METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM

• US 20090259347A1
• Filed: 04/14/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Gross, Kenny C., Urmanov, Aleksey M., Whisnant, Keith A., Coskun, Ayse K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,046,112 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/299
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management

Abstract

Some embodiments of the present invention provide a system that controls temperature variations in a computer system. During operation, a telemetry variable of the computer system is monitored. Next, a future temperature of the computer system is predicted based on the telemetry variable. A signal is then generated in response to the future temperature. Then, the signal is sent to a cooling device in the computer system to control temperature variations of the computer system.

Claims

1. A method for controlling temperature variations in a computer system, comprising:

monitoring a telemetry variable of the computer system;

predicting a future temperature of the computer system based on the telemetry variable;

generating a signal in response to the future temperature; and

sending the signal to a cooling device in the computer system to control temperature variations in the computer system.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein monitoring the telemetry variable includes systematically monitoring and recording a set of performance parameters of the computer system;

and

wherein the recording process keeps track of the temporal relationships between events in different performance parameters.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes using an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes predicting the future temperature a predetermined amount of time in the future;

and

wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined based on parameters including a thermal inertia of the computer system.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes predicting the future temperature a predetermined amount of time in the future;

and

wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined based on parameters including an amplitude of oscillation of a temperature of the computer system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the signal to the cooling device to control temperature variations includes controlling the temperature variations so that the temperature variations stay within a range surrounding a target temperature.

7. The method of claim 2 wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes using an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein generating the signal includes generating a signal to control the temperature variations so that the temperature variations stay within a predetermined range surrounding a target temperature.

9. The method of claim 8,

wherein the cooling device includes a fan;

and

wherein sending the signal to the cooling device includes sending a signal to the fan to control a speed of the fan.

10. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for controlling temperature variations in a computer system, the method comprising:

monitoring a telemetry variable of the computer system;

predicting a future temperature of the computer system based on the telemetry variable;

generating a signal in response to the future temperature; and

sending the signal to a cooling device in the computer system to control temperature variations in the computer system.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10,

wherein monitoring the telemetry variable includes systematically monitoring and recording a set of performance parameters of the computer system;

and

wherein the recording process keeps track of the temporal relationships between events in different performance parameters.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes using an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10,

wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes predicting the future temperature a predetermined amount of time in the future;

and

wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined based on parameters including a thermal inertia of the computer system.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10,

wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes predicting the future temperature a predetermined amount of time in the future;

and

wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined based on parameters including an amplitude of oscillation of a temperature of the computer system.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein sending the signal to the cooling device to control temperature variations includes controlling the temperature variations so that the temperature variations stay within a range surrounding a target temperature.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes using an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein generating the signal includes generating a signal to control the temperature variations so that the temperature variations stay within a predetermined range surrounding a target temperature.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17,

wherein the cooling device includes a fan;

and

wherein sending the signal to the cooling device includes sending a signal to the fan to control a speed of the fan.

19. An apparatus for controlling temperature variations in a computer system, comprising:

a monitoring mechanism configured to monitor a telemetry variable of the computer system;

a predicting mechanism configured to predict a future temperature of the computer system based on the telemetry variable;

a generating mechanism configured to generate a signal in response to the future temperature; and

a sending mechanism configured to send the signal to a cooling device in the computer system to control temperature variations in the computer system, wherein the cooling device includes a fan, and wherein sending the signal to the cooling device includes sending a signal to the fan to control a speed of the fan.

20. The apparatus of claim 19,

wherein the monitoring mechanism includes a mechanism configured to systematically monitor and record a set of performance parameters of the computer system;

and

wherein the recording process keeps track of the temporal relationships between events in different performance parameters.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the predicting mechanism includes a mechanism configured to use an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.