Patent Application
20120166693
The invention relates to the management of data center infrastructure. More specifically it relates to systems, apparatuses and methods for establishing and tracking the identity of components in the data center.
A data center is a location used to house computer systems, typically arranged in a number of racks. The management of data centers is a well established discipline. Part of the task of the management of data centers is the tracking of often thousands of discrete electronic components, such as servers, switches, storage devices, power supplies, and others. These discrete components must all be tracked in, for example, data center infrastructure management (“DCIM”) software. Such tracking is necessary for the effective operation and maintenance of a data center. For example, if a specific server starts generating errors detected over a network derived from hardware failure, then that server location must be known so that a technician can effect repairs/replacement. Thus the DCIM software must know both the identity of the server and its physical location.
A 19-inch rack is a standardized frame or enclosure for mounting multiple equipment components in a data center environment. Each component has a front panel that is 19 inches (482.6 mm) wide, including edges or ears that protrude on each side which allow the module to be fastened to the rack frame with screws. A “rack unit” or “U” (less commonly “RU”) is a unit of measure used to describe the height of equipment intended for mounting in a 19-inch rack or a 23-inch rack. One rack unit is 1.75 inches (44.45 mm) high. The size of a piece of rack-mounted equipment is frequently described as a number in “U”. For example, one rack unit is often referred to as “1U”, 2 rack units as “2U” and so on. The location of a component is typically given by a rack number which identifies the rack in the DCIM database, which in turn gives the rack location (previously inputted, and by a rack vertical number to determine how high up the component is placed (for example, a 7U position).
Typically, the identity and location data and the correlation between the two must be entered manually in such data center software. For example, if a new server or other component is mounted in a rack in a data center, the identification of the server and its location in the rack must be manually entered into the DCIM software. Such data entry is time-consuming, expensive, and prone to error. There remains in the art of data center operations a need to automate the entry of this correlation into DCIM software.
In one or more specific embodiments further described herein, the present invention provides for an asset management system. The asset management system includes an intelligent asset management strip (“asset strip” or “strip”), intelligent asset management tags (“tags”), and management software, all used to track a data center component such as a server mounted in a rack. The asset strip has arrayed on its front a number of identification connectors adjacently spaced 1 rack unit apart along the length of the strip. A serial data connector is arrayed on the front at one end of the length of the strip. It is attached to a front post of the rack such that the strip is arrayed with its long dimension oriented vertically with the serial data connector at the bottom end. The flexible tag is attached to a server mounted in the rack, and has a tag identification connector and an identification circuit coupled to it. The tag identification connector is removably coupled to the identification connector of the asset strip that is positioned at the server's height on the rack. The tag then provides identification data from the identification circuit to the asset strip. The asset strip implicitly associates the identification data with the location of the server. More specifically, the location of the identification connector which receives the identification data is of a known location on the asset strip.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides for the asset management system described above having an asset strip including a number of LED controllers and a second number of LEDs. The LEDs are deployed on the strip such that each is proximally positioned adjacently to an associated identification connector.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides for an asset strip having a microcontroller, a data bus, a control bus, a multiplexer, and a number of identification connectors coupled to the multiplexer by the same number of branch data buses. The multiplexer is coupled to the data bus and the control bus. The microcontroller determines which of the identification connectors and thus which branch data bus is connected to the data bus. Thus the microcontroller, when receiving identification data, can associate that data with a location along the strip.
For the purposes of illustration, there are forms shown in the drawings that are presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the invention. Examples of these exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention is described in conjunction with these embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to the described embodiments. Rather, the invention is also intended to cover alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
In the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. The present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known aspects have not been described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
In this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either an indirect or direct electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.
Returning to
Intelligent asset management tag 400 is shown in perspective in
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the circuit loop connecting the identification circuit to the metal ring and the contact is extended the length of the tether 530. This allows notification if the tether is cut.
Each LED controller is coupled to a red LED, a green LED, and a blue LED. LED controller 830 is coupled to red LED 832, green LED 834 and blue LED 836. The LED controller 838 is coupled to red LED 840, green LED 842 and blue LED 844. LED controller 846 is coupled to red LED 848, green LED 850, and blue LED 852. LED controller 854 coupled to red LED 856, green LED 858, and blue LED 860. LED controller 862 is coupled to red LED 864, green LED 866, and blue LED 868. LED controller 870 is coupled to red LED 872, green LED 874, and blue LED 876. A LED controller 878 is coupled to red LED 880, green LED 882, and blue LED 884. A LED controller 886 is coupled to red LED 888, green LED 890, and blue LED 892. LED controllers 830-886 are coupled to one another in a daisy chain manner. LED controller 886 is coupled to inter-strip connector 886. 1-Wire bus 812 is also coupled to inter-strip connector 894.
In operation microcontroller 804 sends and receives information over connection 810 which is converted into a 1-Wire data format by converter 811. Simultaneously, microcontroller 804 sends control signals over SPI bus 806 to shift register 808. Shift register 808 converts the serial control information into parallel control information sent over connections 809. Parallel control information 809 controls analog multiplexer 814 by enabling analog multiplexer 814 and by selecting one of eight contacts 816-828 with which to communicate via 1-Wire connection. The 1-Wire bus 812 forms a single bus only and is coupled only to the branch of branch bus 813 selected by control data sent over connection 809. If analog multiplexer 814 is set to disable, then no branch bus is coupled to the 1-Wire bus 812.
The microcontroller 804 can establish a 1-Wire connection to any one of 8 contacts 816-829 or to the inter-strip connector 894. The inter-strip connector 894 is selected when the multiplexer is set to disable. In operation, if a contact such as contact 816 is in coupled with asset tag identification connector, identification data is sent over the 1-Wire bus created by the multiplexer 814. The microcontroller 804 will recognize when no information is transferred, and thus that no asset tag is present, if it selects a contact that has no tag present. Further the microcontroller 804 can associate the presence of identification data or lack thereof with a position determined by which of the 8 contacts was accessed. For example identification information from contact 816 would be associated with a 1U position while identification information from contact 828 would be associated with an 8U position. The microcontroller 804 can poll the contacts 816-828 in a round robin fashion or any other fashion to determine the state of all the identification connectors of the asset strip 800.
Further, in operation, microcontroller 804 can activate LEDs associated with the various contacts 816-829. Again, the various contacts 816-829 are the spring contacts of identification connectors of an asset strip. Microcontroller 804 accesses these LEDs via LED controllers 830, 838, 846, 854, 862, 870 and 878. So, for example, if no identification information is present at contact 816, and therefore no asset tag is present, then a red LED 832 can be made to activate by microcontroller 804 issuing instructions to LED controller 830. If an asset tag is present, a green LED could be made to activate. The possible LED behaviors are numerous and are user programmable. For example an LED could be made to blink from instructions issued over the serial protocol interface 802 to the asset strip 800 from an external source to indicate that a particular server is to be serviced by a technician
In addition, tilt sensor 898 is present and connected to SPI bus 806. Tilt sensor 898 can indicate to the microcontroller 804 is the asset strip 800 is upside down. The microcontroller 804 can then adjust its location information accordingly to continue to report accurate position information.
The various components described are well known in the art. More particularly, in one embodiment of the present invention microcontroller 804 is preferably a STM32F103 medium-density performance line ARM-based 32-bit MCU available from STMicroelectronics. Serial interface 802 is preferably a SN75C3232E two-channel RS-232 1-mbit/s line driver/receiver available from Texas Instruments. Shift register 808 is preferably a M74HC595 8 BIT SHIFT REGISTER from STMicroelectronics. Analog multiplexer 814 is preferably a NLAS4051 analog Multiplexer/Demultiplexer available from ON Semiconductor. Each of LED controllers 830, 838, 846, 854, 862, 870 and 878 is preferably a A6281 3-Channel Constant Current LED Driver available from Allegro Microsystems Inc. The 1-Wire converter 811 is preferably a DS2482-100 I2C-TO-1-WIRE bridge device available from Dallas Semiconductor Corp. that interfaces directly to I2C masters to perform bidirectional protocol conversion between the I2C master and any downstream 1-Wire slave devices.
1-Wire is a device communications bus system designed by Dallas Semiconductor Corp. that provides low-speed data, signaling, and power over a single signal. 1-Wire is similar in concept to I2C, but with lower data rates and longer range. One distinctive feature of the bus is the possibility to use only one data wire (and ground return).
It will be appreciated that many alternatives to the illustrative embodiment are possible. For example, the microcontroller 804 can absorb one or all of the functions of the various ancillary integrated circuits such as shift register 808, 1-Wire converter 811 and analog multiplexer 814. Further, alternatives to the SPI bus 806 can be easily considered, such as I2C. Alternatively, the functions of microcontroller 804 may be spread among a number of components. The connections such as connections 806 and 810 may have multiple components between the disclosed components creating an indirect connection. It is understood that SPI Bus 806 and I2C bus 810 do not represent single wires, but a group of wires necessary to implement the functions of carrying data as described. For example, in the illustrative embodiment, connection 806 is a SPI bus, which commonly requires 4 wires to implement, but may require less depending on implementation. Similarly I2C bus 810 requires multiple wires.
The DS2401 enhanced Silicon Serial Number is a low-cost, electronic registration number that provides a unique identity which can be determined with a minimal electronic interface (typically, a single port pin of a microcontroller). Data is transferred serially via the 1-Wire protocol that requires only a single data lead and a ground return. Power for reading and writing the device is derived from the data line itself with no need for an external power source.
1-Wire bus 1312 is in turn coupled to analog multiplexer 1314. Analog multiplexer 1314 is individually coupled to the eight contacts 1316-1329 via separate 1-Wire branches 1313. Each contact 1316-1329 is a spring contact in an identification connector as described previously. SPI bus 1306 is also coupled to a daisy chain of LED controllers 1330, 1338, 1346, 1354, 1362, 1370, 1378 and 1386. Each LED controller is associated with a contact 1316-1329. LED controller 1330 is associated with contact 1316 in the 1U position. LED controller 1338 is associated with contact 1318 in the 2U position. LED controller 1346 is associated with contact 1320 in the 3U position. LED controller 1354 is associated with contact 1322 in the 4U position. LED controller 1362 is associated with contact 1324 in the 5U position. LED controller 1370 is associated with contact 1326 in the 6U position. LED controller 1378 is associated with contact 1328 in the 7U position. LED controller 1386 is associated with contact 1329 in the 8U position. Each LED controller is coupled to a red LED, a green LED, and a blue LED. LED controller 1330 is coupled to red LED 1332, green LED 1334 and blue LED 1336. The LED controller 1338 is coupled to red LED 1340, green LED 1342 and blue LED 1344. LED controller 1346 is coupled to red LED 1348, green LED 1350, and blue LED 1352. LED controller 1354 coupled to red LED 1356, green LED 1358, and blue LED 1360. LED controller 1362 is coupled to red LED 1364, green LED 1366, and blue LED 1368. LED controller 1370 is coupled to red LED 1372, green LED 1374, and blue LED 1376. A LED controller 1378 is coupled to red LED 1380, green LED 1382, and blue LED 1384. LED controller 1386 is coupled to red LED 1388, green LED 1390, and blue LED 1392. Each of LED controllers 1330-1386 is coupled to one another in a daisy chain manner. LED controller 1386 is coupled to inter-strip connector 1386. 1-Wire bus 1312 is also coupled to inter-strip connector 1394.
In operation, a microcontroller of a master strip such as microcontroller 804 provides the serial data to control shift register 1308 and the LEDs associated with the contacts 1330-1386. The 1-Wire bus 812 is continued to 1-Wire bus 1312 as one continuous bus via inter-strip connectors 894 and 1302. Thus, by providing serial data to shift register 1308 which then translates to control signals sent over connectors 1310 to analog multiplexer 1314 which then selects which of the 1-Wire branches 1313 and therefore which of the contacts 1316-1329 is elected for a connection to the 1-Wire bus 1312. The serial data over SPI bus 1306 also controls contacts 1330-1386. Thus, in operation, slave strip 1300 is similar to strip 800 except that the microcontroller 804 is required for operation of the slave strip 1300. By sending serial data over SPI bus 1306, which is in turn coupled to the SPI bus 806, the microcontroller 804 can enable and/or select which of the contacts 1330-1386 are connected to the 1-Wire bus. In a case where multiple slave strips are coupled to a master strip in a daisy chain form, the microcontroller 804 can deactivate all of the analog multiplexers such as analog multiplexer 1314 except for one in order to create a single 1-Wire bus from the 1-Wire converter 811 to a contact 1316 through 1329.
In alternative embodiment of the present invention multiplexers 814 and 1314 become 8 point 1-wire controllers. Each 8 point 1-wire controller is connected to SPI 806 or 1306. In this implementation 1-wire buses 812 and 1312 are eliminated, as is 1-wire converter 811. While this implementation requires more expense, it more quickly polls the contacts 816-829 and 1316-1329.
In operation, management server 1588 communicates bi-directionally with asset strips 1510-1516 via SNMP protocol over network 1586. The SNMP protocol runs on top of a UDP/IP protocol. SNMP Gateway 1564 and PDU 1571 both act as translation mechanisms for SNMP to a simple serial protocol such as RS 232 for communicating with asset strips 1510-1516. For example, when tag 1529 is coupled to asset strip 1512 and server 1528, a microcontroller such as microcontroller 804 provided in asset strip 1512 may poll each of the various spring contacts of the identification connectors of asset strip 1512 for an identification number. If the connection between the tag 1529 and the asset strip 1512 is present, the identification number is then transmitted down a 1-Wire bus such as 1-Wire bus 812 to the 1-Wire converter 811, at which point the identification number is transferred to the microcontroller 804 over the I2C bus. The microcontroller 804 will provide the identification number and the location along the strip 1512 of the server 1528 to SNMP Gateway 1564. SNMP Gateway 1564 will then add the rack number identifying the physical rack 1504 on which asset strip 1512 is located. This rack number will have been previously loaded into the SNMP Gateway 1564. This identification number, rack number and U position (vertical position) are then sent to management server 1588. Management server 1588 will have the asset management record of server 1528 including the identification number of server 1528. Therefore through the identification number the rack number and vertical position of server 1528 may be associated with the asset management record of the server 1528 which includes all of its salient attributes. Thus the physical location of server 1528 is now correlated with this information of the asset management record. The record can include information such as the IP address of the server, the MAC address of the server, the server serial number, and other identifying information. On receiving the identification number of server 1528, management server 1588 will signal LED 1530 to display a signal indicating a successful connection, for example a green light. This correlation has occurred in an automated manner, and is maintained constantly in an automated matter. Similarly, servers 15501553, 1556, 15391542 and 1545 of racks 1508 and 1506 will also have their physical location correlated with an asset management record. The PDU 1571 will behave similarly to SNMP Gateway 1564, allowing servers 1517, 1520 and 1523 of rack 1502 to have their position correlated to an asset management record in management server 1588.
It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the rack number could be located in the asset strips 1510-1516 or in the DCIM on management server 1588.
The asset strips 1510-1516 can be used in a variety of ways during the installation and maintenance of servers. For example, management server 1588 can instruct LED 1538 on asset strip 1512 to emit red light, or blink, or perform some other user operated signal to indicate a position (i.e., connector 1537) at which a new server should be installed. The asset strips 1510-1516 can also be useful in performing repairs, maintenance and other actions requiring presence at the physical server. For example if server 1531 requires maintenance, the technician will know the rack number and vertical location of the server 1531. Moreover, LED 1533 can emit light of a user-determined maintenance color, for example such as a blue light. In this manner, the technician performing maintenance can easily find the appropriate server among hundreds if not thousands of servers.
The advantageous over other methods of correlation and numerous. The embodiments of the present invention operate without the need for batteries. The physical location is confirmed down to the U level of resolution. The errors and effort that are inevitable in manually entering identification numbers and physical locations in the DCIM are avoided.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention gateway 1564 also handles JSON RPC, command line interface, and other protocols in addition to SNMP. In yet another embodiment of the present invention the asset strip 15160-1516 incorporate SNMP protocols within them obviating the need for the PDU 1571 and the gateway 1564.
Daisy chaining is a method of propagating signals along a bus in which the devices are coupled in series and the signal passed from one device to the next. The daisy chain scheme permits assignment of device priorities based on the electrical position of the device on the bus.
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of priority under §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/367,556 filed Jul. 26, 2010 and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/451,922 filed Mar. 11, 2011, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61451922 | Mar 2011 | US | |
| 61367556 | Jul 2010 | US |
