Wireless computer system

• US 7,512,704 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2004
• Issued: 03/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Vertiv IT Systems, Inc. (Vertiv Holdings Co.)
• Original Assignee: Avocent Corporation (Vertiv Holdings Co.)
• Inventors: Nelson, Matt S., Brooks, Everett E. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; David Y
• Application Number:
  US10/815,973
• Publication Number:
  US 20050027890A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 709/238, 709/230
• US Class Current: 709/238
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/023 Arrangements for converting discrete items of information into a coded form, e.g. arrangements for interpreting keyboard generated codes as alphanumeric codes, operand codes or instruction codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0231 Cordless keyboards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/038 Control and interface arrangements therefor, e.g. drivers or device-embedded control circuitry

Abstract

A system and method of communicating keyboard, video and cursor control (or mouse) data from a plurality of servers to one or more client workstations through one or more keyboard, video, mouse (KVM) switches is disclosed. Wireless communication techniques are used to transmit data between the system components including between the servers and the KVM switches. The servers, which may be blade servers, are typically co-located in single rack environment. Wireless communication techniques may also be used to communicate between the client workstations and the KVM switches.

Claims

1. A computing system, comprising:

a sewer rack defining card slot locations to receive electronic cards;

one or more sewers located on corresponding ones of the electronic cards and physically interacting with corresponding ones of the slot locations, each said server configured to receive user command data, having a corresponding wireless radio, being programmed to process the user command data according to application programs operating on said server, and producing a video response resulting from said processing of the command data according to the application programs;

each said server also including a code device to digitize and encode the video response into essentially lossless digital computer video information;

a digital switch in the server rack, including a wireless server port to simultaneously communicate with the wireless radios of two or more of the servers and a second port to receive keyboard input information, said digital switch communicating the keyboard input information as the user command data directed to a selected server and receiving an analog signal identifying the video response from the selected server; and

a management station creating via user inputs the keyboard input information and communicating said keyboard input information to the digital switch.

2. A computing system according to claim 1, wherein the management station is a laptop computer.

3. A computing system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless server port and the wireless radios operate according to an 802.11 wireless communication standard.

4. A computing system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless server port and the wireless radios operate according to an ultra wideband wireless communication standard.

5. A computing system according to claim 1, wherein the video encoding includes a combination of run-length encoding and binary bit-coordinated encoding of two-color pixel strings.

6. A server rack, comprising:

a plurality of server cards each comprising a general processing code device, a memory device containing at least one application program, and a video processing code device, and a server card radio device, each said server card having a unique identifier associated with its server card radio device to distinguish its server card radio device from the radio devices of each other server card in the server rack, said server cards receiving keyboard input information, inputting the keyboard input information to the general processing code device, employing the application program in response to the keyboard input information, and producing in the video processing code device an encoded digital video signal in response to at least the application program; and

a digital switch comprising a digital switch radio device in simultaneous radio communication with two or more of said server card radio devices, said digital switch radio device configured to communicate the keyboard input information to selected ones of the server card radio devices and to receive the encoded digital video signal from the selected ones of the server card radio devices, said digital switch comprising a radio manager to channel communications between the digital switch and the selected ones of the server card radio devices using the unique identifiers.

7. A server rack according to claim 6, wherein one or more members of a group consisting of the general processing code device, the video processing code device, and the server card radio device are physically located on a common integrated circuit.

8. A server rack according to claim 6, wherein the server card radio devices and the digital switch radio device operate according to an 802.11 wireless communication standard.

9. A server rack according to claim 6, wherein the server card radio devices and the digital switch radio device operate according to an ultra wideband wireless communication standard.

10. A computing system according to claim 6, wherein the video processing code device producing the encoded digital video signal video includes an encoding routine employing a combination of run-length encoding and binary bit-coordinated encoding of two-color pixel strings.

11. A server rack according to claim 6, wherein the radio manager channels communications between the digital switch and the selected ones of the server card radio devices by directed selected ones of said communications identified by the unique identifiers to pre-established wireless communication channels.

12. A system, comprising:

a plurality of servers in a common rack, each comprising a code device, an application program responsive to user inputs to produce computer video, and a server radio having a unique channeling identifier relative to the other servers in the common rack;

a digital switch comprising a digital switch radio device in simultaneous radio communication with two or more of said server radios, said digital switch radio device configured to communicate a given user input signal to a selected one of the server radios and to receive from the selected one of the server radios an encoded digital video signal, said digital switch comprising a radio manager to channel communications between the digital switch and the selected one of the server radios using the unique identifiers;

a workstation wireless access point communicating with a user workstation providing the user input signals, said wireless access point including an access point radio communicating with a network in communication with the digital switch.

13. A system according to claim 12, further including a private wireless network manager receiving the user input signals from the network via a wireless communication link, wherein the digital switch radio device communicates the encoded digital video signal to the network via wireless communication for further communication to the user workstation.

14. A system according to claim 12, wherein the digital switch further includes a channeling interface to channel corresponding user input signals wirelessly to corresponding ones of the servers in accordance with a wireless communication protocol.

15. A system according to claim 12, wherein the digital switch further includes a channeling interface to channel corresponding encoded video signals wirelessly from corresponding ones of the servers to the digital switch.

16. A system according to claim 12, wherein the radio communication between the digital switch radio device and said server radios is attenuated to limit receptive range to less than 10 meters.

17. A system according to claim 12, wherein the radio communication between the digital switch radio device and said server radios operate according to an ultra wideband wireless communication standard.

18. A system according to claim 12, wherein the common rack further includes an RF shield exterior of the plurality of the servers and exterior of the digital switch.

19. A system according to claim 12, wherein the digital switch includes a video decoding engine to create a decoded video signal from the encoded video signal.