TWI576694B - Hard disk drive operating status detection system - Google Patents

Description

Hard disk running status detection system

The present invention relates to the field of server systems, and more particularly to a hard disk operating state detecting system for remotely detecting an operating state of an HDD through a UART serial interface.

The server is an important foundation of the network architecture. Usually in a server, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is a recording device for storing messages. The server system can include a plurality of HDDs, each of which has three states: an active state, a hard disk presence state, or a hard disk loading failure state.

In all known server systems, the operating state of each HDD is displayed by using the associated signal output to illuminate its corresponding HDD LED lamp; the lighting color of the LED lamp is used to indicate the operating state of the HDD. For the normal state, the presence state of the hard disk, or the Fail state, it can effectively reflect the working status of the hard disk for the user to view. However, since the three operating states of the conventional HDD can only be identified in the field by looking at the lighting color of the LED light, it is impossible to detect the running state of each HDD at the far end.

Therefore, the design can remotely monitor the operating status of each HDD, so that the staff can instantly discover the faulty hard disk, improve the stability of the system and the timeliness of the faulty hard disk processing, and ensure the smooth operation of the system becomes an urgent solution. problem.

For the operating state of each HDD in the conventional server system, it can only be transmitted in the field. Viewing the lighting color of the LED light to identify the technical problem that the operating state of each HDD cannot be detected at the remote end. The object of the present invention is to provide a hard disk operating state detecting system, which uses the hard disk controller to collect the hard disk. The status signal is used, and the interface controller uses the GPIO communication protocol to communicate with the baseboard management controller to realize the remote monitoring of the operating state of each HDD, effectively improving the stability of the system and the timeliness of the faulty hard disk processing.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hard disk operating state detection system The system includes: a substrate management controller; at least one hard disk, each of the hard disks has a signal output interface, and the operating status signal of the at least one hard disk is transmitted to the corresponding signal indicator via the corresponding signal output interface. Controlling the corresponding signal indicator to display the operating state of the at least one hard disk; a hard disk controller electrically connecting the at least one hard disk via the corresponding signal output interface, for receiving the at least one through the parallel interface protocol An operating status signal of the hard disk, parsing the corresponding first hard disk status message, and performing protocol conversion, and transmitting the converted second hard disk status message through the serial interface communication protocol; an interface controller Electrically connecting the baseboard management controller and the hard disk controller, respectively, for performing a protocol conversion on the second hard disk status message transmitted from the hard disk controller, and converting the corresponding third hard The disc status message is transmitted to the baseboard management controller through the GPIO communication protocol, and the baseboard management controller acquires the third hard disk status message through the GPIO communication protocol. And transmitted via the network to the remote control terminal, the remote control terminal for remote monitoring the instant at least one operating state of the hard disk.

In an embodiment of the invention, the hard disk controller is a SATA controller, SAS One of the controller, SATA expansion card or SAS expansion card.

In an embodiment of the invention, the substrate management controller further includes a first temporary After the baseboard management controller acquires the third hard disk status message through the GPIO protocol, the third hard disk status message is temporarily stored in the first temporary register.

In an embodiment of the invention, the interface controller further includes a first SGPIO The hard disk controller includes: at least one set of GPIO interfaces, each of the GPIO interfaces is electrically connected to the hard disk through a signal output interface, and the operating state of the hard disk is received through the GPIO interface through the parallel interface protocol. The SGPIO unit is configured to parse the running status signal of the at least one hard disk, parse the corresponding first hard disk status message, and perform a protocol conversion to be converted into a serial interface communication protocol. The second hard disk status message, wherein the serial interface protocol is a SGPIO protocol; a second SGPIO interface is electrically connected to the first SGPIO interface of the interface controller to convert through the SGPIO protocol The subsequent second hard disk status message is transmitted to the interface controller.

In an embodiment of the invention, the hard disk controller further includes a second temporary storage The SGPIO unit is electrically connected to the SGPIO unit, and the SGPIO unit temporarily stores the converted second hard disk status message after parsing the corresponding first hard disk status message and converting the second hard disk status message. In the second register.

In an embodiment of the invention, the substrate management controller and the interface controller Through the complex array GPIO interface communication, each group of GPIO interfaces is used to transmit the third hard disk status message of the hard disk.

In an embodiment of the invention, the interface controller is a complex programmable logic Piece or programmable logic device.

An advantage of the present invention is that the hard disk operating state detecting system of the present invention is utilized, The operation status of the plurality of hard disks is detected in real time by a baseboard management controller, and can be transmitted to the remote control terminal via the network for remote viewing by the user. It enables the staff to find the faulty hard disk in an instant and effectively, improve the stability of the system and the timeliness of the faulty hard disk processing, and ensure the smooth operation of the system.

10, 20‧‧‧ Hard disk running status detection system

11, 21‧‧‧ hard disk

12, 22‧‧‧ Hard disk controller

13, 23‧‧‧ interface controller

14, 24‧‧‧ Baseboard Management Controller

15, 25‧‧‧GPIO Protocol

17, 27‧‧‧ Network

18, 28‧‧‧ remote control terminal

19, 29‧‧‧ signal indicator

111, 211‧‧‧ signal output interface

121, 221‧‧‧GPIO interface

122, 222‧‧‧SGPIO unit

123, 223‧‧‧Second SGPIO interface

131, 231‧‧‧ First SGPIO interface

132, 232‧‧‧GPIO interface

141, 241‧‧‧ GPIO interface

224‧‧‧Second register

242‧‧‧First register

1 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a hard disk operating state detecting system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the architecture of a hard disk operating state detecting system in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The hard disk operating state detecting system provided by the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram of a hard disk operating state detecting system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. In the present embodiment, the hard disk operating state detecting system 10 includes a hard disk drive (HDD). 11. A hard disk controller 12, an interface controller 13, and a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) 14.

The hard disk 11 has a signal output interface 111. The operating status signal of the hard disk 11 is transmitted to the corresponding external signal indicator 19 via the signal output interface 111 to control the signal. The indicator light 19 shows the operational state of the hard disk 11. The signal indicator 19 can be an LED light. The lighting color of the LED lamp is used to indicate that the operating state of the hard disk 11 is a normal running state, a hard disk present state, or a hard disk loading failure state (Fail) state for the user to view on site.

The hard disk controller 12 is electrically connected to the interface controller 13 and is electrically connected to the hard disk 11 through the signal output interface 111 for receiving the operating status signal of the hard disk 11 through the parallel interface protocol. Corresponding the first hard disk status message and performing the protocol conversion, and transmitting the converted corresponding second hard disk status message to the interface controller 13 through the serial interface communication protocol. The parallel interface protocol may be a GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) communication protocol, and the serial interface protocol may be a SGPIO (Serial General Purpose Input/Output) communication. The first hard disk status message is the hard disk 11 status message in the form of parallel data; the second hard disk status message is the hard disk 11 status message in the form of serial data. The hard disk controller 12 can be a SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) controller, a SAS (Serial Attached SCSI, Serial SCSI, Small Computer System Interface) controller. One of the SATA expansion cards or SAS expansion cards.

In detail, after receiving the running status signal of the hard disk 11 through the GPIO protocol, the hard disk controller 12 can parse the corresponding first hard disk status message through the internal SGPIO parsing: Active, Present, Fail. status. Since the hard disk controller 12 and the interface controller 13 can transmit information through a serial communication protocol, such as a SGPIO communication protocol; therefore, the hard disk controller 12 further parses the first hard disk status message (ie, Parallel data form The hard disk 11 status message is converted into a protocol, converted into a second hard disk status message (ie, the hard disk 11 status message in the form of serial data) that can be transmitted through the SGPIO protocol, and transmitted.

The interface controller 13 is electrically connected to the substrate management controller 14 and the The hard disk controller 12 is configured to perform a protocol conversion on the second hard disk status message transmitted from the hard disk controller 12 to be converted into a corresponding third hard disk status message, and the converted third corresponding message The hard disk status message is transmitted to the baseboard management controller 14 via the GPIO protocol 15. The third hard disk status message is the hard disk 11 status message in the form of parallel data that can be recognized by the baseboard management controller 14; the interface controller 13 is a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) or Programmable Integrated Circuit (PIC).

In detail, since the interface controller 13 and the substrate management controller 14 are transparent The parallel communication protocol, such as the GPIO protocol, is used for information transmission; therefore, the interface controller 13 receives the second hard disk status message through the SGPIO protocol, and then the second hard disk status message (ie, the serial data) The hard disk 11 status message in the form of a protocol conversion is converted into the third hard disk status message that can be transmitted through the GPIO protocol (ie, the status of the hard disk 11 that can be recognized by the baseboard management controller 14 in the form of parallel data. Message) and sent out. Therefore, the substrate management controller 14 can instantly acquire the operating state of the hard disk 11.

The baseboard management controller 14 obtains the third hard through the GPIO communication protocol 15. The disc status message is transmitted to the remote control terminal 18 via the network 17, and the remote control terminal 18 remotely monitors the operating status of the hard disk 11 in real time. In this embodiment, the interface controller 13 includes a set of GPIO interfaces 132. The baseboard management controller 14 includes a set of GPIO interfaces 141. The baseboard management controller 14 and the interface controller 13 can communicate with the GPIO interface 132. 141 uses GPIO communication protocol Set communication. A set of GPIO interfaces includes three GPIO interfaces for respectively transmitting three operating states of the hard disk 11: Active, Present, and Fail states. The network 17 can be a wired network or a wireless network.

In detail, the substrate management controller 14 receives through the GPIO protocol 15 After the third hard disk status message (ie, the hard disk 11 status message in the form of parallel data that can be recognized by the baseboard management controller 14), it is transmitted to the remote control terminal 18 via the network 17 immediately or in bulk. The remote control terminal 18 can remotely monitor the running status of the hard disk 11 according to the third hard disk status message: an active state, a hard disk presence state, or a hard disk loading failure. (Fail) status. The remote monitoring of the remote control terminal 18 allows the user to immediately and effectively discover the hard disk failure, improve the stability of the system, and the timeliness of the faulty hard disk processing.

In this embodiment, the interface controller 13 includes a first SGPIO interface. The hard disk controller 12 includes a set of GPIO interfaces 121, an SGPIO unit 122, and a second SGPIO interface 123. The first SGPIO interface 131 of the interface controller 13 communicates with the second SGPIO interface 123 of the hard disk controller 12 via a SGPIO protocol.

The set of GPIO interfaces 121 is electrically connected to the hard through the signal output interface 111. The disc 11 is configured to receive, by using the parallel interface protocol, an operation status signal of the hard disk 11 transmitted by the signal output interface 111. The parallel interface protocol can be a GPIO protocol; a set of GPIO interfaces includes three GPIO interfaces for receiving three operating states of the hard disk 11: Active, Present, and Fail states.

The SGPIO unit 122 is configured to solve the operating status signal of the hard disk 11 Parsing, parsing the corresponding first hard disk status message and performing protocol conversion, and converting the second hard disk status message that can be transmitted through the SGPIO communication protocol. That is, through the SGPIO unit 122, the operating status signal of the hard disk 11 received by the set of GPIO interfaces 121 can be parsed into a corresponding first hard disk status message (ie, the hard disk 11 status message in the form of parallel data), and then the first hard disk state is The message is converted into a protocol, converted into a second hard disk status message (ie, the hard disk 11 status message in the form of serial data) that can be transmitted through the SGPIO protocol and transmitted to the second SGPIO interface 123.

The second SGPIO interface 123 is electrically connected to the first interface of the interface controller 13 The SGPIO interface 131 transmits the converted second hard disk status message to the interface controller 13 through the SGPIO communication protocol. That is, the second SGPIO interface 123 communicates with the first SGPIO interface 131 of the interface controller 13 through the SGPIO protocol, and the second hard disk status message (ie, the hard disk 11 status message in the form of serial data) Transfer to the interface controller 13.

Referring to FIG. 2, a hard disk according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The architecture diagram of the operating state detection system includes a plurality of hard disks 21, a hard disk controller 22, an interface controller 23, and a substrate management controller 24 in this embodiment. This embodiment is described by taking two hard disks 21 as an example. In other embodiments, two or more hard disks 21 may be included. For the hard disk operating state detection and monitoring mode, refer to this embodiment.

Each of the plurality of hard disks 21 has a signal output interface 211, and the operating status signal of each hard disk 21 is transmitted to the corresponding external signal indicator 29 via its corresponding signal output interface 211 to control the The signal indicator 29 displays the operational status of the corresponding hard disk 21. Each of the hard disks 21 corresponds to a set of signal indicators 29, and the signal indicator lights 29 can be LED lights. The lighting color of the LED lamp is used to indicate that the operating state of the hard disk 21 is an active state, a hard disk presence state, or a hard disk loading failure state (Fail) state for the user to view on site.

The hard disk controller 22 is electrically connected to the interface controller 23 and transmits the corresponding The signal output interface 211 is electrically connected to the plurality of hard disks 21 for receiving the operating status signals of the plurality of hard disks 21 through the parallel interface protocol, parsing the corresponding first hard disk status message, and performing communication protocol conversion. And converting the corresponding second hard disk status message to the interface controller 23 through the serial interface protocol. The parallel interface protocol may be a GPIO protocol, and the serial interface protocol may be a SGPIO protocol; the first hard disk status message is the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of parallel data; the second hard disk status The message is the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of serial data. The hard disk controller 22 can be one of a SATA controller, a SAS controller, a SATA expansion card, or a SAS expansion card.

In detail, the hard disk controller 22 receives the complex through the GPIO protocol. After the running status signals of several hard disks 21, the corresponding first hard disk status message can be parsed through the internal SGPIO parsing: Active, Present, Fail status. Since the hard disk controller 22 and the interface controller 23 can perform information transmission through a serial communication protocol, such as a SGPIO communication protocol, the hard disk controller 22 further parses the first hard disk status message (ie, juxtaposed) The plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of data are converted into a protocol, converted into a second hard disk status message (ie, the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of serial data) transmitted through the SGPIO protocol, and Outgoing. Moreover, a plurality of hard disks can be connected through the hard disk controller 22, and even hundreds of hard disks can be connected after being expanded by an expander (Expander). Therefore, by using the hard disk running state detecting system of the present invention, the operating state of the plurality of hard disks can be detected by one substrate management controller, thereby saving the cost of setting the substrate management controller.

The interface controller 23 is electrically connected to the substrate management controller 24 and the The hard disk controller 22 is configured to perform a protocol conversion on the second hard disk status message transmitted from the hard disk controller 22 to convert the corresponding third hard disk status message, and convert the corresponding first The three hard disk status messages are transmitted to the baseboard management controller 24 via the GPIO protocol 25. The third hard disk status message is the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of parallel data that can be recognized by the baseboard management controller 24; the interface controller 23 is a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) ) or Programmable Integrated Circuit (PIC).

In detail, since the interface controller 23 and the substrate management controller 24 are transparent The parallel communication protocol, such as the GPIO protocol, is used for information transmission; therefore, the interface controller 23 receives the second hard disk status message from the hard disk controller 22 through the SGPIO protocol (ie, the plural in the form of serial data) After the hard disk 21 status message is), the second hard disk status message is converted into a protocol, and converted into the third hard disk status message that can be transmitted through the GPIO communication protocol (ie, the substrate management controller in the form of parallel data) 24 identifies the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages) and transmits them. Therefore, the substrate management controller 24 can instantly acquire the operating states of the plurality of hard disks 21.

The baseboard management controller 24 obtains the third hard through the GPIO communication protocol 25. The disc status message is transmitted to the remote control terminal 28 via the network 27, and the remote control terminal 28 remotely monitors the operating status of each hard disk 21 in real time. In this embodiment, the interface controller 23 includes a complex array GPIO interface 232. The substrate management controller 24 includes a complex array GPIO interface 241. The substrate management controller 24 and the interface controller 23 can communicate with each other through the GPIO interface 232. 241 uses the GPIO protocol to communicate. A set of GPIO interfaces includes three GPIO interfaces for transmitting one of the three states of the hard disk 21: Active, Present, and Fail states. The network 27 can be a wired network or Wireless network.

In detail, the substrate management controller 24 receives through the GPIO protocol 25 The third hard disk status message (ie, the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of parallel data that can be recognized by the baseboard management controller 24) is transmitted to the remote control terminal 28 via the network 27, either immediately or in bulk. The remote control terminal 28 can remotely monitor the running status of each hard disk 21 according to the third hard disk status message: an active state, a hard disk presence state, or a hard disk loading failure. (Fail) status. The remote monitoring of the remote control terminal 28 allows the user to immediately and effectively discover the hard disk failure, improve the stability of the system, and the timeliness of the faulty hard disk processing.

In this embodiment, the interface controller 23 includes a first SGPIO interface. The hard disk controller 22 includes a complex array GPIO interface 221, an SGPIO unit 222, and a second SGPIO interface 223. The first SGPIO interface 231 of the interface controller 23 communicates with the second SGPIO interface 223 of the hard disk controller 22 via the SGPIO protocol.

In the complex array GPIO interface 221, each group of GPIO interfaces 221 transmits a message. The output interface 211 is electrically connected to the hard disk 21 for receiving the operating status signal of the hard disk 21 transmitted by the signal output interface 211 through the parallel interface protocol. The parallel interface protocol can be a GPIO protocol; a set of GPIO interfaces includes three GPIO interfaces for receiving one of the three states of the hard disk 21: Active, Present, and Fail states.

The SGPIO unit 221 is configured to operate on the plurality of hard disks 21 Parsing, parsing the corresponding first hard disk status message and performing protocol conversion, and converting the second hard disk status message that can be transmitted through the SGPIO communication protocol. That is, the SGPIO unit 221 can parse the operating status signals of the plurality of hard disks 21 received by the complex array GPIO interface 221 into corresponding first hard disk status messages (ie, the plurality of hard words in the form of parallel data). The disc 21 status message), in turn, performs a protocol conversion on the first hard disk status message, and converts into a second hard disk status message (ie, the plurality of hard disk 21 status messages in the form of serial data) that can be transmitted through the SGPIO protocol. And transmitted to the second SGPIO interface 223.

The second SGPIO interface 223 is electrically connected to the first interface of the interface controller 23 The SGPIO interface 231 transmits the converted second hard disk status message to the interface controller 23 via the SGPIO protocol. That is, the second SGPIO interface 223 communicates with the first SGPIO interface 231 of the interface controller 23 through the SGPIO protocol, and the second hard disk status message (ie, the plurality of hard disks 21 in the form of serial data) The status message is transmitted to the interface controller 23.

In other embodiments, the hard disk operating state detection system 20 of FIG. 2 The substrate management controller 24 is further provided with a first register 242 (represented by a dashed line as an optional component). After the baseboard management controller 24 obtains the third hard disk status message through the GPIO communication protocol 25, the third hard disk status message is temporarily stored in the first temporary register 242. When the baseboard management controller 24 determines that the third hard disk status message to be transmitted is a status message of a plurality of hard disks (such as the two hard disks 21 shown in FIG. 2), the baseboard management controller 24 receives the message. All the third hard disk status messages are stored in the first temporary storage unit 242, and after the third hard disk status message of the first hard disk 21 is transmitted, the first temporary storage unit 242 is directly taken out. The third hard disk status message of a hard disk 21 is transmitted to the remote control terminal 28 via the network 27, and the above process is repeated until all of the third hard disk status messages have been transmitted.

In other embodiments, the hard disk operating state detection system 20 of FIG. 2 The hard disk controller 22 is further provided with a second register 224 (represented by a dashed line as an optional component). The second register 224 is electrically connected to the SGPIO unit 222. After the SGPIO unit 222 parses the corresponding first hard disk status message and converts the second hard disk status message, the converted first The second hard disk status message is temporarily stored in the second temporary register 224. When the hard disk controller 22 determines that the second hard disk status message to be transmitted is a status message of a plurality of hard disks (such as the two hard disks 21 shown in FIG. 2), the hard disk controller 22 will After the second hard disk status message of the first hard disk 21 is transmitted, the second hard disk status message of the next hard disk 21 is directly taken out from the second temporary memory 224 to be transmitted to the interface controller 23, and Repeat the above process until all the second hard disk status messages have been transmitted.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it should be noted that those skilled in the art can also make several improvements and refinements without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and retouchings should also be considered as The scope of protection of the present invention.

10‧‧‧ Hard disk running status detection system

11‧‧‧ Hard disk

12‧‧‧ Hard Disk Controller

13‧‧‧Interface controller

14‧‧‧Base Management Controller

15‧‧‧GPIO Protocol

17‧‧‧Network

18‧‧‧ Remote Control Terminal

19‧‧‧Signal indicator light

111‧‧‧Signal output interface

121‧‧‧GPIO interface

122‧‧‧SGPIO unit

123‧‧‧Second SGPIO interface

131‧‧‧First SGPIO interface

132‧‧‧GPIO interface

141‧‧‧GPIO interface

Claims (7)

A hard disk operating state detecting system includes: a substrate management controller; at least one hard disk, each of the hard disks has a signal output interface, and the operating state signal of the at least one hard disk is transmitted to the corresponding signal output interface to the Corresponding signal indicator to control the corresponding signal indicator to display the operating state of the at least one hard disk; a hard disk controller electrically connecting the at least one hard disk via the corresponding signal output interface for juxtaposition The interface communication protocol receives the operation status signal of the at least one hard disk, parses the corresponding first hard disk status message, and performs a protocol conversion, and transmits the converted corresponding second hard disk status message to the serial interface communication protocol. An interface controller electrically connected between the baseboard management controller and the hard disk controller for performing a protocol conversion on the second hard disk status message transmitted from the hard disk controller The converted third hard disk status message is transmitted to the baseboard management controller through the GPIO communication protocol, and the baseboard management controller transmits the GPIO communication protocol. Drive obtain the third status message, and transmitted via the network to the remote control terminal, the remote control terminal for remote monitoring the instant at least one operating state of the hard disk. The hard disk operating state detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the hard disk controller is one of a SATA controller, a SAS controller, a SATA expansion card, or a SAS expansion card. The hard disk operating state detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the baseboard management controller further includes a first register, when the baseboard management controller transmits the GPIO communication protocol. After the third hard disk status message is obtained, the third hard disk status message is temporarily stored in the first temporary register. The hard disk operating state detecting system of claim 1, wherein the interface controller further comprises a first SGPIO interface; the hard disk controller comprises: at least one set of GPIO interfaces, each set of GPIO interfaces passing through a The signal output interface is electrically connected to the hard disk to receive the operating status signal of the hard disk through the GPIO interface through the parallel interface protocol; an SGPIO unit is configured to parse and analyze the running status signal of the at least one hard disk Corresponding the first hard disk status message, and performing a protocol conversion to convert the second hard disk status message that can be transmitted through the serial interface protocol, wherein the serial interface protocol is a SGPIO communication protocol; The second SGPIO interface is electrically connected to the first SGPIO interface of the interface controller to transmit the converted second hard disk status message to the interface controller through the SGPIO protocol. The hard disk operating state detecting system of claim 4, wherein the hard disk controller further includes a second temporary register electrically connected to the SGPIO unit, and the SGPIO unit parses the corresponding first After the hard disk status message is converted into the second hard disk status message, the converted second hard disk status message is temporarily stored in the second temporary register. The hard disk operating state detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the substrate management controller communicates with the interface controller through a complex array GPIO interface, and each group of GPIO interfaces is configured to transmit the hard disk. Three hard drive status messages. The hard disk operating state detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the interface controller is a complex programmable logic device or a programmable logic device.