Method, apparatus and program product for managing the operation of a computing complex during a utility interruption

• US 20050086543A1
• Filed: 10/16/2003
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Manuell, Jeffrey Donald, Pascoe, Michael James, Peters, Maureen Faye
• Granted Patent: US 7,451,336 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3006 where the computing system is distributed, e.g. networked systems, clusters, multiprocessor systems multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46; allocation of resources G06F9/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3055 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring the status of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring if the computing system is on, off, available, not available error or fault processing without redundancy G06F11/0703; error detection or correction by redundancy in data representation G06F11/08; error detection or correction by redundancy in operation G06F11/14; error detection or correction by redundancy in hardware G06F11/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3058 Monitoring arrangements for monitoring environmental properties or parameters of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring of power, currents, temperature, humidity, position, vibrations thermal management in cooling arrangements of a computing system G06F1/206

Abstract

The present invention provides a method, apparatus and computer-readable program for providing management of a computing complex during a utility interruption. More specifically, the present invention provides an automated method, apparatus and computer-readable program to manage the selected power down of devices within an information technology computing complex when the loss of conventional utility service occurs. This invention selectively shuts down systems/devices within the computing complex based on the criticality of the systems/devices and the current state of environment parameters (e.g., battery reserve level, temperature, time, etc.) monitored within the computing complex.

Claims

1. A method for managing the operation of a computing complex having one or more computer servers during a utility outage, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring one or more operating environment parameters within the computing complex; and

selectively powering down one or more of the computer servers based on the current state of the operating environment parameters and a criticality value assigned to each of the one or more computer servers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include remaining battery operating time of at least one uninterruptible power supply powering the computing complex.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include one or more ambient temperature readings within the computing complex.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include the current time of day.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing complex is powered by at least one battery driven uninterruptible power supply during the utility outage.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises the step of sending pager text messages to a predetermined set of support personnel based on the current state of the operating environment parameters.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the utility outage is a power failure within the computing complex.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the utility outage is a cooling failure within the computing complex.

9. A computer-readable program for managing the operation of a computing complex having one or more computer servers during a utility outage, the computer-readable program stored on a computer-readable medium, the computer readable program being configured to perform the steps of:

monitoring one or more operating environment parameters within the computing complex; and

selectively powering down one or more of the computer servers based on the current state of the operating environment parameters and a criticality value assigned to each of the one or more computer servers.

10. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include remaining battery operating time of at least one uninterruptible power supply powering the computing complex.

11. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include one or more ambient temperature readings within the computing complex.

12. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include the current time of day.

13. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the computing complex is powered by at least one battery driven uninterruptible power supply during the utility outage.

14. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises the step of sending pager text messages to a predetermined set of support personnel based on the current state of the operating environment parameters.

15. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the utility outage is a power failure within the computing complex.

16. The computer-readable program of claim 9, wherein the utility outage is a cooling failure within the computing complex.

17. An apparatus for managing the operation of a computing complex comprising one or more computer servers during a utility outage, the apparatus comprising:

a set of environment equipment for maintaining the operating environment of the computing complex;

an environment monitor server coupled to the set of environment equipment for monitoring the current state of one or more operating environment parameters within the computing complex;

a set of control files for determining a current load shed category for the computing complex; and

a centralized load shedding manager coupled to the environment monitor server and the set of control files, the centralized load shedding manager managing the selective powering down of one or more of the computer servers based on the current state of the one or more environment parameters, the current load shed category for the computing complex and the criticality value assigned to each of the one or more computer servers.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set of environment equipment includes at least one member chosen from the group consisting of:

an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), a power distribution unit (PDU), a static transfer switch (STS), an air handling unit (AHU), and a temperature probe.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include remaining battery operating time of the uninterruptible power supply powering the computing environment.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include one more ambient temperature reading provided by the temperature probe.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more operating environment parameters include the current time of day.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the computing environment is powered by the uninterruptible power supply during the utility outage.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the utility outage is a power failure within the computing complex.

24. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the utility outage is a cooling failure within the computing complex.

25. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set of control files includes a load shedding master table.

26. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the set of control files includes a load shedding pager table.

27. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the apparatus further includes one or more pagers coupled to the centralized load shedding manager, wherein the centralized load shedding manager sends pager text messages to the one or more pagers based on the current state of the operating environment parameters.

28. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the environment monitoring server is coupled to the centralized load shedding manager by one or more simple network management protocol (SNMP) traps.

29. A method for deploying computing infrastructure, comprising integrating computer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code in combination with the computing system is capable of providing management of the operation of the computer system during a utility outage, the method comprising the steps of:

monitoring one or more operating environment parameters within the computing system; and

selectively powering down one or more computer servers within the computing system based on the current state of the operating environment parameters and a criticality value assigned to each of the one or more computer servers.