Uninterruptible power supply resource sharing for multiple power sourcing equipment network devices

• US 7,565,555 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2005
• Issued: 07/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Diab, Wael William
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yanchus, III; Paul B
• Application Number:
  US11/286,176
• Publication Number:
  US 20070118772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,336 Days
• Field of Search: 713300-375, 714/22, 714/47
• US Class Current: 713/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• 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

Abstract

In a network deploying a plurality of network devices with PSE capabilities, a UPS resource may be effectively shared among those network devices by selecting at least one network device to be “master” and transmitting information reflecting worst case power commitments from “slave” network devices to the at least one master network device so that the master network device may keep track of the worst case power commitments of the plural network devices as a group. This information is compared to the known capabilities of the UPS resource and, where a deficiency or near-deficiency exists, the situation is communicated to network management for responsive action.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resources in a wired data telecommunications network with at least one network device configured to provide inline power to attached powered devices (PDs), the network device having a base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from the UPS resources, the method comprising:

communicating to the network device an amount of available UPS resources;

determining at the network device a worst case power requirement for the network device;

said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device; and

comparing at the network device worst case power requirement for the network device with the amount of available UPS resources and, if the available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the worst case power requirement for the network device in addition to any predetermined power margin, transmitting a message to that effect to a network administrator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining includes:

summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining includes:

summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs and the base power requirement of the network device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said communicating includes:

using a command line interface (CLI).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said communicating includes:

using an Ethernet packet.

6. A method for utilizing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resources in a wired data telecommunications network having a plurality of network devices configured to provide inline power to respective attached powered devices (PDs), the network devices each having a respective base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from the UPS resources, the method comprising:

selecting one master network device from among the plurality of network devices;

communicating to the master network device an amount of available UPS resources;

determining at each network device other than the master network device a network device worst case power requirement, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device;

advising the master network device of each said determined network device worst case power requirement;

calculating a total power load at the master network device; and

comparing at the master network device the total power load with the amount of available UPS resources, and, if the available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the total power load in addition to any predetermined power margin, transmitting a message to that effect to a network administrator.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said determining includes:

summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein said determining includes:

summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs and the respective base power requirement of the respective network device.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein said calculating includes:

summing the worst case power requirements of the non-master network devices and a worst case power requirement of the master network device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said worst case power requirement of the master network device includes the worst case power requirements for all PDs attached to the master network device together with a base power requirement for the master network device.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein said communicating includes:

using a command line interface (CLI).

12. The method of claim 6, wherein said communicating includes:

using an Ethernet packet.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein said advising includes:

using a command line interface (CLI).

14. The method of claim 6, wherein said advising includes:

using an Ethernet packet.

15. A system for utilizing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resources in a wired data telecommunications network with at least one network device configured to provide inline power to attached powered devices (PDs), the network device having a base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from the UPS resources, the system comprising:

means for communicating to the network device an amount of available UPS resources;

means for determining at the network device a worst case power requirement for the network device, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device; and

means for comparing at the network device the worst case power requirement for the network device with the amount of available UPS resources and, if the available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the worst case power requirement for the network device in addition to any predetermined power margin, transmitting a message to that effect to a network administrator.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said means for determining includes:

means for summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said means for determining includes:

means for summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs and the base power requirement of the network device.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein said means for communicating includes:

a command line interface (CLI).

19. The system of claim 15, wherein said means for communicating includes:

means for receiving an Ethernet packet.

20. A system for utilizing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resources in a wired data telecommunications network having a plurality of network devices configured to provide inline power to respective attached powered devices (PDs), the network devices each having a respective base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from the UPS resources, the system comprising:

means for selecting one master network device from among the plurality of network devices;

means for communicating to the master network device an amount of available UPS resources;

means for determining at each network device other than the master network device a network device worst case power requirement, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device;

means for advising the master network device of each said determined network device worst case power requirement;

means for calculating a total power load at the master network device; and

means for comparing at the master network device the total power load with the amount of available UPS resources, and, if the available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the total power load in addition to any predetermined power margin, transmitting a message to that effect to a network administrator.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said determining includes:

means for summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for determining includes:

means for summing the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs and the respective base power requirement of the respective network device.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for calculating includes:

means for summing the worst case power requirements of the non-master network devices and a worst case power requirement of the master network device.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein said worst case power requirement of the master network device includes the worst case power requirements for all PDs attached to the master network device together with a base power requirement for the master network device.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating includes:

a command line interface (CLI).

26. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for communicating includes:

means for receiving an Ethernet packet.

27. The system of claim 20, wherein said means for advising includes:

a command line interface (CLI).

28. The system of claim 20, wherein said advising includes:

means for receiving an Ethernet packet.

29. A program storage device readable by a network device, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the network device to perform a method for utilizing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resources in a wired data telecommunications network with at least one network device configured to provide inline power to attached powered devices (PDs), the network device having a base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from the UPS resources, comprising:

receiving at the network device an amount of available UPS resources;

determining at the network device a worst case power requirement for the network device, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device; and

comparing at the network device the worst case power requirement for the network device with the amount of available UPS resources and, if the available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the worst case power requirement for the network device in addition to any predetermined power margin, transmitting a message to that effect to a network administrator.

30. A program storage device readable by a master network device, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the master network device to perform a method for utilizing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) resources in a wired data telecommunications network having a plurality of network devices configured to provide inline power to respective attached powered devices (PDs), the network devices each having a respective base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from the UPS resources, comprising:

receiving at the master network device information reflecting an amount of available UPS resources;

receiving from each network device other than the master network device a network device worst case power requirement, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device;

calculating a total power load at the master network device; and

comparing at the master network device the total power load with the amount of available UPS resources, and, if the available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the total power load in addition to any predetermined power margin, transmitting a message to that effect to a network administrator.

31. A network device configured for use in a wired data telecommunications network, the network device configured to provide inline power to attached powered devices (PDs), the network device having a base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from Uninterruptible power Supply (UPS) resources, comprising:

a reception facility configured to receive information reflecting an amount of available UPS resources;

a determiner configured to determine a worst case power requirement for the network device, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing power through the network device;

a comparer configured to compare the worst case power requirement for the network device with the amount of available UPS resources; and

a transmission facility configured to transmit a message to a network administrator indicating a need for additional UPS resources in response to the comparer having determined that available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the worst case power requirement for the network device in addition to any predetermined power margin.

32. The device of claim 31, wherein said determiner is configured to sum the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs.

33. The device of claim 31, wherein said determiner is configured to sum the worst case power requirements for all attached PDs and the base power requirement of the network device.

34. The device of claim 31, wherein said reception facility includes a command line interface (CLI).

35. The method of claim 31, wherein said reception facility includes an Ethernet packet receiver.

36. A network device configured for use in a wired data telecommunications network having a plurality of network devices configured to provide inline power to respective attached powered devices (PDs), the network devices each having a respective base power requirement and configured to receive backup power from Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) resources, comprising:

a selector for configuring the network device to be a master network device;

a first reception facility configured to receive information reflecting an amount of available UPS resources;

a second reception facility configured to receive from each network device other than the master network device a network device worst case power requirement, said worst case power requirement including any power requirements of powered devices drawing through the network device;

a calculator configured to calculate a total power load at the master network device;

a comparer configured to compare the total power load with the amount of available UPS resources; and

a transmission facility configured to transmit a message to a network administrator indicating a need for additional UPS resources in response to the comparer having determined that available UPS resources do not meet or exceed the total power load in addition to any predetermined power margin.

37. The device of claim 36, wherein said calculator is configured to sum the worst case power requirements of the non-master network devices and a worst case power requirement of the master network device.

38. The device of claim 37, wherein said worst case power requirement of the master network device includes the worst case power requirements for all PDs attached to the master network device together with a base power requirement for the master network device.

39. The device of claim 36, wherein said first reception facility includes a command line interface (CLI).

40. The device of claim 36, wherein said first reception facility includes an Ethernet packet receiver.