Patent Application
20110320827
The present invention is directed to a system and method for identifying the power connections between a computer and remotely-controllable power distribution units (PDUs), and in one embodiment to a system and method for identifying the power connections between remotely-controllable PDUs and a computer having redundant power supplies.
Due to the number of cables between servers and various electrical connectors (e.g., power connectors of PDUs and data connectors) in computer farms, a significant amount of time and effort is required to track what cables interconnect what servers. Furthermore, as parts fail or as cables and connectors get reconfigured, there is a significant possibility that the information describing the connections can become out-of-date.
The following description, given with respect to the attached drawings, may be better understood with reference to the non-limiting examples of the drawings, wherein:
Computer servers, power supplies and Power Distribution Units (PDUs) are all typically housed in a rack of equipment. It is desirable for management reasons for a server owner to know in which rack the server is located and to which PDU-controlled power supply or supplies it is connected. By observing the power going into the server, a PDU control system can automatically track a server's power connections and therefore location. By utilizing a server with dual power supplies and internal power-monitoring hardware, the server can detect the status of each of its power supplies as a PDU shuts down power strips or individually controlled power outlets. The server's management controller then determines if either of its power supplies has been shut down. If one of the power supplies has been shut down, then the PDU control system can record to which power supply the server is connected, and if it is known in which rack the PDU resides, it can also indicate in which rack the server is located.
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Through its connections, the PDU control system can track and manage the power supplies and locations of servers connected to those power supplies. The PDU 110 receives commands (e.g., at a communications port (e.g., a serial port, a wireless interface, an Ethernet port)) from a PDU control system to shut down a power strip 120 (
The PDU control system can also determine if the two power supplies connected to a single server are being controlled by the same PDU. In that case, the PDU control system may advise a system administrator to change the power connections in order to increase power independence and redundancy.
Shutting down the power supply may involve shutting down all output voltages. Alternatively, if the power supply allows it, and if the server is otherwise operating normally, particular voltages of the power supply can be turned off so that only essential voltages are sent to the server, but the server management controller can detect the loss of one of the voltages. It is also possible to use the same technique with a single power supply if a non-essential voltage can be shut down and tolerated by the server and its management controller. For example, a power supply may supply +5V, +12V and −12V to a computer. If one of those voltages (e.g., −12V) is not essential, then loss of that voltage (−12 V) will not disrupt the overall operation of the computer but will allow the computer to detect the loss of one of its voltages which can be used to determine which power supply is connected to which connector or cable.
In yet another embodiment, an uninterruptable power supply may be interposed between an outlet and a server. In such a configuration, the uninterruptable power supply is also connected to a peripheral connector (e.g., a USB connector) of the server, and the uninterruptable power supply is configured to report the loss of power to the server across the peripheral connector (e.g., using USB-based messages).
Generally, by causing a measurable disturbance on a power supply, the PDU controlled power supply can be correlated with a particular server within a particular rack of equipment.
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While certain configurations of structures have been illustrated for the purposes of presenting the basic structures of the present invention, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that other variations are possible which would still fall within the scope of the appended claims. For example, while the above describes servers with redundant power supplies, it is to be understood that “servers” in intended to encompass other devices (e.g. computers generally) with redundant power supplies.
