Power capping based on generator capacity

• US 8,924,781 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 12/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shaw, Mark E., Khessib, Badriddine, Kelly, Bryan
• Primary Examiner(s): MASKULINSKI, MICHAEL C
• Application Number:
  US13/173,852
• Publication Number:
  US 20130007515A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,279 Days
• US Class Current: 714/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/30 Means for acting in the event of power-supply failure or interruption, e.g. power-supply fluctuations for resetting only G06F1/24
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/324 by lowering clock frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3268 Power saving in hard disk drive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2015 Redundant power supplies power supply failure G06F1/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3062 where the monitored property is the power consumption power management in a computing system G06F1/3203
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A data center may use generators for backup power, where the backup generators are able to serve less than the maximal power load of the data center. The use of generators that can serve less than the maximal power load may be recognized by, and addressed by, the power policy for the data center. When utility power is lost, the power policy manager may detect that the data center is switching to generator power, and may have knowledge of the capacity of those generators. If the capacity is less than the maximal power load of the data center, the power policy manager may shed load by throttling equipment in the data center to lower power levels. The policy may specify which pieces of equipment are to be throttled. When utility power is restored, the throttling of the equipment may be removed by the power policy manager.

Claims

1. A method of managing power load in a data center, the method comprising:

determining that a utility power source for said data center has failed;

changing said data center to receive power from an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) instead of from said utility power source;

while said data center is operating on said Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), using a power management policy to throttle servers in said data center to a power level below a collective capacity of a plurality of backup generators at said data center, said collective capacity being less than a maximum amount of power drawn by equipment in said data center;

after said servers have been throttled, changing power for said data center from said Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) to said generators;

causing said collective capacity of said generators to be less than an amount of power that is drawn by said data center under said data center'"'"'s maximum load by taking a generator at said data center out of service;

after said changing of power for said data center to said generators, determining that said utility power source is available;

changing said data center back to said utility power source from said generators; and

ceasing to throttle said servers.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said throttling of said servers reduces said load below said collective capacity, and wherein the method further comprises:

increasing a throttle on said servers gradually while said generators are brought online.

3. The method of claim 1, said data center being designed with less generator capacity than an amount of power that is drawn by said data center under said data center'"'"'s maximum load.

4. The method of claim 1, said power management policy specifying which servers are to be throttled based on what software runs on the servers, or on a time of day at which throttling occurs.

5. The method of claim 1, said method being performed by a power policy manager that uses sensors to determine that said utility power source has failed and to determine said collective capacity of said generators at a time that said utility power source fails.

6. The method of claim 1, said power management policy specifying that disk drives in said data center are to be turned off after a specified number of minutes of inactivity.

7. The method of claim 1, said power management policy specifying that air conditioners in said data center are to be turned to higher power based on the temperature at said data center.

8. A data center comprising:

a plurality of servers;

a connection to a utility power source; and

a power policy manager that runs on a computer in said data center, that determines that said utility power source is not providing power to said data center, that determines that a plurality of generators have been started in said data center, that determines that a collective capacity of said generators is less than an amount of power that would be drawn by said data center under said data center'"'"'s maximum load, that throttles said servers to reduce load of said servers at or below said collective capacity, that switches power for said data center to power provided by said generators, and that uses sensors to determine that said utility power source has ceased to provide power to said data center and to determine said collective capacity of said generators at a time that said utility power source fails;

there being a power policy that is implemented by said power policy manager, said power policy specifying that said servers are to be throttled when said data center is powered by said generators.

9. The data center of claim 8, wherein said power policy manager determines that said utility power source has become available and ceases to throttle said servers after power for said data center is switched back to said utility power source.

10. The data center of claim 8, wherein throttling of said servers reduces said load below said collective capacity, and wherein said power policy manager gradually increases a throttle on said servers while said generators are brought online.

11. The data center of claim 8, wherein said data center operates on Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) power during said throttling.

12. The data center of claim 8, wherein said power policy manager throttles said servers under a power management policy, said power management policy specifying whether a given server is to be throttled based on what software is running on said given server.

13. The data center of claim 8, wherein said data center causes use of said generators by ceasing to use said utility power source which said utility power source is available in order to test said generators.

14. The data center of claim 8, said power policy specifying that disk drives in said data center are to be turned off after a specified number of minutes of inactivity.

15. A method of managing power load in a data center, the method comprising:

determining that a utility power source for said data center has failed;

changing said data center to receive power from an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) instead of from said utility power source;

while said data center is operating on said Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS), using a power management policy to throttle servers in said data center to a power level below a collective capacity of a plurality of backup generators at said data center, said collective capacity being less than a maximum amount of power drawn by equipment in said data center;

after said servers have been throttled, changing power for said data center from said Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) to said generators;

after said changing of power for said data center to said generators, determining that said utility power source is available;

changing said data center back to said utility power source from said generators; and

ceasing to throttle said servers,

said method being performed by a power policy manager that uses sensors to determine that said utility power source has failed and to determine said collective capacity of said generators at a time that said utility power source fails.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said throttling of said servers reduces said load below said collective capacity, and wherein the method further comprises:

increasing a throttle on said servers gradually while said generators are brought online.

17. The method of claim 15, said data center being designed with less generator capacity than an amount of power that is drawn by said data center under said data center'"'"'s maximum load.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

causing said collective capacity of said generators to be less than an amount of power that is drawn by said data center under said data center'"'"'s maximum load by taking a generator at said data center out of service.

19. The method of claim 15, said power management policy specifying which servers are to be throttled based on what software runs on the servers, or on a time of day at which throttling occurs.

20. The method of claim 15, said power management policy specifying that disk drives in said data center are to be turned off after a specified number of minutes of inactivity.