, through the aforementioned embodiments, only one of the first EM unit  110  and the second EM unit  120  is connected to the bus  23  on the backplane  130  through the corresponding switch unit ( 111  or  121 ), so the first EM unit and the second EM unit will not be connected to the bus on the backplane simultaneously. In addition, in the aforementioned embodiments, when the first EM unit or the second EM unit becomes abnormal, the abnormal one is prevented from being connected to the bus on the backplane, such that the first EM unit or the second EM unit will not suffer the crosstalk and short of signals due to the bus on the backplane. Due to the crosstalk of signals, the internal circuit in the server may easily suffer a short circuit and then is burned, and even the server may be broken down and cannot run reliably. 
         [0028]    It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.