LOW POWER, HIGH DENSITY SERVER AND PORTABLE DEVICE FOR USE WITH SAME

• US 20130308265A1
• Filed: 04/09/2013
• Published: 11/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arnouse Digital Devices Corporation
• Original Assignee: Arnouse Digital Devices Corporation
• Inventors: Arnouse, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,854,831 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 361/679.41
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1488 Cabinets therefor, e.g. chassis or racks or mechanical interfaces between blades and support structures
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20709 for server racks or cabinets; for data centers, e.g. 19-inch computer racks

Abstract

A high density server including a plurality of portable devices is disclosed. The portable devices may be arranged in drawers, which may be assembled into shelves for mounting within the high density server. The server rack of the high density server has a substantially open bottom and open top to permit passive airflow in and around the portable devices housed therein. Because of the configuration of the portable devices within the server, the computing power density is increased over a traditional server. Also, the design of the portable devices and their placement within the high density server minimizes the need for active cooling and in some embodiments removes the need for active cooling mechanisms altogether. The portable devices are encased in a protective coating that facilitates heat dissipation away from the portable device. The portable devices include components found in traditional servers.

Claims

1. A high density server module comprising:

a server rack having a plurality of shelf openings;

a plurality of shelves each slidably engaged with a corresponding one of said plurality of shelf openings; and

a plurality of portable devices, wherein multiple ones of said plurality of portable devises are removably disposed within each of said plurality of shelves,

wherein said plurality of portable devices and said plurality of shelves, when installed in said server rack, form a stacked open architecture that is designed and configured to allow for air flow in and around said plurality of portable devices, and

wherein said stacked open architecture lacks a horizontal wall within said server rack that substantially impedes airflow between the bottom and the top of said server rack.

2. A high density server according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of drawers slidably engaged with ones of said plurality of shelves and configured to accept at least one of said plurality of portable devices.

3. A high density server according to claim 2, wherein said plurality of drawers include a backplane, said backplane having a plurality of slots for receiving ones of said plurality of portable devices.

4. A high density server according to claim 3, wherein each of said plurality of shelves includes a motherboard and wherein said backplane is a multilayered data and power transmission device that provides for data transmission to and from individual ones of said plurality of portable devices and to and from said motherboard.

5. A high density server according to claim 3, wherein each of said plurality of drawers is operated independently of other ones of said plurality of drawers.

6. A high density server according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices include:

at least one printed circuit board having at least one integrated circuit; and

a coating substantially covering said at least one integrated circuit.

7. A high density server according to claim 6, wherein said coating is a single coating that is designed and configured to inhibit tampering with, dissipate heat from, and waterproof said at least one integrated circuit.

8. A high density server according to claim 7, wherein said single coating may be selected from the group consisting of silicone, epoxy, acrylic, urethane, and paraxylene.

9. A high density server according to claim 1, where each of said plurality of portable devices includes a storage component that is a solid-state drive.

10. A high density server according to claim 1, wherein the high density server does not include an air movement device within said server rack.

11. A high density server according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices is about 4 mm in height, about 83 mm in length, and about 52 mm in width.

12. A high density server according to claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices is a dedicated server, and wherein more than about 50 of said plurality of portable devices are removably coupleable to each of said plurality of drawers.

13. A high density server according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices is a dedicated server, and wherein more than about 250 of said plurality of portable devices are disposed on each of said plurality of shelves.

14. A high density server according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices is a dedicated server, and wherein up to about 6000 of said plurality of portable devices is included within said server rack.

15. A portable, high density server shelf for a server rack comprising:

a housing;

a motherboard disposed at least partially along a side of said housing;

a plurality of drawer openings defined within said housing; and

a plurality of drawers each having a backplane and being designed and configured to slidably engage within a corresponding respective one of said plurality of drawer openings,

wherein said backplane is removably coupleable with said motherboard,

wherein said backplane is designed and configured to receive a plurality of portable devices, and

wherein the portable, high density server shelf is removable from the server rack.

16. A portable, high density server shelf according to claim 15, wherein said housing is a rectangular parallelepiped having one open side corresponding to said plurality of drawer openings.

17. A portable, high density server shelf according to claim 16, wherein said motherboard is a side of said housing.

18. A portable, high density server shelf according to claim 15, wherein said housing includes an air movement device so as to move air within said housing.

19. A portable, high density server shelf according to claim 18, wherein said housing is designed and configured to be received within an industry standard server rack.

20. A portable, high density server shelf according to claim 19, wherein said housing has a maximum height of 2 U.

21. A portable, high density server shelf according to claim 20, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices is a dedicated server, and wherein up to about 250 of said plurality of portable devices are disposed within the portable, high density server shelf.

22. A high density server configured to be installed in an industry standard server rack, the high density server comprising:

a plurality of portable devices each without a housing and each configured to be;

removably installed within the industry standard server rack, and

disposed within the industry standard server rack so as to permit substantially unimpeded vertical airflow across said plurality of portable devices within the industry standard server rack, and

wherein said plurality of portable devices are arranged within the industry standard server rack so as to use at least 50% less space than a traditional server of similar computing power when installed in the industry standard server rack.

23. A high density server according to claim 22, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices is a dedicated server, and wherein more than about 6000 of said plurality of portable devices is included within the industry standard server rack.

24. A high density server according to claim 22, further comprising a plurality of drawers and wherein each of said plurality of portable devices are removably coupled to a corresponding respective one of said plurality of drawers.

25. A high density server according to claim 22, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices include:

at least one printed circuit board having at least one integrated circuit; and

a single coating substantially covering said at least one integrated circuit.

26. A high density, expansible server configured to be installed within an industry standard server rack unit, the expansible server comprising:

a drawer including a backplane with a plurality of receiving slots, said drawer being sized and configured to be removably coupleable within the industry standard server rack and having a height of less than about 2 U; and

a plurality of portable devices each having a connection portion configured to electronically couple to a corresponding respective one of said plurality of receiving slots, and wherein said backplane is configured to provide power to each of said plurality of portable devices and to provide a communications link for each of said plurality of portable devices.

27. A high density, expansible server according to claim 26, further comprising a shelf that accepts one or more of said drawers, wherein said shelf is sized and configured to be removably coupled to the industry server rack.

28. A high density, expansible server according to claim 27, wherein said shelf includes a motherboard with a receiving port for electronically coupling to said drawer.

29. A high density, expansible server according to claim 26, wherein each of said plurality of portable devices include:

at least one printed circuit board having at least one integrated circuit; and

a single coating substantially covering said at least one integrated circuit.

30. A high density, expansible server according to claim 29, wherein said single coating is designed and configured to inhibit tampering with, dissipate heat from, and waterproof said at least one integrated circuit.