IP Library › Granted Patent US 8,583,847
Granted Patent B2
US 8,583,847 · App. 12/964,466 · Granted Nov 12, 2013

System and method for dynamically detecting storage drive type

Inventors: Indrani Paul (Round Rock, TX); John S. Loffink (Austin, TX); Timothy M. Lambert (Austin, TX)
Assignee: Dell Products, LP
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,583,847
App. No.
12/964,466
Filed
Dec 9, 2010
Granted
Nov 12, 2013
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2111
USPC
710/304
Abstract

An information handling system includes a cable, a backplane, and a processor. The cable is connected to a storage controller of the information handling system. The backplane is configured to connect a drive to the information handling system. The processor is in communication with the cable and with the backplane. The processor is configured to detect a presence of the drive, to output a pulse in response to the detection of the presence of the drive, to determine a first storage technology of the drive in response to the output pulse, to determine a second storage technology of the storage controller, to determine whether there is a misconfiguration between the first storage technology and the second storage technology, and to generate a notification when the misconfiguration is determined.

Claims (42)

1. An information handling system comprising:

a cable connected to a storage controller of the information handling system;

a backplane configured to connect a drive to the information handling system; and

a processor in communication with the cable and with the backplane, the processor configured to detect a presence of the drive, to output a pulse from a first terminal of the processor in response to the detection of the presence of the drive, to detect a voltage at a second terminal of the processor in response to the output pulse, to determine a first storage technology of the drive in response to a first value of the voltage at the second terminal, to determine a second storage technology of the drive in response to a second value of the voltage at the second terminal, to determine a third storage technology of the storage controller, to determine whether there is a misconfiguration between the first storage technology and the third storage technology or between the second storage technology and the third storage technology, to set a mask register of a board management controller firmware as an invalid slot when the misconfiguration is determined, and to generate a notification when the misconfiguration is determined.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 further comprising:

a light emitted diode connected to the processor, wherein the light emitting diode is lit up in response to a misconfiguration between the backplane cable and the drive.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein first storage technology is detected out-of-band.

4. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the second storage technology of the storage controller is selected from a group consisting of serial advanced technology attachment and serial attached small computer system interface.

5. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the first storage technology of the drive is selected from a group consisting of a serial advanced technology attachment drive and a serial attached small computer system interface drive.

6. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the presence of the drive is detected upon initialization of the information handling system.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 wherein the presence of the drive is detected upon a connection of the drive to the information handling system via a hot-plug connection.

8. An information handling system comprising:

a cable connected to a storage controller of the information handling system;

a backplane configured to connect a drive to the information handling system;

an out-of-band drive connector interface in communication the drive, the out-of-band drive connector interface configured to detect a presence of the drive; and

a processor in communication with the cable, with the backplane, and with the out-of-band drive connector interface, the processor configured to output a pulse from a first terminal of the processor in response to the detection of the presence of the drive, to detect a voltage at a second terminal of the processor in response to the output pulse, to determine a first storage technology of the drive in response to a first value of the voltage at the second terminal, to determine a second storage technology of the drive in response to a second value of the voltage at the second terminal, to determine a third storage technology of the storage controller, to determine whether there is a misconfiguration between the first storage technology and the third storage technology or between the second storage technology and the third storage technology, to set a mask register of a board management controller firmware as an invalid slot when the misconfiguration is determined, and to generate a notification when the misconfiguration is determined.

9. The information handling system of claim 8 further comprising:

a light emitted diode connected to the processor, wherein the light emitting diode blinks in response to a misconfiguration between the backplane cable and the drive.

10. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the second storage technology of the storage controller is selected from a group consisting of serial advanced technology attachment and serial attached small computer system interface.

11. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the first storage technology of the drive is selected from a group consisting of a serial advanced technology attachment drive, and a serial attached small computer system interface drive.

12. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the presence of the drive is detected upon initialization of the information handling system.

13. The information handling system of claim 8 wherein the presence of the drive is detected upon a connection of the drive to the information handling system via a hot-plug connection.

14. A method comprising:

detecting an initialization of an information handling system or an insertion of a drive into a drive slot of the information handling system;

detecting a first storage technology of a storage controller connected to a cable of the drive slot;

determining whether the first storage technology of the storage controller is serial advanced technology attachment; and

when the first storage technology of the storage controller is serial advanced technology attachment:

outputting a high voltage pulse from a first terminal of a processor;

determining a first voltage at a second terminal of the processor;

when the first voltage is a high voltage, sending a first indication that a second storage technology of the drive is a serial advanced technology attachment drive to a board management controller in response to a request from the board management controller, and setting a mask register of a board management controller firmware as a valid slot; and

when the first voltage is a low voltage, sending a second indication that the second storage technology of the drive is a serial attached small computer system interface drive to the board management controller in response to the request from the board management controller, setting the mask register of the board management controller firmware as an invalid slot, detecting a misconfiguration of storage technologies between the first storage technology of the storage controller and the second storage technology of the drive, and outputting a misconfiguration LED pattern.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

when the first storage technology of the storage controller is not serial advanced technology attachment;

outputting the high voltage pulse from the first terminal;

determining a second voltage at the second terminal;

sending the first indication that the second storage technology of the drive is the serial advanced technology attachment drive in the board management controller when the second voltage is a high voltage and in response to the request from the board management controller; and

sending the second indication that the second storage technology of the drive is the serial attached small computer system interface drive in the board management controller when the second voltage is the high voltage and in response to a request from the board management controller.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

lighting up a light emitting diode when the second storage technology of the drive is the serial attached small computer system interface drive.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the second storage technology of the drive is determined out-of-band.

18. The method of claim 14 wherein the cable provides the storage controller with communication to the drive inserted into the information handling system.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein the drive is a hot-plug drive.

Assignments (15)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053546/0001) Recorded Jun 23, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 071642/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (045455/0001) Recorded May 20, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061753/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (040136/0001) Recorded Apr 26, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.); DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC CORPORATION (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MAGINATICS LLC); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO MOZY, INC.); SCALEIO LLC
Reel/Frame 061324/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 3, 2021
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 058216/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 22, 2020
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053546/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 21, 2019
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 049452/0223 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040134/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Sep 21, 2016
From: ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; AVENTAIL LLC; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL SYSTEMS CORPORATION; EMC CORPORATION; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; MAGINATICS LLC; MOZY, INC.; SCALEIO LLC; SPANNING CLOUD APPS LLC; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 040136/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040040/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2016
From: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040065/0618 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2016
From: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; COMPELLANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
Reel/Frame 040065/0216 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (ABL) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: DELL INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 031898/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (TERM LOAN) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: DELL INC.; APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 031899/0261 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT (NOTES) Recorded Jan 2, 2014
From: APPASSURE SOFTWARE, INC.; ASAP SOFTWARE EXPRESS, INC.; BOOMI, INC.; COMPELLENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INC.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL SOFTWARE INC.; DELL USA L.P.; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; GALE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; PEROT SYSTEMS CORPORATION; SECUREWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.
To: BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS FIRST LIEN COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 031897/0348 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 10, 2010
From: PAUL, INDRANI; LOFFINK, JOHN S; LAMBERT, TIMOTHY M
To: DELL PRODUCTS, LP
Reel/Frame 025471/0480 →
Continuity (1)
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