Scalable environmental data calculation method customized by system configuration

• US 6,754,816 B1
• Filed: 10/26/2000
• Issued: 06/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Dube, Shawn J., Layton, Jeffrey S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): CONNOLLY, MARK A
• Application Number:
  US09/697,102
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 713/1, 713/300, 710/8, 709/220
• US Class Current: 713/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A computer system for estimating resource usage of components in a particular system configuration is disclosed. The computer system includes a processor and a computer readable medium. System requirements, each of which describes an amount of an associated resource required by a particular system configuration, are stored within the computer readable medium. The processor receives component and configuration selections, retrieves an appropriate system requirement from the computer readable medium, and outputs that system requirement.

Claims

1. A computer system, comprising:

a computer readable medium;

a plurality of system requirements stored within the computer readable medium, the system requirements representing an amount of an associated resource required for the system to operate reliably, wherein the associated resource is selected from the group consisting of;

high volume air conditioning (HVAC), uninterrupted power supply (UPS), and AC power;

a plurality of component requirements stored within the computer readable medium, each component requirement representing an amount of an associated resource required for the at least one component to operate reliably within the system; and

at least one processor operable to;

receive a selected system configuration for a selected system having at least one selected component;

retrieve from the computer readable medium a particular system requirement associated with the selected system configuration; and

output the particular system requirement.

2. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a unique identifier associated with the selected system configuration.

3. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further operable to:

receive a first selection of an additional component;

update the selected system configuration to include the additional component;

retrieve from memory an updated system requirement associated with the updated selected system configuration; and

output the updated selected system requirement.

4. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a web page operable to:

receive the selected system configuration;

communicate the selected system configuration to the at least one processor; and

output the selected system requirement.

5. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a network server operable to:

receive the selected system configuration;

communicate the selected system configuration to the at least one processor; and

output the particular system requirement.

6. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising the particular system requirement selected from the group consisting of:

a required amount of cooling expressed in BTU/hr, a required amount of power expressed in kW/hr, a required amount of power expressed in kVA, and a required amount of AC power expressed in Amps at a given voltage.

7. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising:

a service tag module;

a service tag memory;

a system configuration storage within the service tag memory; and

the service tag module operable to retrieve system configuration information for selected system configuration from the service tag memory and to communicate the system configuration information to the processor.

8. A computer implemented method for estimating an amount of an associated resource required for a computer system, comprising:

selecting a system configuration including a computer system and at least one component for a computer system;

retrieving from memory a system requirement associated with the system configuration, the system requirement representing an estimated amount of the associated resource required for the system configuration to function reliably, wherein the associated resource is selected from the group consisting of;

high volume air conditioning (HVAC), uninterrupted power supply (UPS), and AC power; and

outputting the system requirement.

9. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein the system requirement is selected from a group consisting of:

required amount of cooling expressed in BTU/hr, required amount of power expressed in kW/hr, required amount of power expressed in kVA, or required amount of power expressed in Amperes at a given voltage.

10. The computer implemented method of claim 8, wherein at least one of the components is selected from the group consisting of:

a motherboard, a power supply, and a storage unit.

11. The computer implemented method of claim 8, further comprising:

selecting at least one additional component;

selecting an updated system configuration including the at least one component and at least one additional component;

retrieving from memory an updated system requirement associated with the updated system configuration; and

outputting the updated system requirement.

12. The computer implemented method of claim 8, further comprising selecting a system configuration including a computer system and a plurality of components for the computer.

13. The computer implemented method of claim 8, further comprising selecting data center resources using the system requirement.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 8, further comprising selecting a unique identifier associated with a system configuration.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 8, further comprising outputting the system requirement to a web page.

16. A computer readable medium comprising:

a plurality of system requirements stored on the computer readable medium, each system requirement associated with a respective system configuration for a system and at least one component and representing an amount of an associated resource required for the system configuration to operate reliably, wherein the associated resource is selected from the group consisting of;

high volume air conditioning (HVAC), uninterrupted power supply (UPS), and AC power; and

a plurality of instructions stored on the computer readable medium, the plurality of instructions configured to cause a processor to;

receive a selected system configuration for at least one selected component;

retrieve a particular system requirement associated with the selected system configuration from the computer readable medium; and

output the particular system requirement.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising a CD-ROM.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising the system requirement selected from a group consisting of:

a required amount of cooling expressed in BTU/hr, a required amount of power expressed in kW/hr, a required amount of power expressed in kVA, and a required amount of AC power expressed in Amps at a given voltage.