SERVER POWER CONSUMPTION CONTROLLER, AND METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR CONTROLLING SERVER POWER CONSUMPTION

• US 20090187776A1
• Filed: 07/09/2008
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: BABA, Toshiyuki, Hatasaki, Keisuke, Takamoto, Yoshifumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,065,541 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/320
• 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

The power consumption controller of the present invention controls the power consumption of a physical server having a virtual server at an appropriate value. A management server determines an unused CPU budget from the difference between the total amount of the loads of respective virtual servers and a hypervisor and the total CPU budget of the physical server. The management server determines the drive frequency of the CPU inside the physical server based on the unused CPU budget. The management server changes a CPU allocation budget related to the respective virtual servers and the hypervisor in accordance with the determined drive frequency. The hypervisor controls the CPU allocation budget and drive frequency in accordance with an indication from the management server. Consequently, the power consumption of the physical server is controlled.

Claims

1. A server power consumption controller for controlling a power consumption of a physical server having at least one virtual server,

wherein the physical server comprises at least one virtual server virtually created by allocating a processing resource of the physical server, and a hypervisor that creates the virtual server by allocating the processing resource to the virtual server,

the server power consumption controller comprising:

a utilization budget detector that detects a total utilization budget of a first budget of the processing resource utilized by the virtual server and a second budget of the processing resource utilized by the hypervisor, and outputs a determination request for a frequency for driving the processing resource;

a frequency determination module that determines, when the determination request is received, the frequency for driving the processing resource based on a difference between the total utilization budget and the total budget of the processing resource;

an allocation budget determination module that respectively determines, in accordance with the determined frequency, a third budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the virtual server, and a fourth budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the hypervisor; and

a configuration change module that requests the hypervisor to allocate the determined third budget of the processing resource to the virtual server, to allocate the determined fourth budget of the processing resource to the hypervisor, and to drive the processing resource at the determined frequency.

2. The server power consumption controller according to claim 1, further comprising a power consumption characteristics acquisition module that acquires beforehand frequency-power consumption characteristics showing a relationship between the frequency and power consumption related to the processing resource,

wherein the frequency determination module determines the frequency for driving the processing resource from within a range of prescribed frequencies configured beforehand on the basis of the frequency-power consumption characteristics.

3. The server power consumption controller according to claim 2, wherein the prescribed frequency range is configured in accordance with a value of a gradient of a characteristic line that shows the power consumption change according to the frequency change.

4. The server power consumption controller according to claim 3, wherein thresholds are respectively pre-configured to frequencies at which the values of the gradient of the characteristic line change, and a range of frequencies between the respective thresholds is used as the prescribed frequency range.

5. The server power consumption controller according to claim 1, wherein the utilization budget detector monitors the number of processing requests, from among the processing requests issued from the virtual server, which are placed in an execution queue in the hypervisor, and when the number of the processing requests in the execution queue has reached a pre-configured upper limit, requests the frequency determination module to increment the frequency for driving the processing resource.

6. The server power consumption controller according to claim 1, wherein the third budget is determined as a minimum required processing resource budget for the virtual server under the determined frequency, and the fourth budget is determined as a minimum required processing resource budget for the hypervisor under the determined frequency.

7. The server power consumption controller according to claim 1, wherein the fourth budget is allocated to the hypervisor prior to the third budget allocated to the virtual server.

8. The server power consumption controller according to claims 1, wherein the utilization budget detector operates in accordance with a prescribed indication.

9. The server power consumption controller according to claim 8, wherein the prescribed indication is inputted by a user.

10. The server power consumption controller according to claim 9, wherein a lowest value for the third budget is specified beforehand in the prescribed indication.

11. The server power consumption controller according to claim 9, wherein a schedule that shows a time at which the virtual server will execute a process is included beforehand in the prescribed indication, and the utilization budget detector outputs the determination request based on the schedule.

12. The server power consumption controller according to claims 1, wherein the utilization budget detector outputs the determination request when a plurality of the virtual servers is sharing the processing resource of the physical server.

13. The server power consumption controller according to claims 1, wherein the configuration change module, prior to driving the processing resource at the frequency determined by the frequency determination module, requests the hypervisor to allocate the determined third budget of the processing resource to the virtual server, and to allocate the determined fourth budget of the processing resource to the hypervisor, and to subsequently drive the processing resource at the determined frequency.

14. The server power consumption controller according to claims 2, wherein the hypervisor comprises:

a processing resource allocation function for allocating the determined third budget of the processing resource to the virtual server, and also allocating the determined fourth budget to the hypervisor in accordance with a request from the configuration change module;

a frequency control function for changing the frequency for driving the processing resource; and

a power consumption measurement function for acquiring basic data for creating the frequency-power consumption characteristics by using the frequency control function.

15. A power consumption control method for controlling a power consumption of a physical server having at least one virtual server,

wherein the physical server comprises at least one virtual server virtually created by allocating a processing resource of the physical server;

and a hypervisor that creates the virtual server by allocating the processing resource to the virtual server,

the server power consumption control method comprising the steps of;

detecting a total utilization budget of a first budget of the processing resource utilized by the virtual server and a second budget of the processing resource utilized by the hypervisor, and outputting a determination request for a frequency for driving the processing resource;

determining, when the determination request is received, a frequency for driving the processing resource based on a difference between the total utilization budget and the total budget of the processing resource;

respectively determining, in accordance with the determined frequency, a third budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the virtual server, and a fourth budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the hypervisor;

requesting the hypervisor to allocate the determined third budget of the processing resource to the virtual server, and to allocate the determined fourth budget of the processing resource to the hypervisor; and

requesting the hypervisor to drive the processing resource at the determined frequency.

16. A power consumption control method for controlling a power consumption of a physical server having at least one virtual server,

wherein the physical server comprises at least one virtual server virtually created by allocating a processing resource of the physical server, and a hypervisor that creates the virtual server by allocating the processing resource to the virtual server,

the server power consumption control method comprising the steps of:

acquiring frequency-power consumption characteristics that show a relationship between a frequency and power consumption related to the processing resource;

detecting a total utilization budget of a first budget of the processing resource utilized by the virtual server and a second budget of the processing resource utilized by the hypervisor, and outputting a determination request for a frequency for driving the processing resource;

determining, when the determination request is received, a frequency for driving the processing resource based on a difference between the total utilization budget and the total budget of the processing resource within a prescribed frequency range pre-determined based on the frequency-power consumption characteristics;

respectively determining, in accordance with the determined frequency, a third budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the virtual server, and a fourth budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the hypervisor;

requesting the hypervisor to allocate the determined third budget of the processing resource to the virtual server, and to allocate the determined fourth budget of the processing resource to the hypervisor; and

requesting the hypervisor to drive the processing resource at the determined frequency.

17. A computer program that causes a computer to function as a power consumption controller for controlling a power consumption of a physical server having at least one virtual server,

wherein the physical server comprises at least one virtual server virtually created by allocating a processing resource of the physical server, and a hypervisor that creates the virtual server by allocating the processing resource to the virtual server,

the computer program respectively executing the steps of:

detecting a total utilization budget of a first budget of the processing resource utilized by the virtual server and a second budget of the processing resource utilized by the hypervisor, and outputting a determination request for a frequency for driving the processing resource;

determining, when the determination request is received, a frequency for driving the processing resource based on a difference between the total utilization budget and the total budget of the processing resource;

respectively determining, in accordance with the determined frequency, a third budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the virtual server, and a fourth budget of the processing resource to be allocated to the hypervisor;

requesting the hypervisor to allocate the determined third budget of the processing resource to the virtual server, and to allocate the determined fourth budget of the processing resource to the hypervisor; and

requesting the hypervisor to drive the processing resource at the determined frequency.