Page 2
Overall Purpose of ATCA™ Shelf Management
Monitor & control low-level aspects of ATCA boards and other Field Replaceable Units within a shelfWatch over basic health of the shelf, report anomalies, take corrective action when neededRetrieve inventory information & sensor readingsReceive event reports and failure notifications from boards and other intelligent FRUsManage power, cooling & interconnect resources in the shelfEnable visibility into a shelf for a logical SystemManager—some mix of software + “swivel chair folk”
Page 3
Overall Approach to ATCA Shelf Management
Focus on low level h/w management– Required on all boards and shelves– Monitor/control of FRUs in shelf
Adopt Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) 1.5 Revision 1.1 as foundation– IPMI widely used in PC and Server industry
Emphasize interoperability among independently implemented components– PICMG-sponsored interoperability workshop series (#12 just
completed in Chicago)– Using off-the-shelf management components can be a win for
product developers focusing on their value adds– Example components mentioned in this presentation are from
Pigeon Point line:– Shelf level: ShMM-500 Shelf Management Controller– Board level: BMR-AVR-ATCA and BMR-H8S-ATCA Board Management
Reference designs
Page 4
ATCA Shelf w/ Dedicated Shelf Management Controllers
Page 5
One Way to Build Dedicated ShMCs: Use Off-the-shelf Mezzanine Modules
Example: Pigeon Point ShMM-500– SO-DIMM form factor (50.80x67.60mm)– Includes processor, 2x IPMB-0, serial &
Ethernet, plus RAM & Flash, preloaded with Shelf Manager software
– Installs in shelf-specific carrier– Hardware support for dual redundancy
Page 6
Example Dedicated Shelf Manager from Pentair/Schroff
Page 7
AdvancedTCA Shelf Manager: Key Services
Access to inventory information for all FRUsManage power consumption and backplane interconnects– Using self-describing requirements in FRU info
Implement simple framework for cooling management: responding to FRU-configured temperature threshold eventsManage distributed collection of sensors– Self describing in Sensor Data Records (SDRs)
Collect events in a persistent store and optionally perform configurable actions in response; IPMI facilities include:– Non-volatile System Event Log that stores N event records
intended for interpretation via SDRs– Platform Event Filtering (PEF) that provides mechanism for
configurable actions on events (such as pages or SNMP traps)Provide visibility to System Manager on all the above as desired
Page 8
AdvancedTCA Shelf Manager: Key Services (Cont.)
System Manager Interface: logical connection to shelf-external management– Required for interoperability:
– IPMI LAN Interface, including Remote Management Control Protocol (RMCP)
– Likely Shelf Manager-specific additions: command line & SNMP interfaces
Optional dual redundant Shelf Manager– Assumed from same vendor; coordination protocols not
specified
Specification allows broad implementation freedom for logical Shelf Manager function
Page 9
Shelf Manager Implementation Options
Page 10
AdvancedTCA IPM Controller (IPMC): Key Facilities
IPMI-1.5-specified commands and FRU InformationKey AdvancedTCA extensions:– Dual redundant IPMB-0 connection to shelf manager– Hot swap state management for FRUs (including
represented FRUs)– Electronic keying (commands + FRU Info) for point-to-point
& bused backplane interconnects– LED management, including color, lamp test– Fan control for interoperable fan trays– Payload power control & negotiation w/ shelf
Page 11
IPM Controller Interfaces
Page 12
AMC Adds Carrier & Module Layers
Page 13
Overall Approach to AMC Management
Fit smoothly into established PICMG 3.0 conventionsAvoid impacting PICMG 3.0 R1.0 Shelf Managers w/ AMC.0Reduce requirements on Module Management Controller (MMC) to limit its cost and footprint; example:
– Simplified hot swap implementation and power managementRequire Carrier IPM Controller (IPMC) to represent MMC as a full-fledged ATCA FRU to ShMC; examples:
– Carrier IPMC does power negotiation on AMC’s behalf– Carrier IPMC does AMC E-Keying similarly to ATCA, but without
involvement of Shelf Manager– Carrier IPMC makes Module SDRs visible to Shelf Manager
Preserve IPMI foundation in MMC; example:– Full IPMI sensor infrastructure is optionally available for MMC
sensors
Page 14
Key Extensions to IPMI FRU Information
Shelf FRU information– Address Table: FRU types and IPMB addresses– Shelf Power Distribution: Internal/external current
capacities, “feed to FRU” maps– Shelf Activation and Power Management: FRU site power
capacity and activation controls– Shelf Manager IP Connection– Backplane Point-to-Point Connectivity
Board FRU info: Board Point-to-Point Connectivity for use in Electronic Keying
Page 15
ATCA Shelf Example for E-Keying
Update and Fabric Channels are fabric-agnostic (example assumes full mesh)Shelf FRU Info describes P2P connectsShelf Man enables compatible links
Page 16
Board Aspects of E-KeyingBoard P2P Connectivity in FRU InfoP2P Enable Controls via IPMCBused E-Keying Controlled by Payload
Page 17
Enabled Links for Example
Page 18
Useful Properties of ATCA P2P E-Keying
Supports fabric agnostic features of ATCA– Backplane traces in example usable for GigE, GigE + FC, PCI
ExAS (1x-4x), or proprietary protocolsBoard can support multiple link types via each backplane connection
– Compatible links at each end are enabled– Enabling may even involve loading FPGA logic
No dependence on fabric-specific knowledge– E.g.:1x, 2x, 4x link widths as separate link types
OEM link types need no external coordinationFuture-proofed: shelf manager just does binary compares; new link types any time
Page 19
Next Steps on AdvancedTCA and AdvancedMC Specifications
PICMG 3.0: AdvancedTCA base specification– R2.0 formally adopted in March, 2005– ECN-3.0-2.0-001 (“ECN-001”) focused on ShMC cross-
connects adopted in June, 2005– “ECR-002”, a broad revision, now in final executive ballot
within PICMGAMC.0: AdvancedMC base specification
– R1.0 formally adopted January, 2005– “ECR-001/002”, a broad revision, now in development
within PICMG
“ECN” = Engineering Change Notice (fully approved)“ECR” = Engineering Change Request (not yet approved)
Page 20
ShMC Cross-connects
Defines option for using 4 differential pairs in Base Interface hub “ShMC Port” differently:
– Two 10/100 Mbit Ethernet links vs. one 10/100/1000 link
Improves availability for shelves using dedicated Shelf Managers
– Allows each Shelf Manager to connect with both Base Interface hubs, versus just one, previously
– Enables independent switchovers of either a hub or a Shelf Manager, versus requiring coordinated switchovers of both
Page 21
Key Additions in Draft PICMG 3.0 R2.0 Revision (“ECN-002”)
Mandatory IPMI/ATCA commands on Payload Interface– Improves interoperability for board payload based management
applications– Payload Interface implementation still flexible
Rear Transition Module (RTM) management clarified– Defines how RTMs are represented to the Shelf Manager, but leaves
detailed implementation choices openGeneralized topology for radial IPMB-0 implementations
– Allows a wider range of radial IPMB-0 topologies to be described in Shelf FRU Info
– Enables management software to automatically describe/manage those topologies accurately
Fan geography description in Shelf FRU Info– Provides the mapping between fans and the FRUs that they cool– Allows finer grain thermal management
Clarifications in power negotiation protocols– Important as boards start implementing more advanced power handling
Page 22
Tackling the Management Aspects of ATCA Products
Section 3, “Shelf Management” accounts for 160 of 479 pages in PICMG 3.0 R2.0– …with 18 additional pages in draft next revision of section 3!– …and 70 more pages of management in AMC.0 specification!
Recommendations for ATCA board and shelf developers:– Strongly consider using off-the-shelf management components to
allow focus on your value adds– Pick components that are validated and interoperability-tested
– IPMI Conformance Test Suite (ICTS) freely available, but needs significant extensions for ATCA
– PICMG-sponsored ATCA/AMC Interoperability Workshops (AIWs)– Participate in AIWs with your own products when available
Page 23
PICMG ATCA/AMC Interoperability Workshops
12 workshops, 10 involving management testing– ~15-25 participating companies in each event
~40 test plans for different functional areas– Developed by participants; PPS provided major subset
Management testing paradigm for shelf manager <-> board interactions:
– Systematically pair each shelf manager type with each of the board types available in a given workshop
– Work through the relevant test plans for each pairing– Participants take responsibility for acting on any issues uncovered in their
implementations– Multiple spec clarifications have resulted from AIW experience
Similar paradigm for shelf manager <-> carrier <-> AMC interactions– AIW #12 launched serious testing of AMC interoperability
Press releases issued by PICMG document participating companies in each AIW
Page 24
Summary: AdvancedTCA Shelf Management…
Represents a significant PICMG effort to: – Define interoperable extensions to IPMI– Maintain and enhance these extensions through interoperability
testing and further specification work– Most recently, this involves adding support for AdvancedMCs
Complements the “future proof” fabric-agnostic Fabric Interface with self-describing management visibilityConstitutes a serious engineering project at either Shelf Manager or IPM Controller levels
– Even if development starts from existing PICMG 2.9 or conventional IPMI components
Can significantly benefit from the use of off-the-shelf components that are validated and interoperability-tested
Page 25
Speaker Background
Mark Overgaard founded Pigeon Point Systems (PPS) in 1997 to focus on products and services supporting the adoption of open modular platforms to replace proprietary architectures, with an initial focus on the telecommunications market and CompactPCI. He is a leader in the technical subcommittees of PICMG (including the management aspects of AdvancedTCA and AdvancedMC). The current PPS product focus is the Pigeon Point line of platform management components: the first “off-the-shelf” AdvancedTCA shelf, board and AdvancedMC level management components. Previously Mark was VP, Engineering at Lynx Real-Time Systems (a Unix-compatible RTOS supplier) and TeleSoft (a major supplier of embedded development solutions for Ada).