Patent Application
20050111184
Embodiments of the invention relate to a method for controlling the cooling of a computing environment, a system for controlling the cooling of a computing environment and a portable robotic device for controlling the cooling of a portion of a computing environment.
A computing environment comprises a plurality of computers at one location. There may be hundreds or thousands of computers. In a utility data centre (UDC) or on demand computer (ODC) the computers are used as a computing resource which can be dynamically allocated in part or in whole to customers according to demand.
The computers are typically arranged in stacks from the floor close to the ceiling. The stacks are arranged in aisles with corridors between the aisles that allow human access. The computing environment will typically be a closed room and will have an integrated air conditioning system to maintain the room's temperature within a range suitable for the operation of the computers.
A problem with computing environments is that there may be a local increase in temperature because of unequal processing loads within the computers of the computing environment or because of a failure of part of the air conditioning system.
The problem of local temperature increases could be addressed by cooling the whole of the environment as if it were operating at maximum processing power. However, this is uneconomical because the cooling of the environment is not optimal if the environment is not operating at full processing power.
The problem of failure of a part of the air conditioning system could be addressed by installing a secondary back-up air conditioning system that is the same as the primary air conditioning system. This would be expensive.
According to one embodiment there is provided a method for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: deploying at least one portable device to separate, at least partially, a first portion of the computing environment from an adjacent portion of the computing environment; and increasing a mass flow of air to (or from) the first, at least partially, separated portion.
According to another embodiment there is provided a system for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: at least one portable device; means for deploying one or more of the plurality of portable devices to separate a first portion of the computing environment from an adjacent portion or portions of the computing environment; and means for increasing the mass flow of air to and/or from the first portion.
According to another embodiment there is provided a robot for controlling the cooling of a portion of a computing environment comprising: means for controlling the air flow from the portion of the computing environment.
According to another embodiment there is provided a method for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: deploying at least one portable device to control the flow of air between a first portion of the computing environment and an adjacent portion of the computing environment; and increasing the mass flow of air to the first portion.
According to another embodiment there is provided a method for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: deploying at least one portable device to control the flow of air between a first portion of the computing environment and an adjacent portion of the computing environment; and increasing the mass flow of air from the first portion.
According to another embodiment there is provided a system for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: a plurality of portable devices; means for deploying one or more of the plurality of portable devices to control the flow of air between a first portion of the computing environment and an adjacent portion or portions of the computing environment; and means for increasing the mass flow of air to the first portion.
According to another embodiment there is provided a system for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: a plurality of portable devices; means for deploying one or more of the plurality of portable devices to control the flow of air between a first portion of the computing environment and an adjacent portion or portions of the computing environment; and means for increasing the mass flow of air from the first portion.
According to another embodiment there is provided a method for controlling the cooling of a computing environment comprising: controlling the air flow from a portion of the computing environment using at least one portable robot device.
Embodiments of the invention consequently enable localised cooling of a portion of a computing environment.
The following paragraphs describe a method for controlling the cooling of a computing environment by deploying at least one portable robot device that controls the flow of air within the computing environment. This enables the localised cooling of a portion of a computing environment. A deployed robot may separate, at least partially, a first portion of the computing environment from an adjacent portion of the computing environment and thereby damp airflow within the computing environment. The robot may alternatively or in addition increase the mass flow of air from the first portion by extracting air from the first portion and venting that air outside the first portion.
It should be appreciated that separation does not necessarily imply complete physical separation.
The particular computing environment 10 illustrated comprises an enclosed room 11 with stacks 12 of computers arranged in an array of aisles 14 with corridors 16 between the aisles 14 and an integrated air conditioning system 106. Other computing environments may have differently arranged computer stacks 12.
The computer stacks 12 draw air from the corridors 16a and expel air to the corridors 16b. This circulation of air cools the circuitry within the computers by transferring heat to the expelled air. The corridors 16a would be relatively ‘cool’ and the corridors 16b would be relatively ‘hot’ in the absence of air conditioning.
In this configuration of computer environment 10, the air conditioning system extracts air from the ‘hot’ corridors 16b, cools that air using air cooling units (not shown) and injects the cooled air into the ‘cool’ corridors 16a. The air conditioning system 106 has air extraction units 20b positioned with air inlets in the ceiling of the ‘hot’ corridors 16b and injection units 20a with vents in the ceiling of the ‘cold’ corridors 16a.
The corridors 16a and 16b have interlinking runways 16c that allow portable robot devices (robots) 30 to move within the computing environment 10 via the corridors 16a, 16b and the runways 16c.
One or more robots 30 may move independently within the computing environment 10. These robots 30 may be permanently resident within the computing environment or may be introduced when required to control the cooling of a portion of a computing environment. A robot 30 is schematically illustrated in
The robot 30 comprises: a controllable separator 40; an air flow engine 50; an inlet 60; a vent 70; a motor 54, a controller 52, a radio transceiver 58 and various drive mechanisms 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90.
The controllable separator 40 provides means for separating one portion of the computing environment 10 from an adjacent portion of the computing environment 10. Separation does not necessarily imply complete physical separation as the separator 40 is used as a windbreak for damping air currents within the computing environment 10. The separator 40 comprises a vertical rectangular frame 42. In one embodiment, illustrated in
The frame 42 is, in this example, expandable. When expanded the width of the frame is substantially the same as the width of a corridor 16 and the top of the expanded frame is substantially at the ceiling of the room 11. The expansion may be achieved by inflating balloons 48 that extend along the exterior of the frame 42. These balloons 48 may be inflated when the separator 40 is operational and deflated when the separator is not operational. Although balloons are illustrated on the sides and top of the frame 42, in other embodiments there may only be balloons on the sides of the frame 42.
The expansion of the frame 42 is an optional feature and whether it is present or not the separator 40 provides means for substantially separating one portion of the computing environment from an adjacent portion of the computing environment.
The controller 52 controls the operation of the separator 40 using a drive mechanism 80. The drive mechanism 80 provides a mechanism for raising and lowering the partition 44 or rotating the vertical slats 46 in unison. It may also drive the inflation of the balloons 48, for example, by bleeding air from the air flow engine 50 and control the deflation of the balloons 48.
The air flow engine 50 in combination with the inlet 60 and vent 70 provide means for increasing the mass flow of air from the portion of the computing environment separated by the operational separator 40. The engine 50 draws air into the inlet 60 and exhausts it through the outlet 70.
The inlet 60 comprises a movable conduit 62. The conduit 62, in this example is solid and an inverted ‘L’ shape. The conduit 62 may be extended vertically upwards and downwards by a drive mechanism 82 under the control of the controller 52. This extends the vertical shaft of the L-shape. Thus the height at which air is extracted can be controlled. This may, for example, allow the orifice 64 of the inlet to be placed where there is a local increase in temperature e.g. adjacent overheating computers. The conduit may be rotated about the vertical shaft of the L-shape by a drive mechanism 84 under the control of controller 52. This positions the orifice 64 of the inlet 60. Other types of conduit may also be used. For example, the conduit 62 may, in other embodiments, be a flexible tube the end of which is attached to an extendible and rotatable support.
The vent 70 comprises a movable conduit 72. The conduit 72, in this example is an inverted ‘L’ shape. The conduit 72 may be extended vertically upwards and downwards by a drive mechanism 86 under the control of the controller 52. This extends the vertical shaft of the L-shape. Thus the height at which air is vented by the robot 30 can be controlled. This may, for example, allow the orifice 74 of the inlet to be placed adjacent the inlet to an air extraction unit 20b of the air conditioning system. The conduit 72 may be rotated about the vertical shaft of the L-shape by a drive mechanism 88 under the control of the controller 52. This positions the orifice 74 of the vent 70. The vent 70 also has controllable rudders 76 at the orifice 74 for directing the exhausted air flow. These rudders 76 are controlled by a drive mechanism 90 under the control of the controller 52. For example, the conduit 72 may, in other embodiments, be a flexible tube the end of which is attached to an extendible and rotatable support.
The air inlet 60 and air vent 70 are independently manoeuvrable in a manner similar to a periscope. They can be moved up and down and swivelled around by the controller 52 until they are in a desired position. The rudders 76 of the air vent 70 operate in a similar manner to the rudders of a car's air conditioning system.
The motor 54 is controlled by controller 52 and provides locomotive means for moving the robot 30. There will also be a steering mechanism (not shown) for controlling the direction of motion of the robot 30. In this example the robot moves on wheels but it may move on any suitable traction device such as, for example, caterpillar tracks.
The radio transceiver 58 provides communication means via which the controller 52 can communicate with and control the robot 30 can be controlled.
The controller 52 controls the motor 54 to move the robot 30 to a desired position, controls the extension and expansion of the separator 40, controls the position of the inlet 60, controls the position of the vent 70 and the configuration of the rudders of the vent 70 and activates the air flow engine 50.
The robot may optionally comprise a temperature sensor (not shown) electrically connected to the controller 52. This temperature sensor may be placed on the top of the inlet 60. The temperature sensor may be used to correctly position the orifice 64 of the inlet 60.
The system comprises a central controller 102, a radio transceiver 104, a plurality of robots 30, an air conditioning system 106 having a plurality of air conditioning units 106a, 106b, 106c for cooling different portions of the computing environment 10 and a plurality of temperature sensors 108a, 108b and 108c for measuring the temperature of different portions of the computing environment 10. The temperature sensors 108 may be statically mounted within the computing environment 10 or each of the temperature sensors 108 may be attached to a robot 30 moving within the computing environment 10.
The controller 102 detects a portion 13 of the computing environment that requires additional cooling.
The controller 102 may detect the portion 13 that needs cooling from inputs received from the temperature sensors 108. These inputs may be obtained through the radio transceiver 104 if the temperature sensors 108 are mounted on robots 30 or via wires if the temperature sensors are static. The controller 102 detects the portion by determining if the air temperature sensed by the temperature sensor at that portion exceeds a threshold value.
Alternatively, the controller 102 may detect the portion 13 that needs cooling from inputs received from the air-conditioning units 106. The controller 102 may, for example, identify a malfunctioning air conditioning unit by detecting a variation in electrical power drawn by the unit. The controller 102 is operable to associate the malfunctioning of an air conditioning unit 106 with a portion or portions of the computing environment 10.
The controller 102 deploys one or more of the robots using the radio transceiver 104 to communicate with the robots 30. The robots are controlled to separate the portion 13 of the computing environment that requires cooling from an adjacent portion of the computing environment 10.
The controller 102 then controls the cooling of the separated portion.
The controller 102 may increase the mass flow of hot air from that portion 13 by increasing the work done by the air extraction units 20b that have inlets within that portion.
The controller 102 may alternatively or in addition increase the mass flow of cold air to that portion 13 by increasing the work done by the air injection units 20a that have inlets within that portion.
The controller 102 may alternatively or in addition increase the mass flow of hot air from that portion 13 by using one or more robots 30 to extract air from that portion and vent it outside the portion 13. In the example illustrated in
‘Daisy-chaining’ may also be used to provide cool air to a separated portion 13. The robots are positioned in series such that an inlet 60a of a first robot 30a in the series extracts air from the outlet of an air injection unit 20a using its air flow engine 50 and vents it through its vent into the inlet of a second robot in the series. The second robot in the series uses its air flow engine 50 to vent the received cool air through its vent into the inlet of a third robot in the series. The third robot in the series uses its air flow engine 50 to vent the received cool air through its vent 70c into the separated portion 13. Thus the inlet of each robot in the series receives air from a vent of the robot preceding it in the series.
The central controller 102 may have a user interface (not shown) that allows an operator to remotely control the robots 30 by providing commands to the robots 30 using the radio transceiver. The operator would manually steer the robot 30 to its location, then position the inlet 60, position the vent 70, position the separator 60 and them activate the air flow engine 50.
Alternatively, the controller 102 may have a user interface (not shown) that allows an operator to activate semi-autonomous robots 30 by indicating the location to which a robot 30 should move to a robot via the radio transceiver 104. The robot 30 would determine a route to that location and move itself to that position along the determined route.
Alternatively, the robots 30 may be fully autonomous. The robot 30 itself may sense a temperature increase and act to reduce that temperature. In this case a central controller 102 may not be required.
It should be appreciated that the invention has been described with reference to particular non-limiting examples. The invention may be used in any appropriate computing environment and not necessarily the computing environment described. The invention may make use of any suitable portable robot device that controls the cooling of a portion of a computing environment and not necessarily the robot described.
Although reference in the preceding paragraphs is made to ‘air’, this term includes any suitable gas atmosphere used within a computing environment. It particularly includes this meaning when used in the claims. It is for example conceivable that the computing environment could have its own re-circulated gas atmosphere the composition of which is chosen for its cooling and/or fire retardant properties.
Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0325477.8 | Oct 2003 | GB | national |
