System, method, and architecture for dynamic server power management and dynamic workload management for multi-server environment

A computer system comprising:

• a plurality of computers each having at least one processor and an activity monitor identifying a level of activity indicator for said at least one processor;
• each of said computers being operable in:
• (i) a first mode having a first maximum performance level and a first power consumption rate, and (ii) a third mode having a third maximum performance level lower than said first maximum performance level and a third power consumption rate lower than said first power consumption rate;
• and
• a power manager:
• (i) coupled to each of said computers and receiving said level of activity information from each of said plurality of computers;
• (ii) analyzing said plurality of received level of activity information;
• (iii) determining an operating mode for each of said computers selected from said first mode and third mode based on said analyzed activity information and predetermined policies;
• and (iv) generating commands to each of said plurality of computers directing each of said plurality of computers to operate in said determined operating mode.

A computer system comprising:

• a plurality of server computers each having at least one processor and an activity monitor identifying a level of activity for said at least one processor, said activity monitor comprising an activity monitor that monitors an activity selected from the set of activities consisting of:
• a program application layer activity, a network layer activity, a physical layer activity, and combinations thereof;
• each of said server computers being operable in:
• (i) a first mode having a first maximum performance level and a first power consumption rate, (ii) a second mode having a second maximum performance level lower than said first maximum performance level and a second power consumption rate lower than said first power consumption rate, and (iii) a third mode having a third maximum performance level lower than said second maximum performance level and a third power consumption rate lower than said second power consumption rate;
• and
• a power manager operative in a separate power manager computer:
• (i) coupled to each of said server computers and receiving said level of activity information from each of said plurality of computers;
• (ii) analyzing said plurality of received level of activity information;
• (iii) determining an operating mode for each of said server computers selected from said first mode, second mode, and third mode based on said analyzed activity information;
• and (iv) generating commands to each of said plurality of server computers directing each of said plurality of server computers to operate in said determined operating mode;
• said first mode operation is characterized by operating said processor at a first processor clock frequency and a first processor core voltage, said second mode operation is characterized by operating said processor at a second processor clock frequency and a second processor core voltage, and said third mode operation is characterized by operating said processor at a third processor clock frequency and a third processor core voltage;
• said second mode of operation being further characterized in that said second processor clock frequency is lower than said first processor clock frequency and said second processor core voltage is lower than said first processor core voltage so that in combination consuming less power than in said first mode, and said third processor clock frequency is lower than said second processor clock frequency and said third processor core voltage is no greater than said second processor core voltage so that in combination consuming less power than in said second mode;
• and
• a transition from said first mode to said second mode is controlled locally within each said computer;
• and a transition from either said first mode or said second mode to said third mode are controlled globally by said power manager.

A method of operating computer system having a plurality of server computers, each server computer including at least one processor, and each computer being operable in a first mode having a first maximum performance level and a first power consumption rate, and a third mode having a third maximum performance level lower than said first maximum performance level and a third power consumption rate lower than said first power consumption rate;

• said method comprising:
• monitoring activity within said computers and identifying a level of activity for said at least one processor within said computers;
• analyzing said plurality of level of activity information;
• determining an operating mode for each of said computers selected from said first mode and third mode based on said analyzed activity information;
• and
• generating commands to each of said plurality of computers directing each of said plurality of computers to operate in said determined operating mode.

A power-conservative multi-node network device, comprising:

• an enclosure having a power supply and a back-plane bus;
• a plurality of hot-pluggable node devices in the form of printed circuit (PC) cards adapted for connection with said back-plane buss;
• and
• each said node device being reconfigurable in substantially real-time to adapt to changing conditions on the network.

A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system having a plurality of server computers, each server computer including at least one processor, and each computer being operable in a first mode having a first maximum performance level and a first power consumption rate, and a third mode having a third maximum performance level lower than said first maximum performance level and a third power consumption rate lower than said first power consumption rate, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism, comprising:

• a program module that directs at least one computer, to function in a specified manner, the program module including instructions for:
• monitoring activity within said computers and identifying a level of activity for said at least one processor within said computers;
• analyzing said plurality of level of activity information;
• determining an operating mode for each of said computers selected from said first mode and third mode based on said analyzed activity information;
• and
• generating commands to each of said plurality of computers directing each of said plurality of computers to operate in said determined operating mode.