JPH09305268A - Information processing system capable of controlling power consumption and cooling system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To conduct system operation with optimum power consumption by deriving maximum performance from the information processing system in proper environment. SOLUTION: The system operating in proper environment (a) detects a decrease (h) or small tpd (i), the system operates while the cooling fan is reduced (b) in air capacity and if no improvement is obtained, a heat generating dedicated circuit is placed in operation (c) to put the system back to proper environment value (j). When a Tj rise (k), large tpd (l), or an increase (m) in supply current quantity is detected, the air capacity of the cooling fan is increased (d) and if improvement is still not obtained either (n), dummy operation (e) is interposed to make the operation of the system slow. According to circumstances (o), at least one of a decrease in operating frequency (f) and a decrease in supply voltage (g) is made and when a proper (p) is obtained, the system is placed in the operation (a) in a normal state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information processing system for optimally controlling the amount of power consumed by a system based on the operating environment and operating conditions of the system and the amount of work given. Further, the present invention relates to an information processing system that controls the operating mode of the system in order to achieve the best performance within the range of allowable operating environment and conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, power consumption of computer systems including personal information systems has been reduced. Technically classifying this movement can be roughly divided into the following two. The first is a technology for reducing power consumption when the system is not operating, and the other is a technology for reducing power consumption when the system is operating. Regarding the technology of the first classification, the method of realizing it as a function of a computer system is being examined / commercialized as a result of the establishment of energy saving standards by European and American government agencies, and technology that suppresses power consumption during system standby is mainly used. It is progressing to the center. For this trend,
"To review the design of a power-saving standard computer that spreads ripples", Nikkei Electronics no. 590, P103-
134 (reference 1). Further, a technique has been proposed in which a clock frequency for a computer system, particularly a CPU, is appropriately set by using a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) to reduce power consumption.
The details are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-1842 (Reference 2), "Synthetic clock for saving power. Microcomputer". Also, not only when the entire computer system is in a standby state, but also when the amount of work to be processed is small compared to the processing capacity of the equipped computer system, detailed technology has been developed to suspend some of the equipped capabilities / mechanisms. Has been done. For example, as described in "Low power consumption circuit for parallel multiprocessor system" in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-309288 (Reference 3), in a parallel processor system that performs online transaction processing, the amount of work input to the system is changed. A method has been proposed in which the total power consumption is suppressed to a minimum by controlling the number of processors to be operated in this way.

On the other hand, research and technological development for reducing the power consumption itself when the system is operating are becoming active. Behind this movement is a change in information processing form due to technological development, in addition to the trend of energy saving on a global scale. In other words, coupled with the development of communication technology and the improvement of communication infrastructure, a practical PDA (Personal Dig) that can withstand business / private use.
The demand for italist assistants (portable information devices) is increasing. As one of the important factors for enhancing the practicality, there is a problem of how to realize a high function with low power consumption, and research / development on the technology for reducing the power consumption is being advanced.
In addition, as a method of monitoring the operating environment of the system, "temperature in semiconductor chip (Tj: Junction
PentiumPro of Intel Corp. has a function of monitoring whether or not the specified value exceeds a specified value and automatically stopping the clock in the semiconductor chip when it exceeds the specified value, and a terminal for notifying it to the outside of the chip.
It is realized by a microprocessor.

[0004]

Among the above-mentioned technical trends, with regard to the first category of low power consumption during non-operation (part), there is a strong focus on reducing power consumption. Therefore, little consideration is given to the inferiority of performance that occurs when the reduction in power consumption is advanced. For example, the reference example of Document 1 does not specify the recovery time from the low power consumption state. In other words, the system in the standby state requires a startup time from the time when it is used to the time when it becomes the actual usable state, and time is wasted during this period. This demerit regarding performance is less likely to be a problem in a general system, but is a serious problem in a system in which processing time is important, especially in a high performance system. Further, when the amount of work given to the system is small, some processors in the system may be stopped as shown in the above-mentioned document 3. In this case, the temperature of the LSI or the like forming the processor may be extremely low depending on the physical position in the system in which the processor is mounted. Once the temperature is lowered, it is necessary to wait for the temperature rise from the cool down state to the state where normal operation can be realized. If this cannot be guaranteed, on the contrary, it is necessary to guarantee the normal operation of the system over a wide range of temperatures, and the ability of the semiconductors that make up the system cannot be fully utilized.

If operating temperature is limited to a narrow range (guarantee)
If possible, it is possible to perform an operation that fully utilizes the characteristics of the semiconductor used. Further, as shown in Document 3, simply stopping the processor requires useless operation of the cooling system, and does not result in lower power consumption as a whole.

Further, the operating time of the system is also managed according to the amount of work to be processed by the system. In this case, the system is operated while there is work to be processed, and the system is stopped when there is no work. However, in a computer system equipped with a dedicated cooling facility, it is not a good idea to completely stop the system for a short time (several hours) considering the power consumption at the time of restart.

Further, regarding the technique of partially stopping the mechanism even if the energy efficiency is not taken into consideration, reference 3
The technique shown in is not always applicable. For example,
In parallel processor systems for technical calculation,
In some cases, the number of processors to be operated at the time of compiling a program is specified, and in this case, the number of operating processors at the time of execution cannot be simply reduced.

On the other hand, in designing a cooling system of a system, it is customary to provide a cooling capacity capable of dealing with the maximum heat generation amount that can be predicted at the stage of system design. However, if the maximum heat generation amount is always taken into consideration when designing, the cooling system and power supply system of the system will be designed with excessive specifications with respect to the specifications required during normal operation, and the efficiency of the system configuration will deteriorate. At the same time, it is against the trend of energy saving.

In other words, it is important to create a cooling state according to the actual operating state of the system, an operating state according to the cooling capacity, or an operating state according to the installation environment of the system. The present invention is proposed in order to solve the above problems of the conventional technology.

An object of the present invention is to ensure the operation at an appropriate temperature by observing the temperature of a semiconductor integrated circuit that constitutes the system and controlling the temperature so that the semiconductor operates normally. , To maximize the characteristics of semiconductors. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that eliminates the design of an excessive environmental system mechanism including a cooling system by controlling the operating conditions according to the environment in which the system is installed. It is in. Further, another object of the present invention is to enable system operation with optimum power consumption by controlling the voltage / clock frequency supplied to the semiconductor when the load on the system changes.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information processing system including a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying electric power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group. In the device, the chip temperature T of the integrated circuit
A chip temperature measuring means for measuring j and outputting it to the information processing device is provided, and the information processing device weakens the cooling power of the cooling device when the chip temperature Tj falls below an appropriate value,
When the chip temperature Tj rises above an appropriate value, the cooling power of the cooling device is strengthened to adjust the chip temperature Tj. Further, a heat generation dedicated circuit and a dummy operation control circuit are provided, and the information processing apparatus activates the heat generation dedicated circuit when the decrease of the chip temperature Tj from the appropriate value cannot be adjusted, and raises the chip temperature Tj from the appropriate value. When the temperature cannot be adjusted, the chip operation temperature Tj is adjusted by activating the dummy operation control circuit. Further, a clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing apparatus, when the rise of the chip temperature Tj from an appropriate value cannot be adjusted, includes at least one of the clock speed control circuit and the voltage control circuit. The chip temperature Tj is controlled by reducing the operating frequency and / or the supply voltage.
I am trying to make adjustments.

Further, in an information processing apparatus including a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying electric power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group, the delay time tpd of the circuit in the information processing apparatus is monitored. / A delay time measuring circuit for measuring is provided, and the information processing device is configured to delay time tpd
Is decreased from an appropriate value, the cooling power of the cooling device is weakened, and when the delay time tpd is increased from an appropriate value, the cooling power of the cooling device is increased to increase the delay time tpd.
I am trying to make adjustments. Further, a heat generation dedicated circuit and a dummy operation control circuit are provided, and the information processing device is
When the decrease of the delay time tpd from the appropriate value cannot be adjusted, the heat generation dedicated circuit is activated, and when the increase of the delay time tpd from the appropriate value cannot be adjusted, the dummy operation control circuit is activated to increase the delay time tpd. I am trying to make adjustments. Further, a clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing apparatus controls at least one of the clock speed control circuit and the voltage control circuit to operate when the decrease of the delay time tpd cannot be adjusted. The delay time tpd is adjusted by reducing the frequency and / or the supply voltage.

Further, in an information processing apparatus including a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying electric power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group, a job amount management mechanism for managing the amount of jobs input. A clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing apparatus includes the clock speed control circuit, the voltage control circuit, and the cooling device when the job amount managed by the job amount management mechanism is less than an appropriate amount. When at least one of the operation frequency is decreased, the supply voltage is decreased, the cooling power is decreased, and the job amount is increased from the proper amount,
By controlling at least one of the clock speed control circuit, the voltage control circuit, and the cooling device to increase at least one of the operating frequency, the supply voltage, and the cooling power, the amount of job is increased according to the job amount. I am trying to change the operating state.

[0014]

1 is a block diagram of a processor system 1 including a plurality of processing units (100, 200) to which the present invention is applied. The processor system 1 includes a current amount monitoring circuit 24 for monitoring the operating environment of the entire system and an in-system job amount management mechanism 30. In addition, in the processing unit 100,
Tj measuring circuit 10 for monitoring / measuring the temperature of a semiconductor chip
8. A delay time measuring circuit 10 for monitoring / measuring the delay time of a circuit including a logic gate and wiring which configure the logic circuit 10.
9. A busy monitoring circuit 110 for monitoring the operation status of the processing unit, and a current monitoring circuit 111 for monitoring the amount of current for each processing unit are provided. The operating environment / state detected by the above circuits / mechanisms is reported to the overall control processor 10 or the processing mechanism control mechanism 101, and when the respective set conditions are satisfied,
Control is provided to change the state / environment in the system or in the processing. In the processor system 1, the actual control is performed by the clock speed control circuit 21 that controls the operating frequency of the system, the voltage control circuit 22 that controls the voltage supplied to the system, and the cooling fan control circuit 23 of the system. Be seen. Further, in the processing unit 100, a clock speed control circuit 102 for controlling the operating frequency of the processing unit,
A voltage control circuit 103 for controlling the supply voltage, a fan control circuit 104 for cooling, a dummy operation insertion control circuit 105 for controlling a dummy operation for relaxing a busy state of the mechanism,
When the temperature of the semiconductor chip is too low, the heat-exclusive control circuit 106 controls a circuit that can generate heat without affecting normal operation.

FIG. 13 shows "system operation contents and state transition" for optimizing the operation of the system according to the operating environment value. First, the appropriate environment (a)
System that was operating in the world, semiconductor Tj drop (a)
Alternatively, when a small tpd (b) is detected, the operation is started in the cooling fan air flow reduction state (b). If no improvement is seen and Tj drop or small tpd (c) is further detected,
By operating the circuit for exclusive use of heat generation (c), processing for returning to an appropriate environmental value is performed. As a result, when both Tj / tpd reach appropriate values (d), the operation shifts to the appropriate environment value operation (a) in the normal state. Also, increase in Tj (e) or large tpd (f)
Alternatively, when the increase (G) of the supply current amount is detected, the air flow amount (D) of the cooling fan is increased. This also causes Tj and tp
d) If no improvement is seen in the current value (h), a dummy operation (e) is inserted to slow down the system operation. If this does not improve (i), at least one of lowering the operating frequency (f) and lowering the supply voltage (g) is performed. Note that at least one of the reduction of the operating frequency (f) and the reduction of the supply voltage (g) may be performed before the dummy operation is added. Through the above processing, Tj and tp
d, when the current value becomes an appropriate value (nu), the operation (a) in the normal state is started. The order of transition to the operating states (b) and (c) shown in FIG. 13, the operating state (d),
The order of shifting to (e) and (f) / (g) is not limited to the order of this embodiment. That is, control may be performed so as to shift from the operating state (a) to (c) and (b).

FIG. 14 shows "system operation contents and state transition" according to the amount of jobs that have been put into the system and are in the execution waiting state. When the number of jobs waiting to be executed is small (a), the system is operated with at least one of a decrease in operating frequency (b), a decrease in supply voltage (c), and a reduction in air volume of the cooling fan (d). The operation slows the operation of the system depending on the light load. On the other hand, when the amount of jobs waiting to be executed is small (c), the system is operated using at least one of an increase in operating frequency (e), an increase in supply voltage (f) and an increase in cooling fan air flow (g). To operate at high speed. Based on the above results, the proper amount of jobs was achieved (B, D)
Is detected, the process proceeds to the process (a) in the normal state. By changing the operating environment according to the amount of jobs waiting to be executed according to the flow shown in FIG. 14, it becomes possible to process the input jobs without completely stopping the system, thereby increasing the flexibility of system operation. Can be improved. It will also be possible to shorten the time until the service is restarted compared to a complete suspension. In many cases, the power consumption including the system air conditioning system accompanying the complete system stop may be smaller during the operation (B) shown in FIG. 14 than in the case of the complete stop (A). This image is shown in FIG. The state transition of the system shown in FIG. 14 is preferably performed in combination with the transition shown in FIG.

The control described above is based on the basic flow shown in FIG. That is, the physical quantity such as current value, temperature, speed, etc. is measured / detected by the sensor and the measured value is A / D
It is converted into a digital amount by conversion, the control amount based on this is determined, and the control circuit is operated. This allows the operating environment and the like to be maintained in a desired state.

The details of each measurement / detection / control mechanism will be described below in a row. FIG. 3 shows an example of a circuit for measuring the delay time tpd of the logic circuit in the semiconductor chip. A "ring oscillator" 109 in which inverters (109A to 109F) of a logic circuit are connected in multiple stages is used to generate a periodic signal 109a that operates at the time of measurement, and this signal is sent to a counter composed of a register 1091 and a "+1" circuit 1092. input. The control unit 101 side in the processing unit permits the reset signal 101a for initializing the counter and counting for a predetermined period (permits updating of the register 1091).
The count value 1091a in a predetermined period can be obtained by supplying the signal 101b for switching. This makes it possible to measure the speed of the logic circuit at that time. That is, depending on the operating environment, the smaller the delay time tpd due to the logic gate and the wiring between the logic gates, the larger the value counted in the predetermined period, and the longer the delay time, the smaller the count value. Therefore, by operating this counter periodically to monitor the value, it is possible to grasp the operation speed of the semiconductors that constitute the processing unit. Although FIG. 3 shows a circuit in the case of configuring the ring oscillator in the same semiconductor, it is also possible to configure the ring oscillator across a plurality of semiconductor chips and measure the average delay time of the plurality of chips. It is possible.

FIG. 4 shows a measuring mechanism of the internal temperature Tj of the semiconductor chip. 108A is a temperature detection circuit, and the internal structure is the circuit shown in "DS1620 of DALLAS" (reference 4) or "Consideration on CMOS of temperature sensor circuit" IEICE Transactions, Vol J78-C-
ll, No. 3, p128 to 130 (reference 5) and the like, which are realized by the CMOS version circuit. If the temperature detection circuit as in (Reference 4) outputs digital quantity,
The A / D conversion circuit of 108B is unnecessary. On the other hand, like the circuit shown in (Reference 5), when outputting an analog quantity, it is necessary to use an A / D conversion circuit of 108B. The A / D conversion circuit 108B is a circuit that converts an analog amount into a digital amount, and the detected temperature is supplied to the in-processing unit control mechanism 101 as a digital amount 108a. This makes it possible to grasp Tj in the chip. In addition, in FIG. 4, the circuit structure for detecting only the temperature of one chip is shown.
It is also possible to observe the observation signals simultaneously. Further, in FIG. 4, the A / D conversion circuit 108B is replaced by the temperature detection circuit 108B.
Although it is arranged on the same chip as A, the A / D conversion circuit 108B may be externally attached to the chip in consideration of ease of implementation.

FIG. 6 shows a monitoring mechanism 24 for monitoring the amount of power supply current supplied to the processor system 1. 241 is a non-contact type ammeter. This is because the strength of the magnetic field generated by the current flowing through the power supply path is converted into a current by the primary system inductance, and is converted again into a secondary system current by the secondary system inductance for this current path, It is possible to quantify the amount of current flowing through the power supply path. The ammeter is not limited to the non-contact type, but may be implemented in a form of being inserted in series in the power supply path. The signal 241a indicating the current value output from the ammeter 241 is input to the A / D converter 242 and is supplied to the overall control processor 10 as a digital amount 242a. As a result, the processor system 1
It is possible to grasp in real time the amount of power consumed by. The structure of the circuit 111 for monitoring the current amount of the processing unit 100/200 unit is also the monitoring mechanism 24.
Is the same as

FIG. 7 shows a clock speed control circuit 102.
Shows the configuration of. The source oscillation signal 3a supplied from the crystal oscillator 3 is input to a frequency synthesizer (PLL) 102A, where a clock signal group 102Aa having a plurality of frequencies is generated and supplied to a timing selector circuit 102B.
The frequency control register 102C is a mechanism for setting the value from the control mechanism in the processing unit by the signal line 101d, and outputs the signal 102Ca instructing the generation (frequency division) clock frequency seed to the frequency synthesizer 102A.
Signal 102Cb for selecting the clock (speed) from the circuit 102A to the timing selector circuit 102B. As a result, the clock speed at which the processing unit operates can be controlled by an instruction from the processing unit. Incidentally, it is appropriate that this mechanism adopts the structure shown in "Composite Clock Microcomputer for Saving Power", Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-1842 (Reference 2). The structure of the clock speed control circuit 21 of the entire processor system 1 is the same as that of the control circuit 102.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the voltage control circuit 103. The power supply device 4 is a switching regulator having a function of maintaining a predetermined voltage by the voltage supply 4a to the processing unit 100 and the sense (fieldback) 101f of the voltage being supplied. The control mechanism 101 in the processing unit includes a voltage control circuit 103.
The processing unit 100 is installed in the register 103B inside the processing unit 100.
Is defined by setting the voltage value to be supplied to the signal line 101e. The value 103Ba of the register 103B is A /
The analog amount 103Aa is converted by the D converter 103A and supplied to the switching regulator 4 as a reference voltage. The switching regulator supplies a voltage corresponding to the value of this reference voltage. This allows the processing unit 100 to have a function of setting its own voltage. The structure of the voltage control circuit 22 of the entire processor system 1 is the same as that of the control circuit 103.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the fan control circuit 104 having a temperature detecting function. Ambient temperature 5 of the processing unit 100 cooled by the voltage-controlled fan 5
a is observed by the temperature sensor 104C, and the temperature value 104Ca is converted into a digital quantity 104Ba by the A / D converter 104B. This value is input to the control mechanism 101 in the processing unit and compared with a predetermined value. To change the ambient temperature 5a, register 104
A predetermined value is set to D by the signal line 101f. The set value 104Da is converted into a voltage value 104a by the D / A converter 104D and used to control the rotation speed of the voltage control type fan 5. As a result, the cooling fan can be controlled so that the processing unit has the predetermined ambient temperature 5a. The processor system 1
The structure of the entire fan control circuit 23 is similar to that of the control circuit 104.

FIG. 10 shows the processing unit 100.
1 shows a configuration of a circuit for exclusive use of heat generation. Heat generation circuit 106
Is composed of a circuit similar to the ring oscillator in which the flip-flops 106A / 106C and the inverter 106B are connected in a loop. The operation of the heat generation dedicated circuit is performed by the operation permission signal 101 from the processing unit internal control mechanism 101.
controlled by g. That is, when the operation permission has not been issued, by stopping the oscillation of the circuit equivalent to the ring oscillator, the operation is stopped, the current consumption is stopped, heat generation is suppressed, and the operation permission is issued. Only, the circuit for heat generation is oscillated to consume current and generate heat. Accordingly, it is possible to realize a mechanism that operates only when the temperature of the processing unit 100 needs to be raised urgently. In this embodiment, the ring oscillator structure is adopted as the heat generation dedicated circuit, but the circuit structure is not limited to this as long as the circuit can efficiently generate heat.

FIG. 11 shows the configuration of the dummy operation control circuit. Reference numeral 6 is a general request issuing circuit, and 7 is a general request receiving circuit. The request issuing circuit 6 includes a request receiving circuit 7
It receives the processing end signal from and issues the next request. The dummy operation control circuit 105 has a function of delaying the transmission of the processing end signal to the request issuing circuit 6, so that an extra operation time is inserted to realize the dummy operation. The dummy operation control circuit 105 includes a shift register including a flip-flop group 105A / 105B / 105C for delaying the processing end signal 7a from the request reception circuit 7 for a predetermined time. In-processing unit control mechanism 101
If the low-speed operation instruction signal 101h from 1 indicates a dummy operation, the processing end signal 7aa which selects the output from the shift register by the selector 105D is returned to the request issuing circuit 6. If the instruction signal 101 from the control mechanism 101 in the processing unit does not instruct the dummy operation,
The processing end signal 7a is directly returned to the request issuing circuit 6 as 7aa. In this way, in order to suppress heat generation of the processing unit 100, the low speed operation instruction signal 1
By controlling 01h, it can be realized by suppressing the operation in the processing unit.

FIG. 12 shows a mechanism for managing the amount of jobs input to the system. When a job is submitted to the overall control processor 10 through a route not shown, the job amount value stored in the storage device 30A in the job amount management mechanism 30 is increased, and when the job ends in the system, the job amount is stored in the storage device 30A. The performed job amount value is subtracted. This increase / decrease process is realized by the integrated control processor 10 reading out the job amount value from the storage device through the path 10b, processing it, and then writing the job amount value to the storage device through the path 10a. Through this series of processing, the overall control processor 10 can manage the amount of jobs input into the system.

In the above description, it is assumed that the physical quantity can be directly observed by the temperature / delay time amount / current amount in the actual operation, but the physical quantity cannot be directly observed in some cases. FIG.
Figure 3 shows the structure of the circuit that monitors the operating status of the system.
The resource control circuit 1109 is, for example, a circuit that controls the operation of the arithmetic mechanism (circuit), and the operation state monitoring circuit 1
10 is a signal 1109 indicating that the arithmetic unit is operating.
supply a. The operating state monitoring circuit 110 is initialized by the counter reset signal 101c from the processing unit internal control mechanism 101, and is in operation signal 1109.
It is a counter that counts the active period of a.
This counter has a register 1101 and a “+1 circuit” 11
02. The operation status of the target resource from the time when the control unit 101 in the processing unit issues the reset is supplied to the control unit 101 in the processing unit as a count value 1101a. By the above mechanism, the relationship between the operating rate (busy rate) of each logic circuit and the power consumption is held in advance in the storage device in the form of a correspondence table so that the busy rate becomes a predetermined value. By controlling, the temperature / power consumption of the system can be indirectly controlled. The busy rate changes depending on the contents of the program being executed and the amount of processing in the system, but by setting the busy rate independently of the program, the power consumption of the system can be kept constant. It becomes possible to keep below.

Incidentally, by a further mechanism not shown,
The above objectives can also be achieved. For example, dummy code (instruction string) for an integrated circuit or an aggregate thereof.
By providing a circuit for controlling execution / stop of the cache, and a circuit for controlling ON / OFF of the high-speed processing mechanism in the integrated circuit or the aggregate thereof (such as cache hit rate operation),
It is possible to reduce the increased Tj and power consumption.

Although not described in the claims, the following embodiments can be taken as an embodiment of the information processing system for controlling the power consumption and the cooling system.

That is, (1) In an information processing device including a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group, a power supply current supplied to the information processing device. An amount monitoring mechanism is provided, and the information processing device strengthens the cooling power of the cooling device when the power supply current amount increases.

(2) In the embodiment of (1) above, a dummy operation control circuit is provided, and when the information processing device cannot improve the increase in the power supply current amount even by increasing the cooling power of the cooling device, Activate the dummy operation control circuit.

(3) In the embodiment of (1) or (2) above, a clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing device, when the amount of the power supply current cannot be improved, increases the clock speed. At least one of the control circuit and the voltage control circuit is controlled to reduce the operating frequency and / or the supply voltage.

[0033]

According to the present invention, the chip temperature of the semiconductor integrated circuit forming the information processing system, the delay time of the integrated circuit forming the logic circuit, and the amount of current supplied to the system are monitored, and the difference between the appropriate operating value and If it occurs, control the operating frequency and supply voltage, control the air volume of the cooling fan, control the operation of the dedicated heating circuit, and control the insertion of the dummy operation to bring out the maximum performance in an appropriate environment. Allows system operation with optimal power consumption. Also, because the system can always be operated in an appropriate environment, it is possible to design a system that optimizes the performance price ratio while avoiding the risk of designing the power supply system and cooling system of the power supply with excessive specifications. Become. Further, by changing the operating environment (operating frequency, supply voltage) of the system depending on the amount of jobs in the effective waiting state with respect to the system, it becomes possible to operate the system under optimum power consumption.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a processor system including a plurality of processing systems to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic control flow of various controls in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a circuit for measuring a delay time of a semiconductor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a measuring mechanism for observing a semiconductor chip temperature.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a mechanism for monitoring the operating state of the mechanism in the information system.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a mechanism for measuring the amount of current supplied to the information system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a circuit for controlling an operating frequency (clock speed) supplied to an information system.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a circuit that controls a voltage value supplied to an information system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a circuit that controls an air volume of a cooling fan that cools an information system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a heating-only circuit.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a dummy operation control circuit.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a mechanism for managing the amount of jobs waiting to be executed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing operation contents and state transitions for optimizing the operation of the system according to the operation environment value.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the operation content and state transition of the system according to the amount of jobs that have been submitted to the system and are in the execution waiting state.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a comparison of electric power amounts when the system is completely stopped and when the system is continuously operated in the power saving mode according to the job amount input to the system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 processor system 2 current source 3 crystal oscillator 4 power supply device 5 voltage control type fan 6 request issuing circuit 7 request receiving circuit 10 integrated control processor 30 system job amount management mechanism 100, 200 processing unit 101 processing unit control mechanism 21, 102 clock speed control circuit 22, 103 supply voltage control circuit 23, 104 cooling fan control circuit 24, 111 current amount monitoring circuit 105 dummy operation insertion control circuit 106 heat generation dedicated control circuit 108 Tj measuring circuit 109 delay time measuring circuit 110 operating state monitoring circuit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An information processing apparatus comprising a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying electric power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group, wherein the chip temperature Tj of the integrated circuit is measured to perform the information processing. A chip temperature measuring means for outputting to the device is provided, and the information processing device weakens the cooling power of the cooling device when the chip temperature Tj falls below an appropriate value, and the cooling device when the chip temperature Tj rises above the appropriate value. An information processing system for controlling a power consumption and a cooling system, wherein the chip temperature Tj is adjusted by increasing the cooling power of the chip. 2. The information processing system for controlling the power consumption and cooling system according to claim 1, wherein a heat-exclusive circuit and a dummy operation control circuit are provided, and the information processing device lowers the chip temperature Tj from an appropriate value. The power consumption is characterized in that the chip temperature Tj is adjusted by activating the heat generation dedicated circuit when it cannot be adjusted, and activating the dummy operation control circuit when the rise of the chip temperature Tj from the appropriate value cannot be adjusted. And an information processing system for controlling the cooling system. 3. The information processing system for controlling the power consumption and cooling system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing device is configured to optimize the chip temperature Tj. When the rise above the value cannot be adjusted, at least one of the clock speed control circuit and the voltage control circuit is controlled,
An information processing system for controlling a power consumption and a cooling system, wherein the chip temperature Tj is adjusted by reducing an operating frequency and / or a supply voltage. 4. An information processing apparatus comprising a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying electric power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group, wherein a delay time tpd of a circuit in the information processing apparatus is monitored. / A delay time measuring circuit for measuring is provided, and the information processing device weakens the cooling power of the cooling device when the delay time tpd is reduced from an appropriate value, and the cooling device of the cooling device is increased when the delay time tpd is increased from the appropriate value. An information processing system for controlling a power consumption and a cooling system, characterized in that the delay time tpd is adjusted by increasing a cooling power. 5. The information processing system for controlling the power consumption and cooling system according to claim 4, wherein a heat generation dedicated circuit and a dummy operation control circuit are provided, and the information processing apparatus reduces the delay time tpd from an appropriate value. The power consumption is characterized in that the delay time tpd is adjusted by activating the heat-exclusive circuit when it cannot be adjusted, and activating the dummy operation control circuit when the increase of the delay time tpd from the appropriate value cannot be adjusted. And an information processing system for controlling the cooling system. 6. The information processing system for controlling the power consumption and cooling system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein a clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing device reduces the delay time tpd. Is not adjustable, the delay time tpd is adjusted by controlling at least one of the clock speed control circuit and the voltage control circuit to reduce the operating frequency and / or the supply voltage. Information processing system for controlling power consumption and cooling system. 7. An information processing apparatus including a plurality of integrated circuits, a power supply device for supplying electric power to the integrated circuit group, and a cooling device for cooling the integrated circuit group, and a job amount management mechanism for managing a job amount input. A clock speed control circuit and a voltage control circuit are provided, and the information processing apparatus includes the clock speed control circuit, the voltage control circuit, and the cooling device when the job amount managed by the job amount management mechanism is less than an appropriate amount. The clock speed control circuit and the voltage control circuit when at least one of the operating frequency, the supply voltage, and the cooling power is controlled to control at least one of the A job by controlling at least one of the cooling devices to increase the operating frequency, increase the supply voltage, and increase the cooling power. Power and information processing system for controlling the cooling system is characterized by changing the operating state in response to.