CN108228489A - A kind of method that more network interface cards are connected based on OCP standards - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application invents a method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard. In this method, a high-speed connector is used on the edge of the main board, and the same high-speed connector is used for different OCP subcards to interconnect with the main board. The method of the present invention can support network cards including SFP+, RJ45 and other interface types. After the system is powered on, the PCH accesses and obtains the ID EEPROM information on the subcard to determine the network card type, and then configures the PHY chip through the IIC to complete the network function configuration; after power on, the PCH will automatically identify the network card and reconfigure the network.

Description

A method for connecting multiple network cards based on OCP standard

technical field

The invention relates to the field of server network interfaces, in particular to a method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard.

Background technique

Intel platform servers usually provide onboard network interfaces for users to remotely access the system. For example, in the Grantly platform, the PCH (Platform Controller Hub, Intel's integrated south bridge) chip is interconnected with the network controller (I350 controller is generally selected) through PCIEX4. Intel I350 is a highly integrated, low-power chip that can provide 4 Gigabit Ethernet MAC (Media Access Control, defining the location of network equipment), PHY (physical layer, physical layer interface) and SerDES ports to achieve 1000Bas -T network interface; at the same time, I350 provides NSCI (Network Controller Sideband Interface, a sideband interface used to support server out-of-band management) interface, and interconnects with AST2400 to realize the shared network function of the out-of-band system.

In the server based on Intel Purley platform, the internal integrated network controller of PCH is X722 10Gigabit Ethernet Controller. The server based on the Intel Purley platform directly interconnects the PCH with the network interface on the main board, including network signals, LED control signals, presence signals, IIC (Inter-Integrated Circuit, a serial communication bus) bus signals, etc., the user directly The server system can be accessed remotely using a network cable.

However, this solution generally adopts the design method of the onboard network interface, and directly fixes the network interface on the motherboard. This method can only realize one network interface function, and the fixed network interface application solution is not flexible enough; and X772 is used as a 10Gigabit Ethernet Controller can support a variety of interface designs, so the existing design does not make full use of X722 and PCH resources, resulting in a waste of network interface resources, and at the same time cannot meet the different application requirements of customers.

In view of the above problems, the present application invents a method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP (Open Compute Project, Open Compute Project) standard.

Contents of the invention

The method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard of the present invention is to use a high-speed connector on the edge of the main board, which is convenient for the installation and removal of the sub-cards; for different OCP sub-cards, the same high-speed connector is used to interconnect with the main board.

According to the PCH supporting multiple network interface characteristics, the method of the present invention can support network cards including SFP+, RJ45 and other interface types. After the system is powered on, the PCH accesses and obtains the ID EEPROM information on the mezzanine card to determine the network card type, and then configures the PHY chip through the IIC to complete the network function configuration. When the user's needs change and the network card needs to be replaced, it only needs to be replaced directly after power-off; after power-on, the PCH will automatically identify the network card and reconfigure the network.

Specifically, the present application requests protection of a method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard, which is characterized in that the method specifically includes: interconnecting the server motherboard PCH with a high-speed connector; interconnecting the high-speed connector with an OCP card; The card includes ID EEPROM and SFP+/QSFP+ interface, and ID EEPROM is interconnected with PCH through IIC, which is used for PCH to identify the type of OCP card;

After the system is powered on, the PCH on the main board of the server accesses the ID EEPROM information on the OCP subcard to determine the type of the network card;

Configure the PHY chip through the IIC to complete the configuration of the network.

The above-mentioned method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard is further characterized in that the high-speed connector is placed at the edge of the motherboard.

The method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard as described above is also characterized in that the high-speed connector contains four groups of SFI, IIC, Absent, and LED control signals, and the bright and dark of the Active light and the Link Speed light on the SFP+ interface are directly controlled by PCH control.

The method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard as described above is also characterized in that, if it is long-distance transmission, the KR signal can be interconnected with the SFP+ interface after passing through the PHY chip.

Specifically, the present application requests protection of a method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard, which is characterized in that the method specifically includes: interconnecting the server motherboard PCH with a high-speed connector; interconnecting the high-speed connector with an OCP card; The card includes ID EEPROM and RJ45 optical signal network interface, PCH and the front end of the chip are interconnected through SGMII signal, and the back end of the chip is interconnected with RJ45 network port through MDI signal; ID EEPROM is interconnected with PCH through IIC, which is used for PCH to identify the type of OCP card;

After the system is powered on, the PCH on the main board of the server accesses the ID EEPROM information on the OCP subcard to determine the type of the network card;

Configure the PHY chip through the IIC to complete the configuration of the network.

The above-mentioned method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard is further characterized in that the high-speed connector is placed at the edge of the motherboard.

The method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard as described above is also characterized in that the high-speed connector contains four groups of SFI, IIC, Absent, and LED control signals, and the bright and dark of the Active light and the Link Speed light on the SFP+ interface are directly controlled by PCH control.

Description of drawings

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the interconnection structure between the PCH and the high-speed connector on the motherboard

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of direct interconnection between high-speed connectors and SFP+ interfaces

Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the interconnection between the high-speed connector and the PHY chip

Figure 4. Schematic diagram of the interconnection between the high-speed connector and the 88E15XX chip

Detailed ways

In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments:

This embodiment is based on the Intel Purley platform, with reference to the OCP Mezz card standard specification, and a high-speed connector (female head) from an FCI manufacturer is selected on the motherboard.

1. The PCH on the motherboard is interconnected with the high-speed connector

The PCH signals are: SFI/KR, IIC, LED signal, and absent signal. These signals are directly connected to the high-speed connector, so that the network signal is led out to the OCP subcard through the high-speed connector.

For the convenience of user operation, the high-speed connector is placed on the edge of the motherboard, and the schematic diagram of the structural design is shown in Figure 1.

2. The high-speed connector is interconnected with the OCP card

The high-speed connector on the motherboard is connected to the OCP subcard correspondingly. In order to ensure the signal quality, the FCI male high-speed connector (matched with the motherboard female connector) is used on the subcard.

(1) Short distance transmission

According to the characteristics of X722Ethernet Controller, short-distance transmission can be directly interconnected with SFP+/QSFP+ interface; SFP+/QSFP+ is used to support 1G/10G transmission rate, and customers need to use it with optical modules;

Figure 2 shows the schematic diagram of the OCP subcard in which the X722 is directly connected to the SFP+ and QSFP+ ports.

In Figure 2, the high-speed connector contains four sets of SFI, IIC, Absent, LED control and other signals, and the light and dark of the Active light and Link Speed light on the SFP+ interface are directly controlled by the PCH;

PHY ID EEPROM is interconnected with PCH through IIC1, which is used for PCH to identify OCP card type.

(2) Long-distance transmission

For long-distance transmission, the KR signal can be connected to the SFP+ interface after passing through the PHY chip, or the SGMII signal can be connected to the RJ45 interface after passing through the transmission chip; RJ45 is used to support 10M/100M/1000M transmission rate, the user only needs to Ordinary network cables are enough, and different designs can meet the needs of different customers.

A. When the distance between the PCH and the SFP+ interface is relatively long, a PHY (retimer) chip is usually used on the transmission link. The PCH and the front end of the PHY are interconnected through the KR signal, and the rear end of the PHY is interconnected with the SFP+ interface through the SFI signal. The corresponding OCP subcard is shown in Figure 3.

Among them, the PHY chip supports 1G/10G data transmission rate, and the user can manually adjust the transmission rate under the operating system.

During the power-on process of the system, PCH configures some registers of the PHY chip through IIC0: 1G Link Speed control signal, etc.; the PHY chip reads external EEPROM through IIC to configure its own registers: KR, SFI port configuration, P, N differential pair polarity reversal Wait. Similarly, ID EEPROM is interconnected with PCH through IIC1, which is used for PCH to identify the type of OCP card.

B. When users consider the use cost, they usually choose RJ45 optical signal network interface, and use Marvell manufacturer 88E15XX series chips on the transmission link.

The PCH is connected to the front end of the chip through the SGMII signal, and the back end of the chip is connected to the RJ45 network port through the MDI signal. The corresponding OCP card is shown in Figure 4.

Among them, the PHY chip supports 10M/100M/1000M data transmission rate, which is self-adaptive and does not require manual adjustment by the user. During the power-on process of the system, PCH configures some registers of 88E15XX chip, SGMII, MDI interface configuration, etc. through IIC0; the Active and Link Speed lights of RJ45 network port are directly controlled by PCHy;

Similarly, ID EEPROM is interconnected with PCH through IIC1, which is used for PCH to identify the type of OCP card.

Concrete implementation steps of the present invention are as follows:

In the actual application of the server, the ID EEPROM of each OCP subcard contains an independent configuration file, which is used to mark the type of OCP card; and the BIOS contains a mirror file, which is used to realize the PHY Auto-detect function.

After the system is powered on, the PCH accesses the ID EEPROM through IIC1 to obtain the type of OCP subcard, and then configures the correct file information to the corresponding PHY chip or 88E15XX chip through IIC0.

After entering the system, the user can assign the IP address of the network port through the ifconfig command and combine with the optical module/RJ45 network cable to complete the software and hardware configuration of remote access.

When it is necessary to replace the OCP card, first shut down the system, cut off the AC power supply, and directly replace the OCP card;

After the system is powered on again, the above steps will be repeated to complete the configuration of the network controller and network interface.

Obviously, what is shown above is only a specific embodiment of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other technical solutions can also be obtained according to the above-mentioned embodiments without creative work, and in this All equivalent changes made within the protection scope of the invention shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention, and all belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

To sum up, the method for connecting multiple network cards based on the OCP standard of the present invention adopts the design method of integrating onboard network cards, so that the server is no longer limited to only one network interface. The invention develops a plurality of OCP standard sub-cards by changing the hardware, and the user can match the network cards with different functions for the whole machine according to the application requirements, thereby improving the flexibility of connecting the network cards of the main board of the server.

Claims (7)

1. A kind of 1. method that more network interface cards are connected based on OCP standards, which is characterized in that this method specifically includes：Server master board PCH It is interconnected with high speed connector；The high speed connector is interconnected with OCP buckles；Wherein, OCP buckles include ID EEPROM and SFP+/ QSFP+ interfaces, ID EEPROM are interconnected by IIC and PCH, and OCP Card Types are identified for PCH；

   After system electrification, the PCH of server master board accesses ID EEPROM information on OCP buckles, judges the network interface card type；

   Configuration of the PHY chip completion to the network is configured by IIC.
2. 2. the method for more network interface cards is connected based on OCP standards as described in claim 1, it is further characterized in that, high speed connector is put It is placed in mainboard edge placement.
3. 3. the method for more network interface cards is connected based on OCP standards as claimed in claim 2, it is further characterized in that, high speed connector packet Containing four groups of SFI, IIC, Absent, LED control signals, Act ive lamps and Link Speed lamps on SFP+ interfaces it is bright, dark straight It connects and is controlled by PCH.
4. 4. the method for more network interface cards is connected based on OCP standards as claimed in claim 3, it is further characterized in that, if at a distance Transmission, then can by KR signals after PHY chip again with SFP+ interface inter-links.
5. A kind of 5. method that more network interface cards are connected based on OCP standards, which is characterized in that this method specifically includes：Server master board PCH It is interconnected with high speed connector；The high speed connector is interconnected with OCP buckles；Wherein, OCP buckles include ID EEPROM and RJ45 light Signal network interface, PCH are interconnected with chip front end by SGMII signals, and chip rear end is mutual by MDI signals with RJ45 network interfaces Connection；ID EEPROM are interconnected by IIC and PCH, and OCP Card Types are identified for PCH；

   After system electrification, the PCH of server master board accesses ID EEPROM information on OCP buckles, judges the network interface card type；

   Configuration of the PHY chip completion to the network is configured by IIC.
6. 6. the method for more network interface cards is connected based on OCP standards as claimed in claim 5, it is further characterized in that, high speed connector is put It is placed in mainboard edge placement.
7. 7. the method for more network interface cards is connected based on OCP standards as claimed in claim 6, it is further characterized in that, high speed connector packet Containing four groups of SFI, IIC, Absent, LED control signals, Act ive lamps and Link Speed lamps on SFP+ interfaces it is bright, dark straight It connects and is controlled by PCH.