Virtualized application power budgeting

• US 9,268,394 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2014
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Kansal, Aman, Liu, Jie, McGrane, Sean, Lim, Harold
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAN, VINCENT HUY
• Application Number:
  US14/171,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20140149768A1
• Time in Patent Office: 750 Days
• Field of Search: 713/320
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 system for improving the power usage of computing devices, the system comprising:

a computing device;

a memory coupled to the computing device comprising computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device;

receive information indicative of a first portion of an application running on a first virtual machine on a first computing device and wherein a second portion of the application is configured to run on a second virtual machine on a second computing device, the first application one of a plurality;

determine, based at least in part on the received information, an approximate power consumption of one of the first portion of the application or the second portion of the application; and

based on the determination, provide information to at least one of the first or second virtual machines to manipulate one or more aspects of the at least one of the first or second virtual machines to cause the at least one of the first or second virtual machines to alter the power usage associated with the application.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory further comprises computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device monitor the power usage of the plurality of applications executing on a plurality of virtual machines.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the memory further comprises computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device receive feedback from the plurality of virtual machines and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to the at least one of the first or second virtual machines.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory further comprises computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device monitor a plurality of tiers, each tier associated with a function of the application, each tier configured to run on one or more virtual machines.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the memory further comprises computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device receive feedback from one or more tiers and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to each tier.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory further comprises computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device changes at least one of frequency or clocking of a processor associated with the at least one of the first or second virtual machines.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory further comprises computer executable instructions that upon execution on the computing device change an amount of processor time a scheduler on the computing device provides to the at least one of the first or second virtual machines.

8. A computer-readable storage device having stored thereon computer executable instructions that upon execution on a computing device cause the computing device to at least:

receive information indicative of at least a first portion of one of a plurality of applications, the one of the plurality of applications running on at least a first virtual machine among a plurality of virtual machines, the virtual machines operating on one or more computing devices;

receive information indicative of a second portion of another one of the applications running on a second virtual machine among the plurality of virtual machines, the first and second virtual machines associated with a computing metric and a power consumption metric; and

provide information to the first and second virtual machines to cause at least one change to one or more aspects of the first and second virtual machines based at least in part on the computing metric of the first and second virtual machines to control a power budget associated with the plurality of applications, the power budget based at least in part on the power consumption metric.

9. The computer-readable storage device of claim 8 wherein the computer executable instructions upon execution on the computing device monitor a plurality of virtual machines, each virtual machine running on a separate computing device.

10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 9 wherein the computer executable instructions upon execution on the computing device receive feedback from the plurality of virtual machines and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to the plurality of virtual machines.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 8 wherein the computer executable instructions upon execution on the computing device monitor a plurality of tiers, each tier associated with a function of an application, each tier configured to run on a plurality of virtual machines.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11 wherein the computing metric comprises at least one of CPU frequency or CPU clocking.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11 wherein the computer executable instructions upon execution on the computing device receive feedback from one or more tiers and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to each tier.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 8 wherein the computer executable instructions upon execution on the computing device change an amount of processor time a scheduler on the computing device provides to the virtual machine.

15. A method for controlling power usage in a datacenter, comprising:

processing information indicative of at least a first portion of one of a plurality of applications, the one of the plurality of applications running on a first one or more virtual machines running on at least one computing device;

processing information indicative of a second portion of another one of the applications running on a second one or more virtual machines, the first one or more and the second one or more virtual machine associated with a power consumption metric; and

provide information to change one or more aspects of at least one of the first or second one or more virtual machines based at least in part on the power consumption metric of the at least one of the first or second virtual machines to control a power budget associated with the plurality of applications.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the providing of information causes a change to an amount of processor time a scheduler on the at least one computing device provides to the first one or more virtual machines.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising monitoring a plurality of tiers, each tier associated with a function of an application, each tier configured to run on a plurality of virtual machines.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 17 wherein at least one of the plurality of tiers corresponds to at least one of a front end, middleware, or backend of an application.

19. The method of claim 17 comprising adding at least one virtual machine to the first or second one or more virtual machines to control the power usage.

20. The method of claim 17 further comprising receiving feedback from the plurality of virtual machines and, based on the feedback, provide instructions configured to distribute power to the plurality of virtual machines.