Method and apparatus for controlling power sequencing of a plurality of electrical/electronic devices
First Claim
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1. A method for managing power, comprising the steps of:
- measuring current used to power the devices;
based on the measured current, profiling a plurality of devices to determine a current profile for each individual device of the plurality of devices;
based on the current profile of each individual device, determining at least one of a plurality of possible time thresholds of when each individual device goes from a high current region to at least one of a plurality of possible low current regions; and
wherein the current profile of at least one of the individual drives comprises at least three successive current regions which decrease over time with at least two of the three current regions being associated with drive spin-up.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for managing power sequencing in a data storage system. The turn-on or spin-up sequence for the media drives in an array of media drives is selectively controlled such that the overall rush current is reduced. The individual drive components are characterized to determine a power profile for each such component. A closed-loop process is then used to manage and reduce peak power requirements when starting up or spinning up an array of media drives using the drive profiles. The media drives can also be organized as a plurality of sets of drives, and a power profile for each set of drives is used to manage and reduce peak power requirements.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for managing power, comprising the steps of:
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measuring current used to power the devices; based on the measured current, profiling a plurality of devices to determine a current profile for each individual device of the plurality of devices; based on the current profile of each individual device, determining at least one of a plurality of possible time thresholds of when each individual device goes from a high current region to at least one of a plurality of possible low current regions; and wherein the current profile of at least one of the individual drives comprises at least three successive current regions which decrease over time with at least two of the three current regions being associated with drive spin-up. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for sequencing enablement of each of a plurality of devices, comprising:
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a controller; a power supply; a current sensor associated with each of the drives and configured to measure current consumption during operation; and means for selectively enabling each of the devices based on current profiles determined for the devices with the current sensor, wherein each of the current profiles indicates current consumption of the devices during operation and includes at least a first, second, and third current region, the first current region being associated with current consumption during initial spin-up, the third current region being associated with current consumption during steady-state operation, and the second current region being associated with current consumption after initial spin-up and before steady-state operation; and wherein the means for selectively enabling each of the devices; enables a first number of devices such that a first current consumption determined from the sum of the first current portion of the first number of devices is less than a maximum current threshold; after at least one or more of the first number of devices transitions to the second current region, sums the second current portion of each device that transitioned to the second current region and the remaining devices still operating in the first current region to determine a second current consumption for the first number of devices; and enables at least one more device if the sum of the second current consumption plus the first current profile of the at least one more device is less than a maximum current threshold. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for managing power for a plurality of devices organized into a plurality of sets of devices, comprising the steps of:
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profiling each set to determine a current profile for each set as a function of measured current supplied to the each set, the current profile including a plurality of current regions; based on the current profile of each set, determining at least one time threshold of when each set goes from one current region to another current region; at a first period of time; (1) enabling a first set of the plurality of sets of devices; (2) enabling a second set of the plurality of sets of devices at a period of time equal to the determined time threshold for the first set; and (3) enabling a third set of the plurality of sets at a second period of time equal to the determined time threshold for the second set; and (4) successively enabling another set of the plurality of sets at a period of time equal to the determined time threshold of the most recently enabled set until all sets of the plurality of sets have been enabled; and after the first period of time; (5) based on the current profile of each set determined after the first period of time, re-determining the at least one time threshold of when each set goes from one current region to another current region; and (6) repeating steps (1)-(4) according to the re-determined time thresholds.
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16. A method for sequencing enablement of a number of disk drives, the method comprising:
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measuring current consumption for each disk drive over a period of time associated with spinning up the disk drives to steady-state operation; determining current profiles for each disk drive based on the measured current consumption, the current profiles including indicating current consumption of the devices over the period of time associated with spinning up the disk drives to steady-state operation and includes at least a first, second, and third current region, the first current region being associated with current consumption during initial spin-up, the third current region associated with current consumption during steady-state operation, and the second current region associated with current consumption after initial spin-up and before steady-state operation such that the second current region corresponds with less current consumption that the first current region and more current consumption than the third current region; enabling a first number of disk drives such that a first current consumption determined from the sum of the first current portion of the first number of disk drives is less than a maximum current threshold; after at least one of the enabled disk drives transitions to the second current region, summing the second current portion of each device that transitioned to the second current region and any remaining devices still operating in the first current region to determine a second current consumption for the first number of disk drives; and enabling at least one more disk drive if the sum of the second current consumption plus the first current region of the at least one more disk drives is less than the maximum current threshold. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification