ASSEMBLY WITH AT LEAST TWO POWER SUPPLY UNITS AND AT LEAST ONE POWER-CONSUMING COMPONENT, COMPUTER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROL OF AN ASSEMBLY

• US 20110264952A1
• Filed: 11/30/2009
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Technology Solutions Intellectual Property GmbH (Allgeier SE)
• Inventors: Götz, Manfred, Heinrichs, Hans-Jürgen
• Granted Patent: US 9,077,203 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 1/14 Balancing the load in a network
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/52 The controlling of the operation of the load not being the total disconnection of the load, i.e. entering a degraded mode or in current limitation
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading

Abstract

An assembly includes a plurality of power supply units for producing an output-side operating voltage from at least one input-side supply voltage and at least one power-consuming component which is electrically coupled to the plurality of power supply units. The assembly has a controller arranged to monitor the function of the plurality of power supply units and to switch the power-consuming from a normal operating mode into a restricted operating mode, whose power consumption is lower than that of the first operating mode, when at least one power supply unit fails or to activate a previously deactivated power supply unit.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. An assembly comprising:

a plurality of power supply units that produce an output-side operating voltage from at least one input-side supply voltage,

at least one power-consuming component operable in at least one normal operating mode with a first power consumption and operable in a restricted operating mode with at least one second power consumption which is lower than the first power consumption, the power-consuming component being electrically coupled to the plurality of power supply units, and the first power consumption of the power-consuming component in the normal operating mode being lower than combined output power of the plurality of power supply units, wherein a first subgroup of power supply units provides power required in the normal operating mode, and a second, smaller subgroup of power supply units provides power required in the restricted operating mode, and

a controller coupled to the plurality of power supply units and the power-consuming component and arranged to monitor at least one function of the plurality of power supply units and deactivate at least one power supply unit if at least one power supply unit is not needed to provide power required in the normal operating mode, the controller switching the power-consuming component from the normal operating mode into the restricted operating mode upon failure of at least one power supply unit in the first subgroup if the combined output power of the remaining power supply units is lower than the first power consumption in the normal operating mode of the power-consuming component, wherein power consumption of the power-consuming component is at least temporarily reduced.

18. The assembly according to claim 17, wherein the controller activates the at least one deactivated power supply unit upon failure of at least one active power supply unit to supply the power-consuming component with power in the normal operating mode.

19. The assembly according to claim 17, wherein the controller comprises at least one monitoring apparatus that generates a pre-determined control signal upon failure of at least one power supply unit and a throttle apparatus coupled to the monitoring apparatus and throttles the power-consuming component when the predetermined control signal is received.

20. The assembly according to claim 19, wherein the power-consuming component comprises a processor core and the throttle apparatus comprises a clock generation circuit that supplies the processor core with an operating clock, the processor core being supplied with a first operating clock in the normal operating mode by the clock generation circuit and being supplied with a second, lower operating clock in the restricted operating mode.

21. The assembly according to claim 20, wherein the processor core, and the clock generation circuit are arranged in a processor, the processor having at least one connection pin (PROCHOT) that applies the predetermined control signal.

22. The assembly according to claim 19, wherein each of the at least two power supply units comprises a monitoring apparatus which monitors a permissible output power or a permissible output current and generates the predetermined control signal upon detecting that the permissible output power or the permissible output current has been exceeded.

23. The assembly according to claim 19, wherein the at least one monitoring apparatus has a voltage monitoring circuit which compares the output-side operating voltage with a predetermined threshold value and generates the predetermined control signal when the predetermined threshold value is undershot.

24. A computer system comprising:

at least one assembly according to claim 17; and

at least one management component coupled to the controller and signals a fault state when at least one power supply component fails.

25. The computer system according to claim 24, wherein the management component can be coupled to a remote maintenance system via a communication apparatus and signals the fault state to the remote maintenance system.

26. The computer system according to claim 24, wherein the management component changes a configuration of the computer system upon signaling the fault state to reduce power consumption of the computer system.

27. The computer system according to claim 26, wherein the management component resets the controller after changing the configuration to switch the power-consuming component back from the restricted operating mode into the normal operating mode.

33. The assembly according to claim 18, wherein the controller comprises at least one monitoring apparatus that generates a predetermined control signal upon failure of at least one power supply unit and a throttle apparatus coupled to the monitoring apparatus and throttles the power-consuming component when the predetermined control signal is received.

34. The computer system according to claim 25, wherein the management component changes a configuration of the computer system upon signaling the fault state to reduce power consumption of the computer system.

28. A method for controlling an assembly having a power-consuming component and a plurality of power supply units for providing an operating voltage for the power-consuming component, a first power consumption of the power-consuming component in a normal operating mode being lower than the combined output power of the plurality of power supply units wherein a first subgroup of power supply units provides power for the normal operating mode, and a second, smaller subgroup of power supply units provides power for the restricted operating mode, comprising:

deactivating at least one power supply unit if the power supply unit is not needed to provide power required in the normal operating mode,

monitoring the plurality of power supply units for failure by at least one monitoring apparatus, causing the at least one monitoring apparatus to generate a predetermined control signal if failure of at least one active power supply unit has been detected, and

switching the power-consuming component from the normal operating mode with the first power consumption into a restricted operating mode with a second, lower power consumption if the predetermined control signal has been detected and combined output power of the remaining power supply units is lower than the first power consumption in the normal operating mode of the power-consuming component, wherein power consumption of the power-consuming component is at least temporarily reduced.

29. The method according to claim 28, further comprising changing configuration of a computer system comprising the assembly if the predetermined control signal has been detected.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising switching the power-consuming component back from the restricted operating mode into the normal operating mode after the configuration has been changed.

31. The method according to claim 28, further comprising switching the power-consuming component back from the restricted operating mode into the normal operating mode if the at least one monitoring component has detected that the at least one previously failed power supply unit is ready for operation again.

32. The method according to claim 28, further comprising:

activating the at least one deactivated power supply unit when at least one active power supply unit fails to supply the power-consuming component with power for the normal operating mode, and

switching the consuming component back from the restricted operating mode into the normal operating mode.