Apparatus and Methods for Managing Power in an Information Handling System

• US 20080077817A1
• Filed: 09/26/2006
• Published: 03/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Brumley, Alan, Brundridge, Michael A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/340
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A method of controlling power supplies in an information handling system, comprising measuring a power consumption of each of a plurality of electrical devices in the information handling system and adjusting a number of operating power supplies based at least in part on the measured power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices.

Claims

1. A method of controlling power supplies in an information handling system comprising:

measuring a power consumption of each of a plurality of electrical devices in the information handling system; and

adjusting a number of operating power supplies based at least in part on the measured power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adjusting the number of operating power supplies further comprises adjusting the number of operating power supplies such that each of the operating power supplies are loaded to operate proximate a point of optimum operating efficiency for each power supply.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrical devices comprises a plurality of network server blades.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein data related to a load and an efficiency of the power supply is stored in a memory wherein the memory is chosen from the group consisting of a memory in the power supply and a memory in the chassis management controller.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising calculating an average power consumption over a time period and multiplying the average power consumption by a service factor.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the factor comprises a range of 1.1 to 1.3.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising requesting each of the electrical devices to grant an excess power back to a system power budget.

8. The method of claim 3, further comprising reducing a central processing unit clock rate on at least one of the plurality of network server blades to avoid an over-current condition.

9. An information handling system, comprising:

a plurality of electrical devices;

a plurality of power supplies electrically coupled to the plurality of electrical devices;

an electrical power sensor acting cooperatively with each of the plurality of electrical devices to measure a power consumption by each of the plurality of electrical devices; and

a set of instructions stored in a memory in the information handling system that when executed by a processor adjusts a number of operating power supplies based at least in part on the measured power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices.

10. The information handling system of claim 9, wherein the set of instructions is at least partially stored in a memory in a chassis management controller.

11. The information handling system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of electrical devices comprise a plurality of modules.

12. The information handling system of claim 11 wherein the plurality of modules comprise server blades.

13. The information handling system of claim 9 wherein each of the plurality of power supplies has a power supply controller comprising a processor coupled to a memory having a set of instructions stored therein for at least partially controlling the operation of the power supply.

14. The information handling system of claim 13, wherein data related to a load and an efficiency of the power supply is stored in a memory chosen from the group consisting of:

a memory in the power supply, and a memory in the chassis management controller.

15. The information handling system of claim 9, wherein the processor adjusts the number of operating power supplies such that each of the operating power supplies are loaded to operate proximate an optimum operating efficiency for each power supply.

16. A computer readable medium containing a set of executable instructions that when executed by an information handling system perform a method of controlling power supplies in the information handling system comprising:

measuring a power consumption of each of a plurality of electrical devices in the information handling system; and

adjusting a number of operating power supplies based at least in part on the measured power consumption of each of the plurality of electrical devices

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein adjusting the number of operating power supplies further comprises adjusting the number of operating power supplies such that each of the operating power supplies are loaded to operate proximate an optimum operating efficiency for each power supply.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein each of the power supplies comprises firmware having data related to a toad and efficiency of the power supply stored therein.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising calculating an average power consumption over a time period and multiplying the average power consumption by a service factor.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of electrical devices comprises a plurality of network server blades.