Patent Application
20180116071
Asset management systems can be used to monitor and maintain computing components (i.e., assets) in a data center. For example, the computing components may include servers, modems, storage systems, routers, and other equipment, such as power, cooling, and cable management resources, among others. A rack enclosure may provide a standardized structure to support and mount the electronic components inside of the rack enclosure.
Some examples of the present application are described with respect to the following figures:
Examples disclosed herein relate to asset management modules to capture asset information on rack mounted computing devices in a data center. The described examples can be used to capture information relating to a vendor's computing devices as well as third party computing devices. The asset management modules can be removably coupled to a rack and each include a plurality of data ports (e.g., universal serial bus (USB) ports) at each rack unit (i.e., “U”) location on the rack. The data ports are to receive peripheral devices (e.g., USB devices) containing information for respective computing devices mounted in the rack. A controller is provided to poll each data port on the rack to gather the asset information for each of the rack mounted computing devices and transmit the information to a data center information management (DCIM) and/or to a baseboard management controller (BMC). The information includes, but is not limited to, device identification (ID), serial number, a description of the computing device and/or type (e.g., server, storage, etc.), a rack unit height (e.g., 1 U, 2 U, 3 U, 4 U, etc.), an internet protocol (IP) address of the device, manufacturer/vendor identification and date of manufacture of the computing device.
In some example, where the computing device is owned by the vendor (i.e., not a third party device), the peripheral device can be pre-programmed with the device information. In other examples, where the computing device is a third party device, a programming engine can be provided to program the device information onto the peripheral device. In various examples, the peripheral devices are removably coupled or tethered to respective computing device and are inserted into the data ports when the computing devices are mounted into the rack. Accordingly, the described examples provide a cost effective intelligent asset management solution that also supports third party devices, removing a need for hardware design or chassis changes or firmware/application programming interface (API) script development to support third party devices, and provides an almost instant access to asset information once the device is mounted, amongst other advantages.
In one example, an asset management system includes an asset management module removably coupled to a rack. The module includes a plurality of data ports at each rack unit to receive a peripheral device associated with a computing device mounted in the rack. The asset management system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the module. The controller is to collect data related to the computing device stored in the peripheral device.
In another example, a rack includes an asset management system. The asset management system includes a plurality of asset management modules removably coupled to a rack frame, where each module includes a plurality of data ports located at each rack unit. The asset management system includes a plurality of peripheral devices connected to data ports, each peripheral device associated with respective computing devices mounted in the rack, where each peripheral device includes data related to the respective computing devices. The asset management system also includes a controller communicatively coupled to the modules, the controller to receive the data via the modules.
In another example, a method includes coupling an asset management module to a rack frame, where the module includes a plurality of data ports located at each rack unit, and mounting a computing device into the rack. The method includes inserting a peripheral device associated with the computing device into a data port of the module, and extracting, by a controller, data stored on the peripheral device, where the data includes identification and location information of the computing device.
Referring now to the figures,
Controller 102 can include one or more CPUs or cores thereof, microprocessors, hardware state machines, graphic processing units (GPUs), field-programmable gate arrays (FGPAs), or other electronic circuitry, which may be integrated in a single device or distributed across devices. In some examples controller 102 may include one or more “lights-out” modules that may be powered on and operational when other modules or components of the system 100 are not powered on or are not operational. Controller 102 can be responsible for managing some or all of the functionalities of the system 100, including extracting asset information from the asset management module 104.
Asset management module 104 or module 104 can be a vertical management interface that can be removably coupled to a rack. Module 104 can include a front side and a back side opposite the front side. The front side of the module 104 can include the plurality of data ports 114 for receiving a plurality of peripheral devices. The back side of the module 104 can include a printed circuit assembly (PCA) or a printed circuit board (PCB) where all the electronic circuitry is housed. The PCA/PCB enables the module 104 to be communicatively coupled to another module and to the controller 102.
Module 104 can come in any rack unit (U) height such as 6 U, 7 U, 12 U, etc. In various examples, a plurality of modules 104 having varying U heights can be coupled to a rack of a particular U height. For example, in a 42 U rack, six 7 U modules 104 can be coupled to the rack, three 12 U modules 104 and one 6 U module 104 can be coupled to the rack, etc. Data ports 114 include receptacles and circuitry for receiving peripheral devices. Peripheral devices can include USB devices or any other low profile devices for storing asset information (i.e., data related to a computing device). The data ports 114 are located in each U location of the rack. For example, a 6 U module 104 will have 6 data ports 114, etc.
During operation, module 104 can be coupled to the rack and a computing devices such as, but not limited to, a servers, modems, networking devices, storage systems, routers, power devices, can be mounted in the rack. The computing device can have a peripheral device (e.g., a USB device) associated with the computing device coupled to (e.g., tethered) to the computing device. The peripheral device includes data related to the computing device. Once the computing device is mounted in the rack, the peripheral device can be inserted into a data port 114 of the module 104. Controller 102 can extract the data via the module 104. The data can include information such as device ID, serial number, a description of the computing device and/or type (e.g., server, storage, etc.), a rack unit height (e.g., 1 U, 2 U, 3 U, 4 U, etc.), IP address of the device, vendor or manufacturer ID, and date manufacturer or vendor ID and date of manufacture of the computing device.
In certain examples, the data related to the computing device can be pre-programmed onto the peripheral device. In other examples, asset management system 100 can include a programming engine for programming and entering data related to the computing device onto the peripheral device, for example where the computing device is a third party device. In such an example, programming engine can include a script to allow the user to enter data related to the computing device.
Controller 102 can transmit the data to a BMC of the rack and to a DCIM 120. DCIM 120 includes a category of solutions to extend data center management function to include all of the physical assets and resources found in the facilities and information technology (IT) domains. Controller can transmit the data to the DCIM over network 120. Network 120 can be any combination of local area networks, wide area networks, the Internet, wired, or wireless networks, or other types of networks. In some examples, network 120 can be a cloud network such as a public cloud network, a private cloud network, a hybrid cloud network, other forms of cloud networks, or combinations thereof. Controller 102 can transmit the data to the BMC using a wired or wireless connection.
First device 320 is a 1 U device (i.e., rack height of 1 U) and device 340 is a 2 U device. First device 320 includes an attachment portion 322 for removably attaching peripheral device 208a that includes data related to first device 320. Attachment portion 322 can be, for example, a magnetic member, a Velcro strap, connector, or any other means for removably attaching the peripheral device 208a to first device 320. Peripheral device 208a can also include a corresponding attachment portion 218 for removably attaching to the attachment portion 322 of first device 320. Peripheral device 208b can be tethered to second device 340 using a tethering means 342. Peripheral device 208b includes data related to second device 340. When first device 320 and second device 340 are mounted into the rack 202, respective peripheral devices 208a and 208b can be inserted into data ports 114 of module 104. Controller 102 can extract the data from the peripheral devices 208a and 208b via the module 104.
Method 400 includes coupling an asset management module to a rack frame, where the module includes a plurality of data ports located at each rack unit, at 410. For example, module 104 can be removably coupled to a rack frame. Module 104 can include a plurality of data ports 114 at each rack unit to receive a plurality of peripheral devices.
Method 400 includes mounting a computing device into the rack, at 420. For example, a computing device such as a server device, networking device, storage device, etc. can be mounted into the rack.
Method 400 includes inserting a peripheral device associated with the computing device into a port of the module, at 430. For example, a peripheral device associated with the device and storing data related to the device can be inserted into one of the data ports 114 of the module 104.
Method 400 includes extracting, by a controller, data stored on the peripheral device, where the data includes identification and location information of the computing device, at 440. For example, controller 102 can extract the data stored on the peripheral device via the module 104. The data can include device ID, serial number, a description of the computing device and/or type (e.g., server, storage, etc.), a rack unit height (e.g., 1 U, 2 U, 3 U, 4 U, etc.), an IP address of the device, manufacturer/vendor identification and date of manufacture of the computing device, etc.
Method 400 includes transmitting, by the controller, the data to a baseboard management controller (BMC) of the rack and to a data center infrastructure management (DCIM), at 450. For example, the controller 102 can transmit the data to a BMC of the rack via wired or wireless transmission, and transmit the data to a DCIM over a network. In some examples, the method 400 of
The techniques described above may be embodied in a computer-readable medium for configuring a computing system to execute the method. The computer-readable media may include, for example and without limitation, any number of the following non-transitive mediums: magnetic storage media including disk and tape storage media; optical storage media such as compact disk media (e.g., CD-ROM, CD-R, etc.) and digital video disk storage media; holographic memory; nonvolatile memory storage media including semiconductor-based memory units such as FLASH memory, EEPROM, EPROM, ROM; ferromagnetic digital memories; volatile storage media including registers, buffers or caches, main memory, RAM, etc.; and the Internet, just to name a few. Other new and obvious types of computer-readable media may be used to store the software modules discussed herein. Computing systems may be found in many forms including but not limited to mainframes, minicomputers, servers, workstations, personal computers, notepads, personal digital assistants, tablets, smartphones, various wireless devices and embedded systems, just to name a few.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2015/031380 | 5/18/2015 | WO | 00 |
