JP2000149542A - Power consumption reducing device for disc array device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce power consumption in a disc array device. SOLUTION: An inside monitoring device 141 in a fan revolution controller 140 monitors a mounting state inside a disc array device and generates mounting state data and transmits the data to a fan control unit 142 also in the fan revolution controller 140. The fan control unit 142 calculates the revolutions of fans necessary for moderate cooling of the disc array device under the present mounting state in accordance with the transmitted data and changes the present fan revolutions to proper revolutions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for reducing power consumption, and more particularly to a device and a method for reducing power consumption of a disk array device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a fan speed of a disk array device is operated at a constant speed irrespective of the internal state of each part in the disk array device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the inside of a conventional disk array device. DA (Disk Arr)
a) The control unit 510 includes the controller 511 and the memory 5
12, I / O module 513, other functional devices 51
4 to control the disk array device.
Performs data processing and data transfer. HDD (HardD
The disk drive 520 includes an HDD 521 and an HD
D522, HDD 523, and HDD 524, which record data. Fan unit 53
Numeral 0 is composed of a fan 531, a fan 532, a fan 533, a fan 534, and a fan 535, and cools down heat generated by energization in the disk array device. HDD unit 520
HDD521, HDD522, HDD52 included in
3. The HDD 524 is detachable from the disk array device, and the number of hard disks alone can be changed according to the specifications of the disk array device. DA control unit 51
0 included in the controller 511, the memory 512, and the I /
The O module 513, the other functional devices 514, and the like are constituted by substrates that can be attached to and detached from the disk array device, and the number, type, and the like can be changed according to the specifications of the disk array device. The mounting status of the DA control unit 510 and the HDD unit 520 in the disk array device is as follows.
It changes according to the specifications of the device.

Next, the operation of the conventional example will be described with reference to FIG. During normal operation of the disk array device, each fan of the fan unit 530 rotates to cool the heat generated from the DA control unit 510 and the HDD unit 520.

Conventionally, this kind of power consumption reducing device has been used for the purpose of providing a reasonable redundancy by integrating a power supply and a fan. For example, JP-A-5-4
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1590 discloses a technique in which a thermometer is provided outside the apparatus and the fan is controlled so that the number of revolutions corresponds to the temperature outside the apparatus.

[0006]

In the conventional example described above, the rotation speed of each fan is constant and does not change regardless of the state inside the disk array device. Therefore, depending on the conditions inside the disk array device, there may be a case where a sufficient cooling effect can be obtained even with cooling at a lower rotation speed than a certain rotation speed by the fan, and the power consumption of the fan unit is wasted. there were.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-41590, the maximum heat generation is assumed for the heat generation inside the device, and the change in the mounting state inside the disk array device and the temperature change inside the device are considered. There was a problem that no consideration was given to this.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to reduce the power consumption of a disk array device in order to solve the above problems.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a power consumption reducing apparatus for a disk array device according to the present invention provides a disk array (DA) control for controlling the disk array device, performing data processing, transferring data, and the like. And a hard disk drive (HDD) unit for recording data, and a fan unit for cooling heat generated by energization in the disk array device. And a fan rotation speed controller for monitoring the status of each unit in the disk array device and controlling the rotation speed of the cooling fan in the fan unit between the HDD unit and the fan unit.

It is preferable that the fan rotation speed controller has an internal monitoring unit for monitoring the status of each unit in the disk array device and a fan control unit for controlling the rotation speed of the cooling fan.

Further, it is preferable that the status is a mounting status of each unit in the disk array device.

Further, it is preferable that the condition is a temperature condition of each part in the disk array device.

Preferably, the status is a mounting status and a temperature status of each part in the disk array device.

Further, the fan control unit compares the situation data with the current rotation speed, and if the fan rotation speed is excessive, sends a signal to the fan unit to reduce the fan rotation speed of each fan, thereby reducing the fan rotation speed. If the number is insufficient, it is preferable to increase the fan rotation speed of each fan by sending a signal to the fan unit.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the fan control unit transmits a signal for maintaining the current fan rotation speed to the fan unit when it is determined that the rotation speed of each fan is not excessive or insufficient.

As described above, the power consumption reduction device for a disk array device according to the present invention changes the number of revolutions of the cooling fan in accordance with the mounting state inside the disk array device or the internal temperature. More specifically, it has an internal monitoring unit that monitors the internal state inside the disk array device, and a fan control unit that controls the number of rotations of the fan. Fan speed controller.

According to the present invention, when a change occurs in the mounting status or the internal temperature inside the disk array device, the internal monitoring unit detects the mounting status or the change in the internal temperature and converts the current mounting status into data. Notify the fan controller. The fan control unit calculates the number of rotations of the cooling fan that is sufficient and sufficient in the current situation based on the data, and adjusts the number of rotations of the fan to the calculated number of rotations. For this reason, waste of power consumption caused by an excessive number of fan rotations can be eliminated.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a power consumption reducing device for a disk array device according to the present invention. This device comprises a controller 111, a memory 112,
A disk array (DA) control unit 110, which includes an I / O module 113, other functional units 114, etc., and performs control of the disk array unit, data processing, data transfer, and the like.
And a hard disk drive (HDD) 121 and an HDD
An HDD unit 120 comprising a plurality of hard disks 122, HDD 123 and HDD 124 for recording data;
A fan unit 130 including a plurality of fans 131, 132, 133, 134, and 135 for cooling heat generated by energization in the disk array device; an internal monitoring unit 141 and a fan control unit 142; And a fan speed controller 140 for monitoring the mounting status in the disk array device and controlling the fan speed.
Consists of The fan rotation speed controller 140 monitors the mounting status of each unit in the disk array device, and transmits the mounting status data created from the monitoring result to the fan control unit 142, and based on the data transmitted from the internal monitoring unit 141. And a fan control unit 142 for controlling the number of rotations of the fan.

Each component will be described.
HDD 121, HDD1 included in HDD
The HDD 22, HDD 123, and HDD 124 are detachable from the disk array device, and the number of single hard disks can be changed according to the specifications of the disk array device. A controller 111, a memory 112, an I / O modular 113 included in a DA control unit 110 as a processing unit,
The other functional devices 114 and the like are constituted by substrates that can be attached to and detached from the disk array device, and the number, type, and the like can be changed according to the specifications of the disk array device. The mounting status of the DA control unit 110 and the HDD unit 120 in the disk array device is variable according to the specifications of the device.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the fan speed controller of the present invention. When the fan rotation speed controller 140 starts processing, the internal monitoring unit 141 in the fan rotation speed controller 140 checks the mounting status of each unit in the disk array device, creates mounting status data, and uses the mounting status data as a fan control unit. Send to 142. The fan control unit 142 calculates the amount of heat estimated from the current mounting state based on the mounting state data, and determines that the estimated amount of heat is optimal for the disk array device to operate normally. The fan rotation speed is calculated and the fan rotation speed determined to be optimum is compared with the current rotation speed to determine whether there is excess or deficiency. If it is determined that there is excess or deficiency, the fan rotation speed determined to be optimal is compared with the current rotation speed, and if the fan rotation speed is excessive, a signal is sent to the fan unit 130 to determine the fan rotation speed of each fan. If the fan speed is insufficient, the fan unit 130
To increase the fan speed of each fan. After changing the rotation speed of each fan in the fan unit 130, it is checked again whether the rotation speed of the fan is not excessive or insufficient in the current mounting state. This part of the process is repeated until there is no excess or deficiency, and when it is determined that there is no excess or deficiency, the fan control unit 142 transmits a signal for maintaining the current fan rotation speed to the fan unit 130 and sends a signal to the fan rotation speed controller 140.
After that, the mounting status of each unit in the disk array device is monitored, and if there is a change, the above operation is performed.

In this process, the internal monitoring unit 141 in the fan speed controller 140 checks the mounting status of the disk array device, creates mounting status data, and transmits the mounting status data to the fan control unit 142. Reference numeral 142 denotes reception of the mounting status data transmitted from the internal monitoring unit 141, calculation of the optimum fan rotation speed based on the mounting status data, comparison of the optimum fan rotation speed with the current fan rotation speed, and calculation of the current fan rotation speed. Perform optimization control.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the disk array device of the present invention. The basic configuration is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, but the monitoring method of each unit by the fan rotation speed controller is further devised. The DA control unit 310 and the HDD unit 320 are characterized by having a temperature sensor 315 and a temperature sensor 325 connected to the fan speed controller 340, respectively. Based on the change in the temperature information measured by the temperature sensor, the fan speed controller 340
The number of rotations of the fans 331, 332, 333, 334 of the fan unit 330 is controlled to an appropriate value.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. The effect of using the temperature sensor is that finer control of the fan rotation speed with respect to a more continuous state change is possible as compared with the fan rotation speed control based on the mounting state of each unit described above. First, when the fan rotation speed controller 340 starts processing, the internal monitoring unit 341 in the fan rotation speed controller 340 checks the temperature of each part in the disk array device, creates temperature status data, and uses this temperature status data for fan control. To the unit 342. The fan control unit 342 calculates a heat generation amount estimated from the current temperature state based on the temperature state data, and determines that the estimated heat generation amount is optimal for the disk array device to perform a normal operation. The number of fan rotations is calculated, and the number of fan rotations determined to be optimum is compared with the current number of rotations to determine whether there is excess or deficiency. If it is determined that there is an excess or deficiency, a signal is sent to the fan unit 330 to reduce the fan rotation speed of each fan if the fan rotation speed is excessive as compared with the fan rotation speed determined to be optimum and the current rotation speed. If the fan speed is insufficient, a signal is sent to the fan unit 330 to increase the fan speed of each fan. After changing the number of rotations of each fan in the fan unit 330, it is checked again whether the number of rotations of the fan is excessive or insufficient under the current temperature condition. This part of the process is repeated until there is no excess or deficiency, and when it is determined that there is no excess or deficiency,
The fan control unit 342 transmits a signal for maintaining the current fan rotation speed to the fan unit 330, terminates the processing by the fan rotation speed controller 340, and thereafter monitors the temperature status of each unit in the disk array device. If any, perform the above operation.

JP-A-5-41590 mentioned as a conventional example
In the invention described in the publication, a thermometer is provided outside the apparatus, and the fan is controlled so that the number of revolutions corresponds to the temperature outside the apparatus. However, the present invention is characterized in that a temperature sensor is provided inside the disk array apparatus. And

As described above, the power consumption reducing device for a disk array device according to the present invention changes the number of revolutions of the cooling fan in accordance with the mounting state inside the disk array device or the internal temperature. More specifically, it has a fan rotation speed controller (140 in FIG. 1) that monitors the mounting status in the disk array device and controls the rotation speed of the fan.
The fan rotation speed controller (140 in FIG. 1) includes an internal monitoring unit (141 in FIG. 1) that monitors the internal state of the disk array device, and a fan control unit (142 in FIG. 1) that controls the rotation speed of the fan. Having. Thus, according to the present invention, when a change occurs in the mounting state or the internal temperature inside the disk array device, the internal monitoring unit detects the mounting state or the change in the internal temperature, converts the current mounting state into data, and converts the current mounting state into data. Tell The fan control unit calculates the number of rotations of the cooling fan that is sufficient and sufficient in the current situation based on the data, and adjusts the number of rotations of the fan to the calculated number of rotations. For this reason, waste of power consumption caused by an excessive number of fan rotations can be eliminated.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to maintain the fan rotation speed without any excess or deficiency with respect to the current mounting situation, so that wasteful power consumption caused by the fan rotation speed more than necessary. Can be reduced. Therefore, there is an effect that power consumption by the fan can be reduced when the disk array device is operating.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

110, 310, 510 DA control units 111, 311, 511 Controllers 112, 312, 512 Memory 113, 313, 513, I / O modules 114, 314, 514 Other functional devices 120, 320, 520 HDD units 121 to 124, 321-324, 521-524 H
DD 140,340 Fan rotation speed controller 141,341 Internal monitoring unit 142,342 Fan control unit 130,330,530 Fan unit 131-135,331-335,531-535 Fan

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a disk array device, processing data,
A disk array (DA) controller for performing data transfer and the like;
Hard disk drive (HDD) for recording data
And a fan unit for cooling heat generated by energization in the disk array device, wherein the DA control unit, the HDD unit, and the fan unit A power consumption reduction device for a disk array device, further comprising a fan rotation speed controller for monitoring the status of each unit in the disk array device and controlling the rotation speed of a cooling fan in the fan unit. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fan rotation speed controller has an internal monitoring unit that monitors the status of each unit in the disk array device, and a fan control unit that controls the rotation speed of the cooling fan. The power consumption reducing device for a disk array device according to claim 1. 3. The power consumption reduction device according to claim 2, wherein the status is a mounting status of each unit in the disk array device. 4. The power consumption reducing device according to claim 2, wherein said status is a temperature status of each part in said disk array device. 5. The power consumption reducing device according to claim 2, wherein the status is a mounting status and a temperature status of each unit in the disk array device. 6. The fan control unit compares the situation data with a current rotation speed, and if the fan rotation speed is excessive, sends a signal to the fan unit to reduce the fan rotation speed of each fan. The power consumption of the disk array device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a signal is sent to the fan unit to increase the fan rotation speed of each fan when the fan rotation speed is insufficient. Reduction device. 7. The fan control unit transmits a signal for maintaining a current fan rotation speed to the fan unit when it is determined that the rotation speed of each fan is not excessive or insufficient. A power consumption reducing device for a disk array device according to claim 6.