Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery – Data processing system error or fault handling – Reliability and availability
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-06
2004-11-30
Beausoliel, Robert (Department: 2113)
Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery
Data processing system error or fault handling
Reliability and availability
C714S047300, C714S048000, C702S188000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06826714
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application relates to co-pending application no. S2000/0707 filed on Sep. 7, 2000 entitled “A Protocol for a Power Supply Unit Controller” naming Barrie Jeremiah Mullins et al as inventors; to co-pending application no. S2000/0708 filed on Sep. 7, 2000 entitled “Improved Power Supply Unit Controller” naming Barrie Jeremiah Mullins et al as inventors; to co-pending application no. S2000/0709 filed on Sep. 7, 2000 entitled “Performance Monitoring in a Storage Enclosure” naming Aedan Diarmid Cailean Coffey et al as inventors; to co-pending application no. S2000/0710 filed on Sep. 7, 2000 entitled “Fibre Channel Diagnostics in a Storage Enclosure” naming Aedan Diarmid Cailean Coffey et al as inventors; and to co-pending application no. S2000/0711 filed on Sep. 7, 2000 entitled “CrossPoint Switch for a Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop” naming Aedan Diarmid Cailean Coffey as inventor.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data gathering device for monitoring environmental parameters within a rack enclosure housing one or more storage devices.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In a rack enclosure comprising a backplane into which a number of devices such as storage devices and/or an associated controller as well as power supplies and fans are connected, monitoring environmental conditions is important so that errors or potential failure of a system can be detected as soon as possible. This helps to maintain the high availability of data required of storage subsystems. Environmental data may be gathered directly from devices, such as fans or power supplies to indicate their presence/absence and their operating state, or from one or more thermometers to indicate if an enclosure is overheating for some reason. Within the rack enclosure environmental condition indicators include LED's, buzzers etc.
For rack enclosures housing Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) devices based on media such as parallel SCSI or Fibre-Channel, enclosure services protocols have been developed enabling a controller housed within a rack enclosure to reliably communicate environmental information with a host systems management application, enabling remote monitoring and control of a rack enclosure. This system's management application then notifies an operator in the event of a failed component or any other preconfigured alarmed event.
Such conventional environmental monitoring typically includes all the environmental monitoring hardware, including an enclosure management controller on a plug-in card, thus there are very high pin count (and expensive) connectors between the backplane and the monitoring devices located around the rack enclosure. As rack enclosures get bigger and more complex this problem gets worse and worse.
If on the other hand, environmental monitoring hardware is included exclusively on the backplane, any failure means that the system must be brought down to replace the backplane, and this may be intolerable from an availability point of view.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a data gathering device for a rack enclosure which is, in use, cooperable with at least one environmental services processor, each processor being incorporated in a respective plug-in card, said data gathering device comprising at least one port adapted to communicate with a respective environmental services processor, a plurality of data inputs and a plurality of controllable outputs, said data gathering device being adapted to generate and send, to a one of said at least one environmental services processors responsible for said enclosure, a message reporting the state of said data inputs and to receive, from said responsible environmental services processor, a message including a command determining the state of one of said controllable outputs.
In a second aspect of the invention there is provided a backplane for a rack enclosure, said backplane including one or more data gathering devices, each data gathering device being, in use, cooperable with at least one environmental services processor, each processor being incorporated in a respective plug-in card, each data gathering device comprising at least one port adapted to communicate with a respective environmental services processor, a plurality of data inputs and a plurality of controllable outputs, each data gathering device being adapted to receive an instruction from a one of said at least one environmental services processors responsible for said enclosure to take responsibility for data gathering, said data gathering device being adapted, when responsible for said enclosure, to generate a message reporting the state of said data inputs to said responsible environmental services processor and to receive a message including a command from said responsible environmental services processor determining the state of one of said controllable outputs.
In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a rack enclosure system comprising a backplane including one or more data gathering devices and at least one plug-in card incorporating a respective environmental services processor, each data gathering device comprising at least one port adapted to communicate with a respective environmental services processor, a plurality of data inputs and a plurality of controllable outputs, each data gathering device being adapted to receive an instruction from a one of said at least one environmental services processors responsible for said enclosure to take responsibility for data gathering, said data gathering device being adapted, when responsible for said enclosure, to generate a message reporting the state of said data inputs to said responsible environmental services processor and to receive a message including a command from said responsible environmental services processor determining the state of one of said controllable outputs.
Preferably, said backplane is adapted to receive fibre channel storage devices and said data gathering device includes at least one port adapted to communicate with a respective one of said storage devices, said data gathering device being adapted to relay environmental services requests from a host application received via a storage device to said responsible environmental services processor and to relay responses from said responsible environmental services processor to said storage device.
Preferably, said data gathering device includes two ports, each adapted to communicate with a respective one of two environmental services processors.
The present invention mitigates the problems of the prior art by putting data gathering and control functions on the backplane, thus replacing many signal lines with, for example, a three wire serial bus. By moving the data gathering function to the backplane the pin count of the connectors can be significantly reduced.
Thus, using the invention connector costs are reduced for shelves of a similar size. Alternatively, since the shelves are always getting bigger, the invention allows more modules to be integrated together on one card with a similar connector size.
The invention offers a high degree of flexibility based on population options thus requiring minimal duplicate software and even hardware development.
In the preferred embodiment, the backplane is adapted to receive two enclosure services cards, each connected to a respective data gatherer device and cross-connected to another data gatherer device. This means that in spite of introducing data gathering circuitry onto the backplane, no single point of failure is introduced. Nonetheless, should this level of redundancy not be required, then only one data gatherer device socket need be populated on the backplane and only one enclosure services card need be provided for the backplane.
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patent: 5500940 (1996-03-01), Skeie
patent: 5819028 (1998-10-01), Manghirmalani et al.
patent: 5890214 (1999-03-01), Espy et al.
patent: 5966510 (1999-10-01), Carbonneau et al.
patent: 6018809 (2000-01-01), Garrett
patent: 6122758 (2000-09-01), Johnson et al.
Coffey Aedan Diarmuid Cailean
Harnett Derek Christopher
O'Sullivan Hans
Beausoliel Robert
Oppedahl & Larson LLP
Richmount Computers Limited
Wilson Yolanda L
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