International Business Machines Corporation

Thomas W Keller, Jr

Juan C Rubio

Wael R El-Essawy

Karthick Rajamani

Freeman Leigh Rawson, Iii

Elmootazbellah Nabil Elnozahy

Soraya Ghiasi

Madhusudan K Iyengar

Malcolm Scott Allen-Ware

Alexandre Peixoto Ferreira

Michael Stephen Floyd

Wesley Michael Felter

Jarrod Alexander Roy

Gary Dale Carpenter

Charles Robert Lefurgy

Lixin Zhang

William Evan Speight

John Bruce Carter

Eric Van Hensbergen

Hai Huang

Cosmin Rusu

Ramakrishna Kotla

Malcolm Scott Ware

Robert John Urquhart

Harm Peter Hofstee

Kevin John Nowka

Sani Richard Nassif

Jeffrey Owen Kephart

Jian Li

Thomas M Brey

Guillermo Jesus Silva

Patrick Joseph Bohrer

Michael D Kistler

Rajarshi Das

Mark A Johnson

Heather Lynn Hanson

Bishop Chapman Brock

Andreas Bieswanger

Steven Paul Hartman

Hye-Young McCreary

Yang Li

James Yanes

Karthikeyan P Sankaralingam

Samuel W Shanks

Eddie L Smith

A mechanism is provided for throttling power utilized by a set of power consumption devices using priority-aware power capping. Responsive to unassigned power budget remaining in the overall power budget after a minimum power budget value has been assigned to the child device based on an associated priority of the child device, an additional power budget value equal to a remaining priority-based exposed power demand value of the child device is assigned to the child device in response to the remaining unassigned power budget being greater than or equal to the remaining priority-based demanded power value thereby forming a total power budget for the child device. Responsive to design limitations of power distribution equipment in the data processing system or contractual limits of the data processing system being reached, a throttling is implemented by each child device based on the total power budget assigned to the child device.

Priority-aware power capping for hierarchical power distribution networks

A wire management method using a wire manager including current sensing features provides input for power measurement and management systems. The wire manager may be a single wire or single bundle retaining device with a current sensor such as a hall effect sensor integrated therein, or may be a multi-wire management housing with multiple current sensing devices disposed inside for measuring the current through multiple wires. The wires may be multiple branch circuits in a power distribution panel or raceway, and the wire manager may be adapted for mounting in such a panel or raceway. Voltage sensing may also be incorporated within the sensors by providing an electrically conductive plate, wire or other element that capacitively couples to the corresponding wire.

Wire management method with current and voltage sensing

A wire manager including current sensing features provides input for power measurement and management systems. The wire manager may be a single wire or single bundle retaining device with a current sensor such as a hall effect sensor integrated therein, or may be a multi-wire management housing with multiple current sensing devices disposed inside for measuring the current through multiple wires. The wires may be multiple branch circuits in a power distribution panel or raceway, and the wire manager may be adapted for mounting in such a panel or raceway. Voltage sensing may also be incorporated within the sensors by providing an electrically conductive plate, wire or other element that capacitively couples to the corresponding wire.

Wire manager with current and voltage sensing

A mechanism is provided for statistical determination of power circuit connectivity based on signal detection in a circuit. Signal data from the circuit gathered and a determination is made as to whether a signal of interest is present in the gathered signal data from the circuit using a statistical analysis of the gathered signal data. The statistical analysis comprises using a mean current value and statistical deviation of the current value of the signal data over a predetermined period of time to compute a confidence range. The confidence range is compared to a first threshold and a second threshold. A determination is made that the signal is present in response to the confidence range being above the first threshold. A determination is made that the signal is not present in response to the confidence range being below the second threshold.

Statistical determination of power-circuit connectivity

A method, system, and computer program product for relating a data processing system with a power branch circuit are provided in the illustrative embodiments. Each signal in a set of signals is combined with a power signal to form a set of combination signals, the power signal including a first power usage by the data processing system and a second power usage by a modulating signal. An amplitude of a corresponding signal in each combined signal in the set of combined signals is determined over a period. Using a discriminating logic, a determination is made whether the modulating signal is present in the power signal. Responsive to the discriminating logic producing an affirmative result, the data processing system is related with the power branch circuit.

Branch circuit determination without external synchronization

A mechanism is provided for automatically detecting and locating equipment within an intelligent equipment rack. The intelligent equipment rack comprises a rack controller that determines whether a signal has been received indicating that a rack space in a plurality of rack spaces in the intelligent equipment rack has been occupied by a piece of electronic equipment. Responsive to receiving the signal indicating that the rack space has been occupied by the piece of electronic equipment, the rack controller updates a rack information table in the memory with occupation information related to the rack space occupied by the piece of electronic equipment.

Automatically detecting and locating equipment within an equipment rack

A mechanism is provided for dynamically changing power caps for a set of powered elements. Current being consumed by the set of powered elements P on a branch circuit is measured and available current on the branch circuit is determined. A new total power cap for a current time period t is identified based on a current total power cap and the measured current. A difference in total power caps (&#x394;TPC) is determined and, for each powered element p in the set of powered elements P at the current time period, a new power cap PC (p,t) is determined based on the previous power cap PC(p,t&#x2212;1) and the difference of the total power caps to the set of powered elements P. A power cap of each powered element p is then dynamically set to the new power cap PC (p,t).

Branch circuit power measurement and dynamic power distribution

Data center environmental sensing is provided by a measurement system that detects environmental events from inputs received from a plurality of movable sensors. The sensors are moved in response to detection of an event to a region of the data center associated with the event, providing increased spatial resolution of the measurement in the region of the event. Events such as leakage between hot and cold aisles of a data center can be detected by the system, which may use one or more movable devices that can be moved around, between and over equipment, to carry multiple sensors toward the source of the event, providing both diagnostic and detailed environmental information.

Sensor-swarm environmental event detection

A method for relating a data processing system with a power branch circuit is provided in the illustrative embodiments. A second signal is combined with a power signal to form a combination signal, the power signal including a first power usage by the data processing system and a second power usage by a modulating signal. The second signal is synchronized with the modulating signal in the power signal. A determination is made whether an amplitude of a frequency of the second signal is increasing in the combined signal over a period. Responsive to the determining being affirmative, the data processing system is related with the power branch circuit.

Branch circuit determination with synchronous correlation

A processing module is provided that comprises a set of processing module sides, each comprising a circuit board, a plurality of connectors coupled to the circuit board, and a plurality of processing nodes coupled to the circuit board. Each processing module side couples to another processing module side to form a modular processing module. The modular processing module comprises an exterior connection to a power source and a communication system and a plurality of cold plates coupled to the plurality of processing nodes. Liquid coolant is circulated through the plurality of cold plates via a closed loop by at least one pump through a plurality of tubes and through at least one heat exchanger. The at least one heat exchanger is coupled to an exterior portion of the processing module. The at least one heat exchanger cools the liquid coolant using air surrounding the processing module.

Liquid cooling system for stackable modules in energy-efficient computing systems

A computing system is provided. In the computing system, a plurality of modules physically arranged in a three dimensional hexadron configuration. In the computing system, the at least one module is either a liquid-tight module filled with a non-conductive liquid coolant or a module cooled with a liquid coolant circulating through cold plates mounted on electronic components. In the computing system, the liquid coolant is circulated in a closed loop by at least one pump through a plurality of hoses through at least one of a plurality of heat exchangers. In the computing system, the plurality of heat exchangers is coupled to an exterior portion of the surface of the computing system. In the computing system, the plurality of heat exchangers cool the liquid coolant through tinned tubes exposed to the surrounding air.

A modular processing module allowing in-situ maintenance is provided. The modular processing module comprises a set of processing module sides. Each processing module side comprises a circuit board, a plurality of connectors, and a plurality of processing nodes. Each processing module side couples to another processing module side using at least one connector in the plurality of connectors such that, when all of the set of processing module sides are coupled together, the modular processing module is formed. The modular processing module comprises an exterior connection to a power source and a communication system and at least one heatsink that couples to at least a portion of the plurality of processing nodes on one of the processing module sides and is designed such that, when a set of heatsinks in the modular processing module are installed, an empty space is left in a center of the modular processing module.

Heatsink allowing in-situ maintenance in a stackable module

A communications system is provided for direct communications between powered elements. A controller hub injects a first message via a modulated communication signal onto a branch circuit using a hub-side power line communication (PLC) coupler. An element-side PLC coupler associated with a powered element in a set of powered elements detects the first message and sends an interrupt to a mini-controller in the powered element. The mini-controller receives the interrupt from the element-side PLC coupler, extracts the first message using the element-side PLC coupler; reads a destination identifier in the first message; compares the destination identifier in the first message to a mini-controller identifier in the mini-controller; sends an acknowledgement message back to the controller hub in response to the destination identifier in the first message matching the mini-controller identifier, and forwards the first message to the powered element. The powered element performs a command identified in the first message.

Power distribution device communications platform

A modular processing module is provided. The modular processing module comprises a set of processing module sides. Each processing module side comprises a circuit board, a plurality of connectors coupled to the circuit board, and a plurality of processing nodes coupled to the circuit board. Each processing module side in the set of processing module sides couples to another processing module side using at least one connector in the plurality of connectors such that, when all of the set of processing module sides are coupled together, the modular processing module is formed. The modular processing module comprises an exterior connection to a power source and a communication system.

Stackable module for energy-efficient computing systems

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Thomas W Keller, Jr