System and method for triggering a visual indicator of a faulty memory drive

A computer-implemented method of triggering an indicator of a faulty memory drive, the method executable by a system,

• the system comprising:
• a server unit including a host processor for generating input/output (I/O) operations and a service processor for monitoring a physical state of the server unit;
• a first bus interface for transmitting the I/O operations from the host processor to a data storage unit for execution;
• the data storage unit including:
• a plurality of memory drives for executing the I/O operations, the plurality of memory drives having been grouped into a first group and a second group,
• a given memory drive from a respective group (i) being associated with a respective position in the respective group and (ii) having a respective visual indicator indicative of a status of the given memory drive;
• a first serial-to-parallel-input/output (S2PIO) device connected to the first group for controlling visual indicators of the respective memory drives from the first group,
• a second S2PIO device connected to the second group for controlling visual indicators of the respective memory drives from the second group,
• a second bus interface for transmitting commands from the service processor to the first and second S2PIO devices, the second bus interface including:
• a first link between the service processor and the first S2PIO device and a second link between the service processor and the second S2PIO device,
• the method comprising:
• acquiring, by the service processor from the host processor, an indication of a faulty memory drive in the data storage unit, the indication being indicative of:
• (i) a target link amongst the first link and the second link,
• the target link being connected to a target S2PIO device amongst the first S2PIO device, and the second S2PIO device,
• the target S2PIO device being connected to a target group associated with the faulty memory drive amongst the first and the second group;
• and
• (ii) a position of the faulty memory drive in the target group;
• and
• transmitting, by the service processor using the target link, a command to the target S2PIO device, the command for causing the target S2PIO device to trigger a visual indicator associated with the faulty memory drive based on the position of the faulty memory drive in the target group.

A system comprising:

• a server unit including a processor for generating input/output (I/O) operations and a Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) for monitoring a physical state of the server unit;
• a just-a-bunch-of-disks (JBOD), the JBOD coupled to the server unit by a SATA bus for receiving the I/O operations from the processor, the JBOD including:
• a plurality of memory drives for executing the I/O operations, the plurality of memory drives having been grouped into a first group and a second group,
• a given memory drive from a respective group (i) being associated with a respective position in the respective group and (ii) having a respective visual indicator indicative of a status of the given memory drive;
• a first general-purpose-input/output (GPIO) device connected to the first group for controlling visual indicators of the respective memory drives from the first group,
• a second GPIO device connected to the second group for controlling visual indicators of the respective memory drives from the second group,
• a first Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus connecting the BMC with the first GPIO device for transmitting commands from the BMC to the first GPIO device;
• and
• a second I2C bus connecting the BMC with the second GPIO device for transmitting commands to the second GPIO device,
• the system being configured to:
• acquire, by the BMC from the processor, an indication of a faulty memory drive in the JBOD, the indication being indicative of:
• (iii) a target I2C bus amongst the first I2C bus and the second I2C bus,
• the target I2C bus being connected to a target GPIO device amongst the first GPIO device and the second GPIO device,
• the target GPIO device being connected to a target group associated with the faulty memory drive amongst the first and the second group;
• and
• (iv) a position of the faulty memory drive in the target group;
• and
• transmit, by the BMC using the target I2C bus, a command to the target GPIO device, the command for causing the target GPIO device to trigger a visual indicator associated with the faulty memory drive based on the position of the faulty memory drive in the target group.