Power Setting Adjustments By Mission Operating System In Response to Requests From Platform Manager

• US 20090070789A1
• Filed: 09/11/2007
• Published: 03/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Goldstein, Martin A., Vaden, Thomas L., Lyle, Stephen B., Huscroft, Carey
• Granted Patent: US 8,176,498 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 719/321
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44505 Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A computer system includes software running on a hardware platform. The hardware platform provides a platform manager having an user interface that is independent of that for a mission operating system running on said platform. The platform manager issues platform requests for power-setting adjustments. The software includes a mission operating system with a power controller incorporated in or running on the mission operating system. The power controller adjusts power settings for hardware devices at least in part as a function of the platform requests.

Claims

1. A computer system comprising:

a computer platform for running a mission operating system serving as an interface for an application program and issuing power setting commands, said platform including hardware having power settings that are adjusted as a function of said power setting commands; and

a platform manager for issuing to said application operating system requests for power settings for said hardware.

2. A computer system as recited in claim 1 further comprising said mission operating system, said mission operating system issuing said commands at least in part as a function of said requests.

3. A computer system as recited in claim 2 wherein said mission operating system issues said commands at least in part as a function of demand or load characteristics of said application program.

4. A computer system as recited in claim 2 wherein said mission operating system includes an ACPI interface layer, said power controller communicating with said platform manager and adjusting said power settings via said ACPI interface layer.

5. A computer system as recited in claim 4 wherein said platform manager communicates said requests to said power controller using a general-purpose event as defined by said ACPI interface layer.

6. A computer system as recited in claim 4 wherein said power controller communicates power-setting adjustments it has made to said platform manager using a device-specific method as provided for by said ACPI interface layer.

7. A computer system as recited in claim 1 wherein said mission operating system communicates with mission operating systems running on other computers via a data network on which said platform manager does not communicate, said platform manager communicating with other computers via a manageability network on which said mission operating system does not communicate.

8. A method of controlling power settings on a computer, said method comprising:

using an mission-operating-system-independent interface for a platform manager to select hardware power settings to be the subject of a platform request for power-setting adjustments;

said platform manager communicating said platform request to a mission operating system;

said mission operating system implementing said platform request by changing hardware power settings; and

said mission operating system communicating fulfillment of said platform request to said platform manager.

9. A method as recited in claim 8 further comprising said mission operating system or an application running on said mission operating system issuing a software request for power-setting adjustments, said mission operating system making power-setting adjustments as a function of both said platform request and said software request.

10. A method as recited in claim 8 further comprising said mission operating system or an application running on said mission operating system issuing a software request for power-setting adjustments, said operating system making power-setting adjustments as a function of said platform request and not of said software request.

11. A method as recited in claim 8 wherein said platform manager communicates said platform request to said mission operating system through an ACPI layer using a general-purpose event.

12. A method as recited in claim 8 wherein said mission operating system communicates with said power controller by using an ACPI device-specific method to set or reset a flag.

13. A method as recited in claim 8 wherein plural platform requests for adjustments of power settings are sent to plural servers having different mission operating systems with different respective user interfaces, said requests being sent from a management workstation using a platform management interface different from those of said plural mission operating systems.

14. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein said management workstation runs a non-HTTP browser that provides said user interface.

15. Computer-readable media comprising a computer-executable mission operating system having an ACPI layer that responds to an ACPI general-purpose event when an in-flag is set, said mission operating system adjusting power settings for ACPI-managed devices as a function of contents of an inbox register in response to said general-purpose event.

16. Media as recited in claim 15 wherein said mission operating system associates said inbox register with an ACPI-managed device having no power settings that said mission operating system can adjust.

17. Media as recited in claim 16 wherein said mission operating system sets an out-flag associated with said ACPI-managed device upon adjusting said power settings in response to said ACPI general-purpose event.

18. Media as recited in claim 15 wherein said mission operating system includes a request generator for generating a software request or for receiving a software request from an application running on said mission operating system, said software request being for a power setting adjustment of an ACPI-managed device, said operating system including a request coordinator for adjusting power settings of a managed device as a function of both said contents and said software.

19. Media as recited in claim 18 wherein said mission operating system has a mode in which said contents have priority over said software request.

20. Media as recited in claim 18 wherein said mission operating system has a mode in which said software request has priority over said contents in determining what adjustments to power settings are to be implemented by said mission operating system.