System and method for selectively affecting a computing environment based on sensed data

• US 20070260417A1
• Filed: 03/22/2006
• Published: 11/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Gourlay, Douglas, Starmer, Robert, Aaron, Stuart
• Application Number:
  US11/386,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20070260417A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/136
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 17/00 Measuring quantity of heat measuring temperature by calorimetry G01K3/00 - G01K11/00; specially adapted for measuring thermal properties of materials, e.g. specific heat, heat of combustion G01N
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/425 Thermal management of integrated systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4856 resumption being on a different machine, e.g. task migration, virtual machine migration G06F9/5088 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4893 taking into account power or heat criteria power management in computers in general G06F1/3203; thermal management in computers in general G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A system and method for affecting computing resources. The method includes sensing variables associated with spatially dispersed computing resources and providing sensed data in response thereto. Subsequently the spatially dispersed computing resources are selectively automatically affected based on sensed variables associated with the computing resources. In a specific embodiment, the method further includes determining if the sensed data meet a predetermined criterion or criteria and providing one or more control signals in response thereto. The specific method further includes moving virtual machines associated with computing resources that meet the predetermined criterion or criteria to computing resources that do not meet the predetermined criterion or criteria. The sensed data may include temperature, and the predetermined criteria or criterion may include a predetermined threshold beyond which temperature data is considered to meet the predetermined criterion. In an illustrative embodiment, the method further includes selectively activating one or more devices, such as cooling systems, that are adapted to alter sensed variables to cause the sensed data to no longer meet the predetermined criterion or criteria.

Claims

1. A method for spatially affecting computing resources comprising:

sensing variables associated with one or more spatially dispersed computing resources and providing sensed data in response thereto; and

automatically selectively adjusting the one or more spatially dispersed computing resources based on sensed variables associated therewith.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of automatically adjusting includes

determining if the sensed data meet a predetermined criterion or criteria and providing one or more control signals in response thereto.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the one or more spatially dispersed computing resources include

one or more virtual machines.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of automatically adjusting further includes

moving one or more virtual machines associated with one or more computing resources that meet the predetermined criteria to one or more computing resources that do not meet the predetermined criterion or criteria.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the sensed data includes

temperature data.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the predetermined criteria or criterion includes

a predetermined threshold beyond which temperature data is considered to meet the predetermined criteria or criterion.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of automatically adjusting further includes

adjusting operations of a load balancer to adjust loads experienced by one or more of the computing resources that are associated with sensed data that meets the predetermined criterion or criteria.

8. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of automatically adjusting further includes

selectively activating one or more devices that are adapted to alter sensed variables to cause the sensed data to no longer meet the predetermined criterion or criteria.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the one or more devices include

one or more cooling systems, processor speed-control devices, or controllable power supplies.

10. A method for selectively distributing computing resources comprising:

sensing one or more environmental variables associated with one or more computing resources and providing a signal in response thereto; and

automatically affecting consumption of the one or more computing resources based on the signal.

11. A method for facilitating automatic reprovisioning of one or more computing resources comprising:

measuring temperature associated with the one or more computing resources and providing temperature data in response thereto; and

employing the temperature data to selectively spatially affect distribution of one or more computing processes among one or more of the one or more computing resources.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the computing processes are encapsulated via

one or more virtual machines, the virtual machines being movable from one computer to another computer in response to a control signal from a controller that receives the temperature data as input.

13. A method for selectively moving one or more computing resources comprising:

measuring one or more environmental variables in a computing environment; and

selectively reprovisioning the one or more computing resources from a first system to a second system based on the one or more environmental variables.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the second system is physically separate from the first system.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the computing environment includes a

data center.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the one or more environmental variables include

one or more temperature measurements as represented via a thermal map of the computing environment.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the one or more environmental variables include

one or more humidity measurements.

18. A method for automatically affecting environmental variables in a computing environment comprising:

obtaining temperature and computing-resource-allocation information and generating a signal based on the information; and

employing the signal to selectively control one or more environmental variables associated with the computing environment.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the temperature information includes

temperature distribution information.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein employing the signal includes

controlling the one or more environmental variables by spatially adjusting computing resource allocation.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein employing the signal includes

selectively controlling temperature distribution in the computing environment by adjusting computing resource allocation.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein adjusting computing resource allocation includes

electronically moving virtualized servers that are associated with relatively hot regions in the computing environment to computing resources that are associated with relatively cool resources in the computing environment.

23. The method of claim 18 wherein employing the signal includes

controlling temperature distribution in the computing environment by automatically adjusting cooling system.

24. A system for selectively distributing computing resources comprising:

first means for sensing one or more environmental variables associated with one or more computing resources and providing a signal in response thereto; and

second means for automatically affecting consumption of the one or more computing resources based on the signal.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the first means includes

one or more temperature sensors that output temperature data.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the first means includes

a controller, wherein the controller is adapted to receive temperature data and provide the signal in response thereto, wherein the signal is a control signal.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the one or more computing resources include

plural computers.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the second means includes

virtualized software running on each of the plural computers, the virtualized software being responsive to the control signal to affect spatial movement of processing functions performed on one computer to another computer.

29. The system of claim 27 wherein the computers include

one or more servers, and wherein the second means includes a server load balancer that adjusts usage of the one or more servers at least partially in response to the control signal.

30. An apparatus for spatially affecting computing resources comprising:

one or more processors;

a machine-readable medium including instructions executable by the one or more processors for

sensing variables associated with spatially dispersed computing resources and providing sensed data in response thereto and

automatically selectively affecting the spatially dispersed computing resources based on sensed variables associated therewith.

31. A computer-readable medium including instructions for selectively moving computing resources comprising, the computer-readable medium comprising:

one or more instructions for measuring environmental variables in a computing environment and

one or more instructions for selectively reprovisioning the computing resources from a first system to a second system based on the environmental variables.