Abstract:
A server includes a control module, a power-supply unit, a storage unit and a switch unit. The control module is electrically connected to a storage device. When the server is powered on, a first power is transmitted to from the power-supply unit to the storage unit and the switch unit, and received by the switch unit to generate a third power. When the server is powered off, the storage unit is triggered to transmit a second power to the switch to make the switch transmit the third power. The control module is provided to control a transmission information between the storage device and a buffer of the control module. When the server is powered on again, the control module continually works according to the transmission information stored in the buffer.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is related to a server, and more particularly related to a server which is powered by the power management unit when being powered off such that the server can keep storing data. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Attending with the progress of technology, the development of network has lead to a life full of electronic devices. Server is the demanded apparatus for establishing a network. In general, the servers nowadays are also responsible to backup data. As the server is powered off, it is needed to use the backup power in order to continue the backup process. However, the amount of data storage is quite enormous in present, the provided backup power might not be sufficient to cover the execution of the backup process without a good power management system. Thus, the data might not be backed up properly and there exists the need to improve the technology in present. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     In view of the poor power management efficiency of the server nowadays, which leads to the common problem of data backup, a server is provided in the present invention. The server charges a storage unit as the server is powered on and the storage unit can be triggered to supply power as the server is powered off such that the problem can be resolved. 
     According to the above mentioned object, a server is provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The server comprises a control module, a power-supply unit, a storage unit, and a switch unit. The control module is electrically connected to a storage device for controlling the storage device. The control module includes a high-speed buffer, which is utilized for storing data and control information of the storage device and the control module. The power-supply unit is utilized for outputting a first power. The storage unit is electrically connected to the power-supply unit for receiving the first power and outputting a second power. The switch unit is electrically connected to the power-supply unit, the storage unit, and the control module, for receiving the first power and the second power and outputting a third power to charge the control module. The switch unit also isolates the first power from the second power to prevent leaky current; 
     Wherein, when the server is powered on, the first power is utilized to charge the storage unit and received by the switch unit to output the third power. When the server is powered off, the storage unit is triggered to output the second power, and the switch unit receives the second power and outputs the third power. The control module is utilized to control the high-speed buffer to store the data and the control information of the storage device and the control module, and when the server is powered on again, the control module continually works according to the data and the control information stored in the high-speed buffer. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the server further comprises a connector. The storage unit is electrically connected the connector and further electrically connected to the power-supply unit and the switch unit through the connector such that the storage unit can support plug-in/pull-out operation through the connector. In addition, as a preferred embodiment, the storage unit can be a multiple cell module. Moreover, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit comprises a battery management module, an input power management module, an output power management module, and a battery module. The battery management module is utilized for managing charging and discharging of the storage unit. The input power management module is utilized for managing amount of power supplied from the first power to the storage unit so as to prevent overcharge. The output power management module is controlled by the battery management module to turn on or cut off the outputted second power. The battery module is utilized for storing power. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the server is powered on, the battery management module controls the charging from the first power to the battery set based on amount of power stored in the battery set and monitors temperature of the battery set, and when the server is powered off, the battery management module turns on the output power management module to output the second power based on a storage unit trigger signal. The storage unit trigger signal is disabled when the server is powered on, and is enabled when the server is powered off. In addition, the server further comprises a baseboard management controller (BMC), which is electrically connected to the storage unit, wherein the battery management module detects the temperature of the battery set to access a temperature information and transmits the temperature information to the baseboard management controller by using a transmission signal, and the baseboard management controller controls the battery management module based on the transmission signal. In addition, when the storage unit is plugged in by using the connector, the storage unit transmits a storage unit plugged-in enable signal to the baseboard management controller to facilitate the baseboard management controller to monitor status of the storage unit. 
     By using the technology provided in accordance with the present invention, because the storage unit is charged when the server is powered on and would be started to supply electric power when the server is powered off, the backup process can be continued even when the server is powered off. 
     In addition, because the storage unit can be a multiple cell module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit is capable to continually supply electric power to cover the execution of the backup process even when the server is powered off and there is a huge amount of data needed to be backed up. 
     The embodiments adopted in the present invention would be further discussed by using the flowing paragraph and the figures for a better understanding. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a server provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing the circuitry of the storage unit and the switch unit in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     There are various embodiments of the server provided in accordance with the present invention, which are not repeated hereby. Only a preferred embodiment is mentioned in the following paragraph as an example. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , wherein  FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a server provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 2  is a schematic view showing the circuitry of the storage unit and the switch unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the server  1  provided in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a control module  11 , a power-supply unit  12 , a storage unit  13 , a switch unit  14 , a connector  15 , and a baseboard management controller (BMC)  16 . 
     The control module  11  can be provided on a flash card or a secure digital (SD) card for example, however, the present invention is not so restricted. The control module  11  is electrically connected to a storage device  2 , such as a hard drive. However, the present invention is not so restricted. In the other embodiment, the other devices with data storing ability can be used to replace the hard drive. In addition, the control module  11  includes a high-speed buffer  111 . The high-speed buffer  111  can be a flash memory in the control module  11 . However, the present invention is not so restricted. The power-supply unit  12  can be the Power Supply Unit (PSU) of the computer. However, the present invention is not so restricted. 
     The storage unit  13 , such as a multiple cell module, is electrically connected to the power-supply unit  12 . Concretely speaking, the storage unit  13  includes a battery management module  131 , an input power management module  132 , an output power management module  133 , and a battery set  134  (there might be multiple battery sets in accordance with the other embodiments of the present invention). The battery management module  131  can be a processor with signal processing capability, the input power management module  132  is electrically connected to the power-supply unit  12 , and the output power management module  133  is electrically connected to the input power management module  132  and the battery management module  131 . The output power management module  133  may be composed of two transistors (not labeled in the figures). The battery set  134  is electrically connected to the battery management module  131 , the input power management module  132 , and the output power management module  133 . 
     The switch unit  14  is electrically connected to the control module  11 , the power-supply unit  12 , and the storage unit  13 . The switch unit  14  can be a switch composed of two transistors. 
     The connector  15  can be the sort of connectors with a plug and a socket, such as the connectors of universal serial bus (USB) interface and serial peripheral interface (SPI). However, the present invention is not so restricted. The connector  15  is electrically connected to the storage unit  13 , the power-supply unit  12 , and the switch unit  14 . That is, the storage unit  13  is electrically connected to the power-supply unit  12  and the switch unit  14  through the connector  15  such that the storage unit  13  can support the plug-in/pull-out operation through the connector  15 . 
     The baseboard management controller (BMC)  16  is electrically connected to the storage unit  13 . As a preferred embodiment, the BMC  16  may be electrically connected to the battery management module  131 . 
     The control module  11  is utilized to control the storage device  2 . The high-speed buffer  111  is utilized to store data and control information of the storage device  2  and the control module  11 , such as the transmission information between the storage device  2  and the control module  11 . The power-supply unit  12  is capable to output a first power S 1 , which can be the commercial power. The storage unit  13  receives the first power S 1  and outputs a second power S 2 . The switch unit  14  receives the first power S 1  and the second power S 2  to output a third power S 3 . The third power S 3  is supplied to the control module  11 . The switch unit  14  also isolates the first power S 1  from the second power S 2  to prevent leaky current (as shown in  FIG. 2 ). 
     In addition, the battery management module  131  is utilized for managing charging and discharging of the storage unit  13 . The input power management module  132  is utilized for managing amount of power supplied from the first power S 1  to the storage unit  13  so as to prevent overcharge. The output power management module  133  is controlled by the battery management module  131  to turn on or cut off the outputted second power S 2 . The battery module  134  is utilized for storing the electric power provided from the first power S 1 . 
     When the server  1  is powered on, the first power S 1  is supplied to the storage unit  13  so as to charge the storage unit  13 . Meanwhile, the switch unit  14  also receives the first power S 1  and outputs the third power S 3  such that the control module  11  can store data and control information of the storage device  2  and the control module  11  by using the third power S 3 . 
     In addition, when the storage unit  13  is plugged in by using the connector  15 , the storage unit  13  transmits a storage unit plugged-in enable signal S 4  to the baseboard management controller  16  to facilitate the baseboard management controller  16  to monitor the status of the storage unit  13 . That is, when the server  1  is powered on, the battery management module  131  controls the charging from the first power S 1  to the battery set  134  based on the amount of power stored in the battery set  134 , and also detects the temperature of the battery set  134 . Concretely speaking, the battery management module  131  detects the temperature of the battery set  134  to access a temperature information and transmits the temperature information to the baseboard management controller  16  by using a transmission signal S 5 , and the baseboard management controller  16  controls the battery management module  131  based on the temperature information of the transmission signal S 5 . That is, the baseboard management controller  16  is utilized to prevent the temperature of the battery set  134  controlled by the battery management module  131  from exceeding the limit. 
     In addition, when the server  1  is powered off (also refer to the condition the power is interrupted), the storage unit  13  is started and outputs the second power S 2  (i.e. the electric power stored in the battery set  134 ) through the connector  15 . Furthermore, the battery management module  13  controls the output power management module  133  to output the second power S 2  based on a storage unit enable signal S 6 . The switch unit  14  receives the second power S 2  and outputs the third power S 3 . The control module  11  controls the high-speed buffer  111  to store (or backup) the data and control information of the storage device  2  and the control module  11 . When the server  1  is powered on again, the control module  11  retrieves the work by using the information stored in the high-speed buffer  111 . 
     Moreover, the storage unit enable signal S 6  is disabled when the server  1  is powered on, but enabled when the server  1  is powered off. Concretely speaking, the storage unit enable signal S 6  can be enhanced to the level of the first power S 1  by using a resistor (not shown in this figure), such that the storage unit enable single S 6  can be in the enable state (active low) when the first power S 1  is shut down. In addition, the storage unit enable signal S 6  may be controlled by the power-good signal (not shown) outputted from the power-supply unit  12 . For example, when the power-good signal is enabled, the storage unit enable signal S 6  would be set as disable, and when the power good signal is disabled, the storage unit enable signal S 6  would be set as enable. Such storage unit enable signal S 6  can be implemented by using a logic negative element (such as an inverter). 
     In conclusion, by using the technology provided in accordance with the present invention, because the storage unit is charged when the server is powered on and would be started to supply electric power when the server is powered off, thus, the backup process can be continued even when the server is powered off and the work can be retrieved when the server is powered on again. In addition, because the storage unit is a multiple cell module in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit is capable to continually supply electric power to cover the execution of the backup process. 
     The detail description of the aforementioned preferred embodiments is for clarifying the feature and the spirit of the present invention. The present invention should not be limited by any of the exemplary embodiments described herein, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents. Specifically, those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiments as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.