U.S. patent application number 17/683301 was filed with the patent office on 2022-08-18 for modular ngsff module to meet different density and length requirements.
The applicant listed for this patent is Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Zhan PING.
Application Number | 20220261610 17/683301 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000006307794 |
Filed Date | 2022-08-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220261610 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PING; Zhan |
August 18, 2022 |
MODULAR NGSFF MODULE TO MEET DIFFERENT DENSITY AND LENGTH
REQUIREMENTS
Abstract
An assembly for a solid-state drive (SSD) includes a base
printed circuit board having a PCIe adapter form factor, and at
least one U.2 connector that is capable of being connected to a
NGSFF device. The NGSFF device includes an NGSFF PCB, a first PCIe
connector and a second PCIe connector. The NGSFF PCB is capable of
receiving at least one SSD device and includes a first end and a
second end in which the first end is opposite the second end. The
first PCIe connector is at an edge of the first end of the NGSFF
PCB and is capable of physical insertion into the at least one U.2
connector on the base PCB, and the second PCIe connector is at an
edge of the second end of the NGSFF PCB and is capable of receiving
a first PCIe connector of another NGSFF PCB.
Inventors: |
PING; Zhan; (San Jose,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Suwon-si |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000006307794 |
Appl. No.: |
17/683301 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2022 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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15853669 |
Dec 22, 2017 |
11263508 |
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17683301 |
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62562350 |
Sep 22, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 13/387 20130101;
G06K 19/07732 20130101; H05K 1/18 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06K 19/077 20060101
G06K019/077; G06F 13/38 20060101 G06F013/38; H05K 1/18 20060101
H05K001/18 |
Claims
1. An assembly for a solid-state drive (SSD), comprising: a base
printed circuit board (PCB) having a peripheral component
interconnect express (PCIe) adapter form factor; and at least one
U.2 connector capable of being connected to a next generation small
form factor (NGSFF) device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/853,669, filed Dec. 22, 2017, which claims
the priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/562,350, filed on Sep.
22, 2017, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to
form factors for solid-state drives (SSDs), and more particularly,
to a modular form factor for SSDs that may be hot swappable in a
host system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Non-volatile memory express (NVMe) storage devices are
becoming popular for hyperscale server in datacenters, and NVMe
storage devices are replacing legacy hard disk drives (HDDs) and
legacy SSDs in datacenters.
SUMMARY
[0004] An embodiment provides an assembly for an SSD that may
include a base printed circuit board (PCB) having a peripheral
component interconnect express (PCIe) adapter form factor, and at
least one U.2 connector capable of being connected to a next
generation small form factor (NGSFF) device. The NGSFF device may
include an NGSFF PCB, a first PCIe connector and a second PCIe
connector. The NGSFF PCB may be capable of receiving at least one
SSD device, and may include a first end and a second end in which
the first end is opposite the second end. The first PCIe connector
may be at an edge of the first end of the NGSFF PCB, and may be
capable of physical insertion into the at least one U.2 connector
on the base PCB. The second PCIe connector may be at an edge of the
second end of the NGSFF PCB, and may be capable of receiving a
first PCIe connector of another NGSFF PCB.
[0005] Another embodiment provides a SSD assembly that may include
a base PCB, and a NGSFF device. The base PCB may include a PCIe
form factor and at least one U.2 connector. The NGSFF device may
include an NGSFF PCB, a first PCIe connector and a second PCIe
connector. The NGSFF PCB may be capable of receiving at least one
SSD device, and may include a first end and a second end in which
the first end is opposite the second end. The first PCIe connector
may be at an edge of the first end of the NGSFF PCB, and may be
capable of physical insertion into the at least one U.2 connector
on the base PCB. The second PCIe connector may be at an edge of the
second end of the NGSFF PCB, and may be capable of receiving a
first PCIe connector of another NGSFF PCB. The NGSFF device may be
hot swappable to the base PCB.
[0006] Yet another embodiment provides an SSD assembly that may
include a PCIe adapter card and at least one base PCB. The PCIe
adapter card may include at least one first PCIe connector in which
each first PCIe connector may be capable of receiving a second PCIe
connector that is part of a base PCB. Each base PCB may include a
first end and a second end in which the first end may be opposite
the second end, at least one SSD device; the second PCIe connector
at an edge of the first end of the base PCB; and a third PCIe
connector at an edge of the second end of the base PCB in which the
third PCIe connector may be capable of receiving a second PCIe
connector of another base PCB. The second PCIe connector may
include a plurality of PCIe lanes, and the third PCIe connector may
include a plurality of PCIe lanes. The PCIe adapter card may
include a half height, half length (HHHL) form factor. In one
embodiment, the PCIe adapter card may further include a panel
having an opening through which at least one base PCB may be hot
swappable to the first PCIe connector on the PCIe adapter card.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] In the following section, the aspects of the subject matter
disclosed herein will be described with reference to exemplary
embodiments illustrated in the figures, in which:
[0008] FIG. 1A depicts two NGSFF form-factor modules with respect
to an adapter assembly device according to the subject matter
disclosed herein;
[0009] FIGS. 1B and 1C respectively depict two alternative example
embodiments of NGSFF form-factor modules with respect to an adapter
assembly device according to the subject matter disclosed
herein;
[0010] FIG. 2A depicts an example embodiment of a PCIe adapter card
that may be configured to receive one or more NGSFF form-factor
modules;
[0011] FIG. 2B conceptually depicts possible locations for
closeable openings on a rear panel 204 of an adapter assembly
device configured as a PCIe adapter card according to the subject
matter disclosed herein; and
[0012] FIG. 2C depicts a perspective view of an adapter assembly
device configured as a PCIe adapter card with respect to a host
device into which the PCIe adapter card may be inserted according
to the subject matter disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] In the following detailed description, numerous specific
details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding
of the disclosure. It will be understood, however, by those skilled
in the art that the disclosed aspects may be practiced without
these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods,
procedures, components and circuits have not been described in
detail not to obscure the subject matter disclosed herein.
[0014] Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment"
or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or
characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be
included in at least one embodiment disclosed herein. Thus, the
appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an
embodiment" or "according to one embodiment" (or other phrases
having similar import) in various places throughout this
specification may not be necessarily all referring to the same
embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or
characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or
more embodiments. In this regard, as used herein, the word
"exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or
illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is
not to be construed as necessarily preferred or advantageous over
other embodiments. Also, depending on the context of discussion
herein, a singular term may include the corresponding plural forms
and a plural term may include the corresponding singular form. It
is further noted that various figures (including component
diagrams) shown and discussed herein are for illustrative purpose
only, and are not drawn to scale. Similarly, various waveforms and
timing diagrams are shown for illustrative purpose only. For
example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated
relative to other elements for clarity. Further, if considered
appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the
figures to indicate corresponding and/or analogous elements.
[0015] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing
particular exemplary embodiments only and is not intended to be
limiting of the claimed subject matter. As used herein, the
singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the
plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises"
and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the
presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,
and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of
one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,
components, and/or groups thereof. The terms "first," "second,"
etc., as used herein, are used as labels for nouns that they
precede, and do not imply any type of ordering (e.g., spatial,
temporal, logical, etc.) unless explicitly defined as such.
Furthermore, the same reference numerals may be used across two or
more figures to refer to parts, components, blocks, circuits,
units, or modules having the same or similar functionality. Such
usage is, however, for simplicity of illustration and ease of
discussion only; it does not imply that the construction or
architectural details of such components or units are the same
across all embodiments or such commonly-referenced parts/modules
are the only way to implement the teachings of particular
embodiments disclosed herein.
[0016] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and
scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this
subject matter belongs. It will be further understood that terms,
such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be
interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their
meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be
interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly
so defined herein.
[0017] The subject matter disclosed herein provides an adapter
assembly device that may be capable of receiving one or more next
generation small form factor (NGSFF) modules. In one embodiment,
the adapter assembly device may be capable of receiving an NGSFF
module that may include SSDs that provide high density and high
performance for an existing server storage. Additionally, SSDs
configured to have an NGSFF may be connected to an adapter assembly
device having U.2 connectors.
[0018] In one embodiment, an adapter assembly device may be capable
of receiving an NGSFF module that may include a card-edge connector
on one end, and a female connector on the other end that also
accepts the card-edge connector of an NGSFF module, so that NGSFF
modules may be plugged into each other end-on-end in a
cascaded-type manner. Thus, combined SSD devices may have a form
factor that may be longer than the length of a single NGSFF by
plugging NGSFF modules together. Consequently, different
embodiments of the modular NGSFF may be configured to the different
lengths and density requirements in order to adapt to different
applications. For example, a single NGSFF SSD module may be used
for a storage-server application, whereas two NGSFF SSD form-factor
modules may be connected together and used for a storage-drawer
application.
[0019] An adapter assembly device disclosed herein configured like
a peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) adapter and that
is capable of receiving an NGSFF module enables a user to add
hot-pluggable high-density, high-performance NVMe storage devices
to any existing storage server that includes, for example, a PCIe
slot in a host computer. That is, an adapter assembly device
disclosed herein may be configured as a PCIe adapter card that may
be capable of conveniently receiving one or more hot-swappable
NGSFF SSD modules without removing the entire PCIe adapter card
from the host device. The hot-swappability of an NGSFF module may
be provided by a connector on the PCIe adapter card that permits an
NGSFF module to be inserted either into the top of the PCIe adapter
card or through a rear panel edge. For example, in one embodiment,
a closeable opening may be provided in a rear panel of a PCIe
adapter card in which the closeable opening is accessible when the
PCIe adapter card is plugged into a PCIe slot of a host device.
Such a configuration allows a user to open the closeable opening of
the PCIe adapter card and an NGSFF module without needing to remove
the PCIe adapter card.
[0020] FIG. 1A depicts an adapter assembly device 100 and two NGSFF
modules 103 according to the subject matter disclosed herein. In
one embodiment, the adapter assembly device 100 may include a base
printed circuit board (PCB) 101 and one or more conventional U.2
connectors 102 that are each configured to receive an NGSFF module
103. The adapter assembly device 100 may have a selectable form
factor that may be based on a given application. For example, in
one embodiment, the form factor of the adapter assembly device 100
may be configured to have a PCIe form factor. In another
embodiment, the form factor of the adapter assembly device 100 may
be in the shape of a PCIe adapter. In still another embodiment, the
adapter assembly device 100 may have the form factor of a standard
2.5 or 3.5 inch drive.
[0021] Each NGSFF module 103 may include a base PCB 104, a
card-edge connector 105 at one end of the PCB 104, and a connector
106 at an end of the PCB 104 that is opposite from the card-edge
connector 105. The connector 106 may be configured to receive a
card-edge connector of another NGSFF module (not shown). In one
embodiment, both of the card-edge connector 105 and the connector
106 may be configured for a plurality of PCIe lanes. For example,
both the card-edge connector 105 and the connector 106 may be
configured to provide a PCIe 2X interface. In another example, both
of the card-edge connector 105 and the connector 106 may be
configured for a PCIe 4X interface.
[0022] In one embodiment, the adapter assembly device 100 may have
a form factor that is configured to receive at least one NGSFF
module 103, which is about 110 mm.times.30.5 mm. In another
embodiment, the adapter assembly device 100 may have a form factor
that is configured to receive at least two NGSFF modules 103.
[0023] In one embodiment, an NGSFF module 103 may include one or
more SSD memory devices 107. In one embodiment, an NGSFF module 103
may include up to 32TB of NVMe storage capacity, and may also
provide about a 1M random-read IOPS. It should be understood,
however, that an embodiment of an NGSFF module 103 may include more
than 32TB of NVMe storage and/or may provide more random-read
IOPS.
[0024] Each of the NGSFF modules 103 may be separately hot
swappable to a corresponding U.2 connector 102 on the adapter
assembly device 100. In one embodiment, at least one U.2 connector
102 may include a pre-charge pin and other pins have a staging to
support hot swappability of the NGSFF modules 103. In another
embodiment, at least one U.2 connector 102 may include pins that
are staggered to ensure that no sensitive circuitry in an NGSFF
module 103 is connected to power before a reliable system ground
has been established. In another embodiment, at least one U.2
connector 102 may include pins that are staggered so that the
ground of an NGSFF module 103 is established first, then data lines
are connected, and power lines are connected last. Additionally or
alternatively, the adapter assembly device 100 may include one or
more optional hot-swap controllers 108 that may be embedded in or
mounted on the backside of the adapter assembly device 100 that may
control in-rush current into and voltage applied to an NGSFF module
103 that has been hot-swapped into a U.2 connector 102. Also
additionally or alternatively, an NGSFF module 103 may include a
hot-swap controller 109 that may control in-rush current into and
voltage applied to the NGSFF module 103.
[0025] Reference numerals 110 and 111 in FIG. 1A conceptually
indicate example locations on the adapter assembly device 100 where
an NGSFF module 103 may be positioned when connected to a U.2
connector 102. The adapter assembly device 100 may include a
connector 112 through which the PCIe lanes may be connected to a
host device (not shown). It should be understood that another
embodiment of an adapter assembly device 100 may include only one
location where an NGSFF device 103 may be positioned when connected
to the adapter assembly device 100.
[0026] FIGS. 1B and 1C respectively depict two alternative example
embodiments of adapter assembly devices 100a and 100b and NGSFF
modules 103. In FIG. 1B, the adapter assembly device 100a may be
configured so that a PCIe 2X interface of an NGSFF module 103 may
be directly connected to a host device (not shown) that is external
to the adapter assembly device 100a. In FIG. 1C, the adapter
assembly device 100b may be configured with a controllable switch
113 between the PCIe 2X interface of an NGSFF module 103 and a host
device (not shown) that is external to the U.2 form-factor device
100b.
[0027] FIG. 2A depicts an example embodiment of a PCIe adapter card
200 that may be configured to receive one or more NGSFF form-factor
modules 103 according to the subject matter disclosed herein. In
one embodiment, an NGSFF SSD form-factor module 103 may be
configured to include up to 32TB of NVMe storage capacity and may
provide about a 1 M random read IOPS to any server system having
PCIe slot. The PCIe adapter card 200 may be configured to have a
half height, half length (HHHL) form factor (i.e., nominally 64.40
mm wide.times.167.65 mm long.times.14.47 mm deep). In one
embodiment, the PCIe adapter card 200 may include a card-edge
connector 201 that provides a Gen3 X8 interface. Reference numerals
202 and 203 conceptually indicate example locations on the PCIe
adapter card 200 where an NGSFF module 103 may be positioned when
connected to the PCIe adapter card 200. It should be understood
that another embodiment of the PCIe adapter card 200 may include
only one location where an NGSFF device 103 may be positioned when
connected to the PCIe adapter card 200.
[0028] The PCIe adapter card 200 may receive one or more NGSFF
modules 103 that may be hot-pluggable to a mating connector (not
shown) on the PCIe adapter card 200. In one embodiment, the PCIe
adapter card 200 may include a rear panel that has one or more
closeable openings that allow a user to selectively plug in or
remove one or more NGSFF modules 103, thereby providing convenient
serviceability and flexible system configuration. FIG. 2B
conceptually depicts possible locations 205 and 206 for closeable
openings on a rear panel 204 of a PCIe adapter card 200. In one
embodiment, the openings may include a hinged door. In another
embodiment, the openings may be closeable using a plug that may be
inserted into the opening. In still another embodiment, the
openings may not be closeable. Accordingly, unlike a conventional
SSD PCIe adapter card, the PCIe adapter card 200 disclosed herein
does not require a user to open a server lid to remove the PCIe
adapter card in order to remove an SSD device that is part of an
NGSFF module 103 connected to the PCIe adapter card for service.
Additionally, an NGSFF SSD 103 may contain one or more LEDs 207
(FIG. 2B) that may be visible through the rear panel 204 of the
PCIe adapter card 200 to indicate activity status. In an
alternative embodiment, the PCIe adapter card 200 may be configured
so that an NGSFF module may be inserted into the PCIe adapter card
from a top direction.
[0029] FIG. 2C depicts a perspective view of a PCIe adapter card
200 with respect to a host device 300 into which a PCIe adapter
card 200 may be inserted according to the subject matter disclosed
herein. The card-edge connector 201 of the PCIe adapter card 200 is
indicated as being insertable into a corresponding mating connector
301 on a motherboard 302 of the host device 300. In another
alternative embodiment, a PCIe adapter card 200 may be configured
to include a housing that matches a conventional 2.5'' or 3.5''
hard disk drive (HDD) form factor, thereby allowing NGSFF SSDs to
be used in legacy datacenter equipment.
[0030] As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, the
innovative concepts described herein can be modified and varied
over a wide range of applications. Accordingly, the scope of
claimed subject matter should not be limited to any of the specific
exemplary teachings discussed above, but is instead defined by the
following claims.
* * * * *