Hot-plugging nodes in a modular system having redundant power supplies

• US 7,127,542 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2002
• Issued: 10/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Parameswaran, Santha Kumar
• Primary Examiner(s): Rinehart, Mark H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DALEY, CHRISTOPHER ANTHONY
• Application Number:
  US10/286,295
• Publication Number:
  US 20040088464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,452 Days
• Field of Search: 710/300, 710/302, 713/300
• US Class Current: 710/302
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/189 Power distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4081 Live connection to bus, e.g. hot-plugging current or voltage limitation during live insertion H02H9/004

Abstract

Substantial reduction or total elimination of switching transients (glitches) in an information handling system caused by inserting and/or removing hot-pluggable nodes having large power requirements is achieved with a plurality of power supplies having spare power capacity and being configurable into a main power source and an isolated power source. When insertion of a new hot-pluggable node is detected, this newly inserted node is powered from the isolated power source that is not coupled to the other existing operational nodes. When power to the new hot-pluggable node has stabilized and no longer has any detectable transients thereon, the new node is coupled to the main power source which powers the existing nodes of the information handling system. The isolated power source may thereafter be coupled to the main power source for added power supply redundancy. The new node may be detected and made part of or removed from the information handling system without being coupled to the main power source. When an operating node to be removed is detected, all processes to that node are stopped, and the node to be removed is coupled to the isolated power source. After removal of the node, the isolated power source may thereafter be coupled to the main power source for added power supply redundancy.

Claims

1. An information handling system, comprising:

a plurality of power supplies;

at least one hot-pluggable node;

a plurality of power switches for coupling the plurality of power supplies to the at least one hot-pluggable node; and

control logic for controlling the plurality of power switches and detecting the at least one hot-pluggable node, wherein

when a one of the at least one hot-pluggable node is detected by the control logic,

at least one of the plurality of power supplies is isolated from other ones of the plurality of power supplies, and

the isolated at least one of the plurality of power supplies is coupled to the detected one of the at least one hot-pluggable node,

whereby when power to the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node has stabilized, the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node is coupled to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies.

2. The information handling system according to claim 1, wherein the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies is coupled back to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies when the power to the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node has stabilized.

3. The information handling system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of power supplies are coupled to a main power bus and the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies is coupled to an isolated power bus, whereby the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node is coupled to the isolated power bus when detected and then coupled to the main power bus when the power thereto has stabilized.

4. The information handling system according to claim 3, wherein when voltage of the main power bus and voltage of the isolated power bus are substantially the same, the control logic couples the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node from the isolated power bus to the main power bus.

5. The information handling system according to claim 4, wherein the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies is coupled to the main power bus after the at least one hot-pluggable node is coupled to the main power bus.

6. The information handling system according to claim 3, wherein the control logic couples the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node from the isolated power bus to the main power bus when there are substantially no transient voltages detected on the isolated power bus.

7. The information handling system according to claim 6, wherein the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies is coupled to the main power bus after the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node is coupled to the main power bus.

8. The information handling system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of power switches comprise a plurality of power transistors.

9. The information handling system according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of power transistors are bipolar transistors.

10. The information handling system according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of power transistors are field effect transistors.

11. The information handling system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of power switches are make-before-break.

12. The information handling system according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage reference for establishing a desired voltage for each of the plurality of power supplies.

13. The information handling system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one hot-pluggable node is selected from the group consisting of a processor, a memory, a disk controller, network interface controllers, input-output interface, a disk storage array, a plurality of central processing units, and cache memory.

14. An information handling system, comprising:

a plurality of power supplies;

at least one operating hot-pluggable node;

a plurality of power switches for coupling the plurality of power supplies to the at least one operating hot-pluggable node; and

control logic for controlling the plurality of power switches and detecting removal of the at least one operating hot-pluggable node, wherein

when a one of the at least one operating hot-pluggable node is to be removed,

all processes running in the at least one operating hot-pluggable node to be removed are stopped,

at least one of the plurality of power supplies is isolated from other ones of the plurality of power supplies, and

the isolated at least one of the plurality of power supplies is coupled to the one of the at least one hot-pluggable node to be removed.

15. The information handling system according to claim 14, further comprising the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies being coupled to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies after the at least one hot-pluggable node is removed.

16. The information handling system according to claim 14, further comprising the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies being coupled to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies after the at least one hot-pluggable node is removed and there are substantially no transient voltages detected on the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies.

17. A method of adding a hot-pluggable node into an information handling system without disturbing existing operational nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of power supplies;

adding a hot-pluggable node into an information handling system;

detecting the added hot-pluggable node;

isolating a one of the plurality of power supplies from other ones of the plurality of power supplies;

coupling the added hot-pluggable node to the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies;

determining when power to the added hot-pluggable node has stabilized; and

coupling the added hot-pluggable node to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies after the power has stabilized.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of coupling the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies back to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies after the power has stabilized.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the steps of isolating and coupling are performed with make-before-break power switches.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the step of determining when power to the added hot-pluggable node has stabilized comprises the step of comparing a voltage of the isolated one of the plurality of powers supplies with a voltage of the other ones of the plurality of power supplies.

21. A method of removing a hot-pluggable node in an information handling system without disturbing existing operational nodes, said method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of power supplies;

detecting when a one of at least one operating hot-pluggable node is to be removed;

stopping all processes running in the detected one to be removed of the at least one operating hot-pluggable node;

isolating a one of the plurality of power supplies from other ones of the plurality of power supplies; and

coupling the detected one to be removed of the at least one operating hot-pluggable node to the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies.

22. The method according to claim 21, further comprising the steps of:

determining when power has stabilized from the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies after the one of the at least one operating hot-pluggable node has been removed; and

coupling the isolated one of the plurality of power supplies back to the other ones of the plurality of power supplies after determining that the power has stabilized.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein the steps of isolating and coupling are performed with make-before-break power switches.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the step of determining when power has stabilized comprises the step of comparing a voltage of the isolated one of the plurality of powers supplies with a voltage of the other ones of the plurality of powers supplies.