Tracking The Physical Location Of A Server In A Data Center

• US 20090024764A1
• Filed: 07/18/2007
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte., Ltd. (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Atherton, Willliam E., Piazza, William J., Harper, Richard E.
• Application Number:
  US11/779,627
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024764A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/250
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5038 for local use, e.g. in LAN or USB networks, or in a controller area network [CAN]

Abstract

Tracking the physical location of a server in a data center including detecting, through a one-wire link between a connector in a cabinet slot and a management module, insertion of the server into a cabinet slot, the server connected upon insertion to a one-wire link through a connector in the cabinet slot and determining, in dependence upon the one-wire link'"'"'s multiplexer address code, a physical location of the server. The data center includes a plurality of cabinet slots, each cabinet slot having a connector, the data center also includes a presence-detection network, the presence-detection network comprising one-wire links among the cabinet slots and the management module, the one-wire links coupled between the connectors and the management module and multiplexed into the management module according to multiplexer address codes, each one-wire link associated with a separate multiplexer address code, each multiplexer address code associated with a separate physical location.

Claims

1. A method of tracking the physical location of a server in a data center, the data center comprising a management module, the data center further comprising a plurality of cabinet slots, each cabinet slot having a connector, the data center further comprising a presence-detection network, the presence-detection network comprising one-wire links among the cabinet slots and the management module, the one-wire links coupled between the connectors in the cabinet slots and the management module and multiplexed into the management module according to multiplexer address codes, each one-wire link associated with a separate multiplexer address code, each multiplexer address code associated with a separate physical location in the data center, the method comprising:

detecting, by the management module through a one-wire link between a connector in a cabinet slot and the management module, insertion of the server into the cabinet slot, the server connected upon insertion to the one-wire link through the connector in the cabinet slot; and

determining, by the management module in dependence upon the one-wire link'"'"'s multiplexer address code, a physical location of the server.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting insertion of the server into the cabinet slot further comprises:

periodically scanning each multiplexer address code to determine server presence in the physical location associated with the multiplexer address code;

maintaining for the physical location a record of server presence; and

if the scan indicates server presence in the physical location and the record indicates no server presence in the physical location;

determining that the server has been inserted into the physical location at a time after a previous scan; and

updating the record of server presence to indicate server presence in the physical location.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising retrieving, by the management module from the server, an identity of the server through direct out-of-band communications between the server and the management module.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein retrieving an identity of the server further comprises retrieving from the server a Media Access Control (‘

MAC’

) address, a model number, and a serial number.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting, by the management module through the one-wire link between the connector in the cabinet slot and the management module, removal of the server from the cabinet slot including:

periodically scanning each multiplexer address code to determine server presence in the physical location associated with the multiplexer address code;

maintaining, for the physical location, a record of server presence; and

if the record indicates server presence in the physical location and the scan indicates no server presence in the physical location;

determining that the server has been removed from the physical location at a time after a previous scan; and

updating the record of server presence to indicate no server presence in the physical location.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting, by the management module to the server, the physical location of the server.

7. Apparatus for tracking the physical location of a server in a data center, the data center comprising a management module, the data center further comprising a plurality of cabinet slots, each cabinet slot having a connector, the data center further comprising a presence-detection network, the presence-detection network comprising one-wire links among the cabinet slots and the management module, the one-wire links coupled between the connectors in the cabinet slots and the management module and multiplexed into the management module according to multiplexer address codes, each one-wire link associated with a separate multiplexer address code, each multiplexer address code associated with a separate physical location in the data center, the apparatus comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of:

detecting, by the management module through a one-wire link between a connector in a cabinet slot and the management module, insertion of the server into the cabinet slot, the server connected upon insertion to the one-wire link through the connector in the cabinet slot; and

determining, by the management module in dependence upon the one-wire link'"'"'s multiplexer address code, a physical location of the server.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein detecting insertion of the server into the cabinet slot further comprises:

periodically scanning each multiplexer address code to determine server presence in the physical location associated with the multiplexer address code;

maintaining for the physical location a record of server presence; and

if the scan indicates server presence in the physical location and the record

indicates no server presence in the physical location;

determining that the server has been inserted into the physical location at a time after a previous scan; and

updating the record of server presence to indicate server presence in the physical location.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions capable of retrieving, by the management module from the server, an identity of the server through direct out-of-band communications between the server and the management module.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein retrieving an identity of the server further comprises retrieving from the server a Media Access Control (‘

MAC’

) address, a model number, and a serial number.

11. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions capable of detecting, by the management module through the one-wire link between the connector in the cabinet slot and the management module, removal of the server from the cabinet slot including:

periodically scanning each multiplexer address code to determine server presence in the physical location associated with the multiplexer address code;

maintaining, for the physical location, a record of server presence; and

if the record indicates server presence in the physical location and the scan indicates no server presence in the physical location;

determining that the server has been removed from the physical location at a time after a previous scan; and

updating the record of server presence to indicate no server presence in the physical location.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising computer program instructions capable of transmitting, by the management module to the server, the physical location of the server.

13. A computer program product for tracking the physical location of a server in a data center, the data center comprising a management module, the data center further comprising a plurality of cabinet slots, each cabinet slot having a connector, the data center further comprising a presence-detection network, the presence-detection network comprising one-wire links among the cabinet slots and the management module, the one-wire links coupled between the connectors in the cabinet slots and the management module and multiplexed into the management module according to multiplexer address codes, each one-wire link associated with a separate multiplexer address code, each multiplexer address code associated with a separate physical location in the data center, the computer program product disposed in a computer readable, signal bearing medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable of:

detecting, by the management module through a one-wire link between a connector in a cabinet slot and the management module, insertion of the server into the cabinet slot, the server connected upon insertion to the one-wire link through the connector in the cabinet slot; and

determining, by the management module in dependence upon the one-wire link'"'"'s multiplexer address code, a physical location of the server.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the signal bearing medium comprises a recordable medium.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein the signal bearing medium comprises a transmission medium.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 wherein detecting insertion of the server into the cabinet slot further comprises:

periodically scanning each multiplexer address code to determine server presence in the physical location associated with the multiplexer address code;

maintaining for the physical location a record of server presence; and

if the scan indicates server presence in the physical location and the record indicates no server presence in the physical location;

determining that the server has been inserted into the physical location at a time after a previous scan; and

updating the record of server presence to indicate server presence in the physical location.

17. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising computer program instructions capable of retrieving, by the management module from the server, an identity of the server through direct out-of-band communications between the server and the management module.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 wherein retrieving an identity of the server further comprises retrieving from the server a Media Access Control (‘

MAC’

) address, a model number, and a serial number.

19. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising computer program instructions capable of detecting, by the management module through the one-wire link between the connector in the cabinet slot and the management module, removal of the server from the cabinet slot including:

periodically scanning each multiplexer address code to determine server presence in the physical location associated with the multiplexer address code;

maintaining, for the physical location, a record of server presence; and

if the record indicates server presence in the physical location and the scan indicates no server presence in the physical location;

determining that the server has been removed from the physical location at a time after a previous scan; and

updating the record of server presence to indicate no server presence in the physical location.

20. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising computer program instructions capable of transmitting, by the management module to the server, the physical location of the server.