JP2000267766A - Power consumption management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power consumption management system for managing the total power consumption of a system constituted of plural computers or the like set in a facility or each floor. SOLUTION: This power consumption management system is provided with a management platform 11 for managing this system, plural agents 12 connected with the management platform 11 for mediating management information, and plural load devices such as computers connected with each agent 12. The management platform 11 captures the operating states of the plural load devices connected with each agent 12, and controls the operation modes of the load devices for managing the total power consumption of this system. Also, at the time of managing the total power consumption of this system, the operation modes of the load devices are controlled by device units based on the preliminarily set upper limit value of the power consumption of this system, and the control of the operation modes is executed as the control of normal operation modes and three level power saving modes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a power consumption management system for load devices such as a plurality of computers installed in a facility or on each floor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, personal computers and the like
Power saving was achieved individually for each device.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned method, there is a problem that the electric power of the entire facility and each floor cannot be suppressed within a specified range. The reason is that the upper limit of the power supplied from the power company is determined by the facility, and the upper limit of the power supplied from each distribution board (and each breaker) is also determined on each floor. This is because the total power consumption cannot be suppressed within the specified range in the power saving of the device alone.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and has developed a power consumption management system capable of managing the total power consumption of a system by a plurality of personal computers installed in a facility or on each floor. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a management platform for managing a system, a plurality of agents connected to the management platform for mediating management information, and connected to each of the agents. In a system including a plurality of load devices such as a computer, the management platform grasps the operation states of the plurality of load devices connected to the respective agents and controls the operation mode of the load devices. A power consumption management method characterized by managing the total power consumption of the power consumption.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the power consumption management system of the first aspect, the management of the total power consumption is performed based on a preset upper limit value of the power consumption of the system. The mode is controlled on a device basis.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the power consumption management system according to the first or second aspect, the control of the operation mode is control of a normal operation mode and a three-stage power saving mode. I do.

As described above, in the power consumption management method according to the present invention, an upper limit of power consumption in a facility or on each floor is set, and power is managed for each device of each machine so as not to exceed the upper limit. .

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management system for managing power consumption of a system in which a plurality of computers are connected by a network according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a management platform 11 for managing the entire system and agents 12, 12,... For managing WSs 13, 13,. This figure shows the configuration of management to the last and does not show an actual network.

The management platform 11, the agents 12, 12,..., And the WSs 13, 13,. Management platform 11
.. Inquire operation data of the WSs 13, 13,... Via a management protocol such as SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), receive an event notification, and control the system. The agents 12, 12,...
., And mediates communication between the management platform 11, the agents 12, 12,... And the WSs 13, 13,. .. Are personal computers, servers, or workstations to be managed. These are managed abstractly.

The management platform 11 stores management data for the entire system in a database, supports management tools for graphically displaying the data, assists in interpreting the operation status, and manages the system. Agent 1
, And WS 13, 13,..., Management software is operating. Management tools are set only by administrators. The administrator can set the upper limit of the total power consumption of the facility or each section (each floor). In addition, the consumption status of each floor and the consumption status of each WS can be viewed graphically.

The configuration of the WSs 13, 13,... Is shown in FIG.
The CPU / memory / IO bridge 22 is a crossbar switch that connects the CPU 21, the graphics 23 memory 24, and the IO bus 25, and controls access between them. An IO device 25 and an extended IO bridge 27 are connected to the IO bus 25. IO device 2
6 is mainly a network interface 29 and an external storage device interface 30. An extended IO device 28 is connected to the extended IO bridge 27.

The extended IO bridge 27 controls interrupts, DMA (Direct Memory Access), and ROM.
And a timer and a real time clock. The extended IO device 28 includes a keyboard, a mouse,
Standard input / output devices such as a serial interface, a parallel interface, and a floppy disk interface are connected. The network interface 29 is connected to the network 31. This enables communication with the agents 12, 12,.... The HDD 32 is connected to the external storage device interface 30. Each of these elements is called a device for convenience. These devices are abstractly managed by a device driver.

Further, the extended IO bridge 27 has a function of performing power management of the system. Also, the CPU 21,
CPU / Memory / IO Bridge 22, Graphics 2
3, the memory 24, the IO bus 25, the IO device 26, the extended IO bridge 27, the extended IO device 28, the network interface 29, the external storage device interface 30, and the HDD 32 all have a power saving function. These can be shifted to the power saving mode by the management software. Conversely, it is also possible to shift to the normal mode. When the CPU 21 shifts to the power saving mode, the extended IO bridge 27 shifts the system to the normal mode due to an external event such as the network 31.

.. And the management platform 11 exchange items (management information entries) in the management database shown in FIG. 3, and the meaning of each item is as follows. Device type: the type of this device. Specifically, CPU, memory, graphics, CPU
/ Memory / IO bridge, IO bus, IO device, extended IO bridge 27, extended IO device, and the like. State: Power consumption state State 0 is the normal operation mode, and the power consumption is maximum. State 1/2/3 is the power saving mode, and the power consumption in state 3 is almost 0.

State 0 Power Consumption: Power Consumption in State 0 State 1 Power Consumption: Power Consumption in State 1 State 2 Power Consumption: Power Consumption in State 2 State 3 Power Consumption: Power Consumption in State 3 Wake State : Number of the lowest state that can wake up the system If state 3 is available, 3 is stored. Idle time: elapsed time since last access, in seconds

These have a tree structure as shown in FIG. This depends on the configuration of the system.
Here is an example of the system. The entire management system has a tree structure as shown in FIG. Since this depends on the configuration of the system, an example of the system shown in FIG. 1 is shown here. WS1
The management software of 3, 13, ... is Agent 1
This table is transmitted in response to a request from the management tools 2, 12,.... The management tools of the agents 12, 12,... Periodically collect information from the WSs 13, 13,.

Further, in response to a request from the management tool of the management platform 11, the management tools of the agents 12, 12,... Transmit all the tables collected from the subordinate WSs. Thus, the management platform 11 can manage all of the management system. Conversely, in response to a request from the management tool of the management platform 11, the WS1
The management software of 3, 13,... Can change the state of the designated device.

Next, the operation of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to keep the power consumption in the facility or floor within a certain upper limit, the total power consumption in the management system is grasped and controlled on a device basis. This process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the management tool of the management platform 11 collects the management information entries shown in FIG. 3 of the entire management system via the agents 12, 12,... (Step F1).

Information of all devices of all WSs is collected only once at the first time, and thereafter difference information entries are collected. It is the management software of WS that grasps the difference. It also knows which management information entries have been taken by the agent and which management information entries have not yet been taken. Actually, the agents 12, 12,... Collect / manage management information entries of the WSs 13, 13,.
Collect / manage management information entries of the agents 12, 12,.... Thus, the management platform 11 can collect / manage all management information entries of the management system.

Based on the collected management information entries, the total power consumption of the entire management system (facility) and each section (floor) is calculated (step F2). This is calculated from the state in each management information entry and the state 0/1/2/3 power consumption. It is determined whether the total power consumption exceeds the upper limit set by the administrator in the management tool of the management platform 11 in advance (step F3).

If not, the process is repeated from step F1 after waiting for a predetermined time. If it exceeds, the following processing is performed. The management tool searches the database and finds the longest idle time among branches located at the end of the branch (device) in the normal mode (state 0) in the management tree structure of each WS. Find (Step F
4). Since the transition to the power saving mode needs to be performed from the end of the system, the management tree structure of each WS is followed, and the branch located at the end of the branches (devices) in the normal mode (state 0) is searched. I do.

The management tool instructs the management software of the corresponding WS 13, 13,... To switch the corresponding device to the power saving mode (step F5). In response, the management software of the WS 13, 13,... Shifts to the power saving mode as low as possible for the corresponding device (step F6). Move to state 3 if possible. If it is not possible, transition to state 1 or 2. The result is WS1
3, 13,... Are reflected in the management information entries. Thereafter, the process returns to step F1, and the above operation is repeated.

The operation of one embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and a design change or the like may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. The present invention is also included in the present invention. For example, the management system shown in FIG. 1 has only one agent but can have a plurality of agents. An agent that manages multiple agents is allowed. As a result, the burden on the management platform can be reduced.

[0025]

As described above, the first effect of the present invention is that the total power consumption in the management system is reduced. The reason is that the management tool frequently shifts each device to the power saving mode. The second effect is that the rise in room temperature is suppressed. The reason is that the amount of heat generated from the device is suppressed by setting the device in the power saving mode. A third effect is that the present invention can be applied to any machine, regardless of the type of hardware. The reason is that the management is performed by abstracting the WS and the device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management system for managing power consumption of a system in which a plurality of computers are connected via a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a WS in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing items (management information entries) of a management database exchanged between a WS and a management platform.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a tree structure of the configuration of the WS in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a tree structure of the entire management system.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of a power consumption management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Management Platform 12 Agent 13 WS 21 CPU 22 CPU / Memory / IO Bridge 23 Graphics 24 Memory 25 IO Bus 26 IO Device 27 Extended IO Bridge 28 Extended IO Device 29 Network Interface 30 External Storage Interface 31 Network 32 HDD

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A system comprising: a management platform for managing a system; a plurality of agents connected to the management platform for mediating management information; and a plurality of load devices such as computers connected to the respective agents. Wherein the management platform manages the total power consumption of the system by grasping the operation states of the plurality of load devices connected to the respective agents and controlling the operation modes of the load devices. Consumption management method. 2. The management of the total power consumption, wherein the operation mode of the load device is controlled on a device basis based on a preset upper limit value of the power consumption of the system. Power consumption management system. 3. The power consumption management system according to claim 1, wherein the control of the operation mode is control of a normal operation mode and a three-stage power saving mode.