JP2646755B2 - Online repairable information processing device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an online repairable information processing apparatus used as a computer system or the like.

(Prior Art) In recent years, with the spread of information processing apparatuses used as computer systems and the like, the social impact of failures is increasing. For this reason, various techniques have been taken so that even if the hardware constituting the system fails, the system can be quickly dealt with without stopping the system.

One of these methods is to include a redundant part in the system in advance, make a configuration change to switch to the redundant part without stopping the system in the event of a failure, and replace the repaired part as a new redundant part in the system again. Incorporate. As another method, there is an online repair that replaces a failed part without stopping the system when a failure occurs.

Generally, an information processing apparatus includes a plurality of printed circuit boards on which various digital devices such as a central processing unit, a main storage device, and a peripheral control device are formed, and a system bus that electrically connects the digital devices. The printed circuit board is connected via a connector. That is, as exemplified in the perspective view of FIG. 3, a printed circuit board 50 on which a digital device is formed is connected to one of connectors 41 to 44 (in this example, a connector 43 and a connector 43). To be connected through). Each of the signal lines on the printed circuit board 50 side is connected to a group of signal lines on the system bus 401 on the printed circuit board 40 via the bus driver and receiver group represented by the bus driver 501 and the receiver 502 and the connector 43. Connected with one.

In the online repair method described above, the printed circuit board 50
When a failure occurs in the peripheral controller formed above, the printed circuit board 50 is pulled out of the connector 43 without stopping the operation of the normal part, and the printed circuit board in which the normal peripheral controller is formed is connected to the connector 44. Plugged in.
The insertion and removal of the printed circuit board is performed in a live state where a signal is transferred to the system bus 401. For this reason, in order to prevent an electrical influence on the system bus due to insertion / removal of the printed circuit board 50, the bus driver 501 is representatively shown via a manual switch 503 and a signal line 504 prior to insertion / removal of the printed circuit board 50. All bus drivers are kept in a high impedance output inhibited state.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the above-described conventional online repair method, the bus driver group on the printed circuit board side is inserted and removed while maintaining a high impedance output suppressed state. However,
Since the bus driver itself has a capacitance, there is a problem that when the printed circuit board is inserted or removed, a change in the capacitance as viewed from the system bus side is caused, and an error occurs in transfer data.

The error on the system bus due to the insertion and removal of the printed circuit board is more likely to occur as the data transfer speed increases. In particular, occurrence of an error in a control signal line in a system bus is an important problem.

(Means for Solving the Problems) An information processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a first printed circuit board on which a signal line group forming a system bus is formed, and a plurality of digital devices interconnected via the system bus. , A plurality of second printed circuit boards on which each of the first and second printed circuit boards is detachably connected to the first printed circuit board, and the other end to which each of the plurality of second printed circuit boards is detachably connected. 3 and a plurality of third printed circuit boards that can be independently extracted. Each of the printed circuit boards in FIG. 3 is configured to output the third printed circuit board based on an output suppression signal input via the system bus. Output suppressing means for suppressing the output of the output signal from the second printed circuit board.

That is, according to the information processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform online repair while the output-suppressed bus driver is connected to the system bus side, and to effectively prevent the influence on the system bus due to the removal and insertion of the printed circuit board. Can be.

 Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described in detail with examples.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a partial configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

On the printed circuit board 10, an output suppression signal line group 102 is formed in addition to the signal line group constituting the system bus 101, and connectors 11, 12 each having a terminal group connected to each of these signal line groups. , 13, 14,... Are formed.
On the printed circuit board 20, one of various digital devices such as a central processing unit, a main storage device, and a peripheral control device is formed. The printed circuit board 30 is a connector of the printed circuit board 10.
13 and the printed circuit board 20
And a guide rail 33a, 33b.

A signal line group formed on the front end portion 31 of the printed circuit board 30 is shown as a signal line 303 as a representative. In addition, a signal line group formed at the front end portion of the printed circuit board 20 is illustrated as a signal line 201 as a representative. The signal line 303 formed on the printed circuit board 30 is connected to the system bus 101 via one of the terminals of the connector 13 formed on the printed circuit board 10 in a completed state of the electrical connection accompanying the connection between the printed circuit boards 30 and 10. Connected to one of the signal line groups. The signal line 303 is connected to two terminals of the connector 32 via the bus driver 301 and the receiver 302. The signal line 201 formed on the printed board 20 is connected to the signal line 303 via one of the terminals of the connector 32 and the bus driver 301 in a completed state of the electrical connection accompanying the connection between the printed boards 20 and 30. Connected to. Therefore, in the completed state of the electrical connection associated with the connection of the three of the printed circuit boards 10, 20 and 30, the printed circuit board 20
The signal line 201 is connected to one of the signal lines of the system bus 101 of the printed circuit board 10 via the bus driver 301 and the signal line 303 of the printed circuit board 30.

One of the output suppression signal lines 102 formed on the printed circuit board 10 is connected to the bus driver 301 via the connector 13 and the output suppression signal line 304 formed on the printed circuit board 30. Although not shown, the output suppression signal line 304 is also connected to all other bus drivers formed on the printed circuit board 30. Although not shown in FIG. 1 for convenience of illustration, a pair of printed circuit boards similar to the pair of printed circuit board 30 and printed circuit board 20 is also provided on other connectors 11, 12, 14,... Formed on printed circuit board 10. Be combined. The remaining of the output suppression signal line group 102 formed on the printed circuit board 10 is the second
As shown in the figure, all the bus drivers formed on the leading end portions of the other printed boards 31, 32,... Configured similarly to the printed board 30 are also connected.

Here, it is assumed that a failure has occurred in the digital device formed on the printed circuit board 20. First, an output suppression signal is output to one of the output suppression signal lines 102 of the printed circuit board 10 that is connected to the bus driver of the printed circuit board 30. This output suppression signal is generally output from a maintenance device or a maintenance panel connected to the system bus. In response to this output suppression signal, all bus drivers formed on the printed circuit board 30 shift to a high impedance output suppression state via the signal line 304. With this output suppressed, the printed circuit board 20 is removed, and instead, a normal printed circuit board 20 is inserted along the guide rails 33a and 33b, and the printed circuit board 20 is inserted.
Connected to 30. As described above, since the insertion and removal of the printed circuit board 20 are performed while the bus driver and the receiver formed on the printed circuit board 30 are connected to the system bus, a capacitive impedance change does not occur in the system bus.

When the replacement of the printed circuit board 20 is completed, the output suppression signal being output to one of the output suppression signal line groups 102 is released, and the digital circuit formed on the printed circuit board 20 is replaced with the bus driver formed on the printed circuit board 30. It is connected to a signal line group of the system bus 101 via a receiver.

The insertion and removal of the printed circuit board 30 from the connector 13 of the printed circuit board 10 are performed under a system stop state when a failure occurs in a bus driver, a receiver, or the like formed on the printed circuit board 30.

The configuration in which the output suppression signal line group is provided on the printed circuit board 10 on which the system bus is formed to suppress the output of the bus driver from the maintenance device or the maintenance panel has been described. However, the output of the bus driver may be suppressed by operating a manual switch provided on the printed circuit board 30.

(Effects of the Invention) As described in detail above, the information processing apparatus of the present invention selectively connects a first printed board on which a system bus is formed and a second printed board on which a digital device is formed. Since the third printed circuit board capable of suppressing output is arranged on the system bus, online repair can be performed while the bus driver in the output suppressed state is connected to the system bus side, and the bus driver on the system bus accompanying removal and insertion of the printed circuit board can be repaired. The occurrence of an error is effectively prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a connection circuit diagram of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional information processing apparatus. It is. 10: a first printed circuit board on which a system bus is formed;
11, 12, 13, 14 ... connector, 20 ... second printed circuit board on which digital devices are formed, 30 ... third printed circuit board on which selectively suppressible bus drivers and receivers are formed, 32 … Connectors, 101… Signal lines that constitute the system bus, 102… Output suppression signal lines, 301… Bus driver, 302… Bus receiver, 303… System bus signal lines and digital devices A signal line representing a signal line group connecting between the signal line groups; 304, an output suppression signal line representing an output suppression signal line group; 201, a signal line representing a signal line group of a digital device; A signal line connected to the signal line 303 via the connector 32 and the bus driver 301.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first printed circuit board on which a signal line group forming a system bus is formed, and a plurality of second prints on which a plurality of digital devices interconnected via the system bus are formed. A plurality of substrates each having one end side detachably coupled to the first printed circuit board and the other end side detachably coupled to each of the plurality of second printed circuit boards, which can be independently extracted; A third printed circuit board, wherein each of the third printed circuit boards is based on an output suppression signal input via the system bus.
An information processing apparatus capable of online repair, comprising an output suppressing unit for suppressing output of an output signal from the printed circuit board.