Managing power consumption in a data center based on monitoring circuit breakers

• US 7,921,315 B2
• Filed: 05/09/2008
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lenovo International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lewis, Thomas F., Langgood, John K., Vernon, Kevin S. D., Reinberg, Kevin M.
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, ALBERT C
• Application Number:
  US12/118,095
• Publication Number:
  US 20090282274A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 361/652, 361/656, 713/300, 713/340
• US Class Current: 713/340
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/16 The load or loads being an Information and Communication Technology [ICT] facility
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/60 Limiting power consumption in the network or in one section of the network, e.g. load shedding or peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving

Abstract

Managing power consumption in a data center including reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker, the report transmitted from the circuit breaker communications device through a power supply communications device of a power supply currently providing power to a particular computing device and through an out-of-band communications link to the management module, upon receiving the report of the current power load, determining, by the management module, whether the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold; and if the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than the predetermined threshold, reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device.

Claims

1. A method of managing power consumption in a data center, the data center comprising one or more computing devices, each computing device connected to a plurality of power supplies, each power supply connected through a power line to one of a plurality of circuit breakers, each power supply comprising a power supply communications device, each circuit breaker comprising a circuit breaker communications device, the power supply communications devices and the circuit breaker communications devices capable of data communications through power lines, each power supply connected through an out-of-band communications link to a management module, the management module managing the computing devices, power supplies, and circuit breakers in the data center, the method comprising:

reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker, the report transmitted from the circuit breaker communications device through a power supply communications device of a power supply currently providing power to a particular computing device and through an out-of-band communications link to the management module,

upon receiving the report of the current power load, determining, by the management module, whether the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold; and

if the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than the predetermined threshold, reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

reallocating a portion of the particular computing device'"'"'s power consumption to another power supply, the another power supply connected to a different circuit breaker if the reallocation does not overload that different circuit breaker.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

reallocating workload currently executing on the particular computing device to a different computing device that is connected through a different power supply to a different circuit breaker if the reallocation does not overload that different circuit breaker.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

throttling power consumption of the particular computing device if reallocating a portion of the particular computing device'"'"'s power consumption to another power supply connected to a different circuit would overload that different circuit breaker.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker periodically at predefined intervals of time.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker when the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker upon request from the management module.

5. The method of 4 wherein throttling power consumption of the particular computing device further comprises:

throttling power consumption of the particular computing device for a predefined period of time; and

notifying a system administrator that the particular computing device is currently throttled.

9. An apparatus for managing power consumption in a data center, the data center comprising one or more computing devices, each computing device connected to a plurality of power supplies, each power supply connected through a power line to one of a plurality of circuit breakers, each power supply comprising a power supply communications device, each circuit breaker comprising a circuit breaker communications device, the power supply communications devices and the circuit breaker communications devices capable of data communications through power lines, each power supply connected through an out-of-band communications link to a management module, the management module managing the computing devices, power supplies, and circuit breakers in the data center, the apparatus comprising a computer processor, a computer memory operatively coupled to the computer processor, the computer memory having disposed within it computer program instructions capable of:

reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker, the report transmitted from the circuit breaker communications device through a power supply communications device of a power supply currently providing power to a particular computing device and through an out-of-band communications link to the management module, upon receiving the report of the current power load, determining, by the management module, whether the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold; and

if the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than the predetermined threshold, reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

reallocating a portion of the particular computing device'"'"'s power consumption to another power supply, the another power supply connected to a different circuit breaker if the reallocation does not overload that different circuit breaker.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

reallocating workload currently executing on the particular computing device to a different computing device that is connected through a different power supply to a different circuit breaker if the reallocation does not overload that different circuit breaker.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

throttling power consumption of the particular computing device if reallocating a portion of the particular computing device'"'"'s power consumption to another power supply connected to a different circuit would overload that different circuit breaker.

13. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker periodically at predefined intervals of time.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker when the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold.

15. A computer program product for managing power consumption in a data center, the data center comprising one or more computing devices, each computing device connected to a plurality of power supplies, each power supply connected through a power line to one of a plurality of circuit breakers, each power supply comprising a power supply communications device, each circuit breaker comprising a circuit breaker communications device, the power supply communications devices and the circuit breaker communications devices capable of data communications through power lines, each power supply connected through an out-of-band communications link to a management module, the management module managing the computing devices, power supplies, and circuit breakers in the data center, the computer program product disposed in a computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer program instructions capable of:

reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker, the report transmitted from the circuit breaker communications device through a power supply communications device of a power supply currently providing power to a particular computing device and through an out-of-band communications link to the management module,

upon receiving the report of the current power load, determining, by the management module, whether the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold; and

if the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than the predetermined threshold, reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

reallocating a portion of the particular computing device'"'"'s power consumption to another power supply, the another power supply connected to a different circuit breaker if the reallocation does not overload that different circuit breaker.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

reallocating workload currently executing on the particular computing device to a different computing device that is connected through a different power supply to a different circuit breaker if the reallocation does not overload that different circuit breaker.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein reducing, by the management module, power consumption through the circuit breaker of the particular computing device further comprises:

throttling power consumption of the particular computing device if reallocating a portion of the particular computing device'"'"'s power consumption to another power supply connected to a different circuit would overload that different circuit breaker.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker periodically at predefined intervals of time.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 wherein reporting, by a circuit breaker communications device of one of the circuit breakers to the management module, a current power load of the circuit breaker further comprises:

reporting the current power load of the circuit breaker when the current power load of the circuit breaker is greater than a predetermined threshold.