阅读说明：本技术 一种风扇控制装置及方法 (Fan control device and method ) 是由 陈占良 于 2021-08-27 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种风扇控制装置及方法,包括：第一复杂可编程逻辑器件和第二复杂可编程逻辑器件,所述第一复杂可编程逻辑器件与基板管理控制器直连,且所述第一复杂可编程逻辑器件与第二复杂可编程逻辑器件通信连接；所述第一复杂可编程逻辑器件用于控制主板上的第一风扇端子,所述第二复杂可编程逻辑器件用于控制风扇板上的第二风扇端子。本发明风扇设计灵活配置,实现板载风扇和独立风扇板的兼容设计,减轻BMC的I2C工作负载,以及I2C工作不稳定导致的风扇工作异常问题,解决了长距离布线导致的PWM和TACH信号质量不好,导致的转速误报问题。(The invention provides a fan control device and a method, comprising the following steps: the first complex programmable logic device is directly connected with the substrate management controller and is in communication connection with the second complex programmable logic device; the first complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a first fan terminal on the mainboard, and the second complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a second fan terminal on the fan board. The fan is flexibly configured in design, the compatible design of an onboard fan and an independent fan plate is realized, the I2C working load of BMC is reduced, the problem of fan working abnormity caused by unstable I2C working is solved, and the problem of wrong report of rotating speed caused by poor quality of PWM and TACH signals caused by long-distance wiring is solved.)

1. A fan control apparatus, comprising: the first complex programmable logic device is directly connected with the substrate management controller and is in communication connection with the second complex programmable logic device; the first complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a first fan terminal on the mainboard, and the second complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a second fan terminal on the fan board.

2. The fan control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the direct link between the first plc and the bmc is configured to transmit pwm signals and fan speed square signals.

3. The fan control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first plc device monitors a watchdog signal of the bmc via the direct link, and determines a bmc failure based on the watchdog signal.

4. The fan control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first plc device periodically receives a watchdog signal sent by the bmc, and determines that the bmc is faulty if the watchdog signal is not received within a predetermined time limit.

5. The fan control apparatus of claim 3 wherein the first plc device sends the first fan speed to the first fan terminal after confirming the bmc failure.

6. The fan control apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first complex programmable logic device is coupled to the second complex programmable logic device via a universal asynchronous receive transmit bus.

7. A method of controlling a fan, the method comprising:

the first complex programmable logic device receives a pulse width modulation signal sent by the substrate management controller, and controls the fan rotating speed of a first fan terminal on the mainboard according to the pulse width modulation signal or forwards the pulse width modulation signal to a second complex programmable logic device, so that the second complex programmable logic device controls the fan rotating speed of a second fan terminal on the fan board according to the pulse width modulation signal;

the first complex programmable logic device returns the actual fan rotating speed signal of the first fan terminal to the substrate management controller, and forwards the actual fan rotating speed signal of the second fan terminal sent by the second complex programmable logic device through the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus to the substrate management controller.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first plc device sends the set fan speed signal to the first fan terminal by monitoring a watchdog signal of the bmc to confirm bmc failure.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the second plc device monitors the status of the uart bus, and if the uart bus is monitored to be abnormal, sends a set fan speed signal to the second fan terminal, and resets the uart bus.

10. The fan control method according to claim 9, wherein the second plc device detects the transmission signal, determines that the transmission link is faulty if the transmission signal is not inverted within a predetermined time limit, and transmits a reset signal through the reception link, so that the first plc device resets the transmission module of the uart bus.

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of servers, and particularly relates to a fan control device and method.

Background

With the improvement of the computing power of the server, the requirements on the overall performance, power consumption and stability of the server are higher and higher. Server design architectures can vary widely based on different product requirements. The good fan control design scheme can effectively guarantee the heat dissipation function of the mainboard, but the current fan design scheme is single, and the problems of unstable fan control and poor fan control signal quality also exist.

In the existing fan control scheme, a fan connection terminal is arranged on a mainboard, the fan terminal is respectively connected with a substrate management controller and a complex programmable logic device, and the substrate management controller is connected with the complex programmable logic device. The base plate management controller controls the rotating speed of the fan through the PWM signal, the complex programmable logic device is used for monitoring the working state of the base plate management controller, and when the base plate management controller works abnormally, the complex programmable logic device controls the rotating speed of the fan. The fan terminal of the design method is required to be arranged on the mainboard, the space of the mainboard is occupied, and the structural design of the server is not flexible enough.

According to another existing fan control scheme, a baseboard management controller is communicated with a fan board complex programmable logic device through i2c, sends the duty ratio of PWM, and receives the rotating speed value of a fan; after the complex programmable logic device monitors that the I2C bus is hung, the complex programmable logic device can actively control the rotating speed of the fan. The baseboard management controller and the complex programmable logic device are communicated through an I2C bus, so that on one hand, the I2C workload of the baseboard management controller is increased; on the other hand, the higher probability of the I2C hang-up results in the increased probability of abnormal fan operation.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a fan control device and method, aiming at the problems that in the prior art, the structural design of a server is not flexible due to the fact that a fan terminal is arranged on a mainboard, or I2C bus resources are occupied due to the fact that a baseboard management controller and a complex programmable logic device are communicated through an I2C bus, and a fan is unstable due to the fact that an I2C bus is high in hang-up rate.

The invention provides a fan control device, comprising: the first complex programmable logic device is directly connected with the substrate management controller and is in communication connection with the second complex programmable logic device; the first complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a first fan terminal on the mainboard, and the second complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a second fan terminal on the fan board.

Furthermore, a direct link between the first complex programmable logic device and the substrate management controller is used for transmitting the pulse width modulation signal and the fan rotating speed square wave signal.

Further, the first complex programmable logic device monitors a watchdog signal of the baseboard management controller through the direct connection link, and confirms the fault of the baseboard management controller according to the watchdog signal.

Further, the first complex programmable logic device receives a watchdog signal sent by the baseboard management controller periodically, and if the watchdog signal is not received within a set time limit, it is determined that the baseboard management controller fails.

Further, after the first complex programmable logic device confirms the failure of the baseboard management controller, the first complex programmable logic device sends the first fan rotating speed to the first fan terminal.

Furthermore, the first complex programmable logic device is connected with the second complex programmable logic device through a universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus.

The invention also provides a fan control method, which comprises the following steps:

the first complex programmable logic device receives a pulse width modulation signal sent by the substrate management controller, and controls the fan rotating speed of a first fan terminal on the mainboard according to the pulse width modulation signal or forwards the pulse width modulation signal to a second complex programmable logic device, so that the second complex programmable logic device controls the fan rotating speed of a second fan terminal on the fan board according to the pulse width modulation signal;

the first complex programmable logic device returns the actual fan rotating speed signal of the first fan terminal to the substrate management controller, and forwards the actual fan rotating speed signal of the second fan terminal sent by the second complex programmable logic device through the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus to the substrate management controller.

Furthermore, the first complex programmable logic device confirms the fault of the substrate management controller by monitoring a watchdog signal of the substrate management controller and sends a set fan rotating speed signal to the first fan terminal.

Further, the second complex programmable logic device monitors the state of the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus, and if the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus is monitored to be abnormal, the second complex programmable logic device sends a set fan rotating speed signal to the second fan terminal and resets the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus.

Further, the second complex programmable logic device detects the sending signal, if the sending signal does not have data inversion within a set time limit, the sending link is judged to be in fault, and the second complex programmable logic device sends a reset signal through the receiving link, so that the first complex programmable logic device resets the sending module of the universal asynchronous receiving and sending transmission bus.

The beneficial effect of the invention is that,

the fan control device and the fan control method provided by the invention respectively manage the fan terminals on the mainboard and the fan terminals on the fan board by setting two complex programmable logic devices to realize the flexible design of the server structure, and under the structure, the fan terminals can be arranged on the mainboard and also can be arranged on the fan board. Meanwhile, the complex programmable logic device on the mainboard is directly connected with the baseboard management controller instead of being connected through an I2C bus, and communication stability is provided. The fan is flexibly configured in design, the compatible design of an onboard fan and an independent fan plate is realized, the I2C working load of BMC is reduced, the problem of fan working abnormity caused by unstable I2C working is solved, and the problem of wrong report of rotating speed caused by poor quality of PWM and TACH signals caused by long-distance wiring is solved.

In addition, the invention has reliable design principle, simple structure and very wide application prospect.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments or technical solutions in the prior art of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or prior art will be briefly described below, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art that other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a fan control device according to an embodiment of the present application.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary flow chart of fan speed control of a fan control method according to one embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is an exemplary flowchart of reporting an actual rotational speed of a fan in a fan control method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is an exemplary flowchart of a uart bus reset of the fan control method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

In order to make those skilled in the art better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the technical solution in the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiment of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiment is only a part of the embodiment of the present invention, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments may be combined with each other without conflict.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "first", "second", and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implying any number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first," "second," etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art through specific situations.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

Example 1

Referring to fig. 1, the present embodiment provides a FAN control apparatus, including a first complex programmable logic device (MD CPLD) and a second complex programmable logic device (FAN board CPLD), where the first complex programmable logic device is directly connected to a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC), and the first complex programmable logic device is in communication connection with the second complex programmable logic device; the first complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a first fan terminal on the mainboard, and the second complex programmable logic device is used for controlling a second fan terminal on the fan board. The direct connection link of the first complex programmable logic device and the substrate management controller is used for transmitting pulse width modulation signals and fan rotating speed square wave signals. The first complex programmable logic device monitors a watchdog signal of the substrate management controller through the direct connection link and confirms the fault of the substrate management controller according to the watchdog signal. And after the first complex programmable logic device confirms the fault of the substrate management controller, sending the first fan rotating speed to the first fan terminal. The first complex programmable logic device is connected with the second complex programmable logic device through a universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus.

The PWM and TACH signals of the mainboard BMC are directly connected with the mainboard CPLD, and the mainboard CPLD can monitor the watchdog signal of the BMC to confirm whether the BMC works normally. When the fan terminal is placed at the mainboard end, the mainboard CPLD can normally output PWM signals and monitor the TACH signals of the fan, so that the control of the fan can be effectively realized; when the fan terminal is on the independent fan board, the information such as the duty ratio of the fan, the rotating speed of the fan and the like is transmitted between the main board CPLD and the fan board CPLD through the UART bus, and then the fan board CPLD controls the fan to rotate. This scheme can be nimble compatible fan terminal at the mainboard with the design of fan board alone, can satisfy the multiple demand of server structural design.

Example 2

Referring to fig. 2 and fig. 3, the present embodiment provides a fan control method, including the following steps:

and S1, the first complex programmable logic device receives the pulse width modulation signal sent by the substrate management controller, and controls the fan speed of the first fan terminal on the mainboard according to the pulse width modulation signal or forwards the pulse width modulation signal to the second complex programmable logic device, so that the second complex programmable logic device controls the fan speed of the second fan terminal on the fan board according to the pulse width modulation signal.

The first complex programmable logic device confirms the fault of the substrate management controller by monitoring a watchdog signal of the substrate management controller and sends a set fan rotating speed signal to the first fan terminal. And the second complex programmable logic device monitors the state of the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus, and if the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus is monitored to be abnormal, the second complex programmable logic device sends a set fan rotating speed signal to the second fan terminal and resets the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus.

In the hardware design, PWM and TACH signals of the BMC are directly connected with the CPLD of the mainboard; meanwhile, the mainboard CPLD monitors a watchdog signal of the BMC to monitor the working state of the BMC in real time; the fan board CPLD and the mainboard CPLD are communicated through the UART, transmission of the fan rotating speed duty ratio and the fan rotating speed value is achieved, and the fan board CPLD is used for controlling and monitoring the fan. The BMC controls the rotating speed of the fan through the PWM signal, the mainboard CPLD monitors the duty ratio of the BMC, the duty ratio is transmitted to the fan board CPLD through the UART, and after the fan board CPLD obtains the duty ratio value, the PWM signal is generated in a simulated mode to drive the fan.

The specific fan speed control process is as follows:

(1) when the BMC works normally, the BMC controls the rotating speed value of the fan through the PWM signal, and the mainboard CPLD acquires the duty ratio controlled by the current fan by monitoring the PWM signal of the BMC;

(2) when the mainboard CPLD detects that the BMC works abnormally, the mainboard CPLD can set the duty ratio of the fan to be a safe fixed value;

(3) the main board CPLD transmits the duty ratio of the rotating speed of the fan through the UART bus;

(4) the fan plate CPLD analyzes UART bus data to obtain the duty ratio of the rotating speed of the fan;

(5) the fan plate CPLD monitors the UART bus, and if the UART bus is found to be abnormal, the fan plate CPLD sets the fan duty ratio to be a safe fixed value and resets the UART module;

(6) and the fan plate CPLD generates a corresponding PWM signal in an analog mode according to the duty ratio value, and drives the fan to rotate at the required rotating speed.

And S2, the first complex programmable logic device returns the actual fan speed signal of the first fan terminal to the baseboard management controller, and forwards the actual fan speed signal of the second fan terminal sent by the second complex programmable logic device through the universal asynchronous receiving and transmitting transmission bus to the baseboard management controller.

The CPLD monitors the TACH signal of the fan, acquires the rotating speed value of the fan, transmits the rotating speed value to the CPLD of the mainboard through the UART bus, and generates the TACH signal in an analog mode after acquiring the rotating speed value of the fan. And the BMC detects the TACH signal at the CPLD end of the mainboard, so that the monitoring of the rotating speed value of the fan is realized.

The specific monitoring process of the actual fan rotating speed signal is as follows:

(1) the CPLD monitors the TACH signal of the fan to obtain the rotating speed value of the fan;

(2) the fan board CPLD transmits the current rotating speed value of the fan to the main board CPLD through the UART;

(3) the mainboard CPLD analyzes the UART data to obtain the rotating speed value of the fan;

(4) and the CPLD of the mainboard simulates and generates a TACH signal corresponding to the rotating speed value, and the BMC monitors the TACH signal to realize the report of the rotating speed of the fan.

S3, when the fan terminal is on the mainboard, the mainboard CPLD can directly control the rotating speed of the fan through PWM, and the TACH of the fan is switched to the BMC through the mainboard CPLD.

The following detailed description is provided for the mechanism for resetting the uart bus, with reference to fig. 4, including:

when the CPLD detects that the UART bus data is abnormal, the CPLD should actively reset the UART module to ensure that the data can be accurately and timely transmitted.

The UART bus between the main board CPLD and the fan board CPLD can continuously send data. The fan board CPLD detects a TX signal (sending signal), if the TX signal is not subjected to data inversion within 10s, the TX link is considered to be hung, the fan board CPLD sends a reset command through an RX link (receiving link), and the main board CPLD resets the UART TX module after receiving the reset command, so that the UART bus self-recovery is realized.

In the design scheme of this embodiment, the fan board CPLD and the motherboard CPLD communicate with each other through UART to achieve data transmission of the duty ratio and the rotation speed value of the fan, and the BMC and the motherboard CPLD perform direct communication of PWM (pulse modulation signal) and TACH signal (TACH signal: called tachmeter, meaning of tachometer, also called fg (frequency generator) signal in some specifications, output of TACH signal is a frequency-variable square wave signal), so as to achieve monitoring of the duty ratio and analog output of TACH signal of the fan; the fan board CPLD directly controls the PWM signal of the fan and monitors the TACH signal to realize the control and monitoring of the fan.

Although the present invention has been described in detail by referring to the drawings in connection with the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various equivalent modifications or substitutions can be made on the embodiments of the present invention by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, and these modifications or substitutions are within the scope of the present invention/any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.