TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE ROUTING OF DATA IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of bridge elements in communication with at least one compute node, wherein each bridge element comprises;
a network adapter on an integrated circuit connecting the bridge element over a plurality of network links driven with a plurality of line drivers to a second bridge element;
a temperature monitor block that monitors a temperature for each of a plurality of regions on the integrated circuit of the bridge element, wherein the plurality of regions each comprise a line driver of the plurality of line drivers; and
wherein the bridge element routes data received by the bridge element from a compute node over one of the plurality of network links depending on the temperature of the plurality of regions, wherein the routing mechanism determines a first threshold temperature and a second threshold temperature for each of the plurality of regions corresponding to plurality of line drivers and the plurality of network links based on performance of the network link while sending data over the network link.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method routes data over network links based on a temperature of the network links. When the temperature of a link meets a first threshold a routing mechanism re-routes a portion of the network traffic over a lower temperature link to reduce the likelihood that the link will exceed a second threshold that necessitates that the link be throttled back or disabled. Re-routing data to cooler links allows the system to maintain the lowest possible temperature of the network links to gain optimal performance of the system. In the disclosed example, the network links include interconnect cable connections and backplane connections. A temperature of the network links is determined by monitoring a region of an integrated circuit near a line driver driving the network link.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
a plurality of bridge elements in communication with at least one compute node, wherein each bridge element comprises; a network adapter on an integrated circuit connecting the bridge element over a plurality of network links driven with a plurality of line drivers to a second bridge element; a temperature monitor block that monitors a temperature for each of a plurality of regions on the integrated circuit of the bridge element, wherein the plurality of regions each comprise a line driver of the plurality of line drivers; and wherein the bridge element routes data received by the bridge element from a compute node over one of the plurality of network links depending on the temperature of the plurality of regions, wherein the routing mechanism determines a first threshold temperature and a second threshold temperature for each of the plurality of regions corresponding to plurality of line drivers and the plurality of network links based on performance of the network link while sending data over the network link. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus comprising:
a plurality of bridge elements in communication with at least one compute node, wherein each bridge element comprises; a network adapter on an integrated circuit connecting the bridge element over a plurality of network links driven with a plurality of line drivers to a second bridge element; a temperature monitor block that monitors a temperature for each of a plurality of regions on the integrated circuit of the bridge element, wherein the plurality of regions each comprise a line driver of the plurality of line drivers; and wherein the bridge element routes data received by the bridge element from a compute node over one of the plurality of network links depending on the temperature of the plurality of regions, wherein the routing mechanism determines a first threshold temperature and a second threshold temperature for each of the plurality of regions corresponding to plurality of line drivers and the plurality of network links based on performance of the network link while sending data over the network link, wherein the first threshold temperature is used to re-route network traffic through an alternate network link to reduce the temperature of the network link, and the second threshold temperature is used to throttle the data transmitted on the network link; and an interconnect network that connects the network links for the plurality of bridge adapters on a backplane connecting a plurality of the at least one compute node. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus comprising:
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a network adapter on an integrated circuit for connecting a computer node to a plurality of network links driven with a plurality of line drivers connected to an interconnect network; a temperature monitor block that monitors a temperature for each of a plurality of regions on the integrated circuit of the network adapter, wherein the plurality of regions each comprise a line driver of the plurality of line drivers; and routing mechanism that routes data received by the network adapter from the compute node over one of the plurality of network links depending on the temperature of the plurality of regions. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification