Nvidia patents tool to test server connections without removing parts
Nvidia describes a diagnostic device that plugs into server racks to check the quality of electrical connections between slots. It sends a test signal through the connection and analyzes the response to ensure data travels reliably without needing to take the hardware apart.
In the filing’s own words
In one embodiment, a diagnostic instrument includes a first test blade coupled to a first slot in a rack, and a second test blade coupled to a second slot in the rack, where the first slot and the second slot are coupled together via a first interconnect. The diagnostic instrument further includes a test module that performs an in-system end-to-end signal integrity test of the first interconnect by transmitting a first test signal across the first interconnect via the first test blade, receiving a second test signal from across the first interconnect via the second test blade, and generating an analysis of the first interconnect based on the first test signal and the second test signal. In another embodiment, the diagnostic instrument includes the first blade and the test module. The disclosed techniques can be implemented in manufacturing floors, data centers, and other environments where server racks are deployed.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A diagnostic instrument, comprising: a first test blade coupled to a first slot in a rack; a second test blade coupled to a second slot in the rack, wherein the first slot and the second slot are coupled together via a first interconnect; and a test module that performs an in-system end-to-end signal integrity (SI) performance test of the first interconnect by: transmitting a first test signal across the first interconnect via the first test blade, receiving a second test signal from across the first interconnect via the second test blade, and generating a SI performance analysis of the first interconnect based on the first test signal and the second test signal.
Facts
- Company
- Nvidia (NVIDIA CORPORATION)
- Official title
- IN-SITU CIRCUIT BOARD INTERCONNECT TESTING SYSTEM
- Publication number
- US20260318983A1
- Application number
- 19262999
- Filed
- Jul 8, 2025
- Published
- Oct 15, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 33
Classified under
G01R 31/2813 Physics & computingG01R 31/2806 Physics & computingMore from Nvidia in Chips & hardware
- Nvidia patents method to skip zero data in neural network math Oct 13, 2026
- Nvidia patents hardware to speed up motion blur in ray tracing Oct 13, 2026
- Nvidia patents method to sync data across split processor chips Sep 17, 2026
- Nvidia patents chip math trick to speed up AI calculations Oct 8, 2026
- Nvidia patents data center cooling that uses cryogenic fluids Oct 15, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.