Apparatus, system, and method for a scalable, composite, reconfigurable backplane

• US 7,713,068 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fusion Multisystems, Inc. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Warner, Vince, Hayes, Alan, Flynn, David, Thatcher, Jonathan, Lagerstedt, Bert, Strasser, John
• Primary Examiner(s): NASRI, JAVAID H
• Application Number:
  US11/952,118
• Publication Number:
  US 20080225474A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• Field of Search: 439/65, 439/66, 439/61, 439/62, 439/64, 361/788, 361/695, 361/697, 361/796, 361/798
• US Class Current: 439/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/183 Internal mounting support structures, e.g. for printed circuit boards, internal connecting means for buses G06F13/409
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1444 Complex or three-dimensional-arrangements; Stepped or dual mother boards
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1487 Blade assemblies, e.g. blade cases or inner arrangements within a blade

Abstract

An apparatus, system, and method are disclosed for a scalable, composite, reconfigurable backplane. The backplane is made up of one or more blade aggregation modules which provide switching for attached devices. The blade aggregation module connects to transition cards that then connect with blade modules. The blade aggregation module provides connectivity to the connected modules, which may connect to a second blade aggregation module through the transition cards. The transition cards may additionally connect with unit aggregation modules to connect rows of blade modules together. Transition cards can also provide outside connectivity. The backplane, made up of blade aggregation modules, transition cards, and unit aggregation modules, is highly scalable and versatile, and also provides an unblocked airflow path to facilitate cooling the blades.

Claims

1. A scalable, composite backplane for a server system, the backplane comprising:

a first blade aggregation module configured to communicatively connect one or more computing devices connected to the first blade aggregation module;

one or more transition cards, wherein one or more of the transition cards comprise;

two or more connectors comprising;

a first card connector that connects to the first blade aggregation module;

one or more additional card connectors that connect to one or more computing devices; and

at least one communication connection between at least two of the connectors;

wherein at least one of the first blade aggregation module and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components; and

the first blade aggregation module connected to the first card connector of one or more of the transition cards, the union of a first transition card, the first blade aggregation module, and a second transition card defining an airflow passage permitting substantially unobstructed airflow through a portion of the scalable composite backplane.

2. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, wherein a computing device is one of a blade module, a unit aggregation module, a blade aggregation module, and one or more external computing devices.

3. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 2, wherein the one or more external computing devices comprise computing devices connected to an additional card connector through a network connection.

4. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, the blade aggregation module comprising one or more switches and two or more switch connectors communicatively connecting with the first card connectors of the one or more transition cards.

5. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, the two or more connectors providing a mechanical connection and a communication connection.

6. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, further comprising a second blade aggregation module, and wherein one of the one or more additional card connectors communicatively connects to the second blade aggregation module, the union of the first transition card, the first blade aggregation module, the second transition card, and the second blade aggregation module defining the airflow passage through a portion of the scalable composite backplane, and wherein at least one of the first blade aggregation module, the second blade aggregation module, and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components.

7. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, wherein the first blade aggregation module connected with one or more transition cards is a first unit, the scalable, composite backplane further comprising one or more additional units.

8. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 7, the one or more units communicatively connected through one or more unit aggregation modules, the one or more unit aggregation modules continuing the airflow passage along a longitudinal axis of the airflow passage, and wherein at least one of the blade aggregation modules, unit aggregation modules, and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components.

9. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 8, the one or more unit aggregation modules further comprising one or more external connectors communicatively connecting with one or more external computing devices.

10. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, further comprising a power distribution grid.

11. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 10, wherein the transition cards distribute power to one or more computing devices.

12. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 10, wherein the blade aggregation module distributes power to the one or more transition cards.

13. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 10, further comprising one or more baseboard management controllers (BMCs), the BMCs controlling power sequencing of the scalable, composite backplane.

14. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 13, wherein one or more blade modules comprising one or more BMCs are attached to the scalable, composite backplane, each blade aggregation module further comprising one or more BMCs, each unit aggregation module further comprising one or more BMCs.

15. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 13, further comprising a BMC master creating a power sequencing order, the one or more BMCs on each blade aggregation module, the one or more BMCs on each unit aggregation module, and the one or more BMCs on each blade module turning on power to the one or more computer components according to the power sequencing order.

16. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 13, further comprising a communications network and a management network, the one or more BMCs having communications access over the communications network and the management network.

17. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, one or more transition cards further comprising one or more active components, wherein the active components comprise at least one of a signal conditioning module providing one of signal regeneration, electrical-to-optical conversion, optical-to-electrical conversion, retiming, and signal restoration.

18. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, one or more transition cards further comprising one or more active components, and wherein at least one active component is a signal bridge module converting a signal from one communications protocol to a second communications protocol.

19. The scalable, composite backplane of claim 1, at least one transition card further comprising a switch.

20. A scalable, composite backplane system for a blade server, the system comprising:

one or more blade modules, each blade module comprising an interior airflow channel along the length of the blade module;

a first blade aggregation module configured to communicatively connect one or more connected computing devices;

one or more transition cards, wherein one or more of the transition cards comprise;

two or more connectors comprising;

a first card connector that connects to the first blade aggregation module;

one or more additional card connectors that connect to one or more computing devices; and

at least one communication connection between at least two of the connectors;

wherein at least one of the first blade aggregation module and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components; and

the first blade aggregation module connected to the first card connector of a first transition card and the first card connector of a second transition card, the union defining an airflow passage continuing the interior airflow channel of a first blade module, the airflow passage permitting substantially unobstructed airflow through the interior airflow channel of the first blade module and through the scalable composite backplane.

21. The system of claim 20, further comprising a chassis, the chassis comprising:

one or more power connectors that connect with a power source;

one or more power supplies generating one or more regulated direct current (DC) voltages;

one or more trays configured to support a row of blade modules; and

one or more blade aggregation module supports providing structural support for one or more blade aggregation modules.

22. The system of claim 20, further comprising a second blade aggregation module, wherein one or more transition cards connect to the first blade aggregation module, the second blade aggregation module, and one or more blade modules, and wherein at least one of the first blade aggregation module, the second blade aggregation module, and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein a first set of transition cards connects to one or more unit aggregation modules and a second set of transition cards connects to one or more external computing devices, and wherein at least one of the blade aggregation modules, the unit aggregation modules, and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein one or more additional blade aggregation modules, the one or more blade modules, the one or more unit aggregation modules, and the one or more transition cards are hot-pluggable.

25. A scalable, modular backplane for a server system, the backplane comprising:

a first blade aggregation module comprising one or more switches;

a second blade aggregation module comprising one or more switches;

two or more transition cards, each transition card comprising a top connector that communicatively connects to the first blade aggregation module, a bottom connector that communicatively connects to the second blade aggregation module, a front connector that communicatively connects to a blade module, and a back connector that communicatively connects to one of a unit aggregation module and a network;

the first blade aggregation module connected to the top connector of the two or more transition cards, and the second blade aggregation module connected to the bottom connector of the two or more transition cards, wherein the two or more transition cards communicatively connected to the first blade aggregation module and second blade aggregation module are in parallel with the width of the first blade aggregation module and the second blade aggregation module; and

wherein at least one of the first blade aggregation module, the second blade aggregation module, and the one or more transition cards comprise one or more active components; and

one or more airflow passages allowing air flow through the scalable, modular backplane, wherein the airflow passages are the open areas between the first blade aggregation module joined to the two or more transition cards, the two or more transition cards further joined to the second blade aggregation module.