Patent attributes
An I/O unit access switching system and its method are implemented on a plurality of servers respectively having a baseboard management controller (BMC) and an intelligent platform management system (IPMI). The servers are connected to a switching device, itself connected to a set of I/O devices such as keyboard, mouse, and monitor. When the control module of one server is activated, the BMC of the server delivers an activation signal to the switching device. According to the received activation signal, the switching device transmits an interrupt signal to the microprocessor unit. The microprocessor unit accordingly outputs a switching signal to an I/O function multiplexer that, in response, switches access to the I/O devices to the requesting server from which the activation signal was received. Through the I/O function multiplexer, the I/O devices can then be used in conjunction with the selected server.
