|
Passive Backplane
A backplane (or "backplane system") is a group of electrical connectors in parallel with each other, so that each pin of each connector is linked to the same relative pin of all the other connectors, forming a computer bus. It is used as a backbone to connect several printed circuit boards together to make up a complete computer system. Backplanes commonly use a printed circuit board, but Wire wrap, wire-wrapped backplanes have also been used in minicomputers and high-reliability applications. A backplane is generally differentiated from a motherboard by the lack of on-board processing and storage elements. A backplane uses plug-in cards for storage and processing. Usage Early microcomputer systems like the Altair 8800 used a backplane for the processor and expansion cards. Backplanes are normally used in preference to cables because of their greater Reliability engineering, reliability. In a cabled system, the cables need to be flexed every time that a card is added or removed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team of engineers and designers directed by Don Estridge in Boca Raton, Florida. The machine was based on open architecture and third-party peripherals. Over time, expansion cards and software technology increased to support it. The PC had a substantial influence on the personal computer market. The specifications of the IBM PC became one of the most popular computer design standards in the world. The only significant competition it faced from a non-compatible platform throughout the 1980s was from the Apple Macintosh product line. The majority of modern personal computers are distant descendants of the IBM PC. History Prior to the 1980s, IBM had largely been known as a provider of business computer systems. As the 1980s opened, their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SGPIO
Serial general purpose input/output (SGPIO) is a four-signal (or four-wire) bus used between a host bus adapter (HBA) and a backplane. Of the four signals, three are driven by the HBA and one by the backplane. Typically, the HBA is a storage controller located inside a server, desktop, rack or workstation computer that interfaces with hard disk drives or solid state drives to store and retrieve data. It is considered an extension of the general-purpose input/output (GPIO) concept. The SGPIO specification is maintained by the Small Form Factor Committee in the SFF-8485 standard. The International Blinking Pattern Interpretation indicates how SGPIO signals are interpreted into blinking light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on disk arrays and storage back-planes. History SGPIO was developed as an engineering collaboration between American Megatrends Inc, at the time makers of back-planes, and LSI-Logic in 2004. SGPIO was later published by the SFF committee as specificatioSFF-8485 Host ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Server (computing)
In computing, a server is a piece of computer hardware or software (computer program) that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called " clients". This architecture is called the client–server model. Servers can provide various functionalities, often called "services", such as sharing data or resources among multiple clients, or performing computation for a client. A single server can serve multiple clients, and a single client can use multiple servers. A client process may run on the same device or may connect over a network to a server on a different device. Typical servers are database servers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and application servers. Client–server systems are usually most frequently implemented by (and often identified with) the request–response model: a client sends a request to the server, which performs some action and sends a response back to the client, typically with a result or acknowledg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disk Array
A disk array is a disk storage system which contains multiple disk drives. It is differentiated from a disk enclosure, in that an array has cache memory and advanced functionality, like RAID, deduplication, encryption and virtualization. Components of a disk array include: * Disk array controllers * Cache in form of both volatile random-access memory and non-volatile flash memory. * Disk enclosures for both magnetic rotational hard disk drives and electronic solid-state drives. * Power supplies Typically a disk array provides increased availability, resiliency, and maintainability by using additional redundant components (controllers, power supplies, fans, etc.), often up to the point where all single points of failure (SPOFs) are eliminated from the design. Additionally, disk array components are often hot-swappable. Traditionally disk arrays were divided into categories: * Network attached storage (NAS) arrays * Storage area network (SAN) arrays: ** Modular SAN arrays ** Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disk Enclosure
A disk enclosure is a specialized casing designed to hold and power disk drives while providing a mechanism to allow them to communicate to one or more separate computers. Drive enclosures provide power to the drives therein and convert the data sent across their native data bus into a format usable by an external connection on the computer to which it is connected. In some cases, the conversion is as trivial as carrying a signal between different connector types. In others, it is complicated enough to require a separate embedded system to retransmit data over connector and signal of a different standard. Factory-assembled external hard disk drives, external DVD-ROM drives, and others consist of a storage device in a disk enclosure. Benefits Key benefits to using external disk enclosures include: *Adding additional storage space and media types to small form factor and laptop computers, as well as sealed embedded systems such as digital video recorders and video game con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Disk Array Controller
A disk array controller is a device that manages the physical disk drives and presents them to the computer as logical units. It almost always implements hardware RAID, thus it is sometimes referred to as RAID controller. It also often provides additional disk cache. ''Disk array controller'' is often improperly shortened to ''disk controller''. The two should not be confused as they provide very different functionality. Front-end and back-end side A disk array controller provides front-end interfaces and back-end interfaces. * Back-end interface communicates with controlled disks. Hence protocol is usually ATA (a.k.a. PATA), SATA, SCSI, FC or SAS. * Front-end interface communicates with a computer's host adapter (HBA, Host Bus Adapter) and uses: ** one of ATA, SATA, SCSI, FC; these are popular protocols used by disks, so by using one of them a controller may transparently emulate a disk for a computer ** somewhat less popular protocol dedicated for a specific solution: FICO ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Line Card
A line card or digital line card is a modular electronic circuit designed to fit on a separate printed circuit board (PCB) and interface with a telecommunications access network. A line card typically interfaces the twisted pair cable of a plain old telephone service (POTS) local loop to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Telephone line cards perform multiple tasks, such as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion of voice, off-hook detection, ring supervision, line integrity tests, and other BORSCHT functions. In some telephone exchange designs, the line cards generate ringing current and decode DTMF signals. The line card in a subscriber loop carrier is called a subscriber line interface card (SLIC). A line card can terminate a line supporting voice POTS service, ISDN service, DSL service, or proprietary ones. Some line cards are capable of terminating more than one type of service. Since an access network element is usually intended to interface many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blade Server
A blade server is a stripped-down server computer with a modular design optimized to minimize the use of physical space and energy. Blade servers have many components removed to save space, minimize power consumption and other considerations, while still having all the functional components to be considered a computer. Unlike a rack-mount server, a blade server fits inside a blade enclosure, which can hold multiple blade servers, providing services such as power, cooling, networking, various interconnects and management. Together, blades and the blade enclosure form a blade system, which may itself be rack-mounted. Different blade providers have differing principles regarding what to include in the blade itself, and in the blade system as a whole. In a ''standard'' server-rack configuration, one rack unit or 1U— wide and tall—defines the minimum possible size of any equipment. The principal benefit and justification of blade computing relates to lifting this restrict ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
System Host Board
300px, PICMG 1.3 SHB and Backplane System Host Board is a term applied to a single-board computer meeting the PICMG 1.3 specification. PICMG 1.3 extended the previous PICMG specifications to continue support for PCI/PCI-X expansion cards as well as new support for PCI Express PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe or PCI-e, is a high-speed serial computer expansion bus standard, designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X and AGP bus standards. It is the common .... References External links PICMG 1.3 SHB Express Resources {{Compu-hardware-stub Single-board computers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Single-board Computer
A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstration or development systems, for educational systems, or for use as embedded computer controllers. Many types of home computers or portable computers integrate all their functions onto a single printed circuit board. Unlike a desktop personal computer, single board computers often do not rely on expansion slots for peripheral functions or expansion. Single board computers have been built using a wide range of microprocessors. Simple designs, such as those built by computer hobbyists, often use static RAM and low-cost 32- or 64-bit processors like ARM. Other types, such as blade servers, would perform similar to a server computer, only in a more compact format. A computer-on-module is a type of single-board computer made to plug into a ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Single Point Of Failure
A single point of failure (SPOF) is a part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working. SPOFs are undesirable in any system with a goal of high availability or reliability, be it a business practice, software application, or other industrial system. Overview Systems can be made robust by adding redundancy in all potential SPOFs. Redundancy can be achieved at various levels. The assessment of a potential SPOF involves identifying the critical components of a complex system that would provoke a total systems failure in case of malfunction. Highly reliable systems should not rely on any such individual component. For instance, the owner of a small tree care company may only own one woodchipper. If the chipper breaks, he may be unable to complete his current job and may have to cancel future jobs until he can obtain a replacement. The owner of the tree care company may have spare parts ready for the repair of the wood chipper, in case it fails. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
