CN113961415A - Cooling device identification system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a cooling device, such as a fan installed in a computing device, that can be automatically identified by reading a coded signal from a tachometer signal line of the cooling device. The cooling device may temporarily output an encoded signal in response to a triggering event, such as a power-on event (i.e., cooling device power-on). A controller, such as a bmc, may receive the encoded signal and decode the signal to determine identification information, such as supplier information and/or module information, about the cooling device. The identification information about the cooling device may be stored, recorded, output, and/or used to customize the operation of the cooling device.

Description

Cooling device identification system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to computing systems, and more particularly to cooling systems, such as fans, for computing systems.

Background

In computing systems, such as servers in data centers, active cooling is critical to keep components in the computing system cool enough in an operational state. Since high performance devices (e.g., Central Processing Units (CPUs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), Network Interface Cards (NICs), etc.) often generate a large amount of heat energy during operation, these high performance devices must be properly cooled to ensure continued operation. Cooling devices, such as fans, may come from many different suppliers, and the devices of each supplier may be somewhat different in operation due to the manufacturing process and use of materials. For example, a fan from a first supplier may have a slightly different rotational speed than another fan from a different supplier, with the same Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal applied. In addition, different cooling devices may have different costs, different life expectancies, different warranties (warranties), and other differences.

At the time of manufacture, a computing system may have some cooling devices installed by the original manufacturer, however as the cooling devices wear out and fail over time, the cooling devices must be replaced and a computer administrator can replace them with new cooling equipment from the same or a different vendor, thus requiring automatic tracking of the cooling equipment installed on the computing system.

Disclosure of Invention

The following examples and related terms are intended to be broadly construed to represent all the broad subject matter of the disclosure and claims below. It should be understood that the recitation of these terms should not be taken to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the claims that follow. The scope of embodiments encompassed by the present disclosure is defined by the following claims, and is not novel. This novel disclosure is a high-level overview of various aspects of the disclosure and presents some concepts that are further described in the detailed description below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter alone. It should be understood that the primary matter requires reference to the entire specification of the disclosure, any or all of the drawings, and appropriate portions of each claim.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include a method and apparatus for identifying cooling devices (e.g., fans) in a computing system. The cooling device comprises a rotatable component and a tachometer signal wire for reporting the information related to the rotation speed of the rotatable component. The method includes providing power to a cooling device; receiving a coding signal from the cooling device by a tachometer signal wire; and obtaining a cooling device identification information based on the received encoded signal.

In some embodiments, the step of receiving a coded signal from the cooling device over a tachometer signal line occurs at a predetermined time, the method further comprising receiving tachometer information over the tachometer signal line after the predetermined time has expired, wherein the tachometer information is based on the rotational speed of the rotatable element. In some embodiments, the encoded signal includes a pseudo tachometer information that is not based on the rotational speed of the rotatable element. In some embodiments, the step of obtaining the identification information of the cooling device based on the received encoded signal comprises entering an encoding mode and decoding the encoded message using the encoding mode to determine the identification information of the cooling device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises adjusting one or more settings associated with operating the cooling device with the cooling device identification information. In some embodiments, the method further comprises transmitting a trigger signal to the cooling device, wherein the transmission of the encoded signal is initiated when the trigger signal is received by the cooling device. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cooling device identification information includes supplier information (vendor identification) of the cooling device.

Embodiments of the present disclosure further include a method and system for outputting an encoded signal with a cooling device comprising a rotatable member and a tachometer signal line in return for information related to the rotational speed of the rotatable member. The method includes a cooling device of a computing system receiving power and outputting a coded signal via the tachometer signal line, wherein the decodable coded signal determines identification information associated with the cooling device when the coded signal is received.

In some embodiments, the step of outputting an encoded signal on the tachometer signal line occurs at a predetermined time. The method further includes outputting tachometer information via the tachometer signal line after a predetermined time period has expired, wherein the tachometer information is based on the rotational speed of the rotatable element. In some embodiments, the encoded signal includes a pseudo tachometer information that is not based on the rotational speed of the rotatable element. In some embodiments, the encoded signal is associated with a predetermined encoding mode, and the encoded signal is decodable using the predetermined encoding mode to determine the identification associated with the cooling device. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a trigger signal, wherein the step of outputting the encoded signal occurs in response to receipt of the trigger signal. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cooling device identification message includes vendor identification (vendor identification) of the cooling device.

Drawings

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a graph of fan speed, fan signal versus time, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of automatically recognizing fan information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of transmitting an encoded message for automatically recognizing fan information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary system architecture block diagram for implementing features and processes according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Description of the symbols

100 computing environment

102 system

104 fan (supplier A)

106 fan (supplier B)

108 fan (supplier C)

110 substrate management controller

112 network interface card

114 central processing unit

116 storage device

118 encoding information

120 remote storage device

200 graph

204,206,208,230 line segment

232 broadcast phase

234, a reward phase

300,400 flow chart

302,304,306,308,310,312,314,316,318,402,404,408,410,412 step

500 architecture

502 processor

504 input device

506 display

508 network interface

510 computer readable medium

512 bus

514 operating system

518 memory

520 application program

522 System controller

Detailed Description

The disclosed embodiments relate to a method for automatically identifying a fan installed in a computing device by reading a coded signal from a cooling device tachometer signal line. The cooling device may temporarily output an encoded signal in response to a triggering event, such as an activation event (cooling device activation). A controller, such as a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), may receive the encoded signal and decode the signal to determine identification information of the cooling device, such as supplier information and/or module information. In some embodiments, receiving and/or decoding the signal may be performed on other hardware of the computer, such as other processors (e.g., a central processing unit). The identification information about the cooling device can be stored, recorded, output, and/or used to set the operation of the cooling device.

The embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to a fan in a computer, however, the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to any cooling device having a rotatable member, such as a pump or other fluid moving device, where appropriate. Further, the disclosed embodiments relate to receiving and/or sending encoded messages over a tachometer signal line of a cooling device, however, the disclosed embodiments may be applied to any signal line for reporting a status of a cooling device, where appropriate.

Many computing devices use cooling devices, such as fans, to provide adequate cooling for the components of the computer device, and these fans are typically driven using pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals designed to achieve a certain rotational speed. However, different fan suppliers or, in some embodiments, different fan models may use unique bearings, blade designs, frame designs, or other functional aspects of the fan that may cause different fans to behave differently when driven with the same pwm signal. In order to accommodate multiple suppliers and/or multiple models of fans used in a single system, an administrator needs to know the suppliers and/or models of fans installed in the system.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are related to automatically detecting identification information of a cooling device installed in a computing system. The identification information may include information relating to the supplier, model, and other information of the cooling device. The identification information may be used for a variety of purposes, such as tracking inventory and back-up inventory; tracking a warranty period; tracking an expected failure rate; updating a maintenance schedule; improving the predicted cooling performance of the system; modeling cooling performance of the system; updating settings associated with controlling the cooling device (e.g., driving the cooling device with a modified pulse width modulated signal; providing a voltage and/or current related alert to the cooling device; or modifying an algorithm controlling the cooling device); or for other purposes.

The method for automatically detecting the identification information of the cooling devices in the present disclosure can be achieved without requiring additional signal lines (e.g., additional pins) for connecting each cooling device to the computing system. The method for automatically detecting the identification information of the cooling device in the disclosure can be achieved without additionally arranging a controller or a processing device in the cooling device, thereby avoiding the increase of the complexity of the cooling device and the cost. In contrast, embodiments of the present disclosure allow for the automatic detection of identification information with existing signal lines (e.g., tachometer signal lines) as well as existing hardware devices in the cooling apparatus or additional hardware devices of minimal complexity.

The fan may include a tachometer signal line for outputting information relating to the speed of a rotatable component (e.g., a fan shaft) of the fan. Under normal operation, the output signal of the tachometer signal line is based on the speed of rotation. In some embodiments, the fan may include a hall sensor (sensor) that is activated by one or more magnets embedded in the fan's rotating wheel. The hall sensor may be used to generate a tachometer data signal output by a tachometer signal line. In some embodiments, the tachometer data signal may comprise two pulses generated per revolution of the rotatable component. Therefore, the rotating speed of the fan can be judged by calculating the pulse signal quantity of the data signal of the tachometer in unit time.

In the present disclosure, the fan may include a circuit for generating the code signal and output the code signal on a tachometer signal line. The encoded signal may be factory set or set in some other predetermined manner based on the identification information to be transmitted. For example, each fan supplier may be associated with a unique coded signal that may be output by all compatible fans produced by that supplier. The encoded signal may be a pseudo tachometer signal. The coded signal may be output within a predetermined time period, which may begin after the fan begins to power up or some trigger signal (e.g., a signal in a particular mode or pulse width modulated signal) is received. After the coded signal is output within a predetermined time, the fan may begin or revert to transmitting the actual tachometer data signal on the tachometer signal line. In one embodiment, a first coded signal may include a period of time that repeatedly ranges between 7000RPM (revolutions per minute) to 10000RPM, while a second coded signal may include a period of time that stabilizes the metric at 7000 RPM. In some embodiments, the duration of the time that the fan transmits the encoded signal through the tachometer signal line can be referred to as a broadcast phase, and the time that the fan reports the actual rotational speed of the component (e.g., the shaft) can be referred to as a reporting phase.

The duration of the broadcast phase may be any suitable length of time, such as at or about 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 25 seconds, 30 seconds, 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 45 seconds, 50 seconds, 55 seconds, 60 seconds, 65 seconds, 70 seconds, 75 seconds, 80 seconds, 85 seconds, 90 seconds, 95 seconds 100 seconds, 105 seconds, 110 seconds, 115 seconds, 120 seconds, 125 seconds, 130 seconds, 135 seconds, 140 seconds, 145 seconds, 150 seconds, 155 seconds, 160 seconds, 165 seconds, 170 seconds, 175 seconds, 180 seconds, 185 seconds, 190 seconds, 195 seconds, and/or 200 seconds.

A controller (e.g., a baseboard management controller or other controller) may be coupled to the fan and receive signals via the tachometer signal lines. During the broadcast phase, the controller receives the coded signal through the tachometer signal line. During the reporting phase or when an out-of-compliance fan is coupled to the controller, the controller receives the tachometer data via the tachometer signal line, and the received signal from the tachometer signal line can be processed by the controller or other data processor or combination of data processors, such as a central processing unit.

When a signal is received from the tachometer signal line, whether the signal is a coded signal can be judged. The determination may involve looking for expected changes and/or changes in the selected speed that would not occur if the true fan speed were present in the signal. For example, a substantially constant speed (e.g., a variance below a threshold) may indicate that the signal is encoded because the actual reported fan speed may vary slightly (e.g., by a variance above the threshold). As another example, a speed that repeatedly returns at significantly different return speeds (e.g., a rapid change between 10000RPM and 7000RPM) may indicate that the signal is a coded signal because the actual returning fan speed does not achieve such repeated changes. In some embodiments, other signal conditions may indicate that the signal is an encoded signal, such as a threshold that changes by at least a certain amount (e.g., reaches or exceeds 500RPM, 1000RPM, 1500RPM, 2000RPM, 2500RPM, 3000RPM, 3500RPM, 4000RPM, 4500RPM, or 5000RPM) over a brief duration (e.g., 0.5, 1, 2,3, 4, or 5 seconds).

In some embodiments, the fan speed is displayed and/or output by other components of the computing system, such as through an Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). To avoid confusion when receiving the encoded signal, no speed signal or artificial speed signal can be used during the broadcast phase. For example, when the fan is in the broadcast phase and transmits a coded signal varying between 7000RPM to 10000RPM, the controller or processor may receive the coded signal for determining the identification information and relay the non-speed signal or the artificial speed signal (e.g., set to 7000RPM) to other components. Thus, although the signal through the tachometer signal line may switch between 7000RPM to 10000RPM, the intelligent platform management interface does not indicate the fan speed, or indicates that the fan speed is maintained at 7000 RPM.

When the encoded signal is received, the encoded signal may be decoded to determine information of the fan. In some embodiments, the encoded signal may be decoded based on an encoding mode, which may be a known protocol or database information, for determining the identifying information based on the encoded signal. In one embodiment, a code signal that repeatedly switches between 7000RPM and 10000PM may be indicated by the code pattern as being from a first vendor, while a code signal that remains stable at 7000RPM may be indicated by the code pattern as being from a second vendor. In some embodiments, the encoding mode may be stored in the computing system, although this is not always the case. In some embodiments, the encoding mode may be remotely accessible, such as updating the encoding mode. In some embodiments, decoding the encoded signal may include comparing the encoded signal to entries in a database to identify a matching entry, and then retrieving identifying information associated with the matching entry in the database.

When obtaining the identification information, the identification information may be used for a variety of different purposes. In some embodiments, the identification information may be stored and/or recorded, for example, in a memory of the computing device or in a memory of a remote computing device. In some embodiments, the identifying information may be communicated or otherwise displayed, such as on a display visible to an administrator of the computing system. In some embodiments, the identification information may be used to change the operation of the fan, such as changing one or more settings associated with the operation of the fan.

In some embodiments, the encoded message may additionally encode some supplemental data, such as numeric or alphanumeric characters. In this case, the time-varying rate of return in the tachometer signal line can be used to encode the supplemental data. In some embodiments, the decoded supplemental data may be stored, recorded, displayed, transmitted, or used for other purposes, such as changing the operation of a fan.

In some embodiments, the fan may enter the broadcast mode immediately or in response to a trigger signal. In one embodiment, the fan may enter the broadcast phase immediately after, shortly after, or after a predetermined delay from the fan receiving power. In another embodiment, the fan can remain in the reward phase until a trigger signal is received from the controller (coupled to the fan). The trigger signal may be a recognizable pattern that drives the fan, for example, the trigger signal may be a pattern that drives the fan, such as a pattern of pulse width modulated signals sent to and received by the fan that may be recognized as the trigger signal.

These illustrative examples are intended to introduce the general subject matter discussed herein, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed concepts. The following paragraphs describe various additional features and examples with reference to the drawings, in which like numerals represent like elements. The directional descriptions are used to describe illustrative embodiments, but should not be used to limit the disclosure as the illustrative embodiments. The elements included in the drawings may not be drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a computing system 102, which computing system 102 may be part of a computing environment (computing environment)100, according to some aspects of the present disclosure. The system 102 may be a computer, a computer server, a multi-server computer chassis, or other computer device.

The system 102 may include one or more fans, such as fan 104, fan 106, and fan 108. Each fan may include individual circuitry (e.g., circuitry 124 of fan 104, circuitry 126 of fan 106, and circuitry 128 of fan 108) such that fans 104, 106, 108 output appropriate signals during the broadcast phase, as described in this disclosure. In the embodiment illustrated in fig. 1, each fan 104, 106, 108 may be individually associated with a different vendor, such as vendor a, vendor B, and vendor C, although any combination of one or more vendors may be used. A controller, such as a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC)110, may be coupled to the fans 104, 106, 108 for providing control and receiving sensing signals (e.g., tachometer signals).

The controller (e.g., baseboard management controller 110) may be coupled to other devices of computing system 102, such as a central processing unit 114, an optional NIC and/or a memory device 116. The cpu 114 may be coupled to the nic 112 and the storage device 116. In some embodiments, the computing environment 100 may include a remote storage device 120, and the remote storage device 120 may be any storage device communicatively coupled to the bmc 110 and/or the cpu 114 via a remote connection, such as a network connection (e.g., a local area network, a wide area network, a cloud environment, or the like).

In operation, the fans 104, 106, 108 can output encoded signals received by the bmc 110 and/or the cpu 114 during the broadcast phase, which can be decoded by the bmc 110 and/or the cpu 114. In some embodiments, the bmc 110 and/or the cpu 114 may access the encoded information 118 or the encoded information 122 to decode the encoded signal. The encoded information 118 may be stored locally on the storage device 116. The encoded information 122 may be stored remotely in the remote storage device 120.

In some embodiments, the computing environment 100 may include other devices and connections depicted in FIG. 1. Although the fans 104, 106, 108 are shown as having different vendors, the fans 104, 106, 108 may have other differences that are identifiable by the coded signals.

The graph 200 of FIG. 2 illustrates a plot of fan speed, fan signal, and time in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The X-axis of the graph 200 represents time and the Y-axis represents Revolutions Per Minute (RPM). Line segments 204,206,208 show the output signals from three fans from different suppliers in fig. 1, such as fans 104, 106, 108 in fig. 1. Line segment 230 shows the actual fan behavior of the fan or fans associated with line segments 204,206,208, rather than the output signal. For example, although the fan may operate at approximately 7000RPM, the fan may report back one of the coded signals 204,206, 208. It has been found that there may be small amplitude variations in rotational speed even if the fan is operating at 7000RPM, and therefore a perfectly smooth output signal (e.g., segment 206) may be identified as a coded signal because the output signal does not contain any expected small amplitude variations in rotational speed.

Segments 204,206,208 show the encoded signals from the output signals of the three different fans included in the broadcast phase 232, but reverted to the reporting fan behavior during the reporting phase 234. For illustrative purposes, the graph 200 in fig. 2 shows the broadcast phase 232 beginning shortly after a power start time (e.g., the time at which the fan begins to receive power), however the broadcast phase 232 may begin in response to a particular triggering event, rather than simply in response to supplying fan power. The broadcast phase 232 may be extended for a duration until a pause time, and it may be useful to provide a sufficiently long broadcast phase 232 to ensure that the encoded signal can be correctly received. In addition, it is useful to provide a sufficiently long broadcast phase 232 after the power up time to allow the controller or baseboard management controller sufficient time to fully activate and begin receiving and selectively decoding the encoded signal. As shown in fig. 2, the bmc start time may be somewhere between the power start time and the pause time. The bmc time may be associated with the bmc being fully enabled, or at least enabled enough to receive the encoded signal from the fan.

Line segment 204 shows a fan operating at about 7000RPM, but provides an encoded signal that varies between 10000RPM and about 7000RPM throughout the broadcast phase 232 at the broadcast phase 232. When the encoded signal from the segment 204 is received, the signal may be decoded and the fan associated with the encoded message from the segment 204 may be identified as being associated with vendor A. During the reporting phase 234, the segment 204 may report the actual speed of the fan associated with the segment 204.

Line segment 206 shows a fan operating at about 7000RPM, but provides an encoded signal that remains stable at 7000RPM throughout the broadcast phase 232 at broadcast phase 232. When the encoded signal from the line segment 206 is received, the signal may be decoded and the fan associated with the encoded message from the line segment 206 may be identified as being associated with vendor B. During the reporting phase 234, the segment 206 may report the actual speed of the fan associated with the segment 206.

Line segment 208 shows a fan operating at about 7000RPM, but provides an encoded signal throughout the broadcast phase 232 that varies between 4000RPM and about 7000 RPM. When the encoded signal from the segment 208 is received, the signal may be decoded and the fan associated with the encoded message from the segment 208 may be identified as being associated with the vendor C. During the reporting phase 234, the segment 208 may report the actual speed of the fan associated with the segment 208.

Although the segments 204,206,208 are shown as being associated with different vendors, other identifiable differences between fans may be used in place of different vendors.

Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of step 300 of automatically identifying fan information in some aspects of the present disclosure, where step 300 may be performed by one or more data processors, such as a controller (e.g., a bmc) or a central processing unit. Step 300 may be performed by a computing system having one or more data processors and one or more fans, such as computing system 100 of FIG. 1.

In block 302, power may be supplied to one or more data processors or one or more fans in the system. In some embodiments, supplying power to the fan may cause the fan to transmit a start-to-transmit coded signal via the fan's sensor line. In some embodiments, the one or more data processors may selectively transmit a trigger signal to the one or more fans at block 304, for example, via a pulse width modulation control line.

In block 306, a coded signal may be received via the fan sensor line of each fan, which may be similar to the coded signal shown during broadcast phase 232 in fig. 2. Receiving the encoded signal may optionally include transmitting the encoded signal to one or more other data processors. In block 308, the encoding mode may be accessed, which may be any information useful for decoding the encoded signal. In some embodiments, accessing the coding pattern may include accessing memory associated with one or more data processors, such as a local memory (e.g., memory device 116 of fig. 1). In some embodiments, accessing the coding mode may include remotely accessing memory associated with one or more data processors, such as a remote memory (e.g., remote storage 120 of fig. 1).

In block 310, the encoded message may be decoded. Decoding the encoded message may include identifying one or more messages associated with the encoded signal using the encoding pattern. In some embodiments, the encoding mode may comprise a table of entries, wherein each entry comprises detectable encoding and fan information. In this embodiment, decoding the encoded signal may include comparing the encoded signal to a detectable code and then identifying the associated fan information. In some embodiments, the encoded message may be further decoded to extract additional data, which may be transmitted from the fan to the one or more data processors via the encoded signal. Such additional data may be applied appropriately, for example, as described with reference to block 308.

In block 312, fan information can be identified. The fan identification information of block 312 may be part of the decoded encoded signal of block 310 or separate from the decoding step. In some embodiments, identifying the fan information may include identifying a vendor associated with the fan (e.g., the fan that received the encoded signal from block 306). In some embodiments, identifying fan information may include identifying other information associated with the fan, such as fan modules, fan specifications, fan control information, demand settings, and/or any other suitable information.

In optional block 314, the identifying information of block 312 may be transmitted and/or displayed. For example, the fan information may be transmitted to a remote server and/or a local or remote storage device. In some embodiments, fan information may be displayed, for example, on an intelligent platform management interface display.

In optional block 316, the identification information in block 312 may be used to update fan operation settings associated with the fan. For example, the received fan information (e.g., vendor information, module information, fan control information, demand settings) may be used to update how the fan is driven by the controller, such as updating how the pwm signal is sent to the fan.

In optional block 318, additional data extracted from the encoded information may be transmitted and/or displayed. For example, the additional data may comprise a message that may be displayed on the computing system or may be presented to an administrator.

Fig. 4 is a flow chart illustrating steps 400 of transmitting a coded signal to automatically recognize fan information in some aspects of the present disclosure. Step 400 may be performed by a fan, such as fans 104, 106, 108 of fig. 1, and further, various portions of step 400 may be performed by circuitry in the fan, such as circuitry 124, 126, 128 of fans 104, 106, 108 of fig. 1. In block 402, a fan may receive power. In some embodiments, the fan may optionally receive a trigger signal in block 404, which may be received via a pulse width modulation control line.

In block 406, the fan may begin a report back timer. The report timer may be preset with a duration that sets the duration of the fan broadcast phase. In block 408, the fan may transmit a coded signal via the sensor wires. When the encoded signal is decoded, it may be used to recognize fan information and/or to convey additional data associated with the fan. In some embodiments, the fan may generate an encoded message based on already existing data, although this need not always be the case. The encoded message may be preset by circuitry in the fan. In block 410, the reward timer may end after the duration of the broadcast phase has ended. After the expiration of the reward timer, the fan may stop sending the encoded signal and may begin transmitting the actual pulse width modulated signal in block 412. The actual pwm signal may be sent via the sensor line of the fan, the actual pwm signal representing the actual speed of the fan.

In some embodiments, when a trigger signal is received in block 404, the broadcast phase associated with blocks 406, 408,410 may begin in response to the trigger signal received in block 404. In some embodiments, the broadcast phase may begin in response to receiving power in block 402.

Fig. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary system architecture to implement features and steps of the present disclosure, such as presented with reference to fig. 1-4. Architecture 500 may be implemented on any electronic device running a software application driven by compiled instructions, including but not limited to personal computers, servers, smart phones, media players, electronic tablets, game consoles, email devices, and so on. In some embodiments, the architecture 500 may include one or more processors 502, one or more input devices 504, one or more display devices 506, one or more network interfaces 508, and one or more computer-readable media 510. The above components may be coupled by a bus 512.

In some embodiments, the system architecture 500 may correspond to a single server in a server rack. Different rack configurations may be implemented, for example, a rack may contain multiple enclosures, and each enclosure may house multiple servers. Each server located in a rack may be connected with a different hardware component (e.g., backbone, midplane, etc.).

The Display device 506 may be any known Display technology, including but not limited to Display devices using Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) or Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. The processor 502 may be any known processor technology including, but not limited to, image processors and multi-core processors (multi-core processors). Input device 504 may be any known input device technology including, but not limited to, a keyboard (including a virtual keyboard), a mouse, a trackball, and a touchpad or touch display. The bus 512 may be any known internal or external bus technology including, but not limited to, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), peripheral interconnect standard (PCI), high-speed peripheral interconnect standard (PCI Express), NuBus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Serial ATA, or FireWire.

Computer-readable medium 510 may be any medium that participates in providing instructions to processor 502 for execution, including but not limited to, non-volatile memory (e.g., optical disks, magnetic disks, flash devices, etc.) or volatile memory (e.g., Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), etc.). Computer readable memory (e.g., storage devices, media, and memory) may include, for example, a cable or wireless signal containing a bit stream (bit stream) or the like. However, when mentioned, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium expressly excludes, for example, energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se.

The computer-readable medium 510 may include various instructions for implementing the operating system 514 and application programs 520, such as a computer program. The operating system may be a multi-user (multi-user), a multiprocessor (multi-processing), a multitasking (multitasking), a multithreading (multithreading), a real-time (real-time), etc. The operating system 514 performs basic tasks including, but not limited to, recognizing input from the input device 504; send output to display device 506; tracking files and directories in the computer-readable medium 510; controlling peripheral devices (e.g., optical disk drives, printers, etc.) directly or through an input/output (I/O) controller; and manages traffic for bus 512. The computer-readable medium 510 may contain various instructions to implement firmware steps, such as a Basic Input Output System (BIOS). The computer-readable medium 510 may contain various instructions to implement step 300 in FIG. 3.

The memory 518 may include high-speed random access memory (high-speed random access memory) and/or non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storage devices, one or more optical storage devices, and/or flash memory (e.g., NAND, NOR). The memory 518 (e.g., computer readable storage, media and memory) may comprise a cable or wireless signal containing a bitstream or the like. However, when mentioned, the non-transitory computer readable storage medium expressly excludes, for example, energy, carrier signals, electromagnetic waves, and signals per se. The memory 518 may store an operating system such as Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X, WINDOWS, or an embedded system such as VxWorks.

The system controller 522 may be a server processor operating independently of the processor 502. In some embodiments, system controller 522 may be a baseboard management controller, for example, a baseboard management controller specifically configured to monitor the physical state of a computer, web server, or other hardware device using sensors, and communicate with a system administrator via a separate connection. The baseboard management controller is disposed on a main board (motherboard) or a main circuit board of the device. The sensors of the baseboard management controller can measure internal physical changes such as temperature, humidity, power supply voltage, fan speed, communication parameters, and operating system functions.

In some embodiments, the baseboard management controller is independent of processor 502, so the baseboard management controller can still provide service and retention functions when an error event occurs in processor 502, memory 518, or any other hardware device. In some embodiments, the bmc may start running immediately when the server is plugged in (e.g., power supply unit, standby power supply unit, power distribution unit, etc.), for example, the power button on the front of the blade cannot turn on/off the bmc.

The described features may be implemented advantageously in one or more computer programs executing on a programmable system including at least one programmable processor coupled to receive data and instructions and to transmit data and instructions to a data storage system, at least one input device, and at least one output device. A computer program is a set of instructions that can be used, directly or indirectly, in a computer to perform a certain activity or bring about a certain result. A computer program can be written in any form of programming language (e.g., Objective-C, Java), including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment.

Suitable processors for the execution of a program of instructions include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and the sole processor or one of multiple processors or cores in any kind of computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions or data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memories for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be communicatively operatively coupled to, one or more mass storage devices for storing data files; such devices include magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable hard disks, magneto-optical disks (magneto-optical disks), and optical disks. Storage devices suitable for tangibly embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, such as, for example, semiconductor memory devices, e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and flash memory devices, magnetic disks such as internal hard disks and removable hard disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DCD-ROM optical disks. The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

To provide for interaction with a user, the above features can be implemented in a computer having a display device, such as a picture tube (CRT) or Liquid Crystal (LCD) screen, for displaying information to the user, and a keyboard and a pointing device, such as a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide input to the computer.

The above features may be incorporated into a back-end element, such as a data server; or include intermediary (middleware) elements, such as application servers or web servers; or includes a Front-end (Front-end) component, such as a client computer having a graphical user interface or a web browser; or any combination thereof. The elements of the system may be connected in any form or medium of data communication, such as a communication network, examples of which include, for example, a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), and the computers and networks that make up the network.

Computing systems may include clients and servers, which are typically remote from each other and which typically interact through a network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

One or more of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented using an Application Programming Interface (API). The api may define one or more parameters that provide services, provide data, and perform operations or computations between the calling application and other software code (e.g., operating system, library, equation).

The application program interface may be used by one or more calls in the program code that send or receive one or more parameters via a parameter list or other schema based on a call convention defined in the application program interface specification file. The parameter may be a constant, key, data structure, object type, variable, data type, pointer, sequence (array), list, or other call. Application interface calls and parameters may be implemented in any programmable language. The programming language may define the vocabulary and calling conventions used by the programmer to access the supporting application program interfaces.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an application interface call may reward an application program with the ability to run the application program device, such as input capabilities, output capabilities, processing capabilities, power supply capabilities, communication capabilities, and the like.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications, adaptations, and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a single embodiment or multiple embodiments, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," including, "" having, "" containing, "or variants thereof, as used in the detailed description and/or the claims, are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term" comprising.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Claims (7)

1. A cooling device identification system, comprising:

a housing;

a cooling device mounted on the housing, the cooling device including a rotatable element and a tachometer signal line, the tachometer signal line reporting information related to a rotational speed of the rotatable element;

one or more data processors coupled to the cooling device, and

a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by the one or more data processors, the one or more data processors perform the steps of:

receiving a coding signal from the cooling device by the tachometer signal wire; and

a cooling device identification is obtained based on the received encoded signal.

2. The cooling device identification system of claim 1 wherein the step of receiving a coded signal from the cooling device over the tachometer signal line occurs at a predetermined time, the step further comprising receiving a tachometer message over the tachometer signal line after the predetermined time has expired, wherein the tachometer message is based on the rotational speed of the rotatable element.

3. The cooling device identification system of claim 1 wherein the coded signal comprises a pseudo tachometer information that is not based on the rotational speed of the rotatable element.

4. The cooling device identification system of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the cooling device identification information based on the received encoded signal further comprises:

entering a coding mode; and

the encoded message is decoded using the encoding mode to determine the cooling device identification information.

5. The cooling device identification system of claim 1, further comprising adjusting one or more settings associated with operating the cooling device with the cooling device identification information.

6. The cooling device identification system of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a trigger signal to the cooling device, wherein the transmission of the coded signal is initiated when the trigger signal is received by the cooling device.

7. The cooling device identification system of claim 1, wherein the cooling device identification information comprises supplier information of the cooling device.

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