TWI417739B - Server system and mehtod for using shared baseboard management controller - Google Patents

Description

Server system and method for sharing substrate management controller

The present invention relates to a server system and method, and more particularly to a server system and method for sharing a substrate management controller.

As far as the application of the server is concerned, if it is used as a data center, each node in the system includes a video image array (VGA) array, a serial port, and a serial port. Components such as the Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) increase the cost of manufacturing invisibly, and waste the functionality and repeatability of the functions provided by the components themselves. Because most of the time, the VGA port and the serial port on the node are in an idle state, and the functions of the baseboard management controller can be shared. Any unnecessary components (such as VGA port, serial port) are included in the mass-produced product, or functionally repeatable components (such as the substrate management controller) are placed on the node, and the price of the product is relatively Increase, competitiveness will also decline.

If the VGA port or sequence is removed from the node, the problem in the product development phase comes. During the test of the machine, many projects must interact with the face-to-face human machine, so VGA埠Or sequence 是 is an indispensable tool at this stage. How to balance the necessity of product development and the competitiveness of products has become a hot potato that needs to be solved urgently.

The present invention provides a server system that shares a baseboard management controller, which allows a plurality of nodes in the server system to share a single baseboard management controller.

The present invention provides a method of sharing a substrate management controller by switching a connection of a substrate management controller to a node selected by a user to operate the node using a device management function of the substrate management controller.

The invention provides a server system sharing a substrate management controller, comprising a plurality of nodes, a hub and a daughter board. Each node includes a plurality of first connection pins, a first input pin, and a first output pin. The hub has a plurality of ports and switches, which are respectively connected to the first connection pin, the first input pin and the first output pin of the corresponding node, and the switch is used to switch the port. The daughter board includes a connection unit connectable to the peripheral device and a substrate management controller, wherein the substrate management controller has a plurality of second connection pins corresponding to the first connection pins, and a second output pin corresponding to the first input pins And a second input pin corresponding to the first output pin for connecting the switch and the connecting unit. The baseboard management controller receives a request command for one of the nodes, and controls the switcher switch port to connect the node to the baseboard management controller, so that the node can be used by the device management function of the baseboard management controller. The peripheral devices. The substrate management controller outputs a mounting signal to the first input pin of the node to be switched through the second output pin to notify the node to install the video interface driver, and receive the node through the second input pin. The installation interface completion signal of the video interface driver returned by the output pin is controlled to switch the connection port to connect the node.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the substrate management controller outputs a removal signal to the first input pin of the currently connected node through the second output pin before notifying the node to be switched to install the video interface driver. The node is notified to remove the video interface driver, and the removal signal of the video interface driver returned by the node through the first output pin is received through the second input pin.

In an embodiment of the invention, each of the nodes includes a chip set and a signal generator, and the first connection pins of each node are respectively disposed in the chip set and the signal generator.

In an embodiment of the invention, the node nodes are arranged on a substrate and connected to a corresponding port on the hub through a common connection on the substrate.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the sub-board further includes a switching unit coupled to the substrate management controller and the control pin of the switch, and can be used according to the request to request the node to be used and the device management of the substrate management controller. The state of use of the function sends a control signal to the control pin of the switch to control the switcher switch port.

The present invention provides a method for sharing a baseboard management controller for a server system including a plurality of nodes, hubs, and daughter boards that are connected to a baseboard management controller on a daughter board through a hub. In this method, the substrate management controller receives a request instruction from the user for one of the nodes, and controls the switch on the hub to switch to the node requested to be switched by the request command, and outputs an installation signal through the second output pin to The first input pin of the node to which the request is requested to switch. The node installs the video interface driver according to the received installation signal, and after the installation is completed, returns a installation completion signal to the second input pin of the substrate management controller through the first output pin. After the baseboard management controller receives the installation completion signal, the node can use the peripheral device connected to the daughter board through the device management function of the baseboard management controller.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the step of installing the video interface driver by the node according to the installation signal includes updating, by the controller of the node, the general state of the node by using the installation signal, and triggering a system interrupt to start the operation system of the node. Interface driver. Then, the interface driver checks the general state, and calls the first control method to notify the operating system to install the video interface driver, and calls the second control method after the installation is completed to notify the controller to output the installation completion signal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the step of switching the switch on the hub of the baseboard management controller to the node, the connection interface driver of the device management function corresponding to the baseboard management controller of the node is further notified of the operation. The system rescans the connection interface of the node to use the peripheral devices connected to the daughter board through the device management function.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the step of controlling the switch to switch to the node by the baseboard management controller, the method further includes: using a pull-up register to pull up the baseboard management controller by the hub Two input pins and a second output pin.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the step of receiving, by the substrate management controller, the request command for the node, the substrate management controller further outputs a removal signal through the second output pin to the current connection with the substrate management controller. And use the first input pin of the node of the device management function of the baseboard management controller. The node removes the video interface driver according to the removal signal, and after the removal is completed, returns a removal completion signal to the second input pin of the substrate management controller through the first output pin.

In an embodiment of the invention, the step of removing the video interface driver by the node according to the removal signal includes updating, by the controller of the node, the general state of the node by using the removal signal, and triggering a system interrupt to start the node. The interface driver under the operating system. Next, the interface driver checks the general state and calls the first control method to notify the operating system to remove the video interface driver. After the video interface driver is removed, the interface driver calls the second control method to notify the controller to output the removal completion signal.

In an embodiment of the present invention, after the step of switching the switch to the node on the baseboard management controller control hub, the connection interface driver notification corresponding to the device management function of the baseboard management controller in the node is further included. The operating system rescans the connection interface of the node to deactivate the peripheral devices connected to the daughter board.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the foregoing daughter board includes an Enclosure Management Board (EMB). The device management functions of the above substrate management controller include keyboard, video, and keyboard (Motor Picture Mouse) control functions. The above connection unit includes a Video Graphics Array (VGA), a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, or a network port.

Based on the above, the server system and method of the shared baseboard management controller of the present invention connects a plurality of nodes of the server system to the daughter board through the hub, and switches the switch on the hub according to the node selected by the user, and switches. Before the node, the node is notified to install the video interface driver through a specific connection pin, so that after connecting to the substrate management controller, the node can directly use the peripheral device connected to the sub-board through the device management function of the substrate management controller.

The above described features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description.

In order to achieve a high-density platform in a limited space, R&D personnel are bound to keep the gaps between the various components on the motherboard as tight as possible. Finally, in order to free up more space and reduce the unit's production costs, some components that are not necessary for sharing or mass production become the best option to be removed. In the data center, the video image array (VGA) array and the serial port are not necessary, and the baseboard management controller (BMC) can share one. Today's substrate management controllers include a VGA controller and network functions, so the entire system needs to have a substrate management controller corresponding to the data center application.

First embodiment

1 is a block diagram of a server system of a shared baseboard management controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the server system 100 of the present embodiment includes four nodes 110, 120, 130, and 140, and a hub 150 and a sub-board 160. The functions are as follows: the nodes 110, 120, 130, and 140 are respectively A stand-alone computer system includes a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, a north bridge chip, a south bridge chip, a network chip, and the like, which are disposed on a substrate, and can be used as a data center.

The hub 150 is, for example, a middle plane having ports 151, 152, 153, 154 and a switch 155, wherein the ports 151, 152, 153, 154 are associated with the nodes 110, 120, 130, and 140, respectively. A plurality of pins are connected, and a switch 155 is connected to the ports 151, 152, 153, 154, respectively, to switch between the ports. In this embodiment, each of the nodes and the connector connected to the port includes 11 first connection pins (CON 1), one first input pin, and one first output pin, and the first input pin is, for example, a universal input. The (General Purpose Input, GPI) pin (ie, GPI 1), and the first output pin is, for example, a General Purpose Output (GPO) pin (ie, GPO 1), but is not limited thereto.

The sub-board 160 is, for example, an Enclosure Management Board (EMB) on which the connection unit 161 and the substrate management controller 162 are disposed. The connection unit 161 is, for example, a VGA port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, and can be connected to peripheral devices (not shown) such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and a storage. The connection unit 161 can also be a network port that can be used to connect to a remote device.

The substrate management controller 162 receives, for example, a request command from the user for the node through the peripheral device connected to the connection unit 161 (more specifically, the lower IPMI OEM command to the baseboard management controller 162 requests that it switch to a node) According to the control line 163, the control signal is sent from the control pin A to the pin A of the switch 155, and the control switch 155 switches the connected port, and connects the node requested for the request to the base management controller 162. So that the node can use the peripheral device connected to the daughter board 120 through the device management function of the baseboard management controller 162. The device management function of the substrate management controller 162 is, for example, a control function of a keyboard, a video, a keyboard (KVM), but is not limited thereto.

For example, if the user wants to view the test screen and operation of the node 120, the mouse selection node 120 can be used to request the IPMI OEM command to the baseboard management controller 162 to switch to the node 120. At this time, the baseboard management controller 162 That is, according to the node 120 selected by the user, the control signal is transmitted through the control pin A and via the control line 163 to control the switch 155 to switch to the port 112 connected to the node 120, so that the node 120 can be connected to the node 112 via the port 112. The substrate management controller 162 can use the device management function of the substrate management controller 162 to use the display, keyboard, mouse, and storage device connected to the daughter board 120, so that the user can view the test screen of the node 120 and use the keyboard and slide. The mouse operates node 120, which in turn can be powered on or stored using a storage device.

It should be noted that, in order to implement the hot plug function between the nodes and the substrate management controller 162, the first connection pin corresponding to each node is configured on the substrate management controller 162 (CON). a plurality of second connection pins (CON 2) of 1), a second output pin (GPO 2) corresponding to the first input pin (GPI 1), and a second input pin corresponding to the first output pin (GPO 1) ( GPI 2) is used to connect the switch and connect to each node through the switch.

In detail, FIG. 2 is a general-purpose input/output pin configuration diagram of the server system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the substrate management controller 162 of the embodiment outputs a mounting signal to the first input pin (GPI 1) of the node to be switched through the second output pin (GPO 2) to notify the node to install the video interface driver. The program, through the second input pin (GPI 2), receives the installation completion signal of the video interface driver returned by the node through the first output pin (GPO 1), and accordingly controls the switch 155 to switch through the control pin A. The connection is 埠 to connect the nodes. The indicator light 156 is illuminated after the node completes the installation of the video interface driver to prompt the user that the node is currently connected to the baseboard management controller 162, and can use the device management function of the baseboard management controller 162.

For the server system 100 described above, the present invention also provides a corresponding method of operation for appropriately assigning device management functions of the substrate management controller 162 to each node for use. 3 is a flow chart of a method for sharing a substrate management controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the method of the present embodiment is applicable to the server system 100 of FIG. 1. The following detailed steps of the method are illustrated using the various components of FIG. 1 : First, received by the substrate management controller 162 on the daughter board 120. The user requests a request for one of the nodes 110, 120, 130, and 140 (step S302). The node requested by the request instruction is selected, for example, by the user dialing a DIP switch on the sub-board 160 or by selecting a baseboard management controller command from the remote end, which is not limited herein.

According to the above request command, the baseboard management controller 162 then switches the switch 155 on the control hub 150 to the node to which the request command is requested to be switched (step S304), and outputs an install signal to the request through the second output pin (GPO2). The first input pin (GPI 1) of the node to which the instruction is requested to be switched (step S306).

It should be noted that since the high-speed Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIE) interface used by the video controller does not support hot swapping, additional support is required for hot plugging. The substrate management controller 162 switches to the node, and the node cannot use the video function of the baseboard management controller 162 to drive the video device. On the other hand, if the connection between the baseboard management controller 162 and the node is directly cut off (for example, to another node), the node may cause a system crash or crash due to a sudden interruption of the video function. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the baseboard management controller 162 receives the handover request, it is notified that the node currently having the baseboard management controller 162 and the node to be switched are prepared.

According to the above concept, after receiving the installation signal, the node of the embodiment starts to install the video interface driver, and after the installation is completed, returns an installation completion signal to the substrate management controller through the first output pin (GPO 1). The second input pin (GPI 2) of 162 (step S308).

When the substrate management controller 162 receives the installation completion signal, the node can use the peripheral device connected to the daughter board 160 through the device management function of the substrate management controller 162 (step S310). Wherein, since the node has completed the installation of the video interface driver, the video function of the substrate management controller 162 can be used to use the video device (for example, a display) connected to the daughter board 160 to implement the hot plug function.

It is worth mentioning that for a transmission interface such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB), it can be directly operated and hot-swapped, even if the connection between the node and the substrate management controller 162 is switched, only This will result in the interruption of the transmission of data without affecting the system operation of the node. Therefore, in this embodiment, the driver is not installed in advance for these interfaces. However, those skilled in the art can also pre-install other interface drivers by referring to the above-mentioned method of installing the video interface driver according to actual needs.

With the server system 100 architecture and the operation method thereof, the user can display the user interfaces of the nodes 110, 120, 130, 140 through the network and the substrate management controller 162 at the local end and the remote end, and The local and remote keyboards, mice, and storage devices can be used to maintain and manipulate the nodes 110, 120, 130, 140.

Second embodiment

4 is a block diagram of a server system of a shared baseboard management controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the server system 400 of the present embodiment includes substrates 410, 420, 430, and 440, and a hub 450 and a sub-board 460. The functions are as follows: the substrates 410, 420, 430, and 440 are respectively configured with two Nodes and a common port, for example, node 1, node 2 and shared port 415 are arranged on the substrate 410, and the node 1 further includes a chip set 411 and a signal generator 412. The node 2 includes a chip set 413 and a signal generator. 414. The chip set 411 of the node 1 has two first USB ports (USB port 1), two second USB ports (USB port 2), and four high-speed peripheral device interconnects (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express, PCIE). ) PCIE port and two first general-purpose input and output pins (GPI 1/GPO 1), while node 1's signal generator 412 has one USB clock pin (USB clk) and two PCIE clocks Pin (PCIE clk). These pins are connected to a common port 415 on the substrate 410, respectively. For the same reason, the pins on the chip set 413 and the signal generator 414 of the node 2 are also connected to the common port 415, and the type and number of the pins are the same as those of the chip set 411 and the signal generator 412, and details are not described herein.

The hub 450 has four ports 451, 452, 453, 454 and a switch 455, wherein the ports 451, 452, 453, 454 are respectively connected to the corresponding ports on the substrates 410, 420, 430, 440 (Fig. 3). Only the common connection 埠 415) connections are shown, each of which is connected to the connection port via a cable containing 26 pins. In addition, the switch 455 is connected to the ports 451, 452, 453, 454 through two sets of wires (each group including 13 wires) to switch between the ports.

The sub board 460 is, for example, a device management sub board on which the connection unit 461, the substrate management controller 462, and the switching unit 463 are disposed. The connection unit 461 is, for example, a VGA port, a network port, or a USB port, and can be connected to peripheral devices (not shown) such as a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and a storage.

The substrate management controller 462 receives, for example, a request command from the user to the node through the peripheral device connected to the connection unit 461 (more specifically, the lower IPMI OEM command to the base management controller 462 requests it to switch to a node) The switch 455 is controlled to switch the port to connect the node requested by the request command to the baseboard management controller 462 so that the node can use the device management function of the baseboard management controller 462 to use the periphery connected to the daughter board 460. Device. The device management functions of the substrate management controller 462 are, for example, keyboard, video, mouse, and storage control functions, but are not limited thereto.

Corresponding to each of the 13 pins connected to the hub 450, the substrate management controller 462 is also connected to the switch 455 of the hub 450 through 13 pins to be connected to the node through the switching of the switch 455. These pins are in FIG. From left to right, one USB clock pin (USB clk), two first USB pin (USB 1), two second USB pin (USB 2), four PCIE pin (PCIE) Two PCIE clock pins (PCIE clk) and two general purpose input and output pins (GPI 2/GPO 2). The first USB 埠 pin (USB 1) is used as a storage device; the second USB 埠 pin (USB 2) is used as a keyboard and a mouse device; and the PCIE 埠 pin (PCIE) is used as a VGA control device. The general purpose input pin (GPI 2) is the general purpose output pin (GPO 1) used to connect the node; the general purpose output pin (GPO 2) is the general purpose input pin (GPI 1) used to connect the node.

It should be noted that the baseboard management controller 462 further includes a switch unit 463 connected through the pins A, B, C, D, and E to output a control signal to the switching unit 463 according to the received request command, and the switching unit is The 463 control switch 455 switches the port. The switching unit 463 is composed of, for example, two AND gates 464 and 465, a multiplexer 466, and a DIP switch 467. The switching unit 463 further includes control pins A and B coupled to the switch 455, and can send the control signal to the switch 455 according to the requesting use of the requested node and the use status of the device management function of the base management controller 462. Pins A, B are controlled to control the switch 455 to switch the port.

In detail, the signal output from the pin A of the substrate management controller 462 is used to select the signal outputted by the pin B of the substrate management controller 462 or to select the signal output by the pin A of the dip switch 467. For example, when the signal outputted by the pin A of the substrate management controller 462 is 0, it means that the signal output by the pin A of the dip switch 467 is selected; if it is 1, the signal output by the pin B of the substrate management controller 462 is selected. .

The signal output by the pin B represents the code of the node selected by the substrate management controller 462. For example, the signals of 0 and 1 are output through three pins to represent nodes 1 to 8, respectively, but the number of pins can be connected according to the system. The number of nodes is not limited to this.

The pin C represents whether the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 has been released. For example, when the signal output by the pin C is 0, the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 has been released, so that the isolation node and the substrate management are not required. The connection between the controllers 462; if it is 1, the device management function representing the substrate management controller 462 is not released, so the connection between the isolation node and the substrate management controller 462 is required.

In addition, the pins A and B of the dip switch 467 are respectively coupled to the pins D and E of the substrate management controller 462, and the function of the pin B of the dip switch 467 is used to select the pin A of the dip switch 467 to select the node. Alternatively, the node selected by the baseboard management controller 462 is selected. For example, when the pin B of the dip switch 467 transmits the signal 0 to the pin E of the substrate management controller 462, the substrate management controller 462 is informed to select to force the use of the pin A of the dip switch 467 to select the node, and the pin A of the dip switch 467 The signal is then transmitted to pin D of the substrate management controller 462 to inform the substrate management controller 462 of its selected node.

On the other hand, when the pin B of the dip switch 467 transmits the signal 1 to the pin E of the substrate management controller 462, it represents that the node selected using the pin A of the substrate management controller 462 is selected. At this time, when the signal of the pin A of the substrate management controller 462 is 0, the pin A of the dip switch 467 is selected to select the node; when the signal of the pin A of the substrate management controller 462 is 1, the management is controlled according to the substrate. The signal output from pin B of device 462 goes to select the node.

It is worth mentioning that the substrate management controller 462 further includes a pin F connected to the pin C of the switch 455, and the pin F is used to latch the pin A of the switch 455, and when the signal is When the transition from 0 to 1, the latching of the signal of the pin A of the switch 455 is released to perform the switching of the node.

For example, when the pin C of the substrate management controller 462 outputs a signal of 0, the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 has been released, and when the pin B of the dip switch 467 also outputs a signal of 0, The gate 465 will output a signal of 0 to the control pin B of the switch 455 to release the isolation between the node and the substrate management controller 462. At this time, the multiplexer 466 selects the signal of the pin B of the substrate management controller 462 to the control pin A of the switch 455 according to the signal output from the pin A of the dip switch 467 to control the switch 455 to switch to the substrate. The port corresponding to the output signal of the pin B of the management controller 462 is managed. Finally, the substrate management controller 462 converts the signal of its pin F from 0 to 1, to release the latching of the signal of the pin A of the switch 455, and performs switching of the node.

For the above-described server system 400, the present invention also provides a corresponding operation method for switching the nodes to which the substrate management controller 462 is connected, to appropriately allocate the device management functions of the substrate management controller 462 to the respective nodes. The switch 455 includes two situations when performing handover, one is that no node currently uses the device management function of the baseboard management controller 462, and the other is that the existing node uses the device management function of the baseboard management controller 462. Case. The following is a detailed description of an embodiment.

Third embodiment

The method of the present embodiment is applied in the case where no node uses the device management function of the substrate management controller 462. FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for sharing a substrate management controller according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the method of the present embodiment is applicable to the server system 400 of FIG. 4. The detailed steps of the method are described below using the various components of FIG. 4: First, received by the substrate management controller 462 on the daughter board 460. The user requests a request from one of the nodes 1 to 8 (step S502), and controls the switch 455 on the hub 450 to switch to the node to which the request command is requested to be switched (step S504), and transmits the second output pin (GPO). 2) Outputting an install signal to the first input pin (GPI 1) of the node to which the request command is requested to be switched (step S506).

After receiving the installation signal, the node triggers a system interrupt to notify the operating system to perform the installation operation of the video interface driver (step S508), and after the installation is completed, the installation is returned through the first output pin (GPO 1). The signal is completed to the second input pin (GPI 2) of the substrate management controller 462 (step S510). The system interrupt is, for example, a System Control Interrupt (SCI), and is not limited herein.

In detail, FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for installing a video interface driver according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, in this embodiment, when the node receives the installation signal, the controller of the node uses the installation signal to update the general state of the node (step S602). The controller is, for example, a chipset on the substrate, and the mounting signal is, for example, a general status pin that is transferred to the chipset, thereby updating the general state of the node (e.g., updated to zero).

Next, the controller triggers a system interrupt to start the interface driver under the operating system of the node (step S604). The interface driver is, for example, an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) driver that uses an advanced architecture power interface table (ACPI table) provided by the operating system to call a variety of different control methods to notify The operating system performs corresponding operations such as power management.

Then, the interface driver checks the general status and calls the first control method to notify the operating system to install the video interface driver (step S606). The first control method is, for example, a notification program written by an advanced architecture power interface machine language (AML) code, and when the interface driver calls the notification program, a notification is sent to the operating system to The operating system is required to install the video interface driver.

After the operating system completes the installation of the video interface driver, the interface driver then calls the second control method to notify the controller to output the installation completion signal (step S608), so that the substrate management controller 462 can perform the next signal according to the installation completion signal. step. This second control method is, for example, also a notification program written by the AML code.

Returning to step S510 of FIG. 5, when the substrate management controller 462 receives the installation completion signal output by the node, the node can use the peripheral device connected to the daughter board 460 through the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 (steps) S512).

It should be noted that, after the substrate management controller 462 receives the installation completion signal output by the node, the embodiment further includes a connection interface driver (for example, a USB driver) corresponding to the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 in the node. The program notifies the operating system to re-scan the connection interface (not shown) of the node to use the peripheral device connected to the daughter board 460 through the device management function. In addition, the embodiment also includes using a pull-up register (not shown) on the hub 450 to connect the second input pin (GPI 2) and the second output pin of the substrate management controller 462. (GPO 2) The signal is pulled up to 1.

By the above method, the server system 400 of the embodiment can realize that a plurality of nodes share one substrate management controller, and supports the hot plug function of the baseboard management controller, so that the node can be managed by the device management controller. The function uses the peripheral device to which the daughter board is connected, and provides the user with access to this node.

Fourth embodiment

The method of this embodiment is applied to the case where the device management function of the baseboard management controller 462 has been used by the node m, and the node m needs to be switched to the node n. FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method for sharing a substrate management controller according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the method of the present embodiment is applicable to the server system 400 of FIG. 4. The detailed steps of the method are described below using the various components of FIG. 4: First, received by the substrate management controller 462 on the daughter board 460. The user requests a request for node n (step S702). At this time, the substrate management controller 462 outputs a removal signal to the first input pin (GPI 1) of the node m currently connected to the substrate management controller 462 through the second output pin (GPO 2) (step S704).

At this time, the node m triggers a system interrupt to notify the operating system to perform the removal operation of the video interface driver (step S706), and after the removal is completed, returns through the first output pin (GPO 1). The second input pin (GPI 2) of the substrate management controller 462 is removed (step S708) to notify the substrate management controller 462 that the video interface driver has been removed.

In detail, FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method for removing a video interface driver according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8, in the embodiment, when the node m receives the removal signal, the controller of the node m uses the removal signal to update the general state of the node m (step S802). The controller is, for example, a wafer set on a substrate, and the removal signal is, for example, a general status pin that is transferred to the chip set, thereby updating the general state of the node m (eg, updated to 1).

Next, the controller triggers a system interrupt to start the interface driver under the operating system of node m (step S804). This interface driver is, for example, a driver of an advanced architecture power interface.

Then, the interface driver checks the general status and calls the first control method to notify the operating system to remove the video interface driver (step S806). The first control method is, for example, a notification program written by the AML code, and when the interface driver calls the notification program, a notification is sent to the operating system to request the operating system to remove the video interface driver.

After the operating system completes the removal of the video interface driver, the interface driver then calls the second control method to notify the controller to output the removal completion signal (step S808), so that the substrate management controller 462 can perform the installation according to the completion signal. Next step. The second control method is, for example, a notification program written by an AML code.

Returning to step S708 of FIG. 7, the substrate management controller 462 notifies the node m to remove the video interface driver, and further includes the switch 455 on the control hub 450 switching to the node n (step S710), and transmitting the second output. The pin (GPO 2) outputs an install signal to the first input pin (GPI 1) of the node to which the request command is requested to be switched (step S712).

After receiving the installation signal, the node automatically performs the installation operation of the video interface driver (step S714), and after the installation is completed, returns an installation completion signal to the substrate management controller through the first output pin (GPO 1). The second input pin (GPI 2) of 462 (step S716). After receiving the installation signal, the node, for example, triggers a system interrupt to notify the operating system to perform the installation operation of the video interface driver, and the detailed steps and the installation of the video interface driver in the third embodiment are performed. The actions are the same or similar, so they will not be described here.

Finally, when the substrate management controller 462 receives the installation completion signal output by the node n, the node n can use the peripheral device connected to the sub-board 460 through the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 (step S718).

It should be noted that, because the USB interface is a hot-swappable interface, after the node m returns the removal completion signal, the connection interface driver corresponding to the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 in the node m, for example, notifies The operating system of node m rescans the connection interface of node m to use the peripheral devices connected to daughter board 460 through the device management function. In addition, after the node n returns the installation completion signal, the connection interface driver corresponding to the device management function of the substrate management controller 462 in the node n also notifies the operation system of the node n to rescan the connection interface of the node n to pass through the device. The management function uses peripheral devices to which the daughter board 460 is connected. Furthermore, the embodiment also includes using a pull-up register (not shown) on the hub 450 to connect the second input pin (GPI 2) and the second output pin (GPO 2) of the substrate management controller 462. The signal is pulled up to 1.

By the above method, the server system 400 of the embodiment can realize that a plurality of nodes share one substrate management controller, and supports the hot plug function of the baseboard management controller, so that nodes can be freely switched to transmit and manage through the substrate. The device management function of the device uses peripheral devices connected to the daughter board, and provides the user to switch between nodes for operation at any time.

In summary, the server system and method of the shared baseboard management controller of the present invention achieves a control function of a keyboard, a video, a mouse (KVM) on all nodes by sharing a single baseboard management controller, and reduces the servo. The production cost of the system. In addition, by pre-notifying the node to install or remove the video interface driver before the node uses the device management function of the baseboard management controller, the flexibility of the user to switch the node for operation at any time can be provided.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100. . . Server system

110, 120, 130, 140. . . node

150, 450. . . Hub

120, 460. . . Daughter board

151, 152, 153, 154, 451, 452, 453, 454. . . Connection

155, 455. . . Switcher

156. . . Indicator light

160, 460. . . Daughter board

161, 461. . . Connection unit

162, 462. . . Baseboard management controller

163. . . Control line

410, 420, 430, 440. . . Substrate

411, 413. . . Chipset

412, 414. . . Signal generator

415. . . Shared connection埠

463. . . Switching unit

464, 465. . . Gate

466. . . Multiplexer

467. . . Dip switch

S302~S310. . . Method steps of the shared substrate management controller of the first embodiment of the present invention

S502~S512. . . Method step of sharing the substrate management controller of the third embodiment of the present invention

S602~S608. . . Step of installing the video interface driver of the third embodiment of the present invention

S702~S718. . . Method step of sharing a substrate management controller according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention

S802~S808. . . Step of removing the video interface driver of the fourth embodiment of the present invention

1 is a block diagram of a server system of a shared baseboard management controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram showing a general-purpose input/output pin configuration diagram of the server system 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flow chart of a method for sharing a substrate management controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a block diagram of a server system of a shared baseboard management controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for sharing a substrate management controller according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for installing a video interface driver according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method for sharing a substrate management controller according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method for removing a video interface driver according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

100. . . Server system

110, 120, 130, 140. . . node

150. . . Hub

151, 152, 153, 154. . . Connection

155. . . Switcher

160. . . Daughter board

161. . . Connection unit

162. . . Baseboard management controller

163. . . Control line

Claims (10)

A server system sharing a substrate management controller includes: a plurality of nodes, each of the nodes including a chip set and a signal generator, a plurality of first connection pins, a first input pin, and a first output pin. The first connection pins of each of the nodes are respectively disposed in the corresponding chip group and the signal generator; a hub has a plurality of ports and a switch, and the ports are respectively connected to the corresponding nodes. a first connection pin, the first input pin and the first output pin, the switch switches the connected port; and a daughter board comprising: at least one connection unit connecting at least one peripheral device; and a substrate management control The device has a plurality of second connecting pins corresponding to the first connecting pins, a second output pin corresponding to the first input pin, and a second input pin corresponding to the first output pin for connecting The switch and the at least one connecting unit receive a request instruction for one of the nodes, thereby controlling the switch switching port to request the request Causing the node to which the request is switched to be connected to the baseboard management controller, such that the node to which the request command is requested to be switched can use the peripheral devices through a device management function of the baseboard management controller, wherein the baseboard management control The device includes: outputting an installation signal through the second output pin to the first input pin of the node to be switched to notify the node to which the request command is requested to switch to install a video interface driver, and pass the second The input pin receives an installation completion signal of the video interface driver returned by the node that is requested to be switched by the first output pin. The server system of claim 1, wherein the substrate management controller further includes outputting a removal signal to the node through the second output pin before notifying the node to be switched to the video interface driver. The first input pin of the node is currently connected to notify the current connection node to remove the video interface driver, and the second input pin receives the video interface driver returned by the node through the first output pin. A removal signal is removed. The server system of claim 1, wherein the sub-board further comprises: a switching unit coupled to the baseboard management controller and a control pin of the switch, and the requested request is used according to the request The node and a usage state of the device management function of the baseboard management controller send a control signal to the control pin of the switch to control the switcher switch port. A method for sharing a baseboard management controller is applicable to a server system including a plurality of nodes, a hub, and a daughter board, the nodes being connected to a baseboard management controller on the daughter board through the hub, the method The method includes the following steps: the baseboard management controller receives a request command for one of the nodes; the baseboard management controller controls a switch on the hub to switch to the node to which the request command is requested to be switched; the substrate The management controller outputs an installation signal to a first input pin of the node requested by the request command through a second output pin; the node requested to be switched by the request command installs a video interface driver according to the installation signal a program, and after the installation is completed, transmitting a setup completion signal to a second input pin of the baseboard management controller through a first output pin; and the node requested to be switched by the request command passes through the baseboard management controller A device management function uses at least one peripheral device to which the daughter board is connected. The method for sharing a baseboard management controller according to claim 4, wherein the step that the requesting instruction requests the switch to install the video interface driver according to the installation signal comprises: the request instruction is switched to One of the nodes of the node updates the general state of the node by using the installation signal; the controller triggers a system interrupt to start an interface driver under one of the operating systems of the node to which the request command is requested to be switched; the interface The driver checks the general state, and calls a first control method to notify the operating system to install the video interface driver; and after the video interface driver is installed, the interface driver calls a second control method to notify The controller outputs the installation completion signal. The method of sharing a baseboard management controller according to claim 5, wherein after the baseboard management controller controls the switch on the hub to switch to the node to which the request command is requested to be switched, The method includes: a connection interface driver corresponding to the device management function of the baseboard management controller in the node notifying the operating system to rescan a connection interface of the node to use the device management function to connect using the slave board The at least one peripheral device. The method of sharing a baseboard management controller according to claim 5, wherein after the baseboard management controller controls the switch on the hub to switch to the node to which the request command is requested to be switched, The hub includes: the hub pulls up the second input pin and the second output pin of the baseboard management controller by using a pull-up register. The method of sharing a substrate management controller according to claim 5, wherein after the step of the substrate management controller receiving the request command for one of the nodes, the method further comprises: the substrate management controller transmitting The second output pin outputs a first input pin that removes the signal to the node currently connected to the baseboard management controller; and the node removes the video interface driver according to the removal signal, and after the removal is completed, A removal completion signal is transmitted through the first output pin to the second input pin of the substrate management controller. The method for sharing a baseboard management controller according to claim 8, wherein the step that the requesting instruction requests to switch to the node to remove the video interface driver according to the removal signal comprises: requesting the request instruction The one of the nodes to which the switch is switched uses the removal signal to update a general state of the node to which the request instruction is requested to be switched; the controller triggers a system interrupt to start the node to which the request instruction is requested to be switched An interface driver in an operating system; the interface driver checks the general state, and calls a first control method to notify the operating system to remove the video interface driver; and after the video interface driver is removed, A second control method is called by the interface driver to notify the controller to output the removal completion signal. The method of sharing a baseboard management controller according to claim 9, wherein after the baseboard management controller controls the switch on the hub to switch to the node to which the request command is requested to be switched, The method includes: a connection interface driver corresponding to the device management function of the baseboard management controller in the node notifying the operating system to rescan a connection interface of the node to release the at least one perimeter connected to the slave board Device.