TW201512853A - Virtual media of a server and access method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A virtual media disposed in a server comprises a plurality of SOCs (silicon on chip), a control unit, a switch unit and a PLD (Programmable Logic Device). The control unit transforms a serial data signal to an internal network signal. The switch unit couples with the SOCs and the control unit through serial data bus to select one of the SOCs to connect with the control unit. The PLD couples with the control unit and the switch unit to receive a control signal from the control unit. The PLD analyses the control signal to generate a select signal to the switch unit. The switch unit selects one of the SOCs to communicate with the control unit according to the select signal. The control unit transforms a serial data signal from the switch unit to an internal network signal.

Description

Virtual media device of server system and data access method thereof

The present invention relates to an access device and an access method thereof, and more particularly to a virtual media device applied to a server system and a method of accessing the same.

Virtual media is a method of connecting a physical or virtual client media device such as a CD player or a hard disk drive to a server computer, thereby enabling the server to access the client media device in a manner similar to accessing its own physical media.

For network administrators and other people who need to manage a large number of computers, because the server computer can use virtual media for software installation, or even use virtual media to boot, to complete the operating system or application. Such as the installation of software or virus scanning, so its convenience can be seen.

Therefore, how to apply this virtual media technology in a server system with multiple central processors to achieve remote access to data is the pursuit of the goal.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a virtual media device and a method for accessing data in a server system, thereby improving processing performance of remote access data of the server.

One aspect of the present invention provides a virtual media device that is disposed in a server. The virtual media device has a plurality of system level chips, a control unit, a switching unit, and a programmable module. The control unit is configured to convert the sequence signal into an internal network signal. The switching unit is coupled between the plurality of system-level chips and the control unit through the serial bus bar, and is configured to select one of the plurality of system-level chips to be connected to the control unit. The programmable module is coupled to the control unit and the switching unit respectively for receiving a control signal sent by the control unit and parsing to generate a selection signal, and transmitting the selection signal to the switching unit. The switching unit selects one of the plurality of system-level chips to connect and communicate with the control unit according to the selection signal, wherein the control unit converts the sequence signal from the switching unit into an internal network signal output.

In one embodiment, the programmable module has at least one address signal end and a uniform energy signal end, wherein the selection signal is sent through the at least one address signal end, and the enable signal end controls the control unit and the switching unit connection.

In an embodiment, the switching unit is a universal sequence bus repeater, and the sequence bus is a universal sequence bus.

In an embodiment, the sequence signal is a universal sequence bus signal, and the internal network signal is a media independent interface (Media Independent) Interface, MII) signal.

In an embodiment, a network switching unit is further coupled to the control unit for converting the internal network signal into a network differential signal to connect to an external device.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a server having a virtual media device, a network conversion unit, and a motherboard as described above. The network conversion unit is coupled to the control unit for converting the internal network signal into a network differential signal to connect to an external device. The motherboard further includes: a first network interface; and a second network interface, wherein the virtual media device is coupled to the motherboard through the network conversion unit, and coupled through the first network interface One network.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a server system having a server as described above and a client, wherein the client is connected to an external storage medium and connected to the server through a network to enable the server The server reads the content of the external storage medium and performs corresponding operations.

A further aspect of the present invention provides a method for accessing a virtual media device, which is applicable to a server, the method comprising: selecting at least one of a plurality of system-level chips according to a control signal; the system level to be selected The serial signal generated by the chip is converted into an internal network signal; the internal network signal is converted into a network differential signal to connect to an external network, thereby connecting to a client through the network, wherein the client is connected to an external storage Media; and reading the contents of the external storage medium and performing corresponding operations.

In summary, the present invention allows a plurality of system-level chips on the same central processing board to share a common sequence bus and control through a switching unit. The unit and the network conversion unit are coupled for virtual media access, thereby greatly reducing the complexity of the system.

100‧‧‧Server

101‧‧‧Client

102‧‧‧Network

103‧‧‧Central Processing Unit

104‧‧‧Virtual Media Processing Unit

105‧‧‧Sequence bus

110‧‧‧Central Processing Board

120‧‧‧Virtual media installation

400‧‧‧ motherboard

410 and 411‧‧‧ Network Repeaters

412 and 413‧‧‧ network interface

501~504‧‧‧Steps

1031‧‧‧First system level wafer

1032‧‧‧Second system level wafer

1033‧‧‧ Third system level wafer

1034‧‧‧ fourth system level wafer

1041‧‧‧Switch unit

1042‧‧‧Programmable Module

1043‧‧‧Control unit

1044‧‧‧Network Conversion Unit

CN‧‧‧Control signal

EN‧‧‧Enable signal

MII‧‧‧Media Independent Interface

S0‧‧‧first selection signal

S1‧‧‧Second selection signal

1 is a schematic diagram of a server system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic diagram of a central processing board at a server according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the level values of the first selection signal S0, the second selection signal S1, and the enable signal EN and the system level wafer and control unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a server at an embodiment in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an access method of a virtual media device according to an embodiment of the invention.

The following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention is in the

1 is a schematic diagram of a server system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Wherein the server system of the present invention includes at least one server 100 and a client 101. A virtual media device 120 is disposed on one of the central processing boards 110 in the server 100 to allow the server 100 to communicate with the media devices in the client 101. The virtual media device 120 includes a central processing unit 103 and a virtual media processing unit 104. The two units are connected by a sequence bus 105, that is, by a serial bus protocol. In one embodiment, the sequence bus bar 105 is a universal sequence bus, whereby the central processing unit 103 is a universal sequence bus master. The virtual media processing unit 104 is a universal serial bus device. The server 100 and the client 101 are connected by the network 102. In this embodiment, the server 100 and the client 101 are connected by an Ethernet 102, but in other embodiments, they may be connected by other types of networks or other devices. Through the connection with the virtual media processing unit 104, the central processing unit 103 can communicate with the media device in the client 101 by accessing the universal serial bus device to access the media data in the client 101.

2 is a schematic diagram of a central processing board at a server according to an embodiment of the invention. The system-on-chip (SOC) constitutes a central processing unit 103 on the central processing board 110. In this embodiment, four system-level chips are used, which are respectively the first system-level wafers 1031. The second system level chip 1032, the third system level chip 1033, and the fourth system level chip 1034 constitute the central processing unit 103 as an example to illustrate the application of the present invention, but in other embodiments, other numbers of system levels may be utilized. The wafers constitute the central processing unit 103.

The virtual media processing unit 104 then includes: a switching unit 1041, a programmable module 1042, a control unit 1043, and a network conversion unit 1044. The switching unit 1041 is coupled to the four system level chips 1031, 1032, 1033, and 1034 of the central processing unit 103 and the control unit 1043 through the serial bus bar. In one embodiment, the sequence bus 105 is a universal sequence bus and the switching unit 1041 is a universal sequence bus repeater. The switching unit 1041 is controlled by the programmable module 1042 to select one of the four system level chips 1031, 1032, 1033 and 1034 to connect with the control unit 1043 to access the media data in the client 101. The programmable module 1042 is coupled to the control unit 1043 and the switching unit 1041 for receiving the control signal CN generated by the control unit 1043, and parsing the control signal CN to generate a selection signal to switch the switching unit 1041 to the four system level wafers 1031. One of 1032, 1033, and 1034 is selected to communicate with control unit 1043. The control unit 1043 is coupled to the switching unit 1041 and the programmable module 1042 for converting the signal format and generating a control signal CN. Wherein, the switching unit 1041 and the control unit 1043 perform data transmission according to the communication protocol of the universal serial bus, and the control unit 1043 and the network conversion unit 1044 perform data transmission according to the communication protocol of the internal network, in order to reconcile the data. For the two communication protocols, the control unit 1043 performs conversion between the universal serial bus signal (USB) and the internal network communication signal for subsequent data transfer. In an embodiment, the internal network communication signal is, for example, a Media Independent Interface (MII) signal. Therefore, the control unit 1043 converts the universal serial bus signal into a media independent interface signal for network conversion. Unit 1044, or a media independent interface letter transmitted from the network conversion unit 1044 The number is converted into a general sequence bus signal and transmitted to the switching unit 1041. In addition, the control signal CN output by the control unit 1043 is transmitted to the programmable module 1042 through a serial data bus. The network conversion unit 1044 is coupled to the control unit 1043 for performing signal processing. In an embodiment, the network conversion unit 1044 converts the converted internal network communication signal of the control unit 1043 into a 10/100M differential signal. The transmission is performed on the road, or the signal received from the network is converted into an internal network communication signal and transmitted to the control unit 1043, and converted into a universal sequence bus signal and a control signal CN for subsequent control. The programmable module 1042 can be implemented by a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD). The control unit 1043 can be implemented by a microcontroller (MCU).

In an embodiment, the programmable module 1042 has at least one address signal end and a consistent energy signal end. The address signal terminal is used to issue a selection signal to control the switching unit 1041 to select one of the four system level chips 1031, 1032, 1033, and 1034. The enable signal terminal is used to issue a consistent energy signal EN to control the connection between the switching unit 1041 and the control unit 1043. In an embodiment, the address signal further includes a first selection signal S0 and a second selection signal S1. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the level values of the first selection signal S0, the second selection signal S1, and the enable signal EN and the system level wafer and control unit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the programmable module 1042 outputs the low-level first selection signal S0, the low-level second selection signal S1, and the high-level enable signal EN to select the first system-level wafer 1031 and the control unit 1043. Coupling. The programmable module 1042 outputs a low level first selection signal S0, a high level second selection signal S1 and a high level enable signal EN are used to select the second system level chip 1032 and the control unit 1043 to be coupled. The programmable module 1042 outputs a high level first selection signal S0, a low level second selection signal S1 and a high level enable signal EN to select the third system level wafer 1033 and the control unit 1043 to be coupled. The programmable module 1042 outputs a high level first selection signal S0, a high level second selection signal S1, and a high level enable signal EN to select the fourth system level wafer 1034 and the control unit 1043 to be coupled. The programmable module 1042 outputs a low level enable signal EN to interrupt the coupling relationship between the switching unit 1041 and the control unit 1043. Accordingly, the switching unit 1041 can select one of the plurality of system-level chips to be coupled to the control unit 1043. Therefore, the plurality of system-level chips can share a common sequence bus for accessing the virtual media. Significantly reduce the complexity of the system.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a server at an embodiment in accordance with the present invention. The server 100 has a plurality of central processing boards 110. In order to control the connection of the central processing boards 110 to the remote access data, a plurality of base bords 400 are set on the server 100. A network repeater is coupled to the central processing boards 110. Each central processing board 110 is coupled to a corresponding network repeater through a network switching unit 1044. In an embodiment, the motherboard 400 is provided with two network repeaters 410 and 411 respectively having 8 埠 (P0~P7) to be coupled with 12 central processing boards 110, thereby controlling the central processing boards. 110 connected to the network. The network repeater 410 and the network repeater 411 are respectively connected to the six central processing boards 110. The P7 port of the network repeater 410 is coupled to the P0 port of the network repeater 411, so that the network repeater 410 It is connected in series with the network repeater 411. In addition, the P0 port of the network repeater 410 is coupled to a network interface 412, and the P7 port of the network repeater 411 is also coupled to a network interface 413. Through the network interface 412, each central processing board 110 can be coupled to an external network, so that the client accesses one of the central processing boards 110 through the network and performs remote access control, since only a single network is needed. The road interface 412 thus greatly reduces the complexity of connecting the network. Moreover, through the network interfaces 412 and 413, the motherboard 400 can be coupled to other motherboards in the server such that the network repeaters on each motherboard form a serial structure. For example, the previous stage motherboard can be coupled to the network interface 412 of the motherboard 400 to form a tandem structure. The motherboard of the subsequent stage can be coupled to the network interface 413 of the motherboard 400 to form a serial structure. Accordingly, the integration of the central processing board 110 within the server is greatly increased, and the number of central processing boards 110 accessible to the remote client can be expanded. In one embodiment, network interfaces 412 and 413 are RJ45 interfaces.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an access method of a virtual media device according to an embodiment of the invention. Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 simultaneously. First, in step 501, a plurality of system-level chips are selected according to a control signal. In one embodiment, the control module 1042 receives the control signal CN generated by the control unit 1043 to switch the switching unit 1041 to select one of the four system level chips 1031, 1032, 1033, and 1034 and the control unit 1043. communication. Next, in step 502, the sequence signal generated by the selected system level chip is converted into an internal network signal. In an embodiment, the conversion between the universal serial bus signal (USB) and the internal network communication signal is performed by the control unit 1043 for subsequent data transfer. Next, in step 503, The internal network signal is converted into a network differential signal to connect to an external network. It is used to connect to a client through the network, and the client is connected to an external storage medium. In one embodiment, the network conversion unit 1044 converts the converted internal network communication signal of the control unit 1043 into a 10/100M differential signal and transmits it on the external network. Finally, in step 504, the content of the external storage medium is read and corresponding operations are performed. For example, the central processing unit 103 can communicate with the media device in the client 101 by using a method of accessing the universal serial bus device, and then save The media data in the client 101 is taken.

In summary, the present invention allows a plurality of system-level chips on the same central processing board to share a common sequence bus to be coupled to the control unit and the network conversion unit for accessing the virtual medium through a switching unit. Can greatly reduce the complexity of the system. And a plurality of central processing boards can also be connected to each other through a network switcher and coupled to the network through a single interface, in addition to greatly improving the integration of the central processing board in the server, and expanding the access of the remote client. The number of central processing boards.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and the present invention can be modified and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope is subject to the definition of the scope of the patent application attached.

103‧‧‧Central Processing Unit

104‧‧‧Virtual Media Processing Unit

105‧‧‧Sequence bus

120‧‧‧Virtual media installation

1031‧‧‧First system level wafer

1032‧‧‧Second system level wafer

1033‧‧‧ Third system level wafer

1034‧‧‧ fourth system level wafer

1041‧‧‧Switch unit

1042‧‧‧Programmable Module

1043‧‧‧Control unit

1044‧‧‧Network Conversion Unit

USB‧‧‧General Sequence Bus Signal

CN‧‧‧Control signal

EN‧‧‧Enable signal

MII‧‧‧Media Independent Interface

S0‧‧‧first selection signal

S1‧‧‧Second selection signal

Claims (19)

A server unit, comprising: a plurality of motherboards connected in series, each motherboard being coupled to a plurality of virtual media devices, wherein each of the virtual media devices further comprises: a plurality of system-level chips; The unit is coupled between the plurality of system-level chips and the control unit through a sequence bus; a control unit coupled to the switching unit for converting the sequence signal into an internal network signal; and a programmable module The group is coupled to the control unit and the switching unit, and is configured to receive a control signal sent by the control unit and parse the control signal to generate a selection signal, and transmit the selection signal to the switching unit to select the One of a plurality of system level chips is connected to the control unit. The server unit of claim 1, wherein each of the motherboards further comprises: a first network interface; and a second network interface, wherein the first network interface of the motherboard is The second network interface of the motherboard of the previous level is coupled to the second network interface of the motherboard of the first level, and is coupled to the first network interface of the motherboard of the first level, so that the motherboards are connected in series. The server unit of claim 2, each of the virtual media devices further includes: a network switching unit coupled to the control unit, wherein each of the virtual media devices is converted by the network The unit is coupled to the corresponding motherboard. The server unit of claim 3, wherein the motherboard further comprises a network repeater, the virtual media device being coupled to the network repeater through the network switching unit. The server unit of claim 4, wherein the network repeater further comprises a first network repeater and a second network repeater, wherein the first network repeater Forming a serial structure with the second network repeater, the first network repeater is coupled to the first network interface, and the second network repeater is coupled to the second network interface. The server unit of claim 1, wherein the switching unit selects one of the plurality of system-level chips to connect and communicate with the control unit according to the selection signal, wherein the control unit will be from the switching unit. The sequence signal is converted to an internal network signal output. The server unit of claim 1, wherein the selection signal further comprises a uniform energy signal, a first selection signal and a second selection signal, wherein the enabling signal controls the switching unit and the control unit Connection, the first selection signal and the second selection signal select the plurality of One of the system level wafers is connected to the control unit. The server unit of claim 7, wherein when the enabling signal is enabled, the switching unit is controlled to be connected to the control unit. The server unit of claim 1, wherein a client has an external storage medium, and the client is connected to the server unit through a network, and the server unit can read the external storage medium. Content and take action accordingly. The server unit of claim 9, wherein the network is an Ethernet network. A virtual media device is applicable to a server unit, the virtual media device comprising: at least a plurality of system level chips; a control unit for converting the sequence signals into internal network signals; and a switching unit respectively through the serial bus Between the plurality of system-level chips and the control unit, configured to select one of the plurality of system-level chips to be connected to the control unit; and a programmable module coupled to the control unit and the switch a unit, configured to receive a control signal sent by the control unit and parse the control signal to generate a selection signal, and transmit the selection signal to the switching unit; The switching unit selects one of the plurality of system-level chips to connect and communicate with the control unit according to the selection signal, wherein the control unit converts the sequence signal from the switching unit into an internal network signal output. The virtual media device of claim 11, wherein the programmable module has at least one address signal end and a consistent energy signal end, wherein the selection signal is sent through the at least one address signal end, the enable signal The terminal controls the connection of the control unit to the switching unit. The virtual media device of claim 11, wherein the switching unit is a universal sequence bus repeater, and the sequence bus is a universal sequence bus. The virtual media device of claim 11, wherein the sequence signal is a universal sequence bus signal, and the internal network signal is a Media Independent Interface (MII) signal. The virtual media device of claim 11, further comprising a network switching unit coupled to the control unit for converting the internal network signal into a network differential signal for connecting to an external device. A method for accessing a virtual media device, which is suitable for accessing a storage medium by a plurality of system-level chips of a server unit and accessing a client The method at least includes: selecting one of the system-level chips according to a control signal; converting the sequence signal generated by the selected system-level chip into an internal network signal; converting the internal network signal into a network differential signal To connect to an external network, thereby connecting to the client through the external network; and reading the content of the external storage medium of the client and performing corresponding operations. The method of claim 16, wherein the sequence signal is a universal sequence bus signal, and the internal network signal is a Media Independent Interface (MII) signal. The method of claim 16, wherein selecting one of the plurality of system-level chips according to a control signal further comprises: parsing the control signal to generate a selection signal and a consistent energy signal. The method of claim 16, further comprising: selecting one of the system-level chips according to the selection signal; and outputting the sequence signal generated by the selected system-level chip according to the enable signal.