Virtualized application power budgeting

• US 8,645,733 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2011
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kansal, Aman, Liu, Jie, McGrane, Sean, Lim, Harold
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, VINCENT HUY
• Application Number:
  US13/107,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20120290865A1
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/320, 713/324
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/329 by task scheduling
• 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: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Virtualized application power budgeting can manage power budgeting for multiple applications in data centers. This power budgeting may be done in intelligent and/or dynamic ways and may be useful for updating power budgets, resolving conflicts in requests for power, and may improve the efficiency of the distribution of power to multiple applications.

Virtualized application power budgeting can distinguish between priority applications and non-priority applications at a granular, virtual machine level and reduce the power consumption to only non-priority applications when there are power consumption conflicts. Virtualized application power budgeting may be able to determine the most efficient manner of providing power to each application in a data center. Further, virtualized application power budgeting may be able to distribute power according to application priority and other predetermined requirements and improve the efficiency of the power consumption by the devices in the data center.

Claims

1. A method for controlling power to an application the method comprising:

receiving information indicative of an application power budget, a portion of the application configured to run on a virtual machine, the virtual machine associated with a computing device;

receiving information indicative of power usage by the virtual machine; and

sending, in response to receiving information indicative of power usage by the virtual machine, an instruction to alter the power usage of the virtual machine.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing feedback indicative of power consumption of the virtual machine.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising allocating power amounts to at least one tier of the application.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising monitoring and dividing power allocation among the virtual machine and another virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the instruction configured to alter the power consumption of the virtual machine is configured to change hardware/firmware of the computing device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the instruction configured to alter the power consumption of the virtual machine is configured to change an amount of processor time a scheduler on the computing device provides to the virtual machine.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising dividing a total power available at a data center among a plurality of applications.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining one or more power profiles, each power profile associated with the power consumption of an application.

9. A system for budgeting power among one or more applications, the system comprising:

a first controller configured to enforce a division of power amongst one or more applications;

a first computing device comprising at least one virtual machine, the at least one virtual machine running a portion of one of the one or more applications and wherein a second portion of the one or more applications configured to run on another computing device, the at least one virtual machine associated with a computing metric and a power consumption metric; and

a second controller associated with a computing device, wherein the second controller is configured to manipulate one or more aspects of the one or more virtual machines to enforce a power budget.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising a third controller configured to monitor a plurality of virtual machines, each virtual machine running on a separate computing device.

11. They system of claim 10 further comprising a fourth controller configured to monitor a plurality of tiers, each tier associated with a function of an application, each tier configured to run on one or more virtual machines.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the fourth controller is configured to receive feedback from one or more controllers including the third controller and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to each tier.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the third controller is configured to receive feedback from one or more controllers including the second controller and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to one or more virtual machines.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the second controller changes an amount of processor time a scheduler on the computing device provides to the virtual machine.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein the second controller changes at least one of hardware or firmware associated with the one or more virtual machines to enforce the power budget.

16. The system of claim 9 wherein the first controller is configured to determine one or more power profiles, each power profile associated with an application.

17. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions, the instructions stored in a memory coupled to a processor that, when run on the processor, cause the processor to:

receive from a first controller, information indicative of an application power budget, the application configured to run on one or more virtual machines, each of the one or more virtual machine associated with one or more computing devices;

receive at a second controller information indicative of power usage by each virtual machine associated with the application; and

send, in response to receiving at a second controller information indicative of power usage by each virtual machine, an instruction, the instruction configured to alter the power usage of at least one of the one or more virtual machine.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the instruction configured to alter the power consumption of the one or more virtual machines is configured to change CPU usage of a virtual machine.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 17 wherein the first controller is configured to divide a total power available at a data center amongst a plurality of applications.

20. The computer readable storage medium of claim 17 wherein the first controller is configured to determine one or more power profiles, each power profile associated with the power consumption of an application associated with the first controller.