CN1553356A - Computer system capable of dynamic access external storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a computer system capable of dynamically accessing an external storage device, which can be used for dynamically connecting and separating more than one external storage device through hot plug action, and at least comprises: a connection interface, an input/output control circuit, a system control circuit, an interface control circuit and a central processing unit; the CPU of the present invention executes the interrupt service program when the connection state between the external storage devices and the I/O control circuit changes, and loads the corresponding interface setting values to the interface control circuit according to the number of the external storage devices connected by the I/O control circuit and the configuration combination of each external storage device, so as to dynamically access the external storage devices in various configuration combinations.

Description

A computer system capable of dynamically accessing external storage devices

technical field

The present invention relates to a connection and access technology for a computer system and an external storage device, in particular to a technology for dynamic access to a computer system. Users can connect more than one large storage device to an external storage device through a hot-swapping action. Computer systems are dynamically connected or disconnected.

Background technique

In the era of advanced information, the amount of data is growing exponentially. With the rapid development of science and technology, computer systems are now widely used to access large amounts of data. However, the capacity of large storage devices (such as disks) used by computer systems is always insufficient, so there is a need to upgrade storage devices and expand the number of storage devices. demand.

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram of a traditional computer system. As shown in the figure, the hard disk device 10 is connected to the interface bus 12 through the interface connection port 100 , and then sequentially connected to the central processing unit 14 and the operating system 16 , and connected to the power supply 18 through the power connection port 102 . The traditional computer system must be restarted when changing another hard disk device 10 or installing a new hard disk device 10. If a plurality of hard disk devices 10 have been connected and want to remove an unused hard disk device 10, then the same must be done. Only when the system is turned on again can the operating system 16 re-confirm the hard disk device 10 and re-allocate resources. It can be seen that the traditional computer system cannot provide large storage devices for hot-swappable connection, which is quite inconvenient for users when replacing or expanding the hard disk device 10 .

Contents of the invention

In order to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the main purpose of the present invention is to provide a computer system capable of dynamically accessing an external storage device, so that the large storage device and the computer can be connected or connected in a hot-swappable manner. Separation is convenient for users to update and expand large storage devices.

In order to achieve the above object, the computer system capable of dynamically accessing external storage devices of the present invention can dynamically connect and separate more than one external storage devices through hot-swapping actions, and it at least includes: a connection interface, and The external storage device is connected; an input and output control circuit is used for the connection and separation of the external storage device, and a warning signal is output when the external storage device and its connection state change; a system control circuit is connected with the input and output control circuit , receiving the warning signal and outputting an interrupt request signal after receiving the warning signal; an interface control circuit, connected with the connection interface, controlling the transmission specification and interface specification of the connection interface according to the interface setting values in its memory; a central processing The unit is connected to the external storage device through the connection interface for accessing the external storage device, and is connected to the system control circuit to receive an interrupt request signal, and executes an interrupt service program after receiving the interrupt request signal.

The present invention can re-set the function of each chip in the traditional computer system through the basic input and output system, and write an interrupt service program software to execute the interrupt service program of the present invention to achieve the hot swap mechanism of the storage device. The invention has low cost and is easy to implement. In addition, the hot-swappable function of the present invention can directly insert or remove the storage device during power-on use, without restarting the machine, and also saves the inconvenience of opening the shell of the host; in addition, the present invention With the feature of plug and play, as long as the storage device is plugged in, the operating system will automatically detect it immediately, and automatically load the corresponding interface setting value, and then the user can access the data, which is convenient for the user to store Devices are updated and expanded.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram of a traditional computer system.

FIG. 2 is a system architecture diagram of the computer system of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the interrupt service routine used in the present invention.

Detailed ways

Example

FIG. 2 is a system architecture diagram of the computer system of the present invention. This figure is a computer system for dynamically accessing external storage devices 20, which can dynamically connect and separate more than one external storage devices 20 through hot-swapping actions. The dotted lines in the figure represent each external storage device. 20 is dynamically connected to or separated from the connection interface 22 and the input/output control circuit 24 . The computer system of the present invention at least includes: a connection interface 22, which is connected with the external storage device 20; an input-output control circuit 24, which is used for connecting and separating the external storage device 20, and outputs a Warning signal 240; System control circuit 26, is connected with input-output control circuit 24, is used for receiving warning signal 240 and outputs an interrupt request signal 260 after receiving warning signal 240; Interface control circuit 28, is connected with connection interface 22, and according to Each interface setting value of its memory controls the transmission specifications and interface specifications of the connection interface 22; the central processing unit 29 is connected to the external storage device 20 through the connection interface 22 for dynamic access to the external storage device 20, and its It is connected with the system control circuit 26, receives an interrupt request signal 260, and executes an interrupt service program after receiving the interrupt request signal 260 (see FIG. 3).

What Fig. 2 shows is the specific embodiment of computer system structure, and it can be the storage server system of storing a large amount of data, so the external storage device 20 that uses is a kind of large-scale storage device (such as disk device). The connection interface 22 used by the storage server system is a disk drive interface, and the disk drive interface can be any of the following specifications: IDE specification, E-IDE specification, ATA specification, ATAPI specification, etc. In addition, the I/O control circuit 24 it has can be a super I/O chip, which has more than one general-purpose I/O port as an I/O port for connecting more than one external storage device 20 . As for the system control circuit 26, a south bridge chip can be used.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the interrupt service routine used in the present invention. Wherein, step 30 is to judge whether the interrupt request signal 260 is caused by a change in the connection state between the input-output control circuit 24 and the external storage device 20, if so, proceed to step 32, if not, then proceed to step 34; 32 is to load the corresponding interface setting value into the interface control circuit 28 according to the number of external storage devices 20 connected to the input and output control circuit 24 at this time and the configuration combination of each external storage device 20; step 34 is to end the interrupt service routine.

Step 32 is further described here, and a specific approach is proposed. The interface settings in the interface control circuit 28 must be set differently depending on the number of external storage devices 20 connected to it, so that the transmission specifications and interface specifications of the connection interface 22 can be properly and correctly controlled. Specifically, the content of the interface control circuit 28 can be read through the PCI tool program or I/O tool program in the operating system environment under the configuration combinations of various external storage devices 20, and then a look-up table can be sorted out. , and then place the look-up table in the interrupt service routine (ISR) used by the present invention. In this way, when the central processing unit 29 executes step 32, the look-up table will be performed according to the number of external storage devices 20 connected to the input-output control circuit 24 and the configuration combinations of each external storage device 20 at this time. Query to find the corresponding interface setting value, and then load the interface setting value into the interface control circuit 28 to achieve the purpose of correct control.

Therefore, the present invention can carry out function setting again to each chip in the traditional computer system by basic input and output system, does not need to completely abandon original computer system structure, writes an interrupt service program again, carries out the interrupt service program of the present invention (such as As shown in Fig. 3), the hot-swappable mechanism of the storage device can be achieved, so the present invention has characteristics such as low cost and easy implementation, and has certain progress and industrial applicability; moreover, the hot-swappable function that the present invention has , the storage device can be directly inserted or unplugged during booting, without restarting the machine, and also saves the inconvenience of opening the shell of the host; in addition, the present invention has the feature of plug and play, as long as the user inserts the storage device into the computer interface , the operating system will automatically detect the storage device immediately, and automatically load the corresponding interface settings, and then the user can access the data. Since the present invention has the characteristics of hot plugging and plug-and-play, it is convenient for users to update and expand the storage device.

Claims (10)

1. One kind can the dynamic access external storage device computer system, it is characterized in that, can dynamically be connected and separate with it by the hot plug action for more than one external storage device, which comprises at least:

   One connecting interface is connected with this external storage device;

   One input/output control circuit connects and separates for this external storage device, exports a caution signal when this external storage device and connection status thereof change;

   One system, control circuit is connected with this input/output control circuit, is used for receiving this caution signal and exports an interrupt request singal after receiving this caution signal;

   One interface control circuit is connected with this connecting interface, and according to each interface setting value of its internal memory, controls the transmission standard and the interface specification of this connecting interface; And

   One CPU (central processing unit), be connected this external storage device by connecting interface, be used for this external storage device of access, and it is connected with this system, control circuit, to receive interrupt request singal, and after receiving interrupt request singal, even whether this CPU (central processing unit) is judged this interrupt request singal is to cause because of the institute that changes of the connection status between this input/output control circuit and the external storage device, if, the then configuration of the number of the external storage device that connects at this moment according to this input/output control circuit and each external storage device combination adds to corresponding interface setting value in this interface control circuit.
2. 2. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that this computer system is a storage server system.
3. 3. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that this input/output control circuit is a super I/O chip.
4. 4. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that this system, control circuit is a South Bridge chip.
5. 5. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that this external storage device is a large-scale memory storage.
6. 6. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that, this input/output control circuit has this external storage device of more than one input/output terminal confession and connects.
7. 7. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 5 is characterized in that this large-scale memory storage is a disk set.
8. 8. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 6 is characterized in that this input/output port is a general input.
9. 9. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that this connecting interface is a disk drive interface.
10. 10. computer system that can the dynamic access external storage device as claimed in claim 9 is characterized in that this disk drive interface can be following any specification: IDE specification, E-IDE specification, ATA specification and ATAPI specification.

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