CN107220196A - A kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri Mode - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a built-in high-end memory card supporting Tri-Mode, which includes a PCB board and a Raid controller arranged on the PCB board, a DDR4 cache array, a PCIE host interface, a built-in connector interface, a Firmware storage unit, a data Protection and super capacitor interface unit, clock unit and power supply unit, described Raid controller is respectively connected with DDR4 cache array, PCIE host interface, built-in connector interface, Firmware storage unit, data protection and super capacitor interface unit, clock unit and The power supply unit is connected, the built-in connector interface is connected with a built-in connector, and the built-in connector is connected with the disk. The invention realizes the hybrid deployment of SAS/SATA/NVME disks through a PCIE board, saves the PCIE overhead of the motherboard, reduces the wiring complexity of the chassis, and reduces the system cost.

Description

A built-in high-end memory card that supports Tri-Mode

technical field

The present invention relates to a built-in high-end memory card supporting Tri-Mode, specifically an 8-port built-in memory card supporting Tri-Mode (three modes, SAS/SATA/PCIE or SAS/SATA/NVME), which It supports high-end Raid level Raid0/1/5/6/10/50/60, and has various DDR cache specifications from 1GB to 8GB, which belongs to the field of server storage technology.

Background technique

With the development of cloud computing technology and big data applications, the market's functional requirements for servers are becoming more and more comprehensive. It is required to increase the capacity of traditional SAS and SATA mechanical disks, and to use SSDs, especially NVME SSDs, to achieve high-performance and low-latency applications. Therefore, the market demand for server systems with mixed deployment of SAS/SATA/NVME disks is becoming more and more extensive.

The traditional solution to realize the hybrid deployment of server SAS/SATA/NVME disks usually requires two boards, one is a memory card that supports SAS/SATA disks, and the other is a PCIE Redriver/Retimer card or PCIESwitch card that supports NVME disks . This solution occupies many PCIE slots (at least 2) on the motherboard, takes up a large amount of space on the server, and has high implementation costs. It also does not support the Raid (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) function of the NVME disk, and cannot There are many disadvantages in realizing the data redundancy protection of NVME disks.

Therefore, in order to solve the disadvantages of the traditional solution and better meet the market demand, it is urgent to use new technology to develop a new type of card so that only one PCIE slot can be used to realize the hybrid deployment of SAS/SATA/NVME disks, and support the NVME disks. Raid function.

Contents of the invention

Aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a built-in high-end memory card that supports Tri-Mode, which can realize the mixed deployment of SAS/SATA/NVME disks through a PCIE board card, save the PCIE overhead of the motherboard, and reduce the chassis Wiring complexity reduces system cost.

The technical scheme that the present invention solves its technical problem is: a kind of built-in high-end memory card that supports Tri-Mode, it is characterized in that, comprise PCB board and be arranged on the Raid controller on PCB board, DDR4 cache array, PCIE host interface, Built-in connector interface, Firmware storage unit, data protection and supercapacitor interface unit, clock unit and power supply unit, described Raid controller is respectively connected with DDR4 cache array, PCIE host interface, built-in connector interface, Firmware storage unit, The data protection and supercapacitor interface unit, the clock unit and the power supply unit are connected, the built-in connector interface is connected with a built-in connector, and the built-in connector is connected with the disk.

Preferably, there are multiple built-in connector interfaces, and the multiple built-in connector interfaces are respectively connected to the same or different built-in connectors.

Preferably, the built-in connectors include one or more of MinisasHD connectors, OCUlink connectors and Slimilne connectors.

Preferably, the built-in connector interface is arranged on the right side edge, the upper side edge of the PCB board or the inner side of the board.

Preferably, the firmware mode supported by the Raid controller is MR mode.

Preferably, the built-in connectors include but not limited to 1x4 connectors and 1x8 connectors.

Preferably, the built-in connector is connected to the disk through a SAS Expander expansion card or a PCIE Switch expansion card.

Preferably, the disks include one or more of SAS disks, SATA disks and NVME disks.

Preferably, the built-in connectors include angled connectors and/or right-angled connectors.

Preferably, the Raid controller adopts the ROC chip SAS3508, the PCIE host interface adopts the standard golden finger interface of PCIE x8, the Firmware storage unit adopts the Flash circuit module of the SPI bus interface, and the data protection and supercapacitor interface unit The NAND FLASH circuit module corresponding to the DDR4 cache capacity matching is adopted, the clock unit adopts a clock oscillation chip, and the power supply unit adopts a power supply chip that converts the input voltage of 12V and 3.3V into the output voltage of 1.8V and 1.2V.

The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

The board hardware composition core of the present invention is a Raid controller, which is connected with modules such as DDR4 cache array, PCIE host interface, built-in connector interface, Firmware storage unit, data protection and supercapacitor interface unit, clock unit, power supply unit, etc. In addition to support Tri-Mode (three-mode, SAS/SATA/PCIE or SAS/SATA/NVME) 8-port built-in memory card, support high-end Raid level Raid0/1/5/6/10/50/60, with 1GB- 8GB various DDR cache specifications.

Compared with the traditional method, the present invention realizes the hybrid deployment of SAS/SATA/NVME disks through a PCIE board, saves the PCIE overhead of the main board, reduces the complexity of chassis wiring, and reduces system costs; and realizes the storage of NVME disks entirely through memory card hardware. Raid5/6/50/60 and other high-end hard Raid functions realize data redundancy protection of NVME disks; in addition, the Raid controller SAS3508 adopts a new generation of 28nm semiconductor process, which greatly reduces the power consumption of the board.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following characteristics:

1) The memory card uses the SAS3508 controller, and the supported firmware mode is MR (MegaRaid) mode, which supports RAID0/1/5/6/10/50/60 for three types of disks such as SAS/SATA/NVME Etc. Raid algorithm; SAS/SATA disk can be directly connected to support 8 disks, and cascaded through Expander to support up to 240 disks; when directly connected to NVME disks, it supports 2 x4 bandwidth disks and 4 x2 bandwidth disks, and supports 16 disks when expanded through PCIE Switch x4 bandwidth disk.

2) The supported DDR4 cache array, the main frequency is 2133MHz, including various capacity specifications from 1GB to 8GB.

3) The size and structure of the memory card conform to the Low profile cards (half-height and half-length) size specifications in the "PCIE Card Electrical Specification".

4) The connectors used are various types of built-in MinisasHD, OCUlink, and Slimilne connectors that can be used for SAS/SATA/PCIE high-speed signal transmission, such as 1x4, 1x8 types, such as angled, right-angled types.

5) The memory card is used inside the server, storage and other systems. The placement of the used connector on the PCB includes three types of usage, including the right edge of the PCB, the upper edge, and the inside of the board.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is the schematic diagram of the structure;

Figure 2(a) to Figure 2(c) are schematic diagrams of different placement positions of the built-in connector of the present invention;

Figure 3 is an application example of direct connection of all NVME disks used in the present invention;

Fig. 4 is the direct connection application example of using all SAS/SATA disks in the present invention;

Fig. 5 is an application example of direct connection of mixed SAS/SATA/NVME disks in the present invention;

Fig. 6 uses PCIE Switch and SAS expander expansion application example for the present invention;

In the figure, 1. memory card, 2. power supply unit, 3. DDR4 cache array, 4. data protection and supercapacitor interface unit, 5. Raid controller, 6. built-in connector interface, 7. clock unit, 8. Firmware storage unit, 9. PCIE host interface.

detailed description

In order to clearly illustrate the technical characteristics of the present solution, the present invention will be described in detail below through specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different structures of the present invention. To simplify the disclosure of the present invention, components and arrangements of specific examples are described below. Furthermore, the present invention may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in different instances. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself indicate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or arrangements discussed. It should be noted that components illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques and processes are omitted herein to avoid unnecessarily limiting the present invention.

As shown in Figures 1 to 6, a built-in high-end memory card supporting Tri-Mode of the present invention includes a PCB board 1 and a Raid controller 5, a DDR4 cache array 3, and a PCIE host interface 9 arranged on the PCB board , built-in connector interface 6, Firmware storage unit 8, data protection and supercapacitor interface unit 4, clock unit 7 and power supply unit 2, described Raid controller is respectively connected with DDR4 cache array, PCIE host interface, built-in connector The interface, the Firmware storage unit, the data protection and supercapacitor interface unit, the clock unit and the power supply unit are connected, and the built-in connector interface is connected with a built-in connector, and the built-in connector is connected with the disk.

Preferably, there are multiple built-in connector interfaces, and the multiple built-in connector interfaces are respectively connected to the same or different built-in connectors. As shown in Figure 2 (a) to Figure 2 (c), only two built-in connector interfaces are listed in this specific embodiment, and the built-in connector interfaces are arranged on the right side edge and the upper side of the PCB board. edge or on the inside of the board.

Preferably, the built-in connectors include one or more of MinisasHD connectors, OCUlink connectors and Slimilne connectors, the built-in connectors include but not limited to 1x4 connectors and 1x8 connectors, and the built-in Connectors include angled connectors and/or right-angled connectors.

Preferably, the built-in connector can be connected to the disk through a SASExpander expansion card or a PCIE Switch expansion card in addition to being directly connected to the disk.

Preferably, the disks include one or more of SAS disks, SATA disks and NVME disks.

Preferably, the Raid controller adopts the ROC chip SAS3508, the PCIE host interface adopts the standard golden finger interface of PCIE x8, the Firmware storage unit adopts the Flash circuit module of the SPI bus interface, and the data protection and supercapacitor interface unit The NAND FLASH circuit module corresponding to the DDR4 cache capacity matching is adopted, the clock unit adopts a clock oscillation chip, and the power supply unit adopts a power supply chip that converts the input voltage of 12V and 3.3V into the output voltage of 1.8V and 1.2V.

In response to the demand, the present invention proposes an 8-port built-in high-end memory card that supports Tri-Mode (three-mode, SAS/SATA/PCIE or SAS/SATA/NVME) new technology, and realizes SAS/SATA through a PCIE board /Hybrid deployment of NVME disks. The core of the board hardware is the Raid controller, which is connected with DDR4 cache array, PCIE host interface, built-in connector interface, Firmware storage unit, data protection and supercapacitor interface unit, clock unit, power supply unit and other modules.

Wherein, the Raid controller is a new-generation 28nm process ROC chip SAS3508 of Broadcom, with 8 SAS/SATA/PCIE x1Lane interfaces, PCIE3.0x8 interfaces, and DDR4 interfaces.

The DDR4 cache array is a plurality of DDR4 cache granules with a main frequency of 2133MHz and a total capacity of 1GB-8GB, with ECC check granules, which are used to cache the data sent by the host to be written to the disk and to cache Raid Fast operation data for control algorithms.

The PCIE host interface is a standard golden finger interface of PCIE Gen3, x8, with a transmission rate of 8Gbps and a bandwidth of x8; it is used to connect host devices such as server motherboards.

The built-in connector interface refers to a high-speed connector in the form of built-in MiniSASHD, OCUlink, and Slimline interfaces, specifically involving interface specifications such as SFF8643, SFF8612, and SFF8654, with 8 ports. It is used to directly connect to SAS/SATA/NVME disks inside the server chassis or through Expander, Switch and other extensions.

The Firmware storage unit refers to the Flash circuit module using the SPI bus interface, which is used to store the Firmware firmware program required for the work of the memory card, record the work log, and the like.

The data protection and supercapacitor interface unit refers to the NAND FLASH circuit module corresponding to the DDR4 cache capacity matching, which has a supercapacitor interface; after the supercapacitor is assembled, it can be realized that when the server system is unexpectedly powered off, Raid on the card The controller writes the data in the DDR4 cache into the Nand Flash for long-term storage, and reads the data back after the system power supply is restored. In order to achieve data protection, no loss.

The clock unit refers to the clock circuit required by the SAS unit, DDR unit, PCIE unit, etc. inside the Raid controller SAS3508, which can be generated by a clock oscillation chip.

The power supply unit refers to a circuit that provides power output for the operation of the board chip, and converts 12V and 3.3 input voltages into output voltages such as 1.8V and 1.2V through the power chip.

The firmware mode supported by the memory card is MR (MegaRaid) mode, which supports Tri-Mode technology and realizes RAID0/1/5/6/10/50/60 for SAS/SATA/NVME disks in three modes Raid algorithm; DDR4 cache array, 2133MHz main frequency, including 1GB-8GB various capacity specifications; the connectors used are various types of built-in MinisasHD, OCUlink, Slimilne connectors that can be used for SAS/SATA/PCIE signal transmission , the placement position on the PCB includes three types of use, including the right edge of the PCB, the upper edge, and the inner side of the board, as shown in Figure 2(a) to Figure 2(c).

The present invention realizes the mixed deployment of SAS/SATA/NVME disks through a PCIE board, saves the PCIE overhead of the motherboard, reduces the complexity of chassis wiring, and reduces system costs; and realizes Raid5/6/50 of NVME disks entirely through memory card hardware /60 and other hard Raid functions to realize data redundancy protection of NVME disks. In addition, SAS3508 adopts a new generation of 28nm semiconductor process, which greatly reduces the power consumption of the board.

Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are several typical specific embodiments of the present invention. The following specifically introduces the implementation manner by taking FIG. 5 as an example.

When assembling the chassis, the PCIE interface 9 is inserted into the PCIE slot of the server motherboard, and the built-in connector interface 6 is connected to the SAS/SATA/NVME disk array of the server with a cable. The data protection and supercapacitor interface unit 4 is connected to the supercapacitor module. The DDR4 cache array 3 is connected to the Raid controller 5 through buses such as Data/Command/Address/Control.

The server performs a Raid algorithm on the disk array connected to the built-in connector interface 6 through the memory card board 1, such as Raid5, RAID 6, RAID 10, RAID 50 or RAID 60.

During normal operation of the server, data is written to the memory card. At this time, the memory card first saves the data in the DDR4 cache array 3 . Because there are many disks in the disk array, the memory card will write data to the hard disk one by one. The larger the cache capacity of the DDR4 cache array 3, the fewer times the data is written to the disk, and the higher the read and write performance.

When the server is working normally, the hard disk data will be read out, temporarily stored in the DDR4 cache array 3, and uploaded when the server is idle.

If the server unexpectedly loses power, the memory card will enable the supercapacitor protection function, and write the data in the DDR4 cache array 3 into the data protection and the NAND Flash module in the supercapacitor interface unit 4. The data stored in the Flash will not be lost until the power supply is restored. Afterwards, the data is migrated to the DDR4 cache array 3 of the memory card, and the hard disk is read and written again.

In addition, the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to the process, mechanism, manufacture, material composition, means, method and steps of the specific embodiments described in the specification. From the disclosure of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art will easily understand that for the processes, mechanisms, manufacturing, material compositions, means, methods or steps that currently exist or will be developed in the future, they are implemented in accordance with the present invention Corresponding embodiments described which function substantially the same or achieve substantially the same results may be applied in accordance with the present invention. Therefore, the appended claims of the present invention are intended to include these processes, mechanisms, manufacture, material compositions, means, methods or steps within their protection scope.

Claims (10)

1. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode, it is characterized in that, including pcb board and be arranged on pcb board Raid controllers, DDR4 array caches, PCIE HPIs, purpose built connectors interface, Firmware storage units, data are protected Shield and super capacitor interface unit, clock unit and power supply unit, described Raid controllers respectively with DDR4 array caches, PCIE HPIs, purpose built connectors interface, Firmware storage units, data protection and super capacitor interface unit, when Clock unit and power supply unit connection, the purpose built connectors interface are connected with purpose built connectors, the purpose built connectors It is connected with disk.

2. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, it is described built-in Connector interface has multiple, and multiple purpose built connectors interfaces connect identical or different purpose built connectors respectively.

3. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, it is described built-in Connector includes the one or more in MinisasHD connectors, OCUlink connectors and Slimilne connectors.

4. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, it is described built-in At connector interface is arranged on the inside of the right edge of pcb board, upper side edge edge or board.

5. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, the Raid controls The Firmware firmware modes that device processed is supported are MR patterns.

6. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, it is described built-in Connector includes but is not limited to 1x4 connectors and 1x8 connectors.

7. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, it is described built-in Connector is connected by SAS Expander expansion cards or PCIE Switch expansion cards with disk.

8. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, the disk bag Include the one or more in SAS disks, SATA disks and NVME disks.

9. a kind of built-in high-end storage card for supporting Tri-Mode according to claim 1, it is characterized in that, it is described built-in Connector includes right-angle connector and/or rigging-angle connector.

10. a kind of according to claim 1 to 9 any one support Tri-Mode built in high-end storage card, its feature It is that the Raid controllers use ROC chips SAS3508, the PCIE HPIs are connect using PCIE x8 standard golden finger Mouthful, the Firmware storage units use the Flash circuit modules of spi bus interface, the data protection and super capacitor Interface unit uses NAND FLASH circuit modules corresponding with the matching of DDR4 buffer memory capacity, and the clock unit is shaken using clock Chip is swung, said supply unit uses the power supply chip that 12V, 3.3V input voltage are converted to 1.8V, 1.2V output voltage.