Patent Publication Number: US-10325474-B2

Title: Method, device, and system for fault unit indication

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claim priority from Chinese Patent Application Number CN201610847723.4, filed on Sep. 23, 2016 at the State Intellectual Property Office, China, titled “METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEM OF FAULT UNIT INDICATION” the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     FIELD 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of servers, and more specifically, to fault unit indication. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In many computer platforms, there is a plurality of units, such as field replaceable unit (FRU). When a unit is encountered with a fault, it is required to determine the unit in fault. Therefore, there is a need for a solution for fault unit indication to facilitate positioning of the fault unit. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for fault unit indication. 
     According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for positioning a fault unit. The method comprises supplying power to a controller and a light emitting diode (LED) circuit by a battery module, wherein the LED circuit includes a plurality of LEDs associated with a plurality of units. The method further comprises in response to receiving a control signal for triggering positioning, transmitting a trigger signal to the controller by the battery module such that an LED of the plurality of LEDs associated with the fault unit is turned on. 
     According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery module coupled to a controller and a switch and including a control module, which is configured to cause the battery module to supplying power to the controller and a light emitting diode (LED) circuit, the LED circuit having a plurality of LEDs associated with a plurality of units; and in response to receiving a control signal from the switch for triggering positioning, transmit a trigger signal to the controller such that an LED of the plurality of LEDs associated with a fault unit is turned on. 
     According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a system for positioning a fault unit. The system comprises a light emitting diode (LED) circuit including a plurality of LEDs associated with a plurality of units, a controller coupled to the LED circuit, a switch, and a battery module coupled to the controller and the switch, the battery module being configured to supply power to the controller and an LED circuit in response to receiving a control signal from the switch for triggering positioning; and transmit a trigger signal to a controller; wherein the controller is configured to transmit a driving signal that indicates a fault unit of the plurality of units to the LED circuit in response to receiving a trigger signal, such that an LED associated with the fault unit is turned on. 
     The Summary is to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Through the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the above and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent. The same reference sign usually refers to the same component in the example embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an fault indication environment according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a structural block diagram of a battery module according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a fault indication method according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in details with reference to the drawings. Although the drawings only show the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, it should be appreciated that the present disclosure can be implemented by various manners and should not be limited to the embodiments illustrated herein. Instead, these embodiments are provided for a more thorough and complete version of the present disclosure, so as to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. 
     As used herein, the term “include” and its variants are to be read as open-ended terms that mean “include, but is not limited to.” The term “or” is to be read as “and/or” unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on.” The terms “an example embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one example embodiment.” The terms “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one further embodiment.” The terms “first” and “second” can represent different or same objects. The following text may also include other explicit or implicit definitions. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of fault indication environment  100  according to embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the fault indication environment  100  shown in  FIG. 1  is only exemplary and only shows components related to the embodiments of the present disclosure in the computer platform, rather than all components in the current computer platform. In some embodiments, the environment  100  shown in  FIG. 1  can be implemented in the same mainboard. For example, the environment  100  can be implemented as a cassette server unit in a blade server. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the environment  100  can comprise a battery on bus (BoB) or known as battery module or auxiliary power supply  102 , a baseboard management controller (BMC)  104  and a LED circuit including a LED driver  106  and a plurality of LEDs  130 - 134 . BoB  102  can power devices or modules such as a central processing unit (CPU) on a mainboard. For example, when the main power supply (e.g., PSU) on the mainboard is powered down, BoB  102  can enter a discharging state to power the CPU and the like in replace of the main power supply. 
     The BMC is a dedicated microcontroller usually embedded in the mainboard of the server. The BMC manages the interface between the environment management software and the platform hardware. The various sensors embedded in the computer environment reports various parameters such as temperature, fan speed to the BMC. The BMC monitors the sensors and, if a unit malfunctions (e.g., a parameter of the unit exceeds a predetermined range), the BMC sends a warning to the environment administrator via the network. Then the administrator can notify the engineer to the site for maintenance. It should be understood that although D 1  illustrates BMC  104 , those skilled in the art can also use any other controller currently known or to be developed in the future to implement BMC  104 . 
       FIG. 1  shows a plurality of units, including a dual in-line memory module (DIMM)  120 , a hard drive  122 , and a fan  124 . The DIMM  120  can also be any other types of storage modules and the hard drive  122  can be implemented by a storage device with an interface such as M.2 and mSATA, for example, solid state disk. Additionally, the number and types of units shown in  FIG. 1  are only exemplary and those skilled in the art will understand that more and less number and/or types of units can be implemented. In some embodiments, the units are field replaceable units, and the engineer can replace them on the site after a fault is detected. 
     The DIMM  120  and the hard drive  112  are connected to the BMC  104  via a multiplexer (also known as an expander or switch)  118 . For example, the BMC  104  can use the I2C protocol to communicate with the units and monitors their states. The BMC  104  can detect the speed of the fan  124  based on a TACH signal and control the fan  124  by a PWM control signal. For example, if the BMC  104  determines that the speed of certain fan deviates from the PWM control signal (or the deviation exceeds the predetermined threshold), the BMC determines that there is a fault in the fan. 
     In the operating mode of the system, the BMC  104  can perform a real-time monitor or a timed detection (e.g., a periodic detection) on the operation state of each unit. If the operation of a certain unit is detected to be abnormal, the signal indicating the abnormality is sent to the BoB  102  and stored in a memory of the BoB  102 . The memory of the BoB  102  can be a flash memory, for example. Alternatively, the BMC  104  can also store the indication signal in other memory on the mainboard, for example, a flash memory. Upon detecting a fault, the BMC  104  can also issue a hard warning to the administrator via the network. 
     In some embodiments, the indication signal can specify the name and number of the unit. For example, DIMM 02  can represent that the second DIMM is faulty and FAN 01  can represent the first fan is faulty and so on. 
     After receiving the warning, the field engineer can come to the field to determine the source of the fault. If a field replaceable unit (FRU) is faulty, the engineer can replace the fault FRU. This is usually called a service mode of the system. Then, the field engineer can pull the mainboard out of the rack. The main power supply, such as PDU etc., cannot continue to power the mainboard and each unit thereon. Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the power supply at the diode  114  is also indicated to be off and will not receive any inputs, for example, a voltage of 3.3V. Then, the BoB  102  can provide a main power supply output of 12V to the CPU on the mainboard via the main power supply switch to avoid data loss. In  FIG. 1 , the main power supply switch is shown to be an efuse  102 , but it should be understood that any suitable controllable switch can act as a main power supply switch, such as a transistor. 
     In addition, the BoB  102  can also supply power to the LED driver  106 , the LEDs  130 - 134  and the BMC  104  via a low dropout regulator (LDO)  110  and a diode  112 . The LDO  110  can convert the 12V output voltage of the BoB  102  to a voltage of 3.3V, so as to supply power to the LED driver  106 , the LEDs  130 - 134  and the BMC  104 . 
     Although  FIG. 1  illustrates a low dropout regulator, it should be appreciated that any other suitable voltage converters can also be used. Additionally, the voltages of 12V and 3.3V are provided only for exemplary purpose without limiting the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The power of the BoB  102  usually is not sufficient to provide the main power supply output of 12V for a long time. In this case, the field engineer can turn off the switch  116  after pulling out the mainboard to generate a control signal for triggering positioning. The switch  116  can be implemented by a button, for example. The control signal is transmitted to the BoB  102 , which sends a trigger signal to the BMC  104  after receiving the control signal. In some embodiments, the trigger signal can include an indication signal indicating a fault unit. The BMC  104  can also break the efuse  108  by transmitting a main power supply off signal to the efuse  108  so as to stop providing the main power supply output of 12V, thereby saving the power of the BoB  102 . 
     In some embodiments, after receiving the trigger signal from the BoB  102 , the BMC  104  can generate a driving signal for controlling the LED driver  106  according to the indication signal included in the trigger signal. In an embodiment in which the trigger signal does not include the indication signal, the BMC  104  can obtain an indication signal from other memory on the mainboard to generate the driving signal. Then, the BMC  104  transmits the driving signal to the LED driver  106  to turn on the LED associated with the fault unit. In some embodiments, each unit is arranged adjacent to its associated LED to facilitate fault indication. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the LED  130  is disposed adjacent to the DIMM  120 , the LED  132  is disposed adjacent to the hard drive  122 , and the LED  134  is disposed adjacent to the fan  124 . 
     When the LED is turned on, the engineer can determine the corresponding unit. For example, if the LED  130  is turned on, the engineer can determine that the DIMM  120  is faulty. The engineer can replace the fault unit if it is a field replaceable unit. However, the engineer can turn off the switch  116  and put the mainboard back to allow it to operate normally. 
     In order to implement the environment  100  shown in  FIG. 1 , embodiments of the present disclosure can provide a new battery module.  FIG. 2  illustrates a structural diagram of BoB  102  in a fault indication environment  100  according to embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the BoB  102  can be connected to the efuse  108  via a pin BAT_12V  1022 . Additionally, the BoB  102  can also include a microcontroller  1020  as a control module configured for battery management and communication and step-down control. The microcontroller  1020  (and thus BoB  102 ) can have a plurality of input and output pins, where pins  1024  and  1026  are reserved pins. It should be understood that BoB  102  can also include any other suitable types of control modules. Other input and output pins will not be further detailed here, but those skilled in the art should know these pins can implement any suitable function currently known or to be developed in the future. 
     As described above, the microcontroller  1020  can cause the BoB  102  to power the controller (e.g., BMC  104  as shown in  FIG. 1 ) and the LED circuit. Additionally, the microcontroller  1020  can also transmit a trigger signal to the controller (e.g., the BMC  104  shown in  FIG. 1 ) in response to receiving a control signal from the switch (e.g., the switch  116 ) for triggering positioning, such that the LED associated with the fault unit is turned on. In some embodiments, the LED is arranged adjacent to its associated unit. 
     In some embodiments, the trigger signal comprises an indication signal indicating a fault unit. In this case, the microcontroller  1020  can also receive an indication signal from the fault unit via the controller and store the indication signal in the BoB  102 , e.g., the memory of the BoB  102 . 
     In some embodiments, the microcontroller  1020  can also transmit a main power supply off signal to the controller in response to receiving the control signal, such that the main power supply output of the BoB  102  is turned off. In some embodiments, the units are field replaceable units, which can be replaced by the engineer. 
     In some embodiments, the pin  1024  can be coupled to the switch  116  and the pin  1026  can be coupled to BMC  104  for transmitting a control signal to the BMC  104 . Additionally, the use of two reserved pins of the BoB  102  minimizes the impact on the original design and improves the backward compatibility. 
       FIG. 3  is a flow chart of a method  300  for a fault indication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The method  300  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In some embodiments, the method  300  can be implemented by the BoB  102  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . For example, the method  300  can be implemented by firmware in a microcontroller  1020  on the BoB  102 . It should be understood that the method  300  can also comprise additional steps (not shown) and/or omit the steps as shown. The scope of the subject matter described herein is not limited in this regard. 
     At  302 , the battery module supplies power to the controller and the light emitting diode (LED) circuit, which includes a plurality of LEDs associated with a plurality of units. The controller can be implemented by the BMC  104  shown in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, the BoB  102  can supply power to the controller and the LED circuit through the voltage regulator by the pin  1022 . 
     In some embodiments, the plurality of units are field replaceable units, which are easy to replace. In some embodiments, an LED of the plurality of LEDs is arranged adjacent to the associated units of the plurality of units, so as to facilitate fault unit indication. 
     At  304 , the battery module transmits a trigger signal to the controller in response to receiving a control signal for triggering positioning, such that the LED of the plurality of LEDs associated with the fault unit is turned on. For example, the BoB  105  can transmit a trigger signal to the controller via the pin  1024 . After receiving the trigger signal, the controller can transmit a control signal to the LED driver to drive a respective LED, such that the engineer can easily replace the fault unit especially when the fault is a field replaceable unit. 
     In some embodiments, the trigger signal comprises an indication signal indicating a fault unit. In this case, the method  300  can also comprise receiving an indication signal by the battery module from the fault unit through the controller and storing the indication signal in the battery module, such as the memory of the battery module. 
     In some embodiments, the method  300  can also comprise transmitting a main power supply off signal to the controller in response to receiving a control signal, such that the main power supply output of the battery module is turned off. In this way, the power of the battery module may be saved, which facilitates the fault unit positioning function. 
     Each embodiment of the present disclosure has been disclosed above and the above explanations are exemplary and non-exhaustive, and not limited to the each embodiment disclosed. Without departing from the scope and principles of the described embodiments, many variations and modifications are obvious for those ordinary skilled in the art. The terms selected herein aim to explain the principle and practical application of each embodiment or improve the technology of the market in the best way, or to make other ordinary skilled in the art understand each embodiment disclosed herein.