IP Library Granted Patent US 11,294,840
Granted Patent B2
US 11,294,840 · App. 16/917,580 · Granted Apr 5, 2022

Dual-tree backplane

Inventors: Zhuo Zhang (Shanghai, CN); Qi Zhang (Shanghai, CN); Zheng Zhang (Shanghai, CN)
Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
G06F13/4022G06F1/185G06F13/409G06F13/4068G06F13/4282G06F2213/0026
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,294,840
App. No.
16/917,580
Granted
Apr 5, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

An information handling system may include at least one processor; a first and a second backplane, wherein the first and second backplanes are Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) backplanes; and a physical storage resource. The physical storage resource may be coupled to the at least one processor via a first port of the physical storage resource and via the first backplane, and the physical storage resource may be further coupled to the at least one processor via a second port of the physical storage resource and via the second backplane.

Claims (25)

1. An information handling system comprising:

at least one processor;

a plurality of backplanes, wherein the backplanes are Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) backplanes each having downstream PCIe lanes; and

a plurality of physical storage resources;

wherein each of the plurality of physical storage resources is coupled to the at least one processor via a first port of the physical storage resource and via half the downstream PCIe lanes of one backplane, wherein each of the plurality of physical storage resources is further coupled to the at least one processor via a second port of the physical storage resource and via half the downstream PCIe lanes of another backplane;

wherein each of the plurality of backplanes has a corresponding physical storage resource that is directly coupled to the backplane via a slot of the backplane; and

wherein the plurality of backplanes and their corresponding physical storage resources are coupled together in a circular fashion such that, starting from a first backplane, each backplane is directly coupled to the corresponding physical storage resource of a next backplane, and a last backplane is directly coupled to the corresponding physical storage resource of the first backplane.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the physical storage resource is a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) resource.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein each backplane includes a plurality of slots, each slot being coupled to a corresponding physical storage resource.

4. The information handling system of claim 3 , wherein each corresponding physical storage resource is also coupled to a different backplane.

5. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of physical storage resources is directly coupled to a particular one of the backplanes via a particular slot, and coupled to another one of the backplanes via a cascade cable.

6. A method comprising:

coupling a plurality of backplanes to an information handling system, wherein the backplanes are Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) backplanes each having downstream PCIe lanes;

coupling a plurality of physical storage resources to the information handling system such that each of the plurality of physical storage resources is coupled via a first port of the physical storage resource and via half the downstream PCIe lanes of one backplane, and each of the plurality of physical storage resources is further coupled via a second port of the physical storage resource and via half the downstream PCIe lanes of a different backplane;

directly coupling each of the plurality of backplanes to a corresponding physical storage resource via a slot of the backplane; and

coupling the plurality of backplanes and their corresponding physical storage resources in a circular fashion such that, starting from a first backplane, each backplane is directly coupled to the corresponding physical storage resource of a next backplane, and a last backplane is directly coupled to the corresponding physical storage resource of the first backplane.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the physical storage resource is a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) resource.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of physical storage resources is coupled to a particular one of the backplanes via a particular slot, and coupled to another one of the backplanes via a cascade cable.

9. An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory, computer-readable medium having computer-executable code thereon that is executable by an information handling system including a plurality of backplanes, wherein the backplanes are Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) backplanes each having downstream PCIe lanes, and a plurality of physical storage resources; wherein each of the plurality of backplanes has a corresponding physical storage resource that is directly coupled to the backplane via a slot of the backplane; and wherein the plurality of backplanes and their corresponding physical storage resources are coupled together in a circular fashion such that, starting from a first backplane, each backplane is directly coupled to the corresponding physical storage resource of a next backplane, and a last backplane is directly coupled to the corresponding physical storage resource of the first backplane, the computer-executable code being executable for:

communicating with each of the plurality of physical storage resources via a first coupling between one backplane and a first port of the physical storage resource, the first coupling including half the downstream PCIe lanes of the one backplane; and

communicating with each of the plurality of physical storage resources via a second coupling between another backplane and a second port of the physical storage resource, the second coupling including half the downstream PCIe lanes of the another backplane.

10. The article of claim 9 , wherein the physical storage resource is a Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) resource.

11. The article of claim 9 , wherein each backplane includes a plurality of slots, each slot being coupled to a corresponding physical storage resource.

12. The article of claim 11 , wherein each corresponding physical storage resource is also coupled to a different backplane.

13. The article of claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of physical storage resources is directly coupled to a particular one of the backplanes via a particular slot, and directly coupled to another one of the backplanes via a cascade cable.

Assignments (9)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053574/0221) Recorded Jun 10, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 060333/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053578/0183) Recorded Jun 10, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 060332/0864 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053573/0535) Recorded Jun 10, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 060333/0106 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST AT REEL 053531 FRAME 0108 Recorded Nov 2, 2021
From: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 058001/0371 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2020
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 053578/0183 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2020
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 053573/0535 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2020
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 053574/0221 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 18, 2020
From: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
Reel/Frame 053531/0108 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 30, 2020
From: ZHANG, ZHUO; ZHANG, QI; ZHANG, ZHENG
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 053094/0418 →