Reconfigurable USB I/O device persona
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsGregg Kent Gibson, Eric Richard Kern, Shane Michael Lardinois
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and system for allowing a server blade in a blade chassis to use a remote universal serial bus (USB) device. Multiple USB devices are coupled to a management module in the blade chassis. A persona describing only authorized USB devices is sent to a reconfigurable input/output (I/O) device in the server blade in the blade chassis, allowing the server blade to utilize the remote USB device(s).
Claims12
A method comprising:
- in a multi-blade chassis, coupling a management module to a reconfigurable input/output (I/O) processor in a server blade in the multi-blade chassis;
- coupling at least one of a plurality of USB devices to the management module, such that the plurality of USB devices is unable to directly communicate data to and from the server blade;
- setting up a protocol, in the management module, for arbitrating and handling universal serial bus (USB) data packets transmitted between the server blade and one or more of the plurality of USB devices;
- storing, in the management module, USB descriptors in a management module USB persona, wherein the USB descriptors describe all USB devices that are coupled to the management module;
- transmitting, from the management module USB persona to a blade USB persona in the server blade, one or more selected USB descriptors of one or more selected USB devices that have been selected by the management module as being authorized USB devices for the server blade;
- transmitting USB data from an internal USB host controller in the server blade to the reconfigurable I/O processor;
- and
- transmitting the USB data between the one or more selected USB devices and the reconfigurable I/O processor according to the protocol set up by the management module.
A computer readable storage medium, wherein the computer readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program product that comprises:
- program code for, in a multi-blade chassis, coupling a management module to a reconfigurable input/output (I/O) processor in a server blade in the multi-blade chassis;
- program code for coupling a plurality of USB devices to the management module, such that the plurality of USB devices is not directly coupled to the server blade;
- program code for setting up a protocol, in the management module, for arbitrating and handling universal serial bus (USB) data packets transmitted between the server blade and one or more of the plurality of USB devices;
- program code for transmitting, from the management module to the reconfigurable I/O processor, one or more USB descriptors respectively describing one or more selected USB devices from the plurality of USB devices coupled to the management module, the one or more transmitted USB descriptors being selected according to the protocol set up by the management module;
- program code for establishing a protocol limiting a specified server blade in the multi-blade chassis to the use of only specified USB devices coupled to the management module;
- program code for transmitting USB data from an internal USB host controller in the server blade to the reconfigurable I/O processor;
- and
- program code for transmitting the USB data between the one or more selected USB devices and the reconfigurable I/O processor according to the protocol set up by the management module.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.