Data center control

• US 8,560,677 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2010
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: VanGilder, James W., Dalgas, Mikkel, Zhang, Xuanhang
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Lynn
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, BRYAN Y
• Application Number:
  US12/888,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20110077795A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,119 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 700/300
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/329 by task scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5011 the resources being hardware resources other than CPUs, Servers and Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5027 the resource being a machine, e.g. CPUs, Servers, Terminals
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5094 where the allocation takes into account power or heat criteria power management in computers in general G06F1/3203; thermal management in computers in general G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20836 Thermal management, e.g. server temperature control
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

Systems and methods for data center control are provided. The data center includes a plurality of racks and at least one cooling unit. The racks including at least one server. Information regarding the at least one cooling unit, the at least one server, the plurality of racks, and at least one application is received. A rack based cooling metric threshold is also received. The systems and methods can determine a layout of the data center that minimizes total power consumption of the plurality of racks and the cooling unit while maintaining cooling performance at an acceptable level based on the threshold.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of data center control, the data center including a plurality of racks and at least one cooling unit, the racks including at least one server, the method comprising:

receiving information regarding the at least one cooling unit, the at least one server, the plurality of racks, and at least one application, the information including workload of the data center;

receiving a rack based cooling metric threshold;

determining, by a computer system, a first layout based on the information that can process the workload of the data center, while maintaining cooling performance at an acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold; and

modifying, by the computer system, the first layout of the data center by determining a second layout that minimizes a total power consumption of the plurality of racks while maintaining cooling utilization rates of the at least one cooling unit below a first threshold, rack utilization rates of each of the plurality of racks below a second threshold, and while maintaining the cooling performance at the acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining a workload distribution of the at least one application between a plurality of servers that satisfies the rack based cooling metric threshold.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the rack based cooling metric threshold includes at least one of a hot aisle capture index threshold and a cold aisle capture index threshold, comprising:

determining at least one of a hot aisle capture index and a cold aisle capture index;

determining, in real time, at least one of the hot aisle capture index threshold and the cold aisle capture index threshold; and

distributing the at least one application to the at least one server based on at least one of the hot aisle capture index threshold and the cold aisle capture index threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining individual power consumption of each of the plurality of racks based on the rack utilization rate of each of the plurality of racks;

determining power consumption of the at least one cooling unit based on the cooling utilization rate of the at least one cooling unit;

determining the total power consumption of the plurality of racks and of the at least one cooling unit; and

determining the second layout of the data center based on the total power consumption, the power consumption of each of the plurality of racks, and the power consumption of the at least one cooling unit.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising:

determining, in real time, the total power consumption of the data center based on at least one of the rack utilization rate of each of the plurality of racks and the cooling utilization rate of the at least one cooling unit;

distributing the workload between a plurality of servers and cooling load between a plurality of cooling units while maintaining cooling performance at the acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising:

distributing the at least one application from the at least one server to a second server of a second rack, wherein the second rack is located in one of the data center and a second data center.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising:

providing instructions to relocate a first rack of the plurality of racks within the data center.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising:

displaying at least one of the first layout and the second layout of the data center.

9. A data center control system of a data center including a plurality of racks and at least one cooling unit, the plurality of racks including at least one server, the system comprising:

a data center controller configured to;

receive information regarding the at least one cooling unit, the at least one server, the plurality of racks, and at least one application, the information including workload of the data center;

receive a rack based cooling metric threshold;

determine a first layout based on the information that can process the workload of the data center, while maintaining cooling performance at an acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold; and

modify the first layout of the data center by determining a second layout that minimizes a total power consumption of the plurality of racks while maintaining cooling utilization rates of the at least one cooling unit below a first threshold, rack utilization rates of each of the plurality of racks below a second threshold, and while maintaining the cooling performance at the acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the data center controller is configured to:

determine a workload distribution of the data center; and

distribute the workload from the at least one server to a second server.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the rack based cooling metric threshold includes at least one of a hot aisle capture index threshold and a cold aisle capture index threshold, and wherein the data center controller is configured to:

determine at least one of a hot aisle capture index and a cold aisle capture index;

determine at least one of the hot aisle capture index threshold and the cold aisle capture index threshold; and

distribute the at least one application to the at least one server based on at least one of the hot aisle capture index threshold and the cold aisle capture index threshold.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the data center controller is configured to:

determine individual power consumption of each of the plurality of racks based on the rack utilization rate of each of the plurality of racks;

determine power consumption of the at least one cooling unit based on the cooling utilization rate of the at least one cooling unit;

determine the total power consumption of the plurality of racks and of the at least one cooling unit; and

determine the second layout of the data center based on the total power consumption, the power consumption of each of the plurality of racks, and the power consumption of the at least one cooling unit.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the data center controller is configured to:

determine total power consumption of a cluster of the data center, the cluster including the plurality of racks and the at least one cooling unit; and

identify a workload distribution of the cluster that minimizes the total power consumption.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the data center controller is configured to:

determine total power consumption of the data center based on at least one of the rack utilization rate of at least one of the plurality of racks and the cooling utilization rate of the at least one cooling unit; and

distribute the workload between a plurality of servers while maintaining cooling performance at the acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the data center controller is configured to transfer the at least one application from the at least one server to a second server.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one cooling unit includes an in-row cooling unit.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instruction including instructions that cause a processor to:

receive information regarding the at least one cooling unit, the at least one server, the plurality of racks, and at least one application, the information including workload of the data center;

receive a rack based cooling metric threshold;

determine a first layout based on the information that can process the workload of the data center, while maintaining cooling performance at an acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold; and

modify the first layout of the data center by determining a second layout that minimizes a total power consumption of the plurality of racks while maintaining cooling utilization rates of the at least one cooling unit below a first threshold, rack utilization rates of each of the plurality of racks below a second threshold, and while maintaining the cooling performance at the acceptable level based on the cooling metric threshold.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, comprising instructions that cause the processor to:

determine at least one of a hot aisle capture index and a cold aisle capture index;

determine at least one of a hot aisle capture index threshold and a cold aisle capture index threshold; and

distribute the at least one application to the at least one server based on at least one of the hot aisle capture index threshold and the cold aisle capture index threshold.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, comprising instructions that cause the processor to:

determine individual power consumption of each of the plurality of racks based on the rack utilization rate of each of the plurality of racks;

determine power consumption of the at least one cooling unit based on the cooling utilization rate of the at least one cooling unit;

determine the total power consumption of the plurality of racks and of the cooling unit; and

determine the second layout of the data center based on the total power consumption, the power consumption of each of the plurality of racks, and the power consumption of the at least one cooling unit.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, comprising instructions that cause the processor to:

distribute the at least one application from a first server of a first rack of the plurality of racks to a second server of a second rack of the plurality of racks.