System and method for using a shared bus for video communications

• US 7,398,293 B2
• Filed: 04/17/2002
• Issued: 07/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Masuyama, Jinsaku, Kolb, Michael W., Ramsey, Scott M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jaroenchonwanit; Bunjob
• Assistant Examiner(s): DOAN, DUYEN MY
• Application Number:
  US10/124,400
• Publication Number:
  US 20030200345A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,274 Days
• Field of Search: 710/305, 710/315, 709223-224
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/226 Characteristics of the server or Internal components of the server

Abstract

A system and method for using a shared bus to control a keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) output is disclosed. The system may include a mid-plane having a video bus. At least one server module, including a video output module, may be placed in communications with the video bus. The video output module may transmit a video signal over the bus and receives a control signal over the bus. A management module may also be placed in communications with the video bus. The management module may receive the video signal from the server module via the bus and provide a control signal through the video bus to each server module. The control signal may activate or deactivate the video output module on each server module.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a mid-plane including a shared bus, the mid-plane having a plurality of server slots, each server slot operable to receive a server module;

at least one server module coupled to a mid-plane server slot and including a keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device in communication with the shared bus, the KVM device operable to transmit a video signal over the shared bus and to receive control signals from the shared bus;

a management module in communication with the shared bus, the management module operable to receive the video signal from each server module connected to the mid-plane via the shared bus and to provide the control signals through the shared bus to each server module to activate and deactivate the KVM device on each server module;

wherein the management module is configured to receive a KVM connection from a user interface and further configured to enable communications between a particular server module and the KVM connection via the shared bus.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein each server module further comprises a unique address based on a server slot where the server module couples to the mid-plane, the unique address operable to identify each server module to the management module.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein each server slot comprises a connector operable to provide an interface between a server module and the mid-plane.

4. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the shared bus comprises serial control lines that carry the control signal and KVM lines that carry KVM signals including the video signal.

5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the management module further comprises:

an output module operable to drive a video display device of the user interface based on the video signal from the particular server module; and

a controller unit operable to provide the control signals to the server modules.

16. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the KVM connection includes a keyboard signal from an external keyboard, a mouse signal from an external mouse, and a video signal for an external video display.

17. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the management module is configured to communicate the video signal from a first server module to the video display and further configured to communicate the keyboard or mouse signal from the keyboard or mouse to a second server module.

18. The computer system of claim 16, wherein the video signal includes red video, blue video, and green video data.

19. The computer system of claim 18, wherein the video signal includes horizontal sync and vertical sync data.

6. An information handling system, comprising:

a server module communicatively coupled to a midplane having a plurality of server slots and a shared bus and including a keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device in communication with the shared bus, the KVM device operable to transmit a video signal over the shared bus and receive control signals from the shared bus;

a management module for transmitting control signals via the shared bus to the server slots wherein the control signals identify a particular server slot; and

;

wherein the management module is configured;

to receive a KVM connection from an external user interface and further configured to enable communications between a particular server module and the KVM connection via the shared bus;

receive a video signal from the server module connected to the midplane via the shared bus and to provide the control signals through the shared bus to the server module to activate and deactivate the KVM device on the server module.

7. An information handling system, comprising:

a server module communicatively coupled to a bus of a mid-plane, the mid-plane having a plurality of server slots, each server slot operable to receive a server module;

unique address associated with the server module based on a location of the server module in the mid-plane, the unique address operable to identify the server module;

a keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device in the server module and in communication with the bus, the KVM device operable to transmit video signals to the bus; and

a management module operable to support a KVM connection to an external user interface and to transmit control signals to the server module via the bus to enable and disable transmission of video signals from the video output module to the external user interface by activating and deactivating the KVM device on the server module.

8. The information handling system of claim 7, further comprising:

one or more additional server modules communicatively connected to the external management module via the bus;

a server selection engine in the management module operable to receive user input selecting one of the server modules to drive a display device of the external user interface.

9. A method of using a shared bus to control video output in a computer system, the method comprising:

receiving a control signal at a keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) device of a server module from a management module via a bus within a mid-plane, the mid-plane having a plurality of server slots, the server module and the management module communicatively coupled with the mid-plane;

activating or deactivating the KVM device in response to the control signal from the management module, the video output module operable to generate a video output signal; and

transmitting the video output signal from the server module to an external video display connected to the management module via the bus, in response to the control signal.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving user input at the management module to select the server module to drive a display device.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

assigning a unique address for the server module, based on a location of the server module in a server rack containing the server module.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the server module comprises a first server module and the control signal comprises a first control signal, the method further comprising:

transmitting a second control signal to disable the video output signal from the first server module; and

transmitting a third control signal after the second control signal to enable video output from a second server module.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the video output signal comprises a keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) signal transmitted along the bus.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the server module comprises a first server module in a plurality of server modules;

and

the method further comprising allowing a user at a single video output connection to select which of the multiple server modules will transmit video output to the single video output module via the bus.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising reducing an impedance level of a video output generator in the server module to enable transmission of the video output signal.