GB2278941A - Communications server module. - Google Patents

Communications server module. Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2278941A
GB2278941A GB9410204A GB9410204A GB2278941A GB 2278941 A GB2278941 A GB 2278941A GB 9410204 A GB9410204 A GB 9410204A GB 9410204 A GB9410204 A GB 9410204A GB 2278941 A GB2278941 A GB 2278941A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
disk drive
communications
server module
mounting slots
communications server
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB9410204A
Other versions
GB2278941B (en
GB9410204D0 (en
Inventor
Ian Gregory Colloff
Michael William Berry Curran
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Fujitsu Services Ltd
Original Assignee
Fujitsu Services Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB939312086A external-priority patent/GB9312086D0/en
Application filed by Fujitsu Services Ltd filed Critical Fujitsu Services Ltd
Priority to GB9410204A priority Critical patent/GB2278941B/en
Publication of GB9410204D0 publication Critical patent/GB9410204D0/en
Publication of GB2278941A publication Critical patent/GB2278941A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2278941B publication Critical patent/GB2278941B/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F1/00—Details not covered by groups G06F3/00 - G06F13/00 and G06F21/00
    • G06F1/16—Constructional details or arrangements

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Bus Control (AREA)

Abstract

A computer system comprises a main processing unit and a disk rack having a plurality of mounting slots for receiving disk drive modules, e.g. 3.5 inch disk drive modules. A data channel interconnects the main processing unit to the disk mounting slots. At least one communications server module having substantially the same physical profile as one of the disk drive modules is located in one of the disk mounting slots. Because it fits into a standard disk drive slot, this communications server module allows more flexibility in building computer architectures. <IMAGE>

Description

COMMUNICATIONS SERVER MODULE Background to the Invention This invention relates to computer systems and, more specifically, relates to a communications server module for use in such a system.
The object of the present invention is to provide a novel communications server module for use in a computer system which enables more flexible architectures to be built.
Summary of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a computer system comprising a main processing unit, a disk rack having a plurality of mounting slots for receiving disk drive modules, and a data channel for interconnecting the main processing unit to the mounting slots, characterised by at least one communications server module having substantially the same physical profile as one of the disk drive modules and located in one of the mounting slots.
In a preferred form of the invention, the communications server module comprises a communications card for providing an interface to a communications channel, and a processor card, for controlling the communications card and providing an interface between said data channel and the communications card.
Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 is a block diagram of a computer system embodying the invention.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing the physical layout of the computer system.
Figure 3 shows a communications server module forming part of the system.
Figure 4 is a block diagram of the communications server module.
Description of an Embodiment of the Invention One computer system in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to Figure 1, the system comprises a plurality of processing units 10 and a plurality of memory units 11, interconnected by a number of memory busses 12.
A plurality of I/O channels 13 are connected to the busses 12 by means of channel interfaces 14. In this example the channels 13 are standard Fibre Channel connections, providing a serial interface for up to 100 Megabytes/second over either copper wires or optical fibres.
Referring to Figure 2, this shows the physical layout of the computer system. The system is housed in a cabinet 20. A logic rack 21 at the top of the cabinet holds processor and memory cards 22, as well as a Fibre Channel card 23. Below this is mounted a disk rack 24, containing an array of identical mounting slots, connected to the I/O channels 13.
Each of these mounting slots can hold either a standard 3.5 inch profile disk drive unit 25, or a communications server module 26. A power supply unit 27 is located at the bottom of the cabinet.
Referring now to Figure 3, this shows one of the communications server modules 26 in more detail. The module comprises a communications card 30 and a processor card 31, packaged together as a unit to fit within a standard 3.5 inch disk drive profile 34 so that it can be plugged into one of the mounting slots of the disk rack 24.
The communications card 30 carries a connector 32 which allows it to be connected to a standard communications channel. The processor card 31 carries a connector 33 similar to that used for the disk drive units, to enable it to be coupled to one of the I/O channels 13 and to receive a power supply, in a similar manner to the disk drive units.
Referring to Figure 4, this is a block diagram showing the logical components of the communications server module in more detail.
The processor card carries a processor chip 40, having an output memory bus 41 and serial bus 42. The processor chip 40 may for example be a MicroSparc chip supplied by Texas Instruments, which provides a Sparc (scalable processor architecture) processor with built-in memory control and SBus interface. The memory bus 41 is connected to an 8 megabyte memory 43 which provides the main memory for the processor.
The serial bus 42 is connected to a flash PROM 44, a channel interface 45 and to the communications card 30.
The channel interface 45 provides an interface between the serial bus 42 and the channel 13, by way of the connector 32 on the communications card. The interface 45 may for example be a standard Fibre Channel interface unit.

Claims (5)

1. A computer system comprising a main processing unit, a disk rack having a plurality of mounting slots for receiving disk drive modules, and a data channel for interconnecting the main processing unit to the mounting slots, characterised by at least one communications server module having substantially the same physical profile as one of the disk drive modules and located in one of the mounting slots.
2. A system according to Claim 1 wherein the communications server module comprises a communications card for providing an interface to a communications channel, and a processor card, for controlling the communications card and providing an interface between said data channel and the communications card.
3. A system according to Claim 1 or 2 wherein said disk drive modules are of a standard 3.5 inch disk drive profile.
4. A system according to any preceding claim wherein said data channel is a bit serial channel.
5. A computer system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
GB9410204A 1993-06-11 1994-05-23 Communications server module Expired - Lifetime GB2278941B (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9410204A GB2278941B (en) 1993-06-11 1994-05-23 Communications server module

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB939312086A GB9312086D0 (en) 1993-06-11 1993-06-11 Communications server module
GB9410204A GB2278941B (en) 1993-06-11 1994-05-23 Communications server module

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB9410204D0 GB9410204D0 (en) 1994-07-06
GB2278941A true GB2278941A (en) 1994-12-14
GB2278941B GB2278941B (en) 1997-04-30

Family

ID=26303051

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB9410204A Expired - Lifetime GB2278941B (en) 1993-06-11 1994-05-23 Communications server module

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (1) GB2278941B (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6654241B2 (en) * 2001-06-29 2003-11-25 Intel Corporation High availability small foot-print server
DE102004013127B4 (en) * 2003-06-17 2006-04-06 Hitachi, Ltd. Housing for a storage device
US7843692B2 (en) 2008-12-30 2010-11-30 Dtech Labs, Inc. Mobile modular communication system

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5119497A (en) * 1989-09-22 1992-06-02 Unisys Corp. Enclosure for computer control unit
US5227957A (en) * 1992-05-14 1993-07-13 Deters John B Modular computer system with passive backplane

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5119497A (en) * 1989-09-22 1992-06-02 Unisys Corp. Enclosure for computer control unit
US5227957A (en) * 1992-05-14 1993-07-13 Deters John B Modular computer system with passive backplane

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6654241B2 (en) * 2001-06-29 2003-11-25 Intel Corporation High availability small foot-print server
DE102004013127B4 (en) * 2003-06-17 2006-04-06 Hitachi, Ltd. Housing for a storage device
US7113364B2 (en) 2003-06-17 2006-09-26 Hitachi, Ltd. Storage apparatus casing with interchangeable disk drive and control boxes
US7394616B2 (en) 2003-06-17 2008-07-01 Hitachi, Ltd. Storage apparatus casing with interchangeable disk drive and control boxes
US7843692B2 (en) 2008-12-30 2010-11-30 Dtech Labs, Inc. Mobile modular communication system

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB2278941B (en) 1997-04-30
GB9410204D0 (en) 1994-07-06

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PE20 Patent expired after termination of 20 years

Expiry date: 20140522