Server on a chip and node cards comprising one or more of same

• US 9,465,771 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2012
• Issued: 10/11/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Calxeda Inc.
• Original Assignee: III Holdings 2, LLC
• Inventors: Davis, Mark Bradley, Borland, David James, Schnell, Arnold Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Yanchus, III, Paul
• Application Number:
  US13/662,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20140122833A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,443 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/102 where the programme performs an interfacing function, e.g. device driver G06F13/105 takes precedence; scheduling within device drivers G06F9/52; contention policies within device drivers G06F9/4881
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4221 being an input/output bus, e.g. ISA bus, EISA bus, PCI bus, SCSI bus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/7803 System on board, i.e. computer system on one or more PCB, e.g. motherboards, daughterboards or blades
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/7807 System on chip, i.e. computer system on a single chip; System in package, i.e. computer system on one or more chips in a single package
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4406 Loading of operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A server on a chip that can be a component of a node card. The server on a chip can include a node central processing unit subsystem, a peripheral subsystem, a system interconnect subsystem, and a management subsystem. The central processing unit subsystem can include a plurality of processing cores each running an independent instance of an operating system. The peripheral subsystem includes a plurality of interfaces for various configurations of storage media. The system interconnect subsystem provides for intra-node and inter-node packet connectivity. The management subsystem provides for various system and power management functionalities within the subsystems of the server on a chip.

Claims

1. A server on a chip (SoC), comprising:

a node central processing unit (CPU) subsystem that includes a plurality of processing cores;

a peripheral subsystem that includes a plurality of peripheral controllers;

a system interconnect subsystem configured to provide packet switch functionality within the SoC and between the SoC and at least one other SoC that is connected to the SoC; and

a management subsystem coupled to the node CPU subsystem, the peripheral subsystem, and the system interconnect subsystem, wherein the management subsystem includes a management processor that is configured to run an operating system to manage operational functionality of the node CPU subsystem, the peripheral subsystem, and the system interconnect subsystem,

wherein the operating system run by the management processor includes a plurality of application tasks, an operating system (OS)/input-output (I/O) abstraction layer, a real-time operating system (RTOS), and a plurality of device drivers, wherein the plurality of application tasks includes boot task, system management task, power management task, serial concentrator task, frame switch management task, and network proxy task.

2. The SoC of claim 1, wherein:

the node CPU subsystem includes a plurality of node CPU subsystem power domains,

the peripheral subsystem includes a plurality of peripheral subsystem power domains,

the system interconnect subsystem includes a plurality of system interconnect subsystem power domains; and

the management processor is configured to manage one or more activities within each of the node CPU subsystem power domains, the peripheral subsystem power domains, and the system interconnect subsystem power domains that influence power consumption therein.

3. The SoC of claim 2, wherein:

the management processor is configured to cause each of the node CPU subsystem power domains, the peripheral subsystem power domains, and the system interconnect subsystem power domains to be selectively transitioned between at least two different power states; and

wherein functionality of at least one operational component of one of the subsystems associated with a respective power domain is configured to transition to a reduced power consumption state in response to the respective power domain being transitioned from a first power state to a second power state.

4. The SoC of claim 3, wherein:

the plurality of processing cores are within separate node CPU subsystem power domains;

at least two of the plurality of peripheral controllers are within separate peripheral subsystem power domains;

at least two XAUI links of the system interconnect subsystem are within separate system interconnect subsystem power domains.

5. The SoC of claim 1, wherein the management subsystem is configured to:

manage power consumption on a per-power domain basis;

act as proxy for the plurality of processing cores for interrupts intended for reception by the plurality of processing cores; and

control a configuration of a variable internal supply used to supply electrical power to the node CPU subsystem.

6. The SoC of claim 1, wherein the management subsystem is configured to:

selectively transition a first clock to the management processor between a first on-state and a first off-state;

selectively transition a second clock to one or more private peripherals of the management processor between a second on-state and a second off-state; and

selectively transition a third clock to one or more shared peripherals of the management processor between a third on-state and a third off-state.

7. The SoC of claim 6, wherein the management subsystem is configured to:

manage power consumption of a per-power domain basis;

act as proxy for the plurality of processing cores for interrupts intended for reception by the plurality of processing cores; and

control a configuration of a variable internal supply used to supply electrical power to the node CPU subsystem.

8. The SoC of claim 1, wherein:

the node CPU subsystem includes a cache memory, a main memory, and a main memory controller coupled between the cache memory and the main memory;

the cache memory is coupled to each of the plurality of processing cores thereby enabling the cache memory to be shared by all of the plurality of processing cores;

the main memory controller is configured to support error code correction (ECC) functionality; and

the peripheral subsystem includes one or more Ethernet controllers and one or more serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) controllers.

9. The SoC of claim 8, wherein the peripheral subsystem further includes:

one or more flash controllers; and

one or more peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) controllers.

10. The SoC of claim 8, wherein:

the node CPU subsystem includes a plurality of node CPU subsystem power domains,

the peripheral subsystem includes a plurality of peripheral subsystem power domain,

the system interconnect subsystem includes a plurality of system interconnect subsystem power domains; and

the management processor is configured to manage one or more activities within each of the node CPU subsystem power domain, the peripheral subsystem power domain, and the system interconnect subsystem power domains that influence power consumption therein.

11. The SoC of claim 10, wherein:

the management processor is configured to cause each of the node CPU subsystem power domains, the peripheral system power domains, and the system interconnect subsystem power domains to be selectively transitioned between at least two different power states; and

wherein functionality of at least one operational component of one of the subsystems associated with a respective power domain is transitioned to a reduced power consumption state in response to the respective power domain being transitioned from a first power state to a second power state.

12. The SoC of claim 8, wherein the management subsystem is configured to:

manage power consumption on a per-power domain basis;

act as proxy for the plurality of processing cores for interrupts intended for reception by the plurality of processing cores; and

control a configuration of a variable internal supply used to supply electrical power to the node CPU subsystem.

19. The SoC of claim 1, wherein the management subsystem is coupled to the node CPU subsystem via an inter-processor communication module (IPCM), and wherein the management subsystem is coupled to the system interconnect subsystem via a bus fabric.

20. The SoC of claim 19, wherein the IPCM includes data registers and interrupts configured to enable communication between the management processor and the plurality of processing cores of the node CPU subsystem.

21. The SoC of claim 1, wherein the management subsystem further includes a shared peripheral and a private peripheral, wherein the shared peripheral is accessible by the management processor and the plurality of processing cores of the node CPU subsystem, and wherein the private peripheral is accessible by the management processor but not the plurality of processing cores of the node CPU subsystem.

22. The SoC of claim 21, wherein the management processor is configured to use the private peripheral to control power and clocks of the SoC.

13. A node card, comprising:

a node card substrate that includes circuitry configured to enable communication of information between the node card and one or more other node cards; and

a plurality of server on a chip (SoC) units mounted on the node card substrate and electrically connected to the circuitry of the node card substrate, wherein each of the SoC units defines an instance of a SoC node of the node card, wherein each SoC node includes a SoC that comprises;

a node CPU subsystem,

a peripheral subsystem,

a system interconnect subsystem, and

a management subsystem coupled to the node CPU subsystem, the peripheral subsystem, and the system interconnect subsystem, wherein the management subsystem includes a management processor that is configured to run an operating system to manage operational functionality of the node CPU subsystem, the peripheral subsystem, and the system interconnect subsystem,

wherein the operating system run by the management processor includes a plurality of application tasks, an operating system (OS)/input-output (I/O) abstraction layer, a real-time operating system (RTOS), and a plurality of device drivers, wherein the plurality of application tasks includes boot task, system management task, power management task, serial concentrator task, frame switch management task, and network proxy task.

14. The node card of claim 13, wherein:

the node CPU subsystem of each of the SoC units includes a plurality of processing cores, a cache memory, a main memory, and a main memory controller coupled between the cache memory and the main memory;

the cache memory is coupled to each of the plurality of processing cores thereby enabling the cache memory to be shared by all of the plurality of processing cores;

the main memory controller is configured to support error code correction (ECC) functionality;

the peripheral subsystem of each of the SoC units includes a plurality of peripheral controllers; and

the system interconnect subsystem of each of the SoC units is configured to provide intra-node and inter-node packet connectivity.

15. The node card of claim 14, wherein the management subsystem of each of the SoC unit is configured to:

manage power consumption on a per-power domain basis;

act as proxy for the plurality of processing cores for interrupts intended for reception by the plurality of processing cores; and

control a configuration of a variable internal supply used to supply electrical power to the node CPU subsystem.

16. The node card of claim 13, wherein the management processor of each of the SoC units is configured to boot an instance of a second operating system in the node CPU subsystem thereof.

17. The node card of claim 16, wherein:

the management processor is configured to load an operating system boot loader into a main memory of the node CPU subsystem thereof, start the boot loader, and load the second operating system.

18. The node card of claim 13, wherein:

the node CPU subsystem of each of the SoC units includes a plurality of node CPU subsystem power domains,

the peripheral subsystem of each of the SoC units includes a plurality of peripheral subsystem power domains,

the system interconnect subsystem of each of the SoC units includes a plurality of system interconnect subsystem power domains; and

the management processor of each of the SoC units is configured to manage one or more activities within each of the node CPU subsystem power domain, the peripheral subsystem power domains, and the system interconnect subsystem power domains that influence power consumption therein.