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US 2006/0136644 A1Published application
SAS hot swap backplane expander module
OwnerCynthia Martin, Craig Jahne +1inventors
InventorsCynthia Martin, Craig Jahne, Donald Faw
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An expander module for connection to a hot-swap backplane is disclosed.
Claims20
An expander module, comprising:
- an expander integrated circuit, for adding port functionality to a disk drive configuration, wherein the expander integrated circuit is disposed on a printed circuit board;
- and
- a pair of mating connectors, for coupling to a corresponding pair of connectors on a hot-swap backplane, wherein an electrical connection between drives coupled to the hot-swap backplane and the expander integrated circuit is established when the pair of mating connectors is coupled to the pair of corresponding connectors;
- wherein a mechanical connection between the expander module and the hot-swap backplane is established when the electrical connection is made.
1 more element
A disk drive configuration, comprising:
- a controller, the controller including first ports;
- a backplane coupled to a plurality of disk drives, the backplane comprising a pair of connectors, the pair of connectors being a predetermined distance apart, wherein the plurality of disk drives are electrically connected to the pair of connectors when coupled to the backplane;
- and
- an expander module, the expander module comprising:
- second ports, wherein the expander module is connected to the controller by coupling one of the first ports to one of the second ports;
- and
- a pair of connector mates, the pair of connector mates being the predetermined distance apart;
- and
- wherein the pair of connectors and the pair of connector mates establish an electrical connection between the controller and the plurality of disk drives.
6 more elements
A processor-based system, comprising:
- a processor and a memory coupled to a bridge;
- a controller coupled to the bridge, the controller including controller ports;
- a backplane for coupling the controller to a plurality of disk drives, the backplane comprising a pair of connectors, the pair of connectors being a predetermined distance apart, wherein the plurality of disk drives are electrically connected to the pair of connectors when installed in the processor-based system;
- and
- an expander module, the expander module comprising:
- expander ports, wherein the expander module is connected to the controller by coupling a first port of the controller ports to a first port of the expander ports;
- and
- a pair of connector mates, the pair of connector mates being the predetermined distance apart, wherein the pair of connectors and the pair of connector mates establish an electrical connection between the controller and the plurality of disk drives.
5 more elements
A system, comprising:
- a controller comprising ports;
- a hot-swap backplane comprising a connector for coupling to the controller by disposing a cable between the connector and the controller;
- and
- an expander, the expander comprising expander ports;
- wherein the expander ports are not part of the hot-swap backplane.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.