BLADE CENTER KVM DISTRIBUTION

• US 20090260047A1
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Nieves, Johnny, Buckler, Gerhard N., Kern, Eric R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,839,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 725/116
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/14 Multichannel or multilink protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols

Abstract

A system and method for providing redundant video signals from a server blade in a blade center. A blade center is described that includes a capture system for capturing a video stream off a PCI-x bus in a server blade and delivering the pair of video streams to a midplane in the blade center; and a switch module that inputs the pair of video streams and generates an unroutable video signal and a routable video signal.

Claims

1. A system for providing redundant video signals from a server blade in a blade center, comprising:

a capture system for capturing a video signal from a video chipset in the server blade, wherein the capture system duplicates and encapsulates the video signal into a pair of video streams and transmits the pair of video streams to a midplane in the blade center; and

a switch module that decapsulates the pair of video streams and generates an unroutable video signal and a routable video signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the capture system comprises a daughter card the reads the video signal off a PCI-x bus.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the unroutable video signal is generated by adding the pair of video streams and processing a resulting stream with a local interface.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the routable video signal is generated by passing the pair of video streams through a pair of compressors, combining a result using a lossy compressor, and packetizing a resulting stream using a TCP/IP packetization system.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the video signal is generated from a KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) application.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the unroutable video signal and routable video signal are decodable at a blade client.

7. A blade center having a plurality of server blades, each capable of running a KVM (keyboard video mouse) application for a blade client, comprising:

a plurality of daughter cards each coupled to an associated server blade that reads a video signal off a bus in the server blade and diverts the video signal to a midplane; and

a switch module that reads the video signal from the midplane and generates a first video signal using a first communication protocol and a second video signal using a second communication protocol.

8. The blade center of claim 7, wherein the first communication protocol comprises TCP/IP.

9. The blade center of claim 8, wherein the second communication protocol comprises a point-to-point protocol.

10. The blade center of claim 7, wherein video signal is generated by a hardware chipset on the server blade.

11. A method of providing redundant video signals from a server blade in a blade center, comprising:

reading a video signal off a bus generated by a hardware chipset in the server blade;

duplicating and encapsulating the video signal into a pair of video streams;

delivering the pair of video streams to a switch module via a midplane in the blade center;

decapsulating the pair of video streams; and

generating an unroutable video signal and a routable video signal.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein reading the video signal off the bus utilizes a daughter card the reads the video signal off a PCI-x bus.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the unroutable video signal is generated by adding the pair of video streams and processing a resulting stream with a local interface.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the routable video signal is generated by passing the pair of video streams through a pair of compressors, combining a result using a lossy compressor, and packetizing a resulting stream using a TCP/IP packetization system.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the video signal is controlled by a KVM (keyboard video, mouse) application.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the unroutable video signal and routable video signal are decodable at a blade client.