The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 19, 2011
Filed:
Sep. 18, 2007
Patrick Maurice Bland, Raleigh, NC (US);
Yiyu Chen, Zurich, CH;
Angela Beth Dalton, Austin, TX (US);
Amitayu Das, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Richard Edwin Harper, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
William Joseph Piazza, Holly Springs, NC (US);
Patrick Maurice Bland, Raleigh, NC (US);
Yiyu Chen, Zurich, CH;
Angela Beth Dalton, Austin, TX (US);
Amitayu Das, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Richard Edwin Harper, Chapel Hill, NC (US);
William Joseph Piazza, Holly Springs, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
An improved method is provided for managing workload on a multi-server computer system. In one embodiment, a subset of servers is selected according to an anticipated net workload. The remaining servers in the system may be powered off to conserve energy and prolong equipment life. Workload is dynamically apportioned among the subset of servers at selected intervals to more uniformly distribute the mean and variance of the workload among the subset of servers. More particularly, the mean and the variance for each of a plurality of workload units are equally weighed in determining a ranking of the workload units. The workload units may be ordered according to a mathematical combination of the mean and variance, such as the sum or product of mean and variance for each workload unit. The workload units are allocated among the subset of servers in according to rank, such as by assigning the workload units to the servers in a reverse round-robin fashion according to rank. Predictive power management schemes such as DVS and DVFS may then be used to control power to the servers.