Soft Core Firmware-Based Board Management Module for High Performance Blockchain/Fintech Servers

【Author】 Shin, Seokjin; Eom, Seonyong; Choi, Min

【Source】HUMAN-CENTRIC COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SCIENCES

【影响因子】6.558

【Abstract】As blockchain and fintech technologies are in the spotlight recently, the need for high-performance computing server management technology is increasing. A baseboard management controller (BMC) can communicate with remote sites through Ethernet/LAN and is designed to connect with external devices through various methods. In this study, we have researched BMC technology architecture operating on top of NIOS soft core. The BMC adopts various intellectual properties such as power management, PMBus, inter-integrated circuit (I2C), DRAM, flash controllers, and pulse width modulation (PWM) which modulates the duty ratio according to the ADC-related temperature scope depending on user commands. We aimed at implementing BMC with stability and better transient response using PMBus. The PMBus command processing and implementation methods for power management integrated circuit (PMIC) control in BMC firmware, such as VOUT_COMMAND and POWER ON/OFF commands. As a result of the experiment, we compared to conventional OpenBMC platform in terms of startup time. The time required for initial boot-up was reduced by about half. Therefore, this research is meaningful that we construct our own BMC which operates on a special purpose/board through a customized BMC.

【Keywords】Board Management Module; Blockchain Server; Fintech Server; IPMI; PMBus; Embedded System

【发表时间】2022 JAN 30

【收录时间】2022-02-10

【文献类型】期刊

【主题类别】

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