Fan speed control of rack devices where sum of device airflows is greater than maximum airflow of rack

• US 20110160916A1
• Filed: 12/24/2009
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Bahali, Sumanta K., Kamath, Vinod, Foster, Jimmy G. SR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,805,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/282
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1934 each space being provided with one sensor acting on one or more control means
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20736 within cabinets for removing heat from server blades
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20836 Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control

Abstract

Computing devices have fan speeds governing airflows through the computing devices. The rack has a maximum airflow associated with a cooling component for the rack. The computing devices transmit their current airflows. A sum of the current airflows is determined. Where the sum is greater than the maximum airflow, the fan speeds of one or more selected computing devices are decreased. The fan speeds of lower priority computing devices may be reduced before the fan speeds higher priority computing devices are reduced. Fan speed reduction may be achieved in a centralized manner, by employing a centralized management component, or in a decentralized manner, without employing a centralized management component.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting, by a plurality of computing devices installed within a rack having a maximum airflow associated with a cooling component for the rack, current airflows through the computing devices, the computing devices having fan speeds governing airflows through the computing devices;

determining a sum of the current airflows through the computing devices; and

,

where the sum of the current airflows is greater than the maximum airflow associated with the cooling component for the rack,

decreasing the fan speeds of one or more selected computing devices of the plurality of computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the selected computing devices are first selected computing devices, and wherein the method further comprises, where the sum of the current airflows is less than the maximum airflow associated with the cooling component for the rack by more than a threshold,

increasing the fan speed of one or more second selected computing devices of the plurality of computing devices.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group, each priority group including one or more of the computing devices,

and wherein decreasing the fan speeds of the selected computing devices comprises:

determining whether the fan speeds of the computing devices of a current priority group of the plurality of priority groups have already been decreased;

where the fan speeds of the computing devices of the current priority group have already been decreased, advancing the current priority group to a next higher priority group of the plurality of priority groups; and

,

decreasing the fan speeds of the computing devices of the current priority group.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the current airflow through each computing device comprises broadcasting the current airflow from each computing device to all other computing devices installed within the rack,

wherein determining the sum of the current airflows is performed by each computing device, based on the current airflow broadcast by each computing device,

such that the fan speeds of the selected computing devices are decreased in a decentralized manner, without employing a centralized management component.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group, each priority group including one or more of the computing devices,

wherein transmitting the current airflow through each computing device further comprises broadcasting whether or not each computing device has already decreased the fan speed thereof, and to which priority group each computing device belongs,

wherein decreasing the fan speeds of the selected computing devices comprises:

determining, by a given computing device of the plurality of computing devices, whether the fan speeds of the computing devices of a next lower priority group of the plurality of priority groups have already been decreased; and

,

where the fan speeds of the computing devices of the next lower priority group have already been decreased,

decreasing, by the given computing device, the fan speed of the given computing device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the current airflow through each computing device comprises transmitting the current airflow from each computing device to a centralized management component,

wherein determining the sum of the current airflows is performed by the centralized management component,

and wherein decreasing the fan speeds of the selected computing devices comprises:

selecting, by the centralized management component the, the selected computing devices; and

,

instructing, by the centralized management component, each selected computing device to decrease the fan speed thereof,

such that the fan speeds of the selected computing devices are decreased in a centralized manner, by employing the centralized management component.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group, each priority group including one or more of the computing devices,

wherein selecting the selected computing devices comprises:

determining whether the fan speeds of the computing devices of a current priority group of the plurality of priority groups have already been decreased;

where the fan speeds of the computing devices of the current priority group have already been decreased, advancing the current priority group to a next higher priority group of the plurality of priority groups; and

,

selecting the computing devices of the current priority group as the selected computing devices.

8. A system comprising:

a rack having a maximum airflow associated with a cooling component for the rack;

a plurality of computing devices installed within the rack, the computing devices having fan speeds governing airflows through the computing devices, the computing devices to transmit current airflows through the computing devices; and

,

a component, other than the cooling component, to determine a sum of the current airflows through the computing devices, and where the sum of the current airflows is greater than the maximum airflow associated with the cooling component for the rack, to decrease the fan speeds of one or more selected computing devices of the plurality of computing devices.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the selected computing devices are first selected computing devices, and wherein the component is further to, where the sum of the current airflows is less than the maximum airflow associated with the cooling component for the rack, increase the fan speed of one or more second selected computing devices of the plurality of computing devices.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the component comprises a component at each computing devices,

wherein each computing device is to broadcast the current airflow to all other computing devices installed within the rack,

and wherein each computing device is to determine the sum of the current airflows,

such that the fan speeds of the selected computing devices are decreased in a decentralized manner, without employing a centralized management component.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group, each priority group including one or more of the computing devices,

wherein each computing device is to further broadcast whether or not the computing device has already decreased the fan speed thereof, and to which priority group the computing device belongs;

and wherein a given computing device of the plurality of computing devices is to;

determine whether the fan speeds of the computing devices of a next lower priority group of the plurality of priority groups have already been decreased; and

,

where the fan speeds of the computing devices of the next lower priority group have already been decreased,

decreasing the fan speed of the given computing device.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the component is a centralized management component,

wherein the computing devices are to transmit the fan speeds to the centralized management component,

wherein the centralized management component is to determine the sum of the current airflows,

and wherein the centralized management component is to decrease the fan speeds of the selected computing devices by selecting the selected computing devices, and instructing each selected computing device to decrease the fan speed thereof,

such that the fan speeds of the selected computing devices are decreased in a centralized manner, by employing the centralized management component.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group, each priority group including one or more of the computing devices,

and wherein the centralized management component is to select the selected computing devices by:

determining whether the fan speeds of the computing devices of a current priority group of the plurality of priority groups have already been decreased;

where the fan speeds of the computing devices of the current priority group have already been decreased, advancing the current priority group to a next higher priority group of the plurality of priority groups; and

,

selecting the computing devices of the current priority group as the selected computing devices.

14. A computing device comprising:

a housing to be installed within a rack along with one or more other computing devices, the rack having a maximum airflow associated with a cooling component for the rack;

hardware within the housing; and

,

a component, other than the cooling component, implemented by the hardware to transmit a current airflow through the computing device, and to decrease a fan speed of the computing device where the computing device has been selected for fan speed reduction where a sum of the current airflow through the computing device and current airflows through the other computing devices is greater than the maximum airflow,

wherein the fan speed governs airflow through the computing device.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the computing device and the other computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group,

wherein the computing device is selected for fan speed reduction where the priority group to which the computing device belongs has a next higher priority in relation to the priority group for which fan speed reduction has most recently been performed.

16. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the component is to broadcast the current airflow through the computing device to each other computing device,

wherein the component is to receive the current airflow through each other computing device from each other computing device,

and wherein the component is to determine the sum of the current airflows.

17. The computing device of claim 14, wherein the component is to transmit the current airflow through the computing device to a centralized management component,

and wherein the component is to receive an instruction from the centralized management component to decrease the fan speed of the computing device where the centralized management component has selected the computing device for fan speed reduction.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable code stored thereon for execution by a processor of a first computing device, the computer-readable code comprising:

first computer-readable code to receive current airflows of a plurality of second computing devices installed within a rack from the second computing devices, the second computing devices having fan speeds governing airflows through the second computing devices, the rack having a maximum airflow associated with a cooling component for the rack;

second computer-readable code to determine a sum of the current airflows through the second computing devices; and

,

third computer-readable code to, where the sum of the current airflows is greater than the maximum airflow, select one or more selected computing devices of the second computing devices, instruct each selected computing device to decrease the fan speed thereof.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein the second computing devices are organized over a plurality of priority groups from a lowest priority group to a highest priority group, each priority group including one or more of the second computing devices,

and wherein the third computer-readable code is to select the selected computing devices by:

determining whether the fan speeds of the second computing devices of a current priority group of the plurality of priority groups have already been decreased;

where the fan speeds of the second computing devices of the current priority group have already been decreased, advancing the current priority group to a next higher priority group of the plurality of priority groups; and

,

selecting the second computing devices of the current priority group as the selected computing devices.