Patent Publication Number: US-11030145-B2

Title: Server

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/994,646, filed May 31, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,331,617, which claims priority to and the benefit of Chinese Invention Patent Application No. 201711236737.3, filed on Nov. 30, 2017, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     The disclosure relates to a server, and more particularly to a server including an adapter device including first and second connectors for being respectively and electrically connected to storage modules and storage controller modules. 
     BACKGROUND 
     With recent advancement of storage technologies, the data storage capability of a server has increased as well. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a conventional server  100  includes a plurality of hard disk drives (e.g., solid state drives, not shown), two storage controller modules (not shown), and a circuit board  101  to which the hard disk drives and the storage controller modules are mounted. The conventional server  100  further includes a plurality of hard disk connectors  102  that are mounted to one side of the circuit board  101 , that are electrically connected to the circuit board  101  and that are arranged along a longitudinal direction (L) of the circuit board  101 , and a plurality of high speed connectors  103  that are mounted to an opposite side of the circuit board  101 , that are electrically connected to the circuit board  101  and that are arranged along the longitudinal direction (L) and adjacent to a bottom side of the circuit board  101 . Each of the hard disk drives is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the hard disk connectors  102 . The high speed connectors  103  are arranged into two left and right groups that are respectively and electrically connected to the storage controller modules. Each of the high speed connectors  103  is electrically connected to corresponding ones of the hard disk connectors  102  through the circuit board  101  (as shown by the arrows of  FIG. 1 ). Such arrangement requires the circuit board  101  to be formed with multiple staggered layers of interconnects to avoid short circuit among the interconnects. Moreover, such interconnection arrangement may suffer from noise due to interaction among the interconnects. The abovementioned issues are especially prominent in non-volatile memory express (NVMe) interface because there are more than twice the number of the interconnects compared to its precedent, serial attached small computer system interface (SCSI) (abbreviated to SAS). 
     SUMMARY 
     Therefore, an object of the disclosure is to provide a server that can alleviate at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art. 
     According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a server includes an adapter device, a plurality of storage modules and a plurality of controllers. 
     The adapter device includes a base circuit board, a plurality of spaced-apart first connectors and a plurality of second connectors. The base circuit board extends along a first direction, and has a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The first connectors are disposed on the first surface along the first direction and are electrically connected to the base circuit board. Each of the first connectors extends along a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. The second connectors are disposed on the second surface in pairs, which are spaced apart along the first direction. Each pair of the second connectors is arranged along the second direction, is electrically connected to the base circuit board and is disposed between adjacent two of the first connectors. Each of the storage modules is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the first connectors. Each of the controllers is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the second connectors and is operable to control a corresponding one of the storage modules. 
     According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, another server includes a base circuit board, a plurality of spaced-apart first connectors, a plurality of spaced-apart narrow connectors, a case, a plurality of storage modules and a plurality of controllers. 
     The base circuit board has a front surface and a rear surface. The first connectors are disposed on the front surface of the base circuit board, and are electrically connected to the base circuit board. The narrow connectors are disposed on the rear surface of the base circuit board. Each of the narrow connectors is disposed between adjacent two of the first connectors, and is electrically connected to the base circuit board. The storage modules are received in the case. Each of the storage modules is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the first connectors. The controllers are received in the case. Each of the controllers is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the narrow connectors, and is operable to control a corresponding one of the storage modules. 
     According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, yet another server includes a base circuit board, a plurality of first connectors, multiple pairs of second connectors, a case, a plurality of storage modules and a plurality of controllers. 
     The base circuit board has a front surface and a rear surface. The first connectors are spaced apart from each other on the front surface of the base circuit board, and are electrically connected to the base circuit board. Each pair of the second connectors is disposed on the rear surface of the base circuit board between adjacent two of the first connectors. The storage modules are received in the case. Each of the storage modules is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the first connectors. The controllers are received in the case. Each of the controllers is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the second connectors and is operable to control a corresponding one of the storage modules. At least one pair of the second connectors is electrically connected to the adjacent two of the first connectors through the base circuit board. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment and variation with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a conventional server, showing interconnection between hard disk connectors and high speed connectors through a circuit board; 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of an embodiment of a server according to the present disclosure with a partially-removed case; 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the embodiment, with the case wholly removed; 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of an adapter device of the embodiment, showing a first surface of a base circuit board of the adapter device; 
         FIG. 5  is a rear perspective view of the adapter device, showing a second surface of the base circuit board opposite to the first surface; 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of the adapter device, showing the first surface of the base circuit board and arrangement of a plurality of first connectors on the base circuit board; 
         FIG. 7  is a rear view of the adapter device, showing the second surface of the base circuit board and arrangement of a plurality of second connectors on the base circuit board; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of the adapter device, showing interconnection between the first and second connectors; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of the adapter device, showing an alternative interconnection between the first and second connectors; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic view of the embodiment, showing arrangement of storage controller modules and power modules in two rack units. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Before the disclosure is described in greater detail, it should be noted that where considered appropriate, reference numerals or terminal portions of reference numerals have been repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements, which may optionally have similar characteristics. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , an embodiment of a server according to the present disclosure includes a case  7 . The server further includes a plurality of storage modules  1 , two storage controller modules  2 , an adapter device  3 , two power modules  4  and a power expander board  5 , all of which are received in the case  7 . As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the storage modules  1  are arranged along a first direction (X) and at a front side of the adapter device  3 , and the storage controller modules  2  are arranged at a rear side of the adapter device  3  and spaced apart from the storage modules  1  in a third direction (Z) that is perpendicular to the first direction (X). Each of the storage controller modules  2  includes a plurality of controllers  204  that are used for controlling the storage modules  1 . In this embodiment, the number of the controllers  204  is two. The storage modules  1  are electrically connected to the storage controller modules  2  via the adapter device  3 . The power modules  4  are stacked along a second direction (Y) that is perpendicular to the first direction (X) and the third direction (Z), and are electrically connected to the adapter device  3  via the power expander board  5 . In this embodiment, the case  7  of the server is configured to occupy two rack units (2U) defined as upper and lower rack units in the disclosure, and the storage controller modules  2  are respectively received in the upper and lower rack units. Each of the storage controller modules  2  includes a main circuit board  201 , a central processing unit (not shown), two heat dissipaters  202 , a fan  203  and an interface card for electrically connecting with other devices (not shown). The storage controller modules  2  are also stacked along the second direction (Y), and each of the storage controller modules  2  is received in a corresponding rack unit. The controllers  204  are respectively mounted to the main circuit boards  201  of the storage controller modules  2 , and are respectively connected to the heat dissipaters  202  for heat dissipation. 
     Referring further to  FIGS. 4 to 7 , the adapter device  3  (i.e., backplane) includes a base circuit board  31 , a plurality of spaced-apart first connectors  32 , a plurality of second connectors  33  and a power connector  34 . In this embodiment, the dimension of the base circuit board  31  is configured to be 2U to accommodate the stacked storage controller modules  2 . The adapter device  3  is used for electrical connection between the storage modules  1  and the storage controller modules  2  so that the storage modules  1  and the storage controller modules  2  are hot pluggable. The base circuit board  31  extends along the first direction (X), and has a first surface  311 , a second surface  312  opposite to the first surface  311 , a plurality of first venting holes  313  each extending through the first and second surfaces  311 ,  312 , and a plurality of second venting holes  314  each extending through the first and second surfaces  311 ,  312 . In this embodiment, the first surface  311  is a front surface, and the second surface  312  is a rear surface. 
     The first connectors  32  are disposed on the first surface  311  of the base circuit board  31  along the first direction (X) and are electrically connected to the base circuit board  31 . Each of the first connectors  32  extends along the second direction (Y). In this embodiment, each of the first connectors  32  is welded to the first surface  311  of the base circuit board  31 . 
     The second connectors  33  are arranged according to the position of the storage controller modules  2 . Specifically, the second connectors  33  are disposed on the second surface  312  of the base circuit board  31  in pairs, and are spaced apart along the first direction (X). Each pair of the second connectors  33  is arranged along the second direction (Y), is electrically connected to the base circuit board  31  and is disposed between adjacent two of the first connectors  32 . Moreover, each pair of the second connectors  33  has a positional correspondence of electrical connection. Specifically, in each pair of the second connectors  33 , one of the second connectors  33  is located at an upper position and the other one of the second connectors  33  is located at a lower position. The upper second connector  33  is used for electrical connection with the storage controller module  2  located at the upper rack unit, and the lower second connector  33  is used for electrical connection with the storage controller module  2  located at the lower rack unit. Each of the storage modules  1  is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the first connectors  32 . Each of the controllers  204  is electrically connected to a corresponding one of the second connectors  33 , and is operable to control a corresponding one of the storage modules  1 . 
     In this embodiment, each of the second connectors  33  is a narrow connector, and is welded to the second surface  312  of the base circuit board  31 . As shown schematically in  FIG. 8 , the first connectors  32  and the second connectors  33  always do not overlap in the third direction (Z). 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , at least a pair of the second connectors  33  (e.g., the second connectors  33 ′) is electrically connected to the adjacent two of the first connectors  32  (e.g., the first connectors  32 ′, which are respectively located at left and right sides of the at least a pair of the second connectors  33 ) through the base circuit board  31 , and is further electrically connected through the base circuit board  31  to another two of the first connectors  32 , which are disposed at one of the left and right sides of one of the adjacent two of the first connectors  32  (e.g., one of the first connector  32 ″). The electrical connection manner of the second connectors  33  and the first connectors  32  may be changed according to practical requirements. For example, in the leftmost pair of the second connectors  33  shown in  FIG. 8 , each of the second connectors  33  is electrically connected to the leftmost four first connectors  32 . Through the abovementioned arrangement, the wires used to interconnect the upper second connectors  33  and the corresponding first connectors  32 , and the wires used to interconnect the lower second connectors  33  and the corresponding first connectors  32  are separated from each other, thereby alleviating signal interference among the wires and reducing noise generation. 
     Referring to  FIG. 9 , alternatively, some of the second connectors  33  may be omitted according to practical requirements without impairing the reduction of noise generation. 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic view showing arrangement of the storage controller modules  2  and the power modules  4  in the two rack units (2U). Specifically, each of the storage controller modules  2  and a corresponding one of the power modules  4  are arranged along the first direction (X) in a rack unit (1U), i.e., the abovementioned upper or lower rack unit. Such arrangement allows each of the storage controller modules  2  to be electrically connected to more storage modules  1 , compared to an arrangement where the storage controller modules  2  are arranged side-by-side and each occupying the two rack units (2U). 
     Referring back to  FIGS. 2 and 7 , the first venting holes  313  are arranged along and spaced apart from each other in the first direction (X). Each of the first venting holes  313  is disposed between a corresponding pair of the second connectors  33 . The second venting holes  314  are arranged along and spaced apart from each other in the first direction (X). Each of the second venting holes  314  is elongated along the second direction (Y). The first and second venting holes  313 ,  314  allow air to circulate around the storage modules  1  to improve heat dissipation of the storage modules  1 . The power connector  34  is mounted to the second surface  312  of the base circuit board  31 , is electrically connected to the base circuit board  31  and to the power expander board  5  (see  FIG. 3 ). 
     In this embodiment, the adapter device  3  may be a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA), which is a circuit board mounted with electronic devices. The storage modules  1  may include a plurality of hard disk drives (HDDs) or a plurality of solid state drives (SSDs) such as NVMe SSDs. The power modules  4  may include a power supply unit (not shown) for supplying power to the storage modules  1  and the storage controller modules  2 . The power expander board  5  may include a power distribution board (PDB) (not shown). 
     In the description above, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details have been set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiment and variation. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that one or more other embodiments may be practiced without some of these specific details. It should also be appreciated that reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” an embodiment with an indication of an ordinal number and so forth means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic may be included in the practice of the disclosure. It should be further appreciated that in the description, various features are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure and aiding in the understanding of various inventive aspects, and that one or more features or specific details from one embodiment may be practiced together with one or more features or specific details from another embodiment, where appropriate, in the practice of the disclosure. 
     While the disclosure has been described in connection with what are considered the exemplary embodiment and variation, it is understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiment and variation but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.