Apparatus, system, and method for a modular blade

• US 7,778,020 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2007
• Issued: 08/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jpmorgan Chase Bank NA As The Agent
• Original Assignee: Fusion Multisystems, Inc. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Flynn, David, Thatcher, Jonathan, Lagerstedt, Bert, Strasser, John, Warner, Vince, Hayes, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Gandhi; Jayprakash N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Edwards; Anthony Q
• Application Number:
  US11/952,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20080137284A1
• Time in Patent Office: 985 Days
• Field of Search: 361/679.32, 361/803
• US Class Current: 361/679.31
• 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 modular blade. The blade has a first carrier card and a second carrier card. At least one of these cards connects into the backplane of a blade server and provides connectivity for the modular blade to the backplane. The carrier cards also provide connectivity between their respective attached devices. In order to increase the density available in a modular blade, the computing components on the first and second cards interleave with one another such that a maximum number of components fit in a minimal space. The modular blade also provides an airflow channel for air circulation necessary to provide cooling. The first carrier card and second carrier card may also be identical, with one of the identical pair rotated one-hundred and eighty degrees with respect to the other.

Claims

1. A modular blade comprising:

a first carrier card having a backplane connector that connects to a backplane of a computer system, the first carrier card further configured to receive a plurality of computer components, the first carrier card communicatively connecting one or more of the computer components and the backplane connector, the first carrier card further communicatively connecting two or more of the computer components;

a second carrier card configured to receive a plurality of computer components, the second carrier card communicatively connecting one or more of the computer components of the second carrier card;

the first carrier card facing the second carrier card such that two or more computer components of the first carrier card interleave with two or more computer components of the second carrier card, wherein interleaving comprises alternating computer components of the first carrier card with computer components of the second carrier card along one or more axes of the modular blade; and

wherein the second carrier card is interchangeable with the first carrier card, and wherein the first carrier card is asymmetrical about an axis of the first carrier card and the second carrier card is asymmetrical about an axis of the second carrier card.

2. The modular blade of claim 1, wherein the second carrier card is identical to the first carrier card, and wherein the second carrier card is rotated about one of a longitudinal axis and a midpoint axis one-hundred and eighty degrees with respect to the first carrier card.

3. The modular blade of claim 1, wherein interleaving further comprises alternating computer components of the first carrier card with computer components of the second carrier card along one or more axes of the modular blade such that the computer components stack along one or more axes without physically touching computer components on an opposite carrier card.

4. The modular blade of claim 1, wherein the axis of the first carrier card and the axis of the second carrier card is one of a longitudinal axis, a midpoint axis, a diagonal axis, and a combination of said axes.

5. The modular blade of claim 1, wherein the computer system is one of a computer rack, a computer chassis, and a blade enclosure.

6. The modular blade of claim 1, the first and second carrier cards further providing one or more of mechanical connectivity and power connectivity between the one or more computer components, and wherein communications connectivity is one of optical connectivity and electrical connectivity.

7. The modular blade of claim 1, further comprising a connectivity module enabling communications between computer components of the first carrier card and computer components of the second carrier card.

8. The modular blade of claim 7, the connectivity module communicatively connecting one or more computing components of the second carrier card with the first carrier card, the computing components of the second carrier card responding to commands from a baseboard management controller (BMC) located on the first carrier card.

9. The modular blade of claim 1, further comprising one or more baseboard management controllers (BMCs).

10. The modular blade of claim 1, wherein one or more computer components are micro-blades comprising memory, an input module, and an output module, each micro-blade connecting to one of the first carrier card and second carrier card through a non-cable connection.

11. The modular blade of claim 10, wherein the non-cable connection is one of a PCI express connection, an Infiniband connection, an Ethernet connection, an intelligent platform management interface (IPMI) connection, an I²C connection, and a Fibre Channel connection.

12. The modular blade of claim 10, the one or more micro-blades further comprising one of a general processor, a specialized processor, and a programmable logic array processor.

13. The modular blade of claim 9, wherein the BMC is a micro-blade comprising a processor, memory, an input module, and an output module.

14. The modular blade of claim 1, further comprising an interior airflow channel along the length of the modular blade.

15. The modular blade of claim 1, further comprising a shroud encasing the first carrier card and second carrier card, the shroud providing electromagnetic and electrostatic shielding.

16. The modular blade of claim 1, the first carrier card further comprising one or more additional backplane connectors, and the second carrier card further comprising one or more backplane connectors.

17. A modular blade system, the system comprising:

one or more modular blades, each modular blade comprising;

a first carrier card having a backplane connector that connects to a backplane of a computer system, the first carrier card further configured to receive a plurality of computer components, the first carrier card communicatively connecting one or more of the computer components and the backplane connector, the first carrier card further communicatively connecting two or more of the computer components;

a second carrier card configured to receive a plurality of computer components, the second carrier card communicatively connecting one or more of the computer components of the second carrier card;

a shrouding encasing the first carrier card and the second carrier card;

the first carrier card facing the second carrier card such that two or more computer components of the first carrier card interleave with two or more computer components of the second carrier card, wherein interleaving comprises alternating computer components of the first carrier card with computer components of the second carrier card along one or more axes of the modular blade;

wherein the second carrier card is interchangeable with the first carrier card, and wherein the first carrier card is asymmetrical about an axis of the first carrier card and the second carrier card is asymmetrical about an axis of the second carrier card; and

a backplane of a blade server, the backplane comprising;

a blade connectivity module configured to enable communications between one or more computing devices attached to the backplane, the one or more computing devices comprising one or more modular blades and one or more computing devices connected over a network;

a power distribution module, the power distribution module configured to supply power to one or more modular blades attached to the backplane.

18. The system of claim 17, the blade connectivity module further comprising:

one or more blade aggregation modules enabling communications between one or more modular blades;

one or more transition cards, each transition card connecting with the blade aggregation module, one or more transition cards connecting with the backplane connectors of the modular blades, and one or more transition cards connecting with the one or more computing devices connected over a network.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein a first blade aggregation module is connected to a first connector of each transition card, and a second blade aggregation module is connected to a second connector of each transition card connected to the first blade aggregation module.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the second blade aggregation module is identical to the first blade aggregation module.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein each blade aggregation module comprises one or more switches that provide communication between two or more computing devices communicating with the switch.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein one or more blade aggregation modules connected with a set of modular blades by one or more transition cards constitutes a bladed unit, the blade connectivity module further comprising one or more unit aggregation modules communicatively connecting two or more bladed sets.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein each of the one or more unit aggregation modules comprises one or more switches.

24. A method for arranging a modular blade system, the method comprising:

assembling one or more modular blades comprising a first carrier card, the first carrier card configured to receive a plurality of computer components, and a second carrier card configured to receive a plurality computer components, wherein the second carrier card is interchangeable with the first carrier card, and wherein the first carrier card is asymmetrical about an axis of the first carrier card and the second carrier card is asymmetrical about an axis of the second carrier card;

connecting one or more transition cards to a first blade aggregation module, the first blade aggregation module aligning the plurality of transition cards to receive one or more modular blades;

connecting the one or more transition cards to a second blade aggregation module, the second blade aggregation module identical to the first blade aggregation module; and

connecting each of the one or more modular blades to at least one of the plurality of transition cards.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein assembling a modular blade further comprises inserting two or more micro-blades into one or more connectors of the first carrier card and one or more connectors of the second carrier card, the micro-blades of the second carrier card interleaving with the micro-blades of the first carrier card, interleaving comprising alternating computer components of the first carrier card with computer components of the second carrier card along one or more axes of the modular blade, and encasing the first carrier card and the second carrier card in a shroud.