Abstract:
In an information processing system comprising an information processing equipment group and a facility equipment group, both an increase in performance and a reduction in power consumption are obtained, thereby achieving an efficient and flexible operational management. The plurality of information processing equipments are divided into a plurality of groups, each of which includes power feed equipments and cooling equipments. The operation management method for the information processing system includes: a procedure for acquiring, from each of the groups, operating information indicating the performances and the power consumptions of the information processing equipments, the power feed equipments, and the cooling equipments included in each of the groups; and another procedure for controlling, based on the operating information, the information processing equipments, the power feed equipments, and the cooling equipments included in each of the groups so that the performances with respect to the power consumptions become large.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an operation management method for an information processing system including information processing equipment, which includes a server, storage, a network, and the like, and facility equipment, which supplies power to and cools the information processing equipment, and more particularly, to a method suitable for integrated power saving and efficient operation management of the information processing equipment and the facility equipment. 
     In a computer system of US 2009/0006873 A1, the power consumption or ambient temperature of processors, gate arrays, or other types of power consumption equipment is measured with many sensors, the measurement data is collected in a system control computer over a control network which is constituted of a control device, nodes, and links, and the system control computer sends control signals to actuators of the power consumption equipment to control the power consumption of the power consumption equipment in a manner that maximizes the equipment&#39;s performance within the environmental limitations of the room, i.e., allowable power, temperature conditions, and the like. 
     In a datacenter of US 2007/0260417 A1, the temperatures of server racks are measured with sensors attached to the racks to be collected in a spatial temperature distribution controller and, when the temperature of one of the racks exceeds standards, a virtual machine is moved to a rack whose temperature is within the standards to adjust an air-conditioner, local cooling equipment, power supply output, and processor speed in a manner that keeps the temperature of the rack within the standards. 
     JP 2005-312142 A is directed to a system for managing rack equipment at a datacenter or the like in which rack equipment such as servers and disk arrays is connected by a communication link to a management control component provided for each rack, information on the rack equipment is collected in a master management control center via the component, and the operating settings and performance levels of the rack equipment are adjusted based on management policies about power consumption and thermal load to control air-conditioners, auxiliary power supplies, and the like. 
     In JP 2005-115941 A, a system for managing the power consumption of a building is configured to: measure, with a power meter of a switchboard, power consumption for each floor of the building, for each department unit on a floor, or for each type of equipment such as information equipment, air-conditioning equipment, and lighting fixtures; collect the measurement information in a central monitoring device to display in the form of a graph; and alert the administrator when power consumption exceeds a threshold. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     With the development of cloud computing, datacenter businesses are rapidly expanding as an information processing infrastructure that supports cloud computing at the back end. Datacenters are on one hand demanded to improve greatly in information processing performance for enhanced sophistication and diversity of cloud services and, on the other hand, are in serious need to reduce power consumption significantly for the prevention of global warming. Balancing the conflicting goals of performance enhancement and power saving is thus an important issue for datacenters. 
     An information processing system constituting a datacenter includes information processing equipment, which includes a server, storage, a network, and the like, power feeding facility equipment, which includes a transformer, an uninterruptible power-supply system, a switchboard, a panelboard, and the like to supply power to the information processing equipment, and a cooling facility equipment, which includes a chiller, an air-conditioner, local cooling equipment, an air supply/exhaust opening, and the like to cool the information processing equipment. Efforts to balance performance enhancement and power saving include, for example, an improvement of processing performance relative to power consumption in the information processing equipment by switching operating states to suit the workload or by virtualized consolidation of the workload, an improvement of conversion efficiency in the power feeding facility equipment by switching power supplies to suit the power load of the information processing equipment, and an improvement of the coefficient of performance in the cooling facility equipment by setting running condition settings that are suited to the thermal load of the information processing equipment. 
     These efforts are conventionally made in the information processing equipment and in the facility equipment independently of each other. However, service sophistication has turned a datacenter into a mixed system of various types of information processing equipment and various types of facility equipment for supporting the information processing equipment, and the operation management of the two is becoming increasingly complicate. To build an information processing resource pool that has flexibility and adaptability for sophisticated and diverse services of the future and realize operation management that balances performance enhancement and power saving, integrated architecture and operation management method for an information processing system are sought in which the information processing equipment and the facility equipment cooperate with each other. 
     The facility equipment is generally designed based on the maximum rated power of the information processing equipment, but the feeding loss and cooling power of the actually running facility equipment depend greatly on the power consumption distribution of the information processing equipment and on changes with time of the power consumption distribution. For example, the conversion efficiency of a power supply is dependent on the power load, and power supply dissipation therefore varies depending on the power consumption of the information processing equipment, what power feed system is used, and the like. An air-conditioner, too, has a coefficient of performance dependent on the thermal load, and air conditioning power is therefore influenced by the heat generation distribution of the information processing equipment, the positional relation between the air-conditioner and the information processing equipment, air flow, temperature, heat capacity, thermal time constant, and the like. Power consumed by the facility equipment which supplies power to and cools the information processing equipment takes up a large proportion of power consumption at a datacenter in addition to power consumed by the information processing equipment. Accordingly, in order to advance overall power saving combining the two at a datacenter, efficient operation management is necessary which establishes cooperation between the information processing equipment and the facility equipment by thoroughly considering the power consumption distribution of the information processing equipment and changes thereof with time. 
     From the above, in order to improve the flexibility and operation efficiency of the information processing system, it is desirable to give simple and scalable architecture to the information processing equipment and the facility equipment and, furthermore, to conform the operation management systems of the two to each other for cooperative operation management. As a forerunner of this, modular datacenters, in which the information processing equipment and the facility equipment are built on a module-by-module basis, and top-of-rack network architecture, in which servers and a network are targets and servers in racks are integrated via a switch provided for each rack, are gaining popularity. There are several known examples of operation management methods related to the power consumption and temperature of an information processing system or a building. However, those known examples deal with only an aspect of the comprehensive standpoint described above which involves performance enhancement coupled with power saving and cooperation between the information processing equipment and the facility equipment, and do not pay due consideration to, for example, cooperation between modules, cooperation between a module and the outside of the module, and the relation between a network system and a facility equipment system. 
     To give a representative known example, in US 2009/0006873 A1, the power consumption of power consumption equipment constituting the computer system is controlled via the control network by the system control computer. The document, however, describes neither the relation between an information processing network and the control network nor control of the power feeding facility equipment and the cooling facility equipment which provide an interior environment. In addition, while each individual component of power consumption equipment is controlled by an actuator, the document does not discuss how specifically the power consumption equipment as a group improves the system processing performance relative to power consumption. 
     In US 2007-0260417 A1, the temperatures of the server racks at the datacenter are monitored with the sensor provided for each rack, and the spatial temperature distribution controller controls the virtual machine, processor speed, the air-conditioners, the local cooling equipment, the power supply, and the like. Operation management systems match between the controller and the virtual machine, processor speed, the local cooling equipment, and the power supply, but the document does not include a concrete description on how racks are ranked to be selected as the relocation destination of the virtual machine by taking into consideration the placement of the facility equipment throughout the entire floor of the datacenter, and on how running conditions of the air-conditioners and the local cooling equipment of the racks are set for integrated power saving by taking into consideration the temperature distribution and power consumption distribution of the racks on the floor. 
     In JP 2005-312142 A, the power consumption and thermal load of the racks are monitored by the management control component provided for each rack, and the master management control center controls, based on management policies, the operating settings and performance levels of rack equipment, and controls air-conditioners and auxiliary power supplies. Operation management systems for operation application software of the rack equipment and for power consumption or thermal load match between the components of the racks and the center. However, the document does not examine how to arrange workload or set operating settings by rank while taking into consideration the placement of air-conditioners throughout the racks, nor how to control air-conditioners and auxiliary power supplies in a manner that accomplishes integrated power saving by taking into consideration the power consumption distribution and thermal load distribution of the racks. 
     In JP 2005-115941 A, a power meter of a switchboard is used to monitor power consumption for each floor of the building, for each department unit, and for each equipment type, and the central monitoring device displays a graph and issues an alert. Power consumption is measured by a breaker of each switchboard, and hence the power consumption of each equipment component beyond the breaker can only be speculated, which gives rise to a problem in that a change in equipment configuration cannot be accommodated. In addition, the document does not describe a concrete method for controlling the information equipment and the air-conditioning equipment in response to the alert. 
     As described above, none of prior art considers integrated operation running of various types of information processing equipment, integrated control of the running of various types of facility equipment, and cooperation between information processing equipment and facility equipment. Another problem is that, while a datacenter or an entire floor is managed in a lump, total optimization is not efficient in a mixed environment of various types of equipment. One of objects of this invention is therefore to balance performance enhancement and power saving by taking into consideration conformation and cooperation between operation systems of information processing equipment and facility equipment to which flexible and scalable architecture such as a modular datacenter or a top-of-rack network is applied, and thus improving the overall operation efficiency of the datacenter. To summarize, this invention provides an operation management method that has flexibility for sophisticated and diverse services and simultaneously improves operation efficiency by partially optimizing, for each scalable configuration unit separately, workload allocation to the information processing equipment that takes a facility equipment placement system into consideration and facility equipment control that takes into consideration changes in the power consumption distribution of the information processing equipment. 
     A typical embodiment of this invention is an operation management method for an information processing system, the information processing system comprising: a plurality of information processing equipment components; a plurality of power feed equipment components for supplying power to the plurality of information processing equipment components; and a plurality of cooling equipment components for cooling the plurality of information processing equipment components, the plurality of information processing equipment components including a plurality of network equipment components, the plurality of information processing equipment components other than the plurality of network equipment components each comprising an interface, which is connected to one of the plurality of network equipment components, a processor, which is connected to the interface, and a memory, which is connected to the processor, the plurality of information processing equipment components other than the plurality of network equipment components including a management computer, the interface of the management computer being connected to the plurality of power feed equipment components and the plurality of cooling equipment components via the plurality of network equipment components, the information processing system having a plurality of groups defined therein, the plurality of groups each including at least one of the plurality of information processing equipment components, the plurality of groups each including at least one of the plurality of power feed equipment components that supply power to the information processing equipment components included in the group, and at least one of the plurality of cooling equipment components that cool the information processing equipment components included in the group, the management computer keeping, for each of the plurality of groups, configuration information which associates the information processing equipment components, the power feed equipment components, and the cooling equipment components that are included in the group with one another, the operation management method for an information processing system comprising: a first step of obtaining, by the management computer, for each of the plurality of groups separately, operating information which indicates performance and power consumption of the information processing equipment components, the power feed equipment components, and the cooling equipment components that are included in the group; and a second step of controlling, by the management computer, based on the operating information, the information processing equipment components, the power feed equipment components, and the cooling equipment components that are included in the group in a manner that enhances the performance relative to the power consumption. 
     To briefly describe effects obtained from this invention, an information processing system such as a datacenter can balance performance enhancement and power saving while acquiring scalable flexibility and can be improved in operation efficiency by performing the operation management of information processing equipment and the operation management of facility equipment in cooperation with each other and optimizing the operation management hierarchically. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a system configuration diagram illustrating an operation management method for an information processing system according to a first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are system configuration diagrams illustrating a first concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an operation management hierarchy diagram of the first concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 4  is an operation management system diagram of the first concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a layout diagram illustrating a second concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a system configuration diagram illustrating a third concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are detailed system configuration diagrams illustrating the operation management method for the information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 8  is an explanatory diagram of a configuration information table which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 9A  is an explanatory diagram of an information processing equipment hierarchical group operating information table which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 9B  is an explanatory diagram of a network equipment hierarchical group operating information table which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 9C  is an explanatory diagram of a power feeding facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 9D  is an explanatory diagram of a cooling facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating an example of main control procedures executed for normal events in the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a flow chart illustrating an example of control procedures that are executed for a violation of constraining conditions in the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a flow chart illustrating an example of control procedures that are executed to optimize work load allocation in the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a hierarchical group configuration diagram illustrating the operation management method for the information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIGS. 14A to 14D  are diagrams of a graphical user interface screen illustrating the operation management method for the information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a system configuration diagram illustrating an operation management method for an information processing system according to a second embodiment of this invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a system configuration diagram illustrating an operation management method for an information processing system according to a third embodiment of this invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
       FIG. 1  is a system configuration diagram illustrating an operation management method for an information processing system according to a first embodiment of this invention. 
     The information processing system, denoted by  10 , includes information processing equipment  30  to  33 , facility equipment  40  to  43 , which supply power to and cool the information processing equipment  30  to  33 , and an operation management unit  50 . The operation management unit  50  is a server (computer) that includes an interface  51 , which is connected to the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , a processor  52 , which is connected to the interface  51 , and a memory  53 , which is connected to the processor  52 . 
     The operation management unit  50  also keeps hierarchical group configuration information  56  and hierarchical group operating information  59 . The hierarchical group configuration information  56  and the hierarchical group operating information  59  may be stored in storage within the operation management unit  50 , for example, a magnetic disk drive (not shown in the drawing). The hierarchical group configuration information  56  includes information that indicates the configurations of hierarchical groups  20  to  23 , specifically, location information  57  of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , and network information  58 . Details of the hierarchical group configuration information  56  and the hierarchical group operating information  59  are described later with reference to  FIG. 8  and  FIGS. 9A to 9D . 
     The operation management unit  50  collects the operating information  59  for each of the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  by causing the processor  52  to execute an operating information gathering program  54 , which is stored in the memory  53 , and controls the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , which belong to the hierarchical groups  20  to  23 , based on the configuration information  56  and the operating information  59  by causing the processor  52  to execute a hierarchical group control program  55 , which is stored in the memory  53 . 
     Hierarchy and hierarchical groups are described now. In this embodiment, a plurality of hierarchy levels to which equipment components constituting the information processing system belong is defined. An equipment component that is a constituent of the information processing system is roughly classified as one of an information processing equipment component and a facility equipment component. For example, a server, storage, network equipment (a router and a switch), and the like are classified as information processing equipment components. The information processing equipment  30  to  33  of  FIG. 1  each include these information processing equipment components. Facility equipment is classified further into one of power feed system equipment (hereinafter, also referred to as power feeding facility equipment or power feed equipment) and cooling system equipment (hereinafter, also referred to as cooling facility equipment or cooling equipment). For example, a transformer, an uninterruptible power-supply system, a switchboard, a panelboard, a power distribution unit, a breaker, and the like are classified as power feed system equipment, whereas a chiller, a cooling tower, an air-conditioner, a cooling door, and the like are classified as cooling system equipment. 
     In this embodiment, an information processing equipment component that is closer to an external network (not shown in the drawing) outside the information processing system  10  belongs to a higher hierarchy level. For example, in the case where a core router is connected to the external network, a switch is connected to the core router, and a server is connected to the switch, the core router belongs to the highest hierarchy level, the switch belongs to a hierarchy level below the highest hierarchy level, and the server belongs to a hierarchy level further below that level. 
     A component of power feed system equipment that is closer to a source of power feed belongs to a higher hierarchy level. For example, in the case where power from an uninterruptible power-supply system is supplied through a panelboard and then a breaker to a server, the uninterruptible power-supply system belongs to the highest hierarchy level, the panel board belongs to a hierarchy level below the highest hierarchy level, and the breaker belongs to a hierarchy level further below that level. 
     A component of cooling system equipment that is closer to a refrigerant or a source of cool air belongs to a higher hierarchy level. Alternatively, a component of cooling system equipment that has a wider cooling range may belong to a higher hierarchy level. For example, in the case where a chiller generates a refrigerant and an air-conditioner installed on a floor uses the refrigerant to cool a partition of the floor, the chiller belongs to the highest hierarchy level and the air-conditioner installed on the floor belongs to a hierarchy level below the highest hierarchy level. In the case where a small-sized air-conditioner (e.g., a rack-type air-conditioner) is further installed to cool a particular server rack (or a few particular server racks) out of a plurality of server racks disposed in the partition, the rack-type air-conditioner belongs to a hierarchy level below the hierarchy level to which the air conditioner installed on the floor belongs. 
     A hierarchical group which includes a plurality of equipment components is also defined in each hierarchy level in this embodiment. An administrator of the system can define hierarchical groups at his/her discretion. In this embodiment, for example, a lower-order hierarchical group which includes a plurality of servers and others connected to one switch is defined, and an upper-order hierarchical group which includes a plurality of switches connected to one core router and a plurality of lower-order hierarchical groups connected to these switches is defined as well. 
     In this embodiment, a component of power feed system equipment that supplies power to an information processing equipment component belonging to one hierarchical group belongs to this hierarchical group. For example, a breaker that supplies power to an information processing equipment component belonging to the lower-order hierarchical group described above (e.g., a rack of  FIG. 3 ) belongs to this lower-order hierarchical group described above. A panelboard that supplies power to an information processing equipment component belonging to the upper-order hierarchical group described above (e.g., a rack row of  FIG. 3 ) belongs to this upper-order hierarchical group described above. 
     In this embodiment, a component of cooling system equipment that cools an information processing equipment component belonging to one hierarchical group belongs to this hierarchical group. For example, a rack-type air-conditioner that cools an information processing equipment component belonging to the lower-order hierarchical group described above (e.g., a rack row of  FIG. 3 ) belongs to this lower-order hierarchical group described above. An air-conditioner which is installed on a floor and cools an information processing equipment component belonging to the upper-order hierarchical group described above (e.g., a partition of  FIG. 3 ) belongs to this upper-order hierarchical group described above. 
     Defining hierarchical groups in this manner clarifies the extent of influence resulting from controlling equipment within each hierarchical group. Particularly by, for example, configuring the information processing system so that a component of power feed system equipment belonging to one hierarchical group does not supply power to an information processing equipment component that does not belong to this hierarchical group, and further configuring the information processing system so that a component of cooling system equipment belonging to one hierarchical group does not cool an information processing equipment component that does not belong to this hierarchical group (or influence over an information processing equipment component that does not belong to this hierarchical group is sufficiently small), the extent of influence resulting from controlling an equipment component within each hierarchical group is limited to the hierarchical group. Hierarchical groups can thus be controlled independently of one another. For example, when a component of power feed system equipment belonging to one hierarchical group is controlled, the influence of this control covers an information processing equipment component within this hierarchical group (including information processing equipment components within lower-order hierarchical groups that are included in this hierarchical group), but does not extend to an information processing equipment component within another hierarchical group. This facilitates optimization performed on a hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis. 
     In an operation management method of the first embodiment, the operation management unit  50  uses the operating information gathering program  54  to communicate with the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , and to compile operating information  59  for each of the upper-order to lower-order hierarchical groups  20  to  23  based on the hierarchical group configuration information  56 , thereby executing optimization control of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  hierarchically. For example, the operation management unit  50  optimizes, on a hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis, workload allocation to information processing equipment for minimizing total power which combines power consumed by information processing equipment, and feeding loss and cooling power of facility equipment, control of the power capacity and cooling capacity of facility equipment relative to the power consumption of information processing equipment, control of the workload and processing performance of information processing equipment relative to the power capacity and cooling capacity of facility equipment, and the like. This hierarchical control provides optimization superior in convergence to total optimization, and enables the system to flexibly adapt to an addition or relocation of an information processing equipment component or a facility equipment component. The operation management unit  50  in principle controls each hierarchical group independently of other hierarchical groups but, when this does not accomplish satisfactory optimization, controls the hierarchical group through cooperation with other hierarchical groups. A procedure of the optimization control is described later with reference to  FIGS. 10 to 12 . 
     The configuration information  56  of the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  includes attribute data of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  regarding the hierarchical groups  20  to  23 , and indicates the relation of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  with each other based on the location information  57  and the network information  58 , and the hierarchical relation among the hierarchical groups  20  to  23 . For example, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the information processing equipment  30  and the facility equipment  40  belong to the uppermost-order hierarchical group  20 . The information processing equipment  33  and the facility equipment  44 , on the other hand, belong to the hierarchical group  23  and also to the upper-order hierarchical groups  20  to  22 . In the simplified illustration of  FIG. 1 , the hierarchical group  20 , for example, is constituted of a plurality of groups that are on the same order as the hierarchical group  21 , the information processing equipment  30 , and the facility equipment  40 . An upper-order hierarchical group includes a lower-order hierarchical group, and hence cooperative control in which the upper-order and lower-order hierarchical groups cooperate with each other is accomplished by compiling operating information from the lower order to the upper order. 
     The location information  57  includes identification data for identifying the position coordinates or location of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , and desirably includes identification data associated with a located hierarchy level. “Located hierarchy level” refers to a hierarchy level where equipment is placed. For example, the highest located hierarchy level, a located hierarchy level below the highest located hierarchy level, and a located hierarchy level further below that located hierarchy level may be associated with the building of the datacenter, a floor in the building, and a partition on the floor, respectively. The located hierarchy level of a hierarchical group is associated with a hierarchy level to which the hierarchical group belongs. The network information  58  includes configuration data of an information processing network system of the information processing equipment  30  to  33 , and a power feed system, cooling system, and control network system of the facility equipment  40  to  43 . For example, only limited information processing equipment can be linked to one power feeding facility equipment component and only a limited spatial area can be cooled by one cooling facility equipment component, and hence correlated information processing equipment and facility equipment among the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  can be associated with each other by the location information  57  and the network information  59 . By checking this association relation and the system configuration data of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  against each other, a hierarchical group that associates a piece of information processing equipment and a piece of facility equipment with each other can be configured. 
     The operating information  59  collected by the operating information gathering program  54  includes data that indicates workload and operating environment in the case of the operating information  59  of the information processing equipment  30  to  33 . For example, the operating information  59  includes operating performance, active/sleep state, resource utilization, power consumption, power supply state, cooling fan state, operating temperature, job/virtual machine allocation, and failure notification. In the case of the operating information  59  of the facility equipment  40  to  43 , the included data indicates load and operating environment. For example, the operating information  59  of a power feeding facility equipment component includes power load, conversion efficiency or loss, power factor, and energization state, and the operating information  59  of a cooling facility equipment component includes thermal load, coefficient of performance or its own power consumption, temperature, humidity, flow rate, flow current direction, and failure notification. By keeping track of, for each of the hierarchical groups  20  to  23 , the balance between the power consumption of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the power capacity or cooling capacity of the facility equipment  40  to  43 , and the processing performance of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  relative to the combined power consumption of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , the information on a specific one of the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  can be notified to the control program  55  when a trigger event occurs or as the need arises. 
     The control program  55  controls, for each of the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  separately, workload allocation and operating conditions of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and operating conditions of the facility equipment  40  to  43 . The execution of this control is triggered by, for example, a change in hierarchical group configuration, a violation of a constraining condition, the arrival of a time point in the job schedule, a failure sign, maintenance work, and a failure. For the information processing equipment  30  to  33 , the control program  55  performs, for example, job allocation with the use of a job scheduler or a load balancer, virtual resource allocation or migration to physical resources in the case of a virtualized environment, active/sleep state switching based on resource utilization or power consumption limit settings, and powering on/off. For the facility equipment  40  to  43 , in the case of a power feeding facility equipment component, the control program  55  controls, for example, the switching of power feed systems, the count of power supply units, and an auxiliary power supply, whereas, in the case of a cooling facility equipment component, the control program  55  controls the supply air/return air temperature and air volume of an air-conditioner, a damper of an air supply/exhaust opening, the temperature and flow rate of a refrigerant for liquid cooling, and the count of air-conditioners that are running. In this manner, the total power of the information processing system  10  which is the combined power consumption of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  is reduced while maintaining the processing performance of the information processing equipment  30  to  33 . 
     Based on the operation management method for the information processing system  10  of the first embodiment, the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  are configured to include the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and their associated facility equipment  40  to  43 , and optimization control in which the information processing equipment and the facility equipment cooperate with each other is performed hierarchically. The resultant effects include improved system operation efficiency and flexibility compared to total optimization, and improved processing performance per total power of the information processing system  10 , which helps to balance performance enhancement and power saving. In addition, efficient operation management is realized by performing update control on a relevant hierarchical group when a desired trigger event occurs, when the scheduled time arrives, when work load is applied or workload application ends, when there is a change or a failure in equipment, or the like. 
     The information processing system  10  is typically a datacenter or a computer room, but this embodiment is also applicable to an operation running system of industrial equipment, commercial equipment, communication equipment, a transport mode, and others. This embodiment is useful not only for steady operation management of an existing system but also as a design/diagnostic tool used at the time of new system installation, system expansion, system relocation, repair, maintenance, or the like. This embodiment can also be applied to a system that spans a plurality of facilities or sites if hierarchical groups are configured and remote management is executed. 
     The information processing equipment  30  to  33  include a server machine, storage, network equipment, and the like. A server machine is, for example, a general-purpose server, a dedicated server, a mainframe, a parallel computer, a super computer, an embedded computer, or a personal computer. Although omitted from  FIG. 1 , each server machine may have the same hardware as that of the operation management unit  50 . For example, each server machine may include an interface (not shown), which is connected to a network as the interface  51  is, a processor (CPU) (not shown), which is connected to the interface as the processor  52  is, and a memory (not shown), which is connected to the processor as the memory  53  is. 
     Storage is, for example, a magnetic disk drive, a solid state disk drive, an optical disc drive, or a tape drive. Although omitted from  FIG. 1 , each piece of storage may include an interface (not shown) connected to a network, a processor (i.e., controller) (not shown) connected to the interface, a memory (not shown) connected to the processor, a magnetic disk drive (not shown) connected to the processor, and others. 
     Network equipment includes, for example, a router, a switch, or a hub. A printer, a copier, a modem, a display, and the like may further be included as peripheral devices. 
     This embodiment is also applicable to a device that has a demand-based switching (DBS) function for switching among active/standby/sleep/shut down states, i.e., a power saving mode. For example, the power saving mode corresponds to DBS in a server, massive array of inactive disks (MAID) in storage, and port power supply control in a network. The hardware form to which this embodiment can be applied is not limited to the blade type, the rack mount type, the tower type, and the special casing type, and this embodiment is applicable to any hardware form in various manners. 
     Workload of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  refers to application software in the case of a server machine, access data in the case of storage, and transfer data or the like in the case of network equipment. Workload data includes performance, resource utilization, active/sleep state, and the like in the case of a server machine, the count of active disks, access frequency, and the like in the case of storage, and the count of transfer packets, switching frequency, and the like in the case of network equipment. Workload types include fixed-point/floating-point operation, transaction processing, database processing, technical calculation, data format and granularity, guaranteed bandwidth, and the like. These types may be distinguished from one another when the operation management unit  50  controls the information processing equipment  30  to  33 . 
     The facility equipment  40  to  43  each include power feeding facility equipment components, which include a transformer, an uninterruptible power-supply system, a switchboard, a panelboard, and a power supply of a rack where information processing equipment is mounted, and which also includes a power sensor, a current/voltage sensor, a current leakage sensor, and the like. In some cases, a power plant that is the source of power feed, power transmission equipment, substation equipment, and a built-in power supply of information processing equipment that is the destination of power feed, too, are control targets. The facility equipment  40  to  43  each include cooling facility equipment components, which include an air-conditioner, a chiller, a cooling tower, an air supply/exhaust opening, a fan, a duct, and refrigerant piping, and which also includes temperature sensors disposed inside or outside the room, a humidity sensor, a flow rate/flow current direction sensor, and the like. In some cases, liquid cooling equipment, local cooling equipment for cooling a rack row or the front/rear of a rack, and built-in cooling equipment of information processing equipment, too, are control targets. 
     As the operation management unit  50 , a shared manager server which manages the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  both may be provided, or a plurality of manager servers may be provided to manage the information processing equipment and the facility equipment separately and then cooperate with one another for joint management of the information processing equipment and the facility equipment. Alternatively, a component of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  may be given a manager function. An operation management method according to this invention can be implemented also as software such as middleware, application software, embedded control software, or firmware. For example, an engine that performs optimization control may be implemented as hardware. An agent, a service processor, an interface, and others may be provided in each of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and each of the facility equipment  40  to  43  in order for the manager to obtain the operating information of the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43 , or the information processing equipment  30  to  33  and the facility equipment  40  to  43  may themselves build autonomous distributed systems. The effects of this invention which are improved operation efficiency and power saving of an information processing system are brought out by controlling the information processing system for each hierarchical group, which is constituted of information processing equipment and facility equipment, separately based on operating information, and the effects are not exclusive to the system configuration and control procedure of  FIG. 1 . 
     Concrete examples of the information processing system according to the first embodiment are described next. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  are system configuration diagrams illustrating a first concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
       FIG. 3  is an operation management hierarchy diagram of the first concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
       FIG. 4  is an operation management system diagram of the first concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     The information processing system of  FIGS. 2A and 2B  is constituted of a datacenter  100  and an operation management unit  160  which controls the datacenter  100 . Hierarchical groups are configured in association with located hierarchical levels. Hierarchy levels in the example of  FIG. 2B  are listed sequentially from upper order as a first hierarchy level, which is for the building  100 , a second hierarchy level, which is for floors  110  and  111 , a third hierarchy level, which is for partitions  121  and  122 , a fourth hierarchy level, which is for rack rows  131  and  132 , a fifth hierarchy level, which is for racks  141  and  142 , and a sixth hierarchy level, which is for information processing equipment components  151  and  152  of in-rack  156 . 
     A network that couples the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  constitutes hierarchical routing associated with located hierarchy levels, and is connected to information processing equipment components  151  and  152  from a core router  120  of an upper level through a partition switch  130 , a rack row switch  140 , and a rack switch  150 . The core router  120  is disposed on the floor  110  (the third hierarchy layer) but, because this component connects the floor  110  to the outside and integrates the partitions  121  and  122 , is associated with the second hierarchy level which is one level higher. Similarly, the partition switch  130  which is disposed in the partition  121  to integrate the rack rows  131  and  132  is associated with the third hierarchy level, the rack row switch  140  which is disposed in the rack row  131  to integrate the racks  141  and  142  is associated with the fourth hierarchy level, and the rack switch  150  which is disposed in the rack  141  to integrate the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  is associated with the fifth hierarchy level. In the case where the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  each have a built-in switch  157  as in, for example, a blade server (see  FIG. 3 ), the built-in switch  157  is associated with the sixth hierarchy level. 
     Power feeding facility equipment that supplies power to the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  constitutes a hierarchical power feed system associated with located hierarchy levels, and supplies power to the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  from a transformer-uninterruptible power-supply system  123  of an upper level through a switchboard  133 , a panelboard  143 , a breaker  153 , and a power distribution unit  154  of the rack  141 . The transformer-uninterruptible power-supply system  123  may be disposed on the floor  110  (the third hierarchy level) or another floor but, because this component handles power feeding to the partitions  121  and  122 , is associated with the second hierarchy level which is one level higher. Similarly, the switchboard  133  which is disposed in the partition  121  to handles power feeding to the rack rows  131  and  132  is associated with the third hierarchy level. The panelboard  143  which is disposed as a child branch in the switchboard  133  or in the rack rows  131  and  132  to handle power feeding to the racks  141  and  142  is associated with the fourth hierarchy level. The breaker  153  is disposed in the panelboard  143  and connected to the power distribution unit  154 , which is disposed in the rack  141  to handle power feeding to the information processing equipment components  151  and  152 . The breaker  153  and the power distribution unit  154  are therefore associated with the fifth hierarchy level. In the case where the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  each have a built-in power supply  158  (see  FIG. 3 ), for example, the built-in power supply  158  is associated with the sixth hierarchy level. 
     Cooling facility equipment that cools the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  constitutes a hierarchical cooling system associated with located hierarchy levels, and cools the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  from a chiller-cooling tower  124  of an upper level through an air-conditioner  134 , a rack-type air-conditioner  144 , and a cooling rear door  155  of the rack  141 . The chiller-cooling tower  124  may be disposed on the floor  110  (the third hierarchy level) or another floor but, because this component handles the cooling of the partitions  121  and  122 , is associated with the second hierarchy level which is one level higher. Similarly, the air-conditioner  134  which is disposed in the partition  121  to handle the cooling of the rack rows  131  and  132  is associated with the third hierarchy level. The rack-type air-conditioner  144  which is disposed in the rack row  131  to handle the cooling of the racks  141  and  142  is associated with the fourth hierarchy level. The cooling rear door  155  which is attached to the rack  141  to handle the cooling of the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  is associated with the fifth hierarchy level. In the case where the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  each have a built-in cooling fan  159  (see  FIG. 3 ), for example, the built-in cooling fan  159  is associated with the sixth hierarchy level. 
     In this manner, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , an information processing network system constituted of the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  and the network equipment components  120 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 , a power feed system constituted of the power feeding facility equipment components  123 ,  133 ,  143 ,  153 , and  154 , and a cooling system constituted of cooling facility equipment components  124 ,  134 ,  144 , and  155  are matched to integrate control system from the operation management unit  160  down to the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  of the sixth hierarchical group. Information processing equipment and facility equipment are thus controlled in association with each other for each hierarchical group separately, and efficient integrated operation management is accomplished by hierarchical control in which an upper-order hierarchical group and a lower-order hierarchical group cooperate with each other. 
     In this embodiment, the highest hierarchy level is the first hierarchy level and a hierarchy level below the highest hierarchy level is the second hierarchy level as illustrated in  FIG. 3 . However, this numbering of hierarchy levels is merely an example and, for instance, the lowest hierarchy level and a hierarchy level above the lowest hierarchy level may be the first hierarchy level and the second hierarchy level, respectively. 
     The relation of the hierarchical groups  20  to  30  of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2B  is now described. The information processing system of  FIGS. 2A to 4  is one of concrete examples of the information processing system  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . For instance, the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  of  FIG. 2B  may correspond to the information processing equipment  33 , and the breaker  153 , the power distribution unit  154 , and the cooling rear door  155  may correspond to the facility equipment  43 . In this case, the rack  141  corresponds to the hierarchical group  23 . The rack switch  150  in the rack  141  and a rack switch (not shown) in the rack  142  may correspond to the information processing equipment  32 , and the panelboard  143  and the rack-type air conditioner  144  may correspond to the facility equipment  42 . In this case, the rack row  131  corresponds to the hierarchical group  22 . The rack row switch  140  in the rack row  131  and a rack row switch (not shown) in the rack row  132  may correspond to the information processing equipment  31 , and the switchboard  133  and the air-conditioner  134  may correspond to the facility equipment  41 . In this case, the partition  121  corresponds to the hierarchical group  21 . 
     The hierarchy level count in  FIG. 1  and the hierarchy level count in  FIG. 2B  differ from each other. This is because  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2B  each show only components necessary for illustration and omit the rest. In practice, any number of hierarchical levels can be set in the information processing system. For example, in  FIG. 1 , a hierarchical group belonging to a hierarchical level higher than that of the hierarchical group  20  may further be set to correspond to the datacenter  100  of  FIG. 2B . 
     The operation management unit  160  keeps hierarchical group configuration information  164 , and collects operating information  165  for each hierarchical group. The hierarchical group configuration information  164  includes information that defines the hierarchical group configuration of  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Based on the hierarchical group configuration information  164  and on the operating information  165  of each hierarchical group, the operation management unit  160  executes, for each hierarchical group separately, workload control  161  or operating control  162  of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 ,  150 , and  157 , and operating control  163  of the facility equipment components  123 ,  133 ,  143 ,  153 ,  154 ,  158 ,  124 ,  134 ,  144 ,  155 , and  159 . The association relation is clear between information processing equipment and facility equipment in a hierarchical group and between an upper-order hierarchical group and a lower-order hierarchical group, and hence efficient optimization is accomplished by identifying, from the operating information  165  compiled on a hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis, which information processing equipment and facility equipment are to be controlled. 
     For example, in the partition  121  of the third hierarchy level, the operation management unit  160  integrates, for monitoring, the workload and operating information  165  of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 , which belong to this hierarchical group, and further monitors the operating information  165  of the switchboard  133  and the air-conditioner  134 , which are included in the facility equipment belonging to this hierarchical group. The workload control  161  of the information processing equipment allocates workload preferentially to one of the rack rows  131  and  132  belonging to the partition  121  that has higher information processing performance relative to total power that combines power consumed by the information processing equipment and feeding loss and cooling power of the facility equipment. Workload allocation in this manner may be implemented by the workload control  161  by controlling a job scheduler (not shown in the drawing) or a load balancer (not shown) which executes job allocation or, in a virtualized environment, may be implemented by the operation management unit  160  by controlling virtual machine management software (not shown) which executes allocation or migration of a virtual resource to a physical resource. The operating control  162  reduces power consumption by switching the active/standby/sleep/shutdown state, the operating frequency, the operating voltage, the power on/off state, or the like based on the workload of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 . The operating control  163  of the facility equipment reduces feeding loss and cooling power by controlling the power factor or the like of the switchboard  133  and controlling the supply air/return air temperature, air volume, or the like of the air-conditioner  134  in a manner that suits the power consumption of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 . By thus minimizing the combined power consumption of the information processing equipment and the facility equipment while maintaining operation services of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 , the overall performance-to-power efficiency of the hierarchical group of the partition  121  is improved. 
     The operation management unit  160  of  FIG. 2A  corresponds to the operation management unit  50  of  FIG. 1 . An illustration and description about the hardware configuration of the operation management unit  160  are therefore omitted. The hierarchical group configuration information  164  and the hierarchical group operating information  165  correspond respectively to the hierarchical group configuration information  56  and hierarchical group operating information  59  of  FIG. 1 . The functions of the information processing equipment workload control  161 , the information processing equipment operating control  162 , and the facility equipment operating control  163  are implemented by the processor  52  of  FIG. 1  by executing the hierarchical group control program  55 . Accordingly, processing executed by these functions is actually executed by the processor of the operation management unit  160 . 
     When the total power of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  is compared against the maximum power capacity, namely, allowable power load, of the switchboard  133  and the former is expected to exceed the latter, a drop or cutoff of power supply voltage supplied to the partition  121 , or the like, may cause problems such as shutting down of equipment components in the partition  121 . When a differential power calculated by subtracting, from the total power of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150 , the cooling power of the lower-order rack-type air-conditioner  144  and cooling rear door  155  is compared against the maximum cooling capacity, namely, allowable thermal load, of the air-conditioner  134 , and the former is expected to exceed the latter, overheating of equipment components in the partition  121  may cause problems such as a drop in processing performance and a failure in an equipment component. When a prediction as those described above is made due to some anomaly, executing optimization control in the partition  121  does not prevent the problems described above. Therefore, in the case where changing workload allocation is possible, the operation management unit  160  shifts workload from the partition  121  to the partition  122 , which belongs to a group of the same order. In the case where workload allocation cannot be changed, the operation management unit  160  follows operation procedures to execute control by reducing low-priority workload in the partition  121 , by curtailing the limit power consumption of the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  in an active state, by, when there is an auxiliary power supply or a redundant power feed system, enhancing the power capacity of the switchboard  133  with the use of the auxiliary power supply or the redundant power feed system, by, when the rack-type air conditioner  144  or the cooling rear door  155  has reserve capacity, backing the air-conditioner  134  up with the reserve capacity, or the like. The procedures are described later with reference to  FIG. 11 . 
     In such cases where the configuration of the information processing equipment or the facility equipment in the partition  121  is changed, where the partition  121  is relocated on the floor  110 , or where the partition  121  is removed from the floor  110 , the operation management unit  160  updates or deletes the configuration information  164  of the partition  121  and of the hierarchical groups below the partition  121 . There is no need to change the configuration information  164  of the other partition  122  in this case. The operating information of the partition  121  is compiled in the operating information  165  of the floor  100  belonging to an upper-order group, and the update of the partition  121  is automatically reflected. In the case where a partition belonging to a group of the same order as the partition  121  is newly added, adding information about the new partition to the configuration information  164  is sufficient and it is not necessary to update information about the other partitions. With the partition-by-partition basis optimization described above, after the configuration is changed by an addition or removal of a partition, the other partitions are not affected by the change in configuration and can be optimized in the same way as before the change. This embodiment is thus capable of adapting flexibly to meet requested operation services and required performance, and scalable flexibility is consequently realized. 
     While the preceding description takes the partition  121  of the third hierarchy level as an example, the entire datacenter  100  can be optimized efficiently by similarly controlling the other hierarchical groups based on the hierarchical relation. In the case where all information processing equipment and facility equipment at the datacenter  100  are to be optimized in a lump, obtaining an optimal solution is difficult because the dependency relation between the equipment is not clear and, even if the dependency relation can be defined, too wide a solution space makes convergence poor and efficiency low. In this embodiment, with hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis optimization instead of total optimization, the solution space is narrowed and an optimal solution is therefore obtained efficiently. 
     According to the operation management method for the datacenter  100  which has been described with reference to  FIGS. 2A to 4 , hierarchical groups ranging from the first hierarchy level to the sixth hierarchy level are configured from the information processing equipment components  151 ,  152 ,  120 ,  130 ,  140 , and  150  and the facility equipment components  123 ,  133 ,  143 ,  153 ,  154 ,  124 ,  134 ,  144 , and  155 , and hierarchical optimization in which the information processing equipment and the facility equipment cooperate with each other is performed. The resultant effect is improvements in the operation efficiency, performance-to-power efficiency, and flexibility of the datacenter  100 , and integrated operation management is accomplished while balancing performance enhancement and power saving for sophisticated and diverse operation services. 
     In the example of  FIG. 2B , the datacenter  100  is constructed from the building  100 , the floors  110  and  111 , and others. However, this embodiment is also applicable to a modular datacenter, a container datacenter, a computer room in a part of a building, or the like, and can exert the effects described above in that case, too. For example, a module or a container may correspond to a partition and, for a datacenter that spans a plurality of buildings or sites, a hierarchy level higher than that of the buildings is defined. 
     Instead of the hierarchical group configuration starting from the building  100  of the first hierarchy level and reaching the information processing equipment components  151  and  152  of the sixth hierarchy level, a different hierarchy configuration may be employed to suit the configuration or placement of the information processing equipment and the facility equipment. For example, the rack row level may be put immediately below the floor level in hierarchy without interposing the partition level, and the rack level may be put immediately below the partition level in hierarchy without interposing the rack row level. 
     The information processing equipment components  151  and  152  mounted to the rack  141  are, for example, a server machine and storage, and the racks  141  and  142  constitute the rack row  131 . Alternatively, information processing equipment components may be free-standing instead of being mounted on a rack, and racks may be arranged discretely without forming a rack row. Network equipment has so-called top-of-rack architecture and includes the core router  120 , the partition switch  130 , the rack row switch  140 , and the rack switch, but may have a different type of architecture that suits the required network performance or the placement of racks. For example, the partition switch may be omitted to connect the rack row switch directly to the core router, and the rack row switch or the rack switch may be omitted to connect information processing equipment directly to the partition switch. 
     The power feeding facility equipment is constituted of the transformer-uninterruptible power-supply system  123 , the switchboard  133 , the panelboard  143 , the breaker  153 , and the power distribution unit  154 , but a different power feed configuration may be employed to suit design specifications, a required capacity, or the like. For example, the uninterruptible power-supply system  123  may be connected directly to the panelboard  143 , and the switchboard  133  may be connected directly to a power distribution unit of the rack  141 . Uninterruptible power-supply systems may be arranged discretely as a shared power supply of the rack  141  and built-in power supplies of the information processing equipment components  151  and  152 . 
     The cooling facility equipment is constituted of the chiller-cooling tower  124 , the air-conditioner  134 , the rack-type air-conditioner  144 , and the cooling rear door  155 , but a different cooling configuration may be employed to suit design specifications, a required capacity, or the like. For example, when the air-conditioning capacity is more than sufficient, the rack-type air conditioner or the cooling rear door may not be put into use, or the rack-type air-conditioner alone may be used for air conditioning without providing the air-conditioner, or outdoor air cooling or free cooling may be employed depending on the site location of the datacenter. 
     In the example of  FIGS. 2A to 4 , the operation management unit  160  performs the workload control  161  and operating control  162  of the information processing equipment and the operating control  163  of the facility equipment on a hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis, thereby raising the efficiency of control processing. Depending on the processing performance of the operation management unit  160  itself and what software is installed, for example, centralized processing in which hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis control proceeds sequentially from an upper order to a lower order or distributed cooperative processing consisting of hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis distributed control and cooperating control between hierarchical groups may be executed, or a plurality of operation management units may be provided in a number suitable for the processing scale to cooperate with one another. The essence of this embodiment lies in hierarchical control of hierarchical groups provided in an information processing system, and this embodiment is not limited solely to the equipment configuration and control method of  FIGS. 2A to 4 . 
       FIG. 5  is a layout diagram illustrating a second concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     An information processing system of  FIG. 5  includes a datacenter  210 , which takes up one entire floor (hereinafter also referred to as floor  210 ), and an operation management unit  260 . The floor  210  is divided into partitions  221 A to  221 F. The hierarchical group configuration is associated with located hierarchy levels, and starts from the first hierarchy level, which is made up by a core router  220  provided on the floor  210  to integrate the partitions  221 A to  221 F, and continues down to lower-order groups. The operation management unit  260  is connected to the core router  220  to control information processing equipment and facility equipment on the floor  210  via the core router  220 . 
     The second hierarchical group (namely, a hierarchical group on the second hierarchy level. The same is true in the following description.) of the partition  221 A is made up of a partition switch  230 A (so-called middle-of-row switch), a switchboard  233 A, air conditioners  234 A and  235 A, and grille panels  236 A. The third hierarchical group (namely, a hierarchical group on the third hierarchy level. The same is true in the following description.) of the partition  221 A is made up of rack rows  231 A and  232 A and panelboards  243 A. The fourth hierarchical group (namely, a hierarchical group on the fourth hierarchy level. The same is true in the following description.) of the partition  221 A is made up of racks  241 A. The fifth hierarchical group (namely, a hierarchical group on the fifth hierarchy level. The same is true in the following description.) of the partition  221 A is made up of information processing equipment in the racks  241 A. The operation management unit  260  controls, via the core router  220  and the partition switch  230 A, the information processing equipment mounted in the rack rows  231 A and  232 A, the switchboard  233 A and the panelboards  243 A which supply power to the rack rows  231 A and  232 A, and the air-conditioners  234 A and  235 A which cool the rack rows  231 A and  232 A. The air-conditioners  234 A and  235 A supply cool air to the information processing equipment from under the floor through the grille panels  236 A. 
     The second hierarchical group of the partition  221 B is made up of a switchboard  233 B, air conditioners  234 B and  235 B, and grille panels  236 B. The third hierarchical group of the partition  221 B is made up of rack row switches  240 B and  245 B (so-called end-of-row switch), rack rows  231 B and  232 B, and panelboards  243 B. The fourth hierarchical group of the partition  221 B is made up of racks  241 B. The fifth hierarchical group is made up of information processing equipment in the racks  241 B. In the partition  221 B, the rack row switches  240 B and  245 B, instead of a partition switch, integrate information processing networks of the racks  241 B disposed in the rack rows  231 B and  232 B, respectively, and serve as a control system of the switchboard  233 B, the panelboards  243 B, and the air-conditioners  234 B and  235 B. 
     The second hierarchical group of the partition  221 C is made up of a partition switch  230 C, a switchboard  233 C, air conditioners  234 C and  235 C, and grille panels  236 C. The third hierarchical group of the partition  221 C is made up of rack row switches  240 C and  245 C, rack rows  231 C and  232 C, and panelboards  243 C. The fourth hierarchical group of the partition  221 C is made up of racks  241 C and cooling rear doors  255 C. The fifth hierarchical group is made up of information processing equipment in the racks  241 C. In the partition  221 C, the rack row switches  240 C and  245 C respectively integrate the racks  241 C, the cooling rear doors  255 C, and the panelboards  243 C which are disposed in the rack rows  231 C and  232 C. The partition switch  230 C integrates the rack row switches  240 C and  245 C, the switchboard  233 C, and the air conditioners  234 C and  235 C, and is connected to the core router  220 . The information processing equipment mounted on the racks  241 C is cooled by the air-conditioners  234 C and  235 C and the cooling rear doors  255 C. 
     The second hierarchical group of the partition  221 D is made up of a partition switch  230 D, a switchboard  233 D, air conditioners  234 D and  235 D, and grille panels  236 D. The third hierarchical group of the partition  221 D is made up of rack rows  231 D and  232 D, panelboards  243 D, and rack-type air-conditioners  244 D. The fourth hierarchical group of the partition  221 D is made up of racks  241 D. The fifth hierarchical group is made up of information processing equipment in the racks  241 D. In the partition  221 D, the partition switch  230 D integrates the racks  241 D, the rack-type air-conditioners  244 D, and the panelboards  243 D which are disposed in the rack rows  231 D and  232 D, as well as the switchboard  233 D and the air-conditioners  234 D and  235 D which are placed in the partition  221 D. Each of the rack-type air-conditioners  244 D handles the cooling of information processing equipment mounted on the racks  241 D that are adjacent to the rack-type air conditioner  244 D. 
     The second hierarchical group of the partition  221 E is made up of a partition switch  230 E, a switchboard  233 E, air conditioners  234 E and  235 E, and grille panels  236 E. The third hierarchical group of the partition  221 E is made up of rack rows  231 E and  232 E and panelboards  243 E. The fourth hierarchical group of the partition  221 E is made up of racks  241 E. The fifth hierarchical group is made up of information processing equipment in the racks  241 E. In the rack row  231 E, the core router  220  of the first hierarchy level is disposed. The core router  220  integrates the partition switch  230 A of the partition  221 A, the rack row switches  240 B and  245 B of the partition  221 B, the partition switch  230 C of the partition  221 C, the partition switch  230 D of the partition  221 D, the partition switch  230 E of the partition  221 E, and a partition switch  230 F of the partition  221 F. 
     The second hierarchical group of the partition  221 F is made up of the partition switch  230 F, a switchboard  233 F, air conditioners  234 F and  235 F, and grille panels  236 F. The third hierarchical group of the partition  221 F is made up of rack rows  231 F and  232 F, panelboards  243 F, and rack-type air-conditioners  244 F. The fourth hierarchical group of the partition  221 F is made up of racks  241 F and cooling rear doors  255 F. The fifth hierarchical group is made up of information processing equipment in the racks  241 F. The rack-type air-conditioners  244 F and the cooling rear doors  255 F supplement the cooling capacity of the air-conditioners  234 F and  235 F to cool the information processing equipment mounted on the racks  241 F. 
     For example, the cooling rear doors  255 F may each correspond to the cooling rear door  155  of  FIG. 2B , the racks  241 F may each correspond to the rack  141  of  FIG. 2B , the panelboards  243 F may each correspond to the panelboard  143  of  FIG. 2B , the rack-type air-conditioners  244 F may each correspond to the rack-type air conditioner  144  of  FIG. 2B , the rack row  231 F may correspond to the rack row  131  of  FIG. 2B , the partition switch  230 F may correspond to the partition switch  130  of  FIG. 2B , and the core router  220  may correspond to the core router  120  of  FIG. 2B . However, unlike  FIG. 2B ,  FIG. 5  illustrates an example in which one floor corresponds to one datacenter. The operation management unit  260  corresponds to the operation management unit  50  of  FIG. 1  and the operation management unit  160  of  FIG. 2A , and a description on the configuration thereof is therefore omitted. 
     In the system of  FIG. 5 , the core router  220  is disposed in a manner that suits the network performance necessary for the floor  210  of the first hierarchy level, and the partition switches  230 A,  230 C,  230 D,  230 E, and  230 F of the second hierarchy level, or the rack row switches  240 B,  245 B,  240 C, and  245 C of the third hierarchy level are disposed respectively for the partitions  221 A,  221 B,  221 C,  221 D,  221 E, and  221 F in a manner that suits the network performance necessary for the information processing equipment. The operation management unit  260  compiles operating information of the information processing equipment and operating information of the network equipment on a hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis to control workload or operating conditions. For example, on the second hierarchy level, the operation management unit  260  monitors the processing amount of the partition switches and the total workload in each partition, and optimizes workload allocation in each partition by referring to the operating information of the information processing equipment. When a change in network configuration is necessitated as an attempt to improve the performance of the information processing equipment or the network equipment, or as countermeasures against a failure, the operation management unit  260  updates the configuration information of a hierarchical group that corresponds to the changed part. 
     The information processing system of  FIG. 5  includes the switchboards  233 A,  233 B,  233 C,  233 D,  233 E, and  233 F of the second hierarchy level and the panelboards  243 A,  243 B,  243 C,  243 D,  243 E, and  243 F of the third hierarchy level, which supply power to cover the power consumption of the information processing equipment in the partitions  221 A,  221 B,  221 C,  221 D,  221 E, and  221 F, respectively. The information processing system of  FIG. 5  also includes the air-conditioners  234 A,  234 B,  234 C,  234 D,  234 E, and  234 F and the air-conditioners  235 A,  235 B,  235 C,  235 D,  235 E, and  235 F and the grille panels  236 A,  236 B,  236 C,  236 D,  236 E, and  236 F of the second hierarchy level, the rack-type air-conditioners  244 D and  244 F of the third hierarchy level, and the cooling rear doors  255 C and  255 F of the fourth hierarchy level, which cool the information processing equipment in the partitions  221 A,  221 B,  221 C,  221 D,  221 E, and  221 F, respectively. The operation management unit  260  collects operating information of the facility equipment on a hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis, and controls the operating conditions of the facility equipment in a manner that suits the power consumption of the information processing equipment. For example, on the second hierarchy level, the operation management unit  260  monitors the power capacity of the switchboards and the cooling capacity of the air-conditioners, and controls the power capacity and the cooling capacity in a manner that suits the power consumption of the information processing equipment. When a change in facility equipment configuration is necessitated as an attempt to improve the power capacity or cooling capacity, or by repair, the hierarchical group configuration information of the operation management unit  260  is updated. 
     An operation manager or the like of the information processing system enhances the power capacity by adding feeding cables and breakers leading to the switchboards and the panelboards, or by replacing existing feeding cables and breakers with those high in current capacity, and enhances the cooling capacity by replacing an existing air conditioner with one high in cooling capacity, or by adding rack-type air conditioners and cooling rear doors. The position of openings in grille panels for underfloor air conditioning and the placement of rack-type air-conditioners or cooling rear doors are adjusted to suit the power consumption distribution, namely, heat generation distribution, of the information processing equipment and network equipment, and cooling efficiency may be raised by providing a hot aisle or a cold aisle and conducting aisle capping. 
     For each partition of the second hierarchy level separately, air-conditioners are controlled to suit the power consumption of the information processing equipment (in the case where rack-type air-conditioners or cooling rear doors are provided, power calculated by subtracting the cooling power of the rack-type air-conditioners or the cooling rear doors from the power consumption of the information processing equipment). In practice, the effective cooling area of, for example, the air-conditioner  235 A of the partition  221 A reaches the neighboring partition  221 B, and the air-conditioner  234 B of the partition  221 B in turn affects the partition  221 A. However, by defining partitions in the manner illustrated in  FIG. 5 , where information processing equipment and an air-conditioner that are geographically close to each other are included in one partition, the influence from an air-conditioner of a neighboring partition is made smaller than the influence that the information processing equipment in each partition receives from an air-conditioner of the same partition. In this case, a substantially correct optimal solution can be obtained even when the influence from an air-conditioner of a neighboring partition is ignored. With this partition-by-partition basis control, an approximate optimal solution for an operating condition of an air conditioner is obtained more efficiently than when air-conditioners of the entire floor  210  are controlled in a lump. To control each partition completely independently of other partitions, the influence from an air-conditioner of a neighboring partition can be shut out by providing a divider or a curtain at the border between partitions. 
     According to the operation management method for the datacenter  210  which has been described with reference to  FIG. 5 , the floor  210  is divided into the partitions  221 A,  221 B,  221 C,  221 D,  221 E, and  221 F, and information processing equipment, network equipment, power feeding facility equipment, and cooling facility equipment are configured hierarchically for each partition, to thereby provide necessary power capacity and cooling capacity suited to desired information processing performance and network performance. Such adaptability and flexibility are favorable not only as a simple information processing resource pool but also as an integrated resource pool which includes facility equipment, and contribute to an improvement in operation efficiency. This effect is brought out by the hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group basis configuration and operation management, and is not exclusive to the layout of  FIG. 5 . For example, depending on operation services, partitions each including only one rack row or many more rack rows may be defined, power may be supplied to a rack row directly from a panelboard without providing a switchboard in each partition, power may be supplied to a rack row directly from a switchboard, one air-conditioner or many more air-conditioners may be disposed in each partition, rack-type air-conditioners or cooling rear doors alone may be used for cooling without providing an air-conditioner, and an aisle chamber may be provided instead of underfloor air conditioning through grille panels. 
       FIG. 6  is a system configuration diagram illustrating a third concrete example of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     More specifically,  FIG. 6  illustrates concretely an example of an information processing network system of information processing equipment, power feed/cooling systems of facility equipment, and a control network system for controlling the information processing equipment and the facility equipment as those described in the first concrete example or the second concrete example. 
     The information processing network system of an information processing system  300  is constituted of rack switches  350  (so-called top-of-rack switches), which integrate information processing equipment  351  mounted on racks  341 , a partition switch  330  or a rack row switch  340  (so-called end/middle-of-row switches), which integrates these components, and a core router  320 , which integrates these components. An operation management unit  360  controls, via the information processing network system, the core router  320 , the partition switch  330  or the rack row switch  340 , the rack switches  350 , and the information processing equipment  351 . 
     The power feed system starts from an uninterruptible power-supply system  323  and leads to the information processing equipment  351  and the rack switches  350  through a master breaker  345  which is disposed in a switchboard  333 , breakers  353  of panelboards  343  which branch from the master breaker  345 , and power distribution units  354  of the racks  341  which are connected to the breakers  353 . The uninterruptible power-supply system  323  is controlled by the operation management unit  360 . The switchboard  333  and a control unit  346  of the panelboards  343  are connected to the partition switch  330 , or to the rack row switch  340 , the power distribution units  354  of the racks  341  are connected to the rack switches  350 , and the switchboard  333 , the control unit  346 , and the power distribution units  354  are controlled via the information processing network system by the operation management unit  360 . 
     The cooling system is constituted of a chiller  324 , an air-conditioner  334 , rack-type air-conditioners  344 , and cooling rear doors  355  to cool the information processing equipment  351  and the rack switches  350  which are disposed in the racks  341 . The chiller  324  is controlled by the operation management unit  360 . A control unit  335  of the air-conditioner  334  and the rack-type air-conditioners  344  are connected to the partition switch  330 , or to the rack row switch  340 , the cooling rear doors  355  of the racks  341  are connected to the rack switches  350 , and the control unit  335 , the rack-type air-conditioners  344 , and the cooling rear doors  355  are controlled via the information processing network system by the operation management unit  360  as in the case of the power feed system. 
     For example, the operation management unit  360  corresponds to the operation management unit  50  of  FIG. 1 . The racks  341 , the information processing equipment  351 , the rack switches  350 , the partition switch  330  or the rack row switch  340 , and the core router  320  correspond to the information processing equipment  30  to  33  of  FIG. 1 . The uninterruptible power-supply system  323 , the switchboard  333 , the master breaker  345 , the panelboards  343 , the breakers  353 , the control unit  346 , the power distribution units  354 , the chiller  324 , the air-conditioner  334 , the control unit  335 , the rack-type air-conditioners  344 , and the cooling rear doors  355  correspond to the information processing equipment  40  to  43  of  FIG. 1 . 
     The core router  320 , the uninterruptible power-supply system  323 , and the chiller  324  which belong to one hierarchical group are connected to and controlled by the operation management unit  360  in the same manner. A hierarchical group below this hierarchical group includes the switchboard  333 , or the panelboards  343 , and the air-conditioner  334 , or the rack-type air-conditioners  344 , which are connected to and controlled with the partition switch  330  or the rack row switches  340 . A hierarchical group of a further lower order includes the power distribution units  354  and the cooling rear doors  355  which are similarly connected to and controlled with the rack switches  350 . In short, by matching the control system of the information processing equipment and the control system of the facility equipment, control that uses the same control system for each hierarchical group is realized. 
     According to the operation management method for the information processing system  300  of  FIG. 6 , the control system of the information processing equipment and the control system of the facility equipment are integrated to make hierarchical group configuration and control efficient, and the laborious work of laying control cables can be omitted by utilizing the information processing network as the control network of the facility equipment. The resultant effect is that the information processing system  300  is simplified. The amount of control information of the facility equipment is sufficiently smaller than the amount of communication information of the information processing equipment, and the influence of controlling the facility equipment on information processing performance is therefore negligible. Though not illustrated in  FIG. 6 , a power sensor, a room temperature sensor, or the like that is associated with a partition or a rack row may be connected to the partition switch  330  or the rack row switch  340 , whereas a power sensor or a temperature sensor for monitoring the running component distribution in the racks  341  is connected to the rack switches  350 , to thereby build a sensor network that utilizes the information processing network. 
     In  FIG. 6 , the information processing network that connects by communication the operation management unit  360 , the core router  320 , the partition switch  330  or the rack row switch  340 , the rack switches  350 , and the information processing equipment  351  is, for example, an Ethernet network. In order to make the information processing network and the control network into one shared network, the facility equipment, specifically, the uninterruptible power-supply system  323 , the chiller  324 , the control unit  346  of the switchboard  333 , the control unit  335  of the air-conditioner  334 , the rack-type air-conditioners  344 , the power distribution units  354  of the racks  341 , and the cooling rear doors  355 , too, has an Ethernet interface (not shown). In the case where the control interface of the facility equipment only has a serial communication function such as RS232C or a dedicated communication function, an Ethernet converter or a relay server having a conversion function can be used. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are detailed system configuration diagrams illustrating the operation management method for the information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
       FIG. 7A  illustrates concretely an example of the operation management unit as the one described in the first concrete example or the second concrete example. An information processing system  400  of  FIGS. 7A and 7B  includes information processing equipment  420  to  423 , facility equipment  430  to  433 , which supply power to and cool the information processing equipment  420  to  423 , and an operation management unit  440 . The information processing equipment  420  to  423  and the facility equipment  430  to  433  constitute hierarchical groups  410  to  413 . The operation management unit  440  includes an integrated operation management platform  441  and a hierarchical group control function  444 . The integrated operation management platform  441  performs event management  442  of the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  through the hierarchical group control function  444 , and controls the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  based on operation policies  443 . 
     The hierarchical group control function  444  includes an information processing equipment control function  450 , a facility equipment control function  470 , and a hierarchical group configuration function  445  shared by the two. To describe in more detail, the information processing equipment control function  450  includes functions such as operation requirement verification  451 , workload estimation  452 , workload allocation optimization  453 , workload control execution  454 , operating condition optimization  455 , and operating condition control execution  456 , and has databases such as operating plan  461 , service level agreement  462 , configuration information  463 , which is obtained from configuration monitoring  464 , operating information  465 , which is obtained from operating monitoring  466 , and input information  467 , which is about equipment specifications, resource management, layout, and the like. The facility equipment control function  470  includes functions such as environment analysis  471 , operating simulator  472 , operating condition optimization  473 , and operating condition control execution  474 , and has databases such as operating plan  481 , configuration information  482 , which is obtained from configuration monitoring  483 , operating information  484 , which is obtained from operating monitoring  485 , environment information  486 , which is obtained from environment monitoring  487 , and input information  488 , which is about equipment specifications, resource management, layout, and the like. 
     Based on location information and network information which are obtained from the configuration information  463 , the configuration information  482 , the input information  467 , and the input information  488 , the hierarchical group configuration function  445  generates information indicating the configuration of the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  as hierarchical group configuration information  446 . The hierarchical group configuration function  445  also generates hierarchical group operating information  447  by compiling the operating information  465 , the operating information  484 , and the environment information  487  for each of the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  separately, based on the hierarchical group configuration information  446 . The hierarchical group operating information  447  corresponds to the hierarchical group operating information  59  of  FIG. 1 . The hierarchical group configuration information  446  is constituted of, for example, a configuration information table  501 . The hierarchical group configuration information  446  corresponds to the hierarchical group configuration information  56  of  FIG. 1 . 
     The hierarchical groups  410  to  413  are similar to the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  of  FIG. 1 , and a detailed description thereof is omitted. Specifically, the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  correspond to the hierarchical groups  20  to  23  of  FIG. 1 , respectively, the information processing equipment  420  to  423  correspond to the information processing equipment  30  to  33  of  FIG. 1 , respectively, and the facility equipment  430  to  433  correspond to the facility equipment  40  to  43  of  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 8  is an explanatory diagram of the configuration information table  501  which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     The configuration information table  501  includes an equipment ID  5011 , an equipment name  5012 , a hierarchy group ID  5013 , a direct-line upper order  1 _ 5014 , a direct-line upper order  2 _ 5015 , other-line  1 _ 5016 , and other-line  2 _ 5017 . 
     The equipment ID  5011  is identification information of an equipment component belonging to a hierarchical group (or a zone where the equipment component is disposed). The equipment name  5012  indicates for each equipment component the name of the equipment component or the zone. The type of the equipment or zone (for example, whether the equipment component in question is a server or storage) can be identified based on the equipment name  5012 . 
     The hierarchical group ID  5013  is identification information indicating for each equipment component (or zone) a hierarchical group to which the equipment component or the zone belongs. As described above, a hierarchical group is defined on a hierarchy level-by-hierarchy level basis and, accordingly, one equipment component may belong to a plurality of hierarchical groups (for example, an equipment component belongs to a hierarchical group of one hierarchy level and also belongs to a hierarchical group of a hierarchy level above this level). The hierarchical group ID includes, when an equipment component (or zone) belongs to plurality of hierarchical groups, identification information of all these hierarchical groups. 
     The direct-line upper order  1 _ 5014  and the direct-line upper order  2 _ 5015  indicate the hierarchical relation between equipment components of the same system. Specifically, for each equipment component, the value of the hierarchical group ID  5013  of an equipment component that is above the equipment component in question in hierarchy is stored as the direct-line upper order  1 _ 5014 . In the case where there are two upper-order equipment components above one equipment component, the values of the hierarchical group ID  5013  of the two equipment components are respectively stored as the direct-line upper order  1 _ 5014  and the direct-line upper order  2 _ 5015 . If there are three or more upper-order equipment components above one equipment component, the hierarchical group configuration information table  501  may include more information about direct-line upper order (for example, direct-line upper order  3  (not shown)). 
     The other-line  1 _ 5016  and the other-line  2 _ 5017  indicate the interrelation between information processing equipment and facility equipment. Specifically, for each equipment component, the values of the hierarchical group ID  5013  of other-line equipment components that are associated with the equipment component in question (for example, a component of a power feed system equipment or a cooling system equipment that is associated with an information processing equipment component) are stored as the other-line  1 _ 5016  and the other-line  2 _ 5017 . For example, for an information processing equipment component, the values of the hierarchical group ID  5013  of a component of power feed system equipment and a component of cooling system equipment that are associated with this information processing equipment component (i.e., an equipment component that supplies power to this information processing equipment component and an equipment component that cools this information processing equipment component) are stored as the other-line  1 _ 5016  and the other-line  2 _ 5017 . 
     The values of the hierarchical group ID  5013  given as an example in  FIG. 8  are described. The first two letters of the hierarchical group ID  5013  indicate the located hierarchy level or the equipment component type. For example, “ZZ” represents located hierarchy level, “SV” represents server, “ST” represents storage, “NW” represents network, “FD” represents power feed, “PD” represents power distribution unit, and “CL” represents cooling. The twelve-digit figure that follows indicates, in the unit of two digits from the highest order down, numbers for identifying a hierarchical group to which the equipment component belongs. The last two digits indicate a number for identifying the equipment component in the hierarchical group expressed by the twelve-digit figure. Each equipment component or each zone can therefore be identified uniquely based on the value of the hierarchical group ID  5013 . In the following description, a server SV_ 132152 _ 0 , for example, means an equipment component (a server) associated with a value “SV_ 132152 _ 0 ” of the hierarchical group ID  5013 . All hierarchical groups to which an equipment component belongs can also be identified based on the value of the hierarchical group ID  5013 . In the following description, the value of the hierarchical group ID  5013  is further used to identify, for each equipment component or each zone, a hierarchical group associated with the equipment component or the zone. For example, a hierarchical group associated with a partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  is a hierarchical group made up of information processing equipment components within a partition that is associated with a hierarchical group identification number “ 132000 ” included in the hierarchical group ID  5013 , components of power feed system equipment that supply power to these information processing equipment components (e.g., a switchboard in the partition), and components of cooling system equipment that cool these information processing equipment components (e.g., an air-conditioner in the partition). 
     For example, a rack whose hierarchical group ID  5013  is “ZZ_ 132150 _ 0 ” is disposed in the first (=1) building, on the third (=3) floor, in the second (=2) partition, in the first (=1) rack row, in the fifth (=5) place. The server SV_ 132152 _ 00  mounted at a place “2U” in this rack is connected to the first and second rack switches that are mounted on the same rack as the server, NW_ 132150 _ 1  and NW_ 132150 _ 2 , receives a supply of power from the second power distribution unit of the rack, PD_ 132150 _ 2 , and is cooled by a cooling door CL_ 132150 _ 1  of the rack. 
     A network system leading to the rack switch NW_ 132150 _ 2  is constituted of the first rack row switch disposed in the rack row, NW_ 132100 _ 1 , the first partition switch disposed in the partition, NW_ 32000 _ 1 , and a core router NW_ 130000 _ 1 . This means that the server SV_ 132152 _ 00  communicates to/from a device (not shown) outside the information processing system  10  via the rack switch NW_ 132150 _ 2 , the rack row switch NW_ 132100 _ 1 , the partition switch NW_ 132000 _ 1 , and the core router NW_ 130000 _ 1 . 
     A power feed system leading to the power distribution unit PD_ 132150 _ 2  is constituted of a breaker FD_ 132150 _ 2 , a panelboard FD_ 132100 _ 1 , a switchboard FD_ 132000 _ 1 , and an uninterruptible power-supply system FD_ 130000 _ 1 . This means that power consumed by the server SV_ 132152 _ 0  is supplied to the server SV_ 132152 _ 0  from the uninterruptible power-supply system FD_ 130000 _ 1  through the switchboard FD_ 132000 _ 1 , the panelboard FD_ 132100 _ 1 , the breaker FD_ 132150 _ 2 , and the power distribution unit PD_ 132150 _ 2 . 
     A cooling system leading to the cooling door CL_ 132150 _ 1  is constituted of the second and third rack-type air-conditioners that are disposed in the rack row, CL_ 132100 _ 2  and CL_ 132100 _ 3 , and the first and second air-conditioners that are disposed in the partition, CL_ 132000 _ 1  and CL_ 132000 _ 2 . The air conditioner CL_ 132000 _ 1  is provided with a refrigerant from a chiller CL_ 130000 _ 1 . This means that the air conditioner CL_ 132000 _ 1  uses the refrigerant provided from the chiller CL_ 130000 _ 1  to cool the air, while the air conditioner CL_ 132000 _ 1 , the rack-type air-conditioners CL_ 132100 _ 2  and CL_ 132100 _ 3 , and the cooling door CL_ 132150 _ 1  cooperate with one another to cool the server SV_ 132152 _ 0 . 
     By referring to the hierarchical group configuration information table  501 , a hierarchical group to which an equipment component belongs can thus be identified for every equipment component in the information processing system, and the inclusive relation of hierarchical groups (i.e., which equipment component is higher or lower in hierarchy than which equipment component) can also be identified. 
     The hierarchical group configuration information table  501  of  FIG. 8  corresponds to the hierarchical group configuration information  56  of  FIG. 1 . Of the information illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the information about the hierarchical group ID corresponds to the location information  57 , and the information about the direct-line orders  1  and  2  and the other-lines  1  and  2  corresponds to the network information. 
     The hierarchical group operating information  447  is constituted of, for example, an information processing equipment hierarchical group operating information table  502 , a network equipment hierarchical group operating information table  503 , a power feeding facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table  504 , and a cooling facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table  505 . 
       FIG. 9A  is an explanatory diagram of the information processing equipment hierarchical group operating information table  502  which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     The information processing equipment hierarchical group operating information table  502  (hereinafter, also referred to as information processing equipment table  502 ) includes an equipment ID  5021 , an equipment name  5022 , a hierarchical group ID  5023 , maximum CPU resource utilization  5024 , CPU resource utilization  5025 , power consumption  5026 , and a performance-to-power efficiency  5027 . The equipment ID  5021 , the equipment name  5022 , and the hierarchical group ID  5023  are the same as the equipment ID  5011 , the equipment name  5012 , and the hierarchical group ID  5013 , respectively, and a description thereof is omitted. 
     The maximum CPU resource utilization  5024  indicates, for each hierarchical group, the maximum value of total CPU resource utilization by all servers in the hierarchical group and, in the case where the servers all have the same performance, equals to the sum of operating clock counts of all CPUs of the servers. The CPU resource utilization  5025  is the amount of CPU resources actually used. The power consumption  5026  indicates for each hierarchical group the actual power consumption of all information processing equipment components within the hierarchical group. 
     The performance-to-power efficiency  5027  is the ratio of actual performance to power consumption, and is calculated by dividing the value of the CPU resource utilization  5025  by the value of the power consumption  5026 . A larger value of the performance-to-power efficiency  5027  means that higher performance is accomplished at lower power consumption, and therefore is desirable. 
     In the example of  FIG. 9A , operating information, such as the maximum CPU resource utilization  5024 , the CPU resource utilization  5025 , the power consumption  5026 , and the performance-to-power efficiency  5027 , about zones or equipment components from a building level ZZ_ 100000 _ 0  to the server SV_ 132152 _ 0 , and about workload (virtual machine) allocated to this server, VM_XXXXXXXX, is compiled on a hierarchical group-by hierarchical group basis to be stored in the information processing equipment table  502 . In this example, the values of resource utilization and other types of information about network equipment components out of information processing equipment components included in hierarchical groups are stored in the network equipment table  503  (see  FIG. 9B ) instead of the information processing equipment table  502 .  FIG. 9A  shows only values related to the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  and omits other values. In practice, however, the table also stores values related to other zones, equipment components, and virtual machines than those of the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0 . The same applies to  FIGS. 9B to 9D , which are described later. In other words, while  FIG. 9A  shows only values related to equipment components that belong to the same hierarchy level as the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0 , the table actually stores values related to all equipment components. 
     In the example of  FIG. 9A , ξ, η, α, and a are stored as the maximum CPU resource utilization  5024 , the CPU resource utilization  5025 , the power consumption  5026 , and the performance-to-power efficiency  5027 , respectively, in association with the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0 . This means that the sum of operating clock counts of all CPU resources of all servers in the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  is ξ, that, out of the maximum resource utilization, the actual CPU resource utilization is η, and that the actual power consumption of all information processing equipment components in the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  is α. In this case, a=η/α is established. 
       FIG. 9B  is an explanatory diagram of the network equipment hierarchical group operating information table  503  which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     The network equipment hierarchical group operating information table  503  (hereinafter, also referred to as network equipment table  503 ) stores data obtained by compiling operating information, such as maximum NW resource utilization, NW resource utilization, power consumption, and performance-to-power efficiency, for each hierarchical group of equipment components from the core router NW_ 130000 _ 1  to the rack switch NW_ 132150 _ 2 . 
     Specifically, the network equipment table  503  includes an equipment ID  5031 , an equipment name  5032 , a hierarchical group ID  5033 , maximum NW resource utilization  5034 , NW resource utilization  5035 , power consumption  5036 , and a performance-to-power efficiency  5037 . The equipment ID  5031 , the equipment name  5032 , and the hierarchical group ID  5033  are the same as the equipment ID  5011 , the equipment name  5012 , and the hierarchical group ID  5013 , respectively, and a description thereof is omitted. 
     The maximum NW resource utilization  5034  indicates for each hierarchical group the maximum value of network resource utilization of a network equipment component in the hierarchical group and, for example, equals the value of the bandwidth of the network equipment component in question. In the case where one hierarchical group includes a plurality of network equipment components, the sum of the bandwidth values of those network equipment components may be used. The NW resource utilization  5035  is the amount of network resources actually used. In  FIG. 9B , the network equipment component power consumption  5036  is included in the information processing equipment component power consumption  5026  of the associated hierarchical group. Network performance is considered as a factor of information processing performance, and the performance-to-power efficiency is calculated here based on the information processing equipment component power consumption  5026  instead of the network equipment component power consumption  5036 . 
     The performance-to-power efficiency  5037  is the ratio of network equipment component actual performance to the information processing equipment component power consumption, and is calculated by dividing the value of the NW resource utilization  5035  by the value of the power consumption  5026 . A larger value of the performance-to-power efficiency  5037  means that higher performance is accomplished at lower power consumption, and therefore is desirable. 
     In the example of  FIG. 9B , ζ, v, and b are stored as the maximum NW resource utilization  5034 , the NW resource utilization  5035 , and the performance-to-power efficiency  5037 , respectively, in association with the partition switch NW_ 132000 _ 1  in the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0 . In this case, b=v/α is established. 
       FIG. 9C  is an explanatory diagram of the power feeding facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table  504  which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     The power feeding facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table  504  (hereinafter, also referred to as power feeding facility equipment table  504 ) stores operating information data of each hierarchical group such as maximum power capacity, power capacity, feeding loss, and power sensitivity. 
     Specifically, the power feeding facility equipment table  504  includes an equipment ID  5041 , an equipment name  5042 , a hierarchical group ID  5043 , a maximum power capacity  5044 , a power capacity  5045 , a feeding loss  5046 , and a power sensitivity  5047 . The equipment ID  5041 , the equipment name  5042 , and the hierarchical group ID  5043  are the same as the equipment ID  5011 , the equipment name  5012 , and the hierarchical group ID  5013 , respectively, and a description thereof is omitted. 
     The maximum power capacity  5044  indicates for each power feeding facility equipment component the maximum value of the power capacity of the power feeding facility equipment component. The power capacity  5045  is the actually used power capacity (i.e., the actually supplied power). The feeding loss  5046  indicates for each power feeding facility equipment component the actual feeding loss of the power feeding facility equipment component. 
     The power sensitivity  5047  is the ratio of feeding loss to information processing equipment component power consumption. The power sensitivity  5047  is calculated by dividing the value of the feeding loss  5046  by the value of the power consumption  5026 , and is also expressed by an expression (1/power conversion efficiency−1). A smaller power sensitivity value means a smaller feeding loss relative to information processing equipment component power consumption, and is therefore desirable. 
     In the example of  FIG. 9C , β, φ, and c are stored as the maximum power capacity  5044 , the feeding loss  5046 , and the power sensitivity  5047 , respectively, in association with the switchboard FD_ 132000 _ 1  in the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0 . In this case, c=φ/α is established. 
       FIG. 9D  is an explanatory diagram of the cooling facility equipment hierarchical group operating information table  505  which is kept by the information processing system of the first embodiment of this invention. 
     The cooling facility equipment table  505  stores operating information data of each hierarchical group such as maximum cooling capacity, cooling capacity, cooling power, and power sensitivity. 
     Specifically, the cooling facility equipment table  505  includes an equipment ID  5051 , an equipment name  5052 , a hierarchical group ID  5053 , a maximum cooling capacity  5054 , a cooling capacity  5055 , cooling power  5056 , and a power sensitivity  5057 . The equipment ID  5051 , the equipment name  5052 , and the hierarchical group ID  5053  are the same as the equipment ID  5011 , the equipment name  5012 , and the hierarchical group ID  5013 , respectively, and a description thereof is omitted. 
     The maximum cooling capacity  5054  indicates for each cooling facility equipment component the maximum value of the cooling capacity of the cooling facility equipment component. The cooling capacity  5055  is the actually used cooling capacity (i.e., the thermal load actually applied to the cooling facility equipment component). The cooling power  5056  indicates for each cooling facility equipment component the actual power consumption of the cooling facility equipment component. 
     The power sensitivity  5057  is the ratio of cooling power to information processing equipment component power consumption. The power sensitivity  5057  is calculated by dividing the value of the cooling power  5056  by the value of the power consumption  5026 , and is also expressed by an expression (1/coefficient of performance). A smaller power sensitivity value means a smaller cooling power relative to information processing equipment component power consumption, and is therefore desirable. 
     In the example of  FIG. 9D , r, φ, and d are stored as the maximum cooling capacity  5054 , the cooling power  5056 , and the power sensitivity  5057 , respectively, in association with the air conditioner CL_ 132000 _ 1  in the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0 . In this case, d=φ/α is established. 
     The operation management unit  440  follows the operation policies  443  to control the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  based on the hierarchical group configuration information  446  an example of which is illustrated in  FIG. 8  and the hierarchical group operating information  447  an example of which is illustrated in  FIGS. 9A to 9D . The operation policies  443  define hierarchical group control procedures, for example, procedures illustrated in the flow chart of  FIG. 10 ,  11 , or  12 , depending on the operation situation of the information processing system  400 . 
       FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating an example of main control procedures executed for normal events in the first embodiment of this invention. 
     In the flow chart of  FIG. 10 , the operation management unit  440  detects an event in Step  511  through the event monitoring  442  from the operating plans  461  and  481 , the configuration information  446 , the configuration information  463 , the configuration information  482 , the operating information  447 , the operating information  465 , the operating information  484 , the environment information  484 , the input information  467 , the input information  488 , or the like. An event detected here is, for example, a monitored numerical value&#39;s reaching a level higher (or lower) than a threshold. More specifically, a detected event can be workload&#39;s exceeding a threshold, a monitored temperature&#39;s exceeding a threshold, or the like. Putting in a new job, the completion of a job, or the like may also be detected as an event. 
     When it is determined that the event detected in Step  511  is a trigger for the execution of control, the operation management unit  440  identifies in Step  512  a hierarchical group in which the detected event has occurred, based on the hierarchical group configuration information  446  and the operating information  447 . 
     In Step  513 , the operation management unit  440  then executes the operation requirement verification  451  and the workload estimation  452 . Specifically, the operation management unit  440  refers to the operating plan  461  or the service level agreement  462  to extract operation requirements and an operation system configuration of information processing equipment in the hierarchical group identified in Step  512 , and also refers to the configuration information  463  or the prediction information  465 , which is a prediction made from the operating history, to estimate information processing resources namely, workload, necessary to satisfy the operation requirements. 
     In Step  514 , the operation management unit  440  then executes the workload allocation optimization  453  and the operating condition optimization  455 . Specifically, the operation management unit  440  obtains an optimal solution for the workload estimated in Step  513  for information processing equipment that satisfies the operation requirements extracted in Step  513 , while taking into consideration the operating information  447  of the facility equipment in the identified hierarchical group, and further obtains an optimal solution for operating conditions of the information processing equipment. For example, the operation management unit  440  may obtain the performance-to-power efficiencies  5027  and  5037  and power sensitivities  5047  and  5057  of a plurality of lower-order hierarchical groups which belong to the identified hierarchical group to obtain an optimal solution for workload allocation in a manner that shifts the operation of a hierarchical group that has a relatively high power sensitivity  5047  or  5057  and a relatively low performance-to-power efficiency  5027  or  5037  to a hierarchical group that has a relatively low power sensitivity  5047  or  5057  and a relatively high performance-to-power efficiency  5027  or  5037 . The destination to which workload is shifted may be determined by, for example, procedures illustrated in  FIG. 12  which are described later. 
     In Step  515 , the operation management unit  440  then executes the operating condition optimization  473 . Specifically, the operation management unit  440  obtains an optimal solution for operating conditions of the facility equipment with the use of the environment analysis  471  and the operating simulator  472 , while taking into consideration the optimal operating conditions of the information processing equipment based on the optimal workload allocation, which have been obtained in Step  514 . This provides an optimal solution for operating conditions that are to be set to the power feed system and the cooling system when the workload allocation and operating conditions obtained in Step  514  are applied. 
     In Step  516 , the operation management unit  440  then executes the workload allocation optimization  453  and the operating condition optimization  455  as in Step  514  while taking into consideration the optimal operating conditions of the facility equipment which have been obtained in Step  515 . To give a more detailed description, when the optimal solution obtained in Step  515  is applied to the facility equipment, the power sensitivities  5047  and  5057  are changed as a result. In Step  516 , the operation management unit  440  therefore executes the same processing as in Step  514  using the changed power sensitivities  5047  and  5057 . 
     A description on concrete procedures for obtaining optimal solutions in Steps  514  to  516  is omitted because known methods can be used. 
     In Step  517 , the operation management unit  440  then compares the optimal solution obtained in Step  514  and the optimal solution obtained in Step  156  to determine whether convergence conditions are satisfied or not and whether constraining conditions are satisfied or not. Convergence conditions may be determined as satisfied when, for example, the difference between the optimal solution obtained in Step  514  and the optimal solution obtained in Step  156  is smaller than a given threshold. Constraining conditions are set in advance and include, for example, a CPU resource utilization limit, a power feed capacity limit, and a cooling capacity limit. When the answer to the determination step is “no” (i.e., when at least one of the convergence conditions and the constraining conditions is not satisfied), the processing returns to Step  515  to repeat Steps  515  and  516  until convergence is achieved. When the answer to the determination step is “yes” (i.e., when the convergence conditions and constraining conditions are both satisfied), on the other hand, the processing proceeds to Step  518 . In such cases where the optimization in Step  514  and the optimization in Step  515  are performed in an inclusive manner or top-down, the convergence determination and the repeated return from Step  517  to Step  514  may be omitted. 
     In Step  518 , the operation management unit  440  re-confirms that the converged optimal solution satisfies the operation requirements obtained in Step  513 . 
     In Step  519 , the operation management unit  440  then performs the workload execution control  454  and the operating condition control execution  456  on the information processing equipment based on the converged optimal solution. The workload shift and operating condition change based on the obtained optimal solution are thus actually executed in the information processing equipment. 
     In Step  520 , the operation management unit  440  then performs the operating condition control execution  474  on the facility equipment based on the converged optimal solution. The operating condition change based on the obtained optimal solution is thus actually executed in the facility equipment. 
     In Step  521 , the operation management unit  440  then updates the configuration information  446  and operating information  447  of the hierarchical group where changes have occurred in Steps  519  and  520 , and ends the processing in Step  522 . 
     By following the flow chart of  FIG. 10 , optimization control in which information processing equipment and facility equipment of a hierarchical group cooperate with each other can be performed in response to an event. 
       FIG. 11  is a flow chart illustrating an example of control procedures that are executed for a violation of constraining conditions in the first embodiment of this invention. 
     In the flow chart of  FIG. 11 , the operation management unit  440  executes Step  531  regularly, or starts Step  531  in accordance with the operating plans  461  and  481  or in response to an event. 
     In Step  532 , the operation management unit  440  then reads out of the hierarchical group operating information  447  the power consumption of information processing equipment and the maximum power capacity or cooling capacity of facility equipment. To take as an example the hierarchical group of the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  shown in the hierarchical group operating information tables  502  to  505  of  FIGS. 9A to 9D , the operation management unit  440  reads a total power consumption a of information processing equipment disposed in this partition, a maximum power capacity β of the switchboard FD_ 132000 _ 1  associated with this partition, a maximum cooling capacity γ of the air conditioner CL_ 132000 _ 1  disposed in this partition, and the like. In the case where a plurality of switchboards are disposed in the partition, the maximum power capacity  5044  is searched for with “FD_ 132000 ” as the search key, and a sum Σβ of the retrieved maximum power capacities  5044  is calculated. In the case where a plurality of air-conditioners, a plurality of rack-type air-conditioners, a plurality of cooling rear doors, or the like are disposed in the partition, the maximum cooling capacity  5054  is searched for with “CL_ 132 ” as the search key, and a sum Σγ of the retrieved maximum cooling capacities  5054  is calculated. 
     In Step  533 , the operation management unit  440  then determines whether the power consumption is equal to or less than the maximum power capacity or whether or not the power consumption is equal to or less than the maximum cooling capacity. In the example of  FIGS. 9A to 9D , the operation management unit  440  determines whether or not α≦β (or Σβ) or α≦γ (or Σγ) is established. 
     When the answer to the determination step S 533  is “yes” (i.e., when the power consumption is equal to or less than the maximum power capacity and equal to or less than the maximum cooling capacity), the processing proceeds to Step  534 . In Step  534 , the operation management unit  440  performs the operating condition optimization  473  and the operating condition control execution  474  on the facility equipment, to optimize the power capacity and cooling capacity to the power consumption of the information processing equipment, and thereby minimize feeding loss and cooling power. In Step  535 , the processing is ended. 
     When the answer to the determination step  533  is “no” (i.e., when the power consumption exceeds the maximum power capacity or the maximum cooling capacity), a failure such as a cutoff of power supply due to the activation of a breaker or overheating of an information processing equipment component is expected to happen in the hierarchical group that is being processed by the processing of  FIG. 11 . The operation management unit  440  therefore executes procedures for avoiding this kind of failure. In the example of  FIG. 11 , out of different procedures for avoiding the failure, those that do not affect the processing of operations by information processing equipment components are executed preferentially. 
     Specifically, the operation management unit  440  determines in Step  536  whether or not the power capacity or the cooling capacity can be reinforced. For example, in the case where the hierarchical group that is being processed includes auxiliary power feed equipment that can be used but is not in use at present, it is determined that the power capacity can be reinforced. In the case where the hierarchical group includes cooling equipment that can be used but is not in use at present, it is determined that the cooling capacity can be reinforced. 
     When the answer to the determination step  536  is “yes” (i.e., when the power capacity or the cooling capacity can be reinforced), the operation management unit  440  controls the equipment that reinforces the facility equipment (for example, starts using the auxiliary power feed or cooling equipment) in Step  537 , and returns to Step  532 . Then, the failure can be avoided while maintaining the processing capacity of the information processing equipment (i.e., without affecting operations). 
     When the answer to the determination step  536  is “no” (i.e., when the power capacity or the cooling capacity cannot be reinforced), the operation management unit  440  determines in Step  538  whether or not workload can be shifted to a hierarchical group of the same order as the hierarchical group that is being processed. The destination of workload shift may be determined by, for example, procedures illustrated in  FIG. 12 . 
     When the answer to the determination step  538  is “yes” (i.e., when workload can be shifted), the operation management unit  440  changes the workload allocation of the information processing equipment in Step  539 , and returns to Step  532 . In this case, too, the failure can be avoided while maintaining the processing capacity of the information processing equipment (i.e., without affecting operations). 
     When the answer to the determination step  538  is “no” (i.e., when the workload cannot be shifted), the operation management unit  440  determines in Step  540  whether or not the power consumption of the information processing equipment can be limited. For example, in the case where a server included in the information processing equipment has a function of reducing power consumption by lowering the clock frequency of its CPU, it is determined that the power consumption of the information processing equipment can be limited. Limiting the power consumption of the information processing equipment is determined as possible also when the information processing equipment includes storage that has a function of reducing power consumption by lowering the disk revolution speed (or stopping the revolution of a disk that is not accessed). 
     When the answer to the determination step  540  is “yes” (i.e., when the power consumption of the information processing equipment can be limited), the operation management unit  440  controls the power consumption in Step  541  and returns to Step  532 . In this case, the processing performance of the information processing equipment is lowered and, although operations are affected, the failure is avoided. 
     When the answer to the determination step  540  is “no” (i.e., when the power consumption of the information processing equipment cannot be limited), the operation management unit  440  reduces the workload of the information processing equipment in Step  542 , and returns to Step  532 . For example, the operation management unit  440  may stop low-priority operations for the time being, to be executed later. In this case, the failure is avoided although operations are affected. 
     By following the flow chart of  FIG. 11 , the power capacity and cooling capacity of facility equipment are conformed to the power consumption of information processing equipment, and the feeding loss and cooling power of the facility equipment are reduced while avoiding a failure or other consequences of a violation of constraining conditions. 
       FIG. 12  is a flow chart illustrating an example of control procedures that are executed to optimize work load allocation in the first embodiment of this invention. 
     In the flow chart of  FIG. 12 , the operation management unit  440  executes Step  551  regularly, or starts Step  551  in accordance with the operating plans  461  and  481  or in response to an event. 
     In Step  552 , the operation management unit  440  then specifies the hierarchy level of a hierarchical group. For example, when an operation system is configured in a partition and the type of failure described with reference to  FIG. 11  is expected to happen in the partition, a hierarchy level associated with this partition may be specified. The specified hierarchy level is an initial value for the hierarchy level of the processing target of  FIG. 12  described below. 
     In Step  533 , the operation management unit  440  then executes the operation requirement verification  451  and the workload estimation  452  to determine whether or not workload can be shifted between hierarchical groups of the same level as the processing target hierarchy level. Whether or not workload can be shifted may be determined based on, for example, predetermined operation requirements. Operation requirements are, for example, always using a specific information processing equipment component for one operation, and guaranteeing a given level of information processing performance for another operation, and may be set by the type of the operation, agreement with users, or the like. 
     When the answer to the determination step  553  is “yes”, the operation management unit  440  reads, in Step  554 , for each of the same-order hierarchical groups, the performance-to-power efficiencies  5027  and  5037  of the information processing equipment and the feeding power sensitivity  5047  and cooling power sensitivity  5057  of the facility equipment. To take as an example the hierarchical group of the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  of  FIG. 9 , a performance-to-power efficiency a of the information processing equipment disposed in this partition, a performance-to-power efficiency b of the partition&#39;s network equipment, a power sensitivity c of the partition&#39;s power feeding facility equipment, a power sensitivity d of the partition&#39;s cooling facility equipment, and the like. When CPUs, for example, are dominant in the processing performance of the information processing equipment (e.g., when an operation that applies load mainly to the CPUs is allocated), the performance-to-power efficiency a is expressed by the ratio of the CPU resource utilization η to the power consumption α, η/α. When networks are dominant (e.g., when the allocated operation applies load mainly to network equipment), on the other hand, the performance-to-power efficiency b is expressed by the ratio of the NW resource utilization v to the power consumption α, v/α. The feeding power sensitivity c is the ratio of the feeding loss φ of the switchboard FD_ 132000 _ 1 , which is associated with the partition, to the power consumption α, φ/α, and the same can be applied when a plurality of switchboards are disposed in the partition. The cooling power sensitivity d is the ratio of the cooling power ψ of the air conditioner CL_ 132000 _ 1  to the power consumption α, ψ/α, and the same can be applied when a plurality of air-conditioners, a plurality of rack-type air-conditioners, a plurality of cooling rear doors, or the like are disposed in the partition. 
     In Step  555 , the operation management unit  440  then executes the workload allocation optimization  453  to allocate workload preferentially to a hierarchical group that has a high value of an index expressed as performance-to-power efficiency/(1+feeding power sensitivity+cooling power sensitivity). A hierarchical group that has the highest value of this index is thus selected and workload is allocated to the hierarchical group. A higher value of this index means higher performance of an information processing equipment component relative to the sum of the power consumption of the information processing equipment component, the power dissipation of a power feed equipment component, and the power consumption of a cooling equipment component. In other words, a hierarchical group that has a higher value of this index can process heavier workload with less power and is therefore preferentially selected as a group to which workload is allocated. 
     In the example of  FIGS. 9A to 9D , the operation management unit  440  ranks hierarchical groups in descending order of an index expressed as a/(1+c+d) in the case of an operation where load on CPUs is dominant, and an index expressed as b/(1+c+d) in the case of an operation where load on networks is dominant. For example, in the case where the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  is selected as the highest ranking (i.e., most preferential) hierarchical group, the operation management unit  440  allocates workload to information processing equipment components in the partition ZZ_ 132000 _ 0  within a range that does not exceed the maximum CPU resource utilization ξ or the maximum NW resource utilization ζ. 
     In Step  556 , the operation management unit  440  then determines whether or not the hierarchy level that is being processed (i.e., the hierarchy level specified in Step  552 , or the hierarchy level that is reached as a result of level lowering in Step  558 , which is described later) is the lowest hierarchy level. 
     When the answer to the determination step  556  is “yes”, the processing ends in Step  557 . 
     When the answer to the determination step  553  is “no”, and when the answer to the determination step  556  is “no”, the operation management unit  440  processes in Step  558  a hierarchy level one level lower than that of the currently processed hierarchical group. Thereafter, the processing returns to Step  553  to repeat the workload allocation optimization  453  and, ultimately, an information processing equipment component to which workload is to be allocated is identified. If workload cannot be shifted even though it is determined in Step  553  that the hierarchy level that is being processed is the lowest hierarchy level, the flow is terminated as an exceptional measure. 
     By following the flow chart of  FIG. 12 , an optimal solution can be obtained for workload allocation that minimizes the total power, which combines the power consumption of information processing equipment with the feeding loss and cooling power of facility equipment. 
     According to the operation management method for the information processing system  400  illustrated in  FIG. 7  to  FIG. 12 , the hierarchical group configuration function  445  of the operation management unit  440  configures the hierarchical groups  410  to  413 , and the control functions  450  and  457  of the operation management unit  440  perform optimization control on the information processing equipment  420  to  423  and the facility equipment  430  to  433  for each of the hierarchical groups  410  to  413  separately, based on the hierarchical group configuration information  446  and the hierarchical group operating information  447 . The information processing performance is thus improved relative to the total power consumption of the information processing system  400  which includes information processing equipment and facility equipment. 
     The example of the configuration information table  501  illustrated in  FIG. 8  and the example of the operating information tables  502  to  505  illustrated in  FIGS. 9A to 9D  show designs that facilitate hierarchical group-by-hierarchical group control by clarifying hierarchy systems, but the table configurations and data contents may be modified to suit the database design or the control target. The examples of control procedures illustrated in  FIGS. 10 to 12  provide operation policies that are efficient in basic operation, but may be suited to the specifics of an operation, the situation operation, or the like by modification or an addition of a new policy. An added operation policy may be registered in the operation policies  443 . 
     The operation management unit  440  can be implemented as, for example, a server that includes as illustrated in  FIG. 1  the processor  52 , the memory  53 , a disk (not shown), the interface  51 , and others. The integrated operation management platform  441 , the hierarchical group control function  444 , and the like can be implemented as programs stored in the memory (e.g., the hierarchical group operating information gathering program  54  and the hierarchical group control program  55 ). Accordingly, the processing procedures that are executed by the respective functions of the operation management unit  440  in the description given above are actually executed by the processor  52 , which executes programs stored in the memory  53 . Desirably, Ethernet is employed for interfaces of the information processing equipment  420  to  423  and the facility equipment  430  to  433 , and SNMP is used for monitoring and operating control of these equipment. In the case where the information processing equipment  420  to  423  constitute a virtualized resource pool, virtualized software can be utilized in the workload control execution  454 , the configuration monitoring  464 , the operating monitoring  466 , and the like. 
       FIG. 13  is a hierarchical group configuration diagram illustrating the operation management method for the information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
     Hierarchical groups of  FIG. 13  include, from the upper level down, H 1  ( 600 ) on the first hierarchy level, H 2   a  ( 610 ) on the second hierarchy level, H 3   a  ( 620 ) and H 3   b  ( 621 ) on the third hierarchy level, H 4   a  to H 4   d  ( 630  to  633 ) on the fourth hierarchy level, H 5   a  to H 5   h  ( 640  to  647 ) on the fifth hierarchy level, and H 6   a  to H 6   x  ( 650  to  657 ) on the sixth hierarchy level. 
     The inclusive relation between the hierarchical groups is as illustrated in  FIG. 13 . Specifically, H 5   a  ( 640 ) includes H 6   a  to H 6   c  ( 650 ), H 5   b  ( 641 ) includes H 6   d  to H 6   f  ( 651 ), H 5   c  ( 642 ) includes H 6   g  to H 6   i  ( 652 ), H 5   d  ( 643 ) includes H 6   j  to H 6   l  ( 653 ), H 5   e  ( 644 ) includes H 6   m  to H 6   o  ( 654 ), H 5   f  ( 645 ) includes H 6   p  to H 6   r  ( 655 ), H 5   g  ( 646 ) includes H 6   s  to H 6   u  ( 656 ), and H 5   h  ( 647 ) includes H 6   v  to H 6   x  ( 657 ). H 4   a ( 630 ) includes H 5   a  ( 640 ) and H 5   b  ( 641 ), H 4   b  ( 631 ) includes H 5   c  ( 642 ) and H 5   d  ( 643 ), H 4   c  ( 632 ) includes H 5   e  ( 644 ) and H 5   f  ( 645 ), and H 4   d  ( 633 ) includes H 5   g  ( 646 ) and H 5   h  ( 647 ). H 3   a  ( 620 ) includes H 4   a  ( 630 ) and H 4   b  ( 631 ), H 3   b  ( 621 ) includes H 4   c  ( 632 ) and H 4   d  ( 633 ), H 2   a  ( 610 ) includes H 3   a  ( 620 ) and H 3   b  ( 621 ), and H 1  ( 600 ) includes H 2   a  ( 610 ). 
     The hierarchical group H 1  ( 600 ) and the hierarchical groups below H 1  correspond to, for example, the hierarchical group  410  of  FIG. 7  and the hierarchical groups below  410 . An operation management unit (e.g., the operation management unit  440  of  FIG. 7 ) is connected to the hierarchical group H 1  ( 600 ), but is omitted from  FIG. 13 . 
     When operation policies as those of  FIGS. 10 to 12  are applied, hierarchical control is accomplished by setting, in advance, to these hierarchical groups, procedures for transmitting a notification or an instruction to upper-order, or same-order, or lower-order hierarchical groups and procedures for receiving a notification or an instruction from upper-order, or same-order, or lower-order hierarchical groups, in addition to operation procedures of the hierarchical groups themselves. 
     For example, in the case where the workload shift destination of H 4   a  ( 630 ) is searched for and the workload is to be allocated to H 4   c  ( 632 ) as a result, there are several possible hierarchical search routes depending on operation policies. In the case of a search route  660 , for example, the operation management unit  440  starts the search from the highest-order group H 1  ( 600 ), sequentially searches lower-order hierarchical groups, figures out that the groups H 2   a  ( 610 ) and H 3   b  ( 621 ) include an available shift destination, and ultimately allocates the workload to the available shift destination, H 4   c  ( 632 ). An available shift destination is a hierarchical group that can be the destination of a shift of workload from H 4   a  ( 630 ), in other words, a hierarchical group to which the workload can be added. Whether or not a hierarchical group can be a workload shift destination may be determined by the procedures described with reference to  FIGS. 10 to 12 . For example, when adding workload to a hierarchical group does not violate constraining conditions (see Step  517  of  FIG. 10 ), and does not cause the power consumption to exceed the maximum capacity (see Step  533  of  FIG. 11 ), the hierarchical group may be determined as a possible workload shift destination. Alternatively, a hierarchical group that has, as the index of Step  555  of  FIG. 12 , a value higher than a given threshold may be determined as an available workload shift destination. 
     In the case of a route  661 , the operation management unit  440  starts the search from H 4   a  ( 630 ), and sequentially traces the route to an upper-order group H 3   a  ( 630 ) and then H 2   a  ( 610 ) above H 3   a . When it is determined as a result that H 2   a  ( 610 ) includes an available shift destination, the operation management unit  440  sequentially searches H 3   b  ( 621 ) below H 2   a  ( 610 ) and H 4   c  ( 632 ) below H 3   b , and allocates workload to H 4   c  ( 632 ), which is the available shift destination. 
     In the case of a route  662 , the operation management unit  440  starts the search from H 4   a  ( 630 ), next searches H 4   b  ( 631 ), proceeds to similarly search hierarchical groups of the same order as H 4   a  ( 630 ) sequentially, and determines H 4   c  ( 632 ) as an available shift destination. 
     Which of the search routes  660 ,  661 , and  662  is efficient depends on the configurations of information processing equipment and facility equipment, the operation system configuration, operation requirements, and the like. It is therefore advisable to control the search with operation policies, such as selecting the route  660  when the extent of search is expected to be wide, and selecting the route  661  or the route  662  when an available shift destination is expected to be near. Operation policies may also set in advance a hierarchical group that is to serve as an evacuation destination for other operations than routine operations, such as an unexpected operation or maintenance work, in order to save trouble. 
     An example is discussed in which, in  FIG. 13 , an operation system  670  is allocated to H 5   a  ( 640 ) to H 5   c  ( 642 ), an operation system  671  is allocated to H 61 , which is a part of H 5   d  ( 643 ), and to others, an operation system  672  is allocated to H 5   e  ( 644 ), an operation system  673  is allocated to H 6   q  and H 6   r , which are a part of H 5   f  ( 645 ), and to others, and an operation system  674  is allocated to H 6   s , H 6   t , H 6   v , and H 6   w , spanning H 5   g  ( 646 ) and H 5   h  ( 647 ). A single operation system corresponds to a physical resource or virtual resource of an information processing equipment component that is allocated to execute one operation or a plurality of correlated operations. The allocation of an information processing equipment component, a virtual machine, or the like to an operation system is stored in the configuration information  463  of  FIG. 7A , and an operation system and a hierarchical group are associated with each other by the configuration information  463  and the hierarchical group configuration information  446 . 
     For example, from an information processing resource pool, information processing equipment or virtual resources are distributed dynamically to meet operation system requirements. Requirements about the processing performance, resource utilization, operating state, redundancy, and the like of information processing equipment change depending on operation services such as mission-critical operations and best-effort operations, and requirements about capacity tolerance, redundancy, and the like of facility equipment, too, change accordingly. It is therefore necessary to control information processing equipment and facility equipment from the standpoints of hierarchical group and operation system both. When operation groups are allocated in the manner illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the operation management unit  440  collects operating information of information processing equipment on an operation system-by-operation system basis, and controls information processing equipment and facility equipment based on the association relation between the hierarchical group configuration and the operation system configuration, and on hierarchical group operating information and operation system operating information. By controlling an operation system from a hierarchical group that includes the operation system, operating information that provides an overview of the entire operation system is extracted, and running the operation system in a manner that satisfies operation requirements is made easier. For example, the operation system  670  is controlled from the hierarchical group H 3   a  ( 620 ), the operation system  671  is controlled from H 5   d  ( 643 ), the operation system  672  is controlled from H 5   e  ( 644 ), the operation system  673  is controlled from H 5   f  ( 645 ), and the operation system  674  is controlled from H 4   d  ( 633 ). 
     According to the operation management method for the information processing system which has been described with reference to  FIG. 13 , efficient hierarchy control is accomplished by setting, as operation policies, operation procedures between hierarchical groups, and operation services and operation efficiency can be managed in a balanced manner by positioning operation systems regarding hierarchical groups. Operation policies and the operation system configuration should be conformed to the hierarchical group configuration, operation requirements, and the like, and are not limited to the example of the search routes  660  to  662  and the example of the operation systems  670  to  674  which have been described here. 
       FIGS. 14A to 14D  are diagrams of a graphical user interface screen illustrating the operation management method for the information processing system according to the first embodiment of this invention. 
     A display screen  700  of information processing system integrated operation management is roughly broken into a menu bar  701 , an information processing system configuration display area  702 , a hierarchical group operating information display area  704 , and a hierarchical group operation transition graph display area  707 . 
     The information processing system configuration display area  702  displays the hierarchical group configuration in the form of hierarchy tree. The display screen  700  is displayed on a display device (not shown) of the operation management unit  440 . When the system operation manager operates a “+” box, the tree is expanded to display lower-order hierarchical groups. When the system operation manager operates a “−” box, the tree is collapsed to display only upper-order hierarchical groups. The “+” box and the “−” box are operated by, for example, operating an input device (not shown) of the operation management unit  440  (e.g., by clicking with a mouse). The same applies to other operations on the display screen  700  in this embodiment, such as checking a checkbox which is described later. 
     For each of information processing equipment, power feeding facility equipment, and cooling facility equipment, whether to display the equipment on the tree can be selected by operating hierarchical group view checkboxes in an area  703  (the checkboxes are all checked in  FIG. 14B ). Checking a checkbox on the tree causes the display areas  704  and  707  to display operating information of the selected hierarchical group (a rack  1  and a rack  2  are checked in  FIG. 14B ). 
     An area  705  within the hierarchical group operating information display area  704  displays, in a table format, operating information about a hierarchical group selected in the display area  702 . Display items of the table and the time range of display items can be selected from an item selection pull-down menu and a time selection pull-down menu that are displayed in an area  706 . In  FIG. 14C , CPU utilization (in GHz), CPU utilization (in percentage), memory utilization, IT power consumption, facility equipment power consumption, and performance-to-power efficiency are selected as display items, and “history −00:00” and “prediction +00:00” are selected as time range, and present values are displayed. In the case where a time specified as history and a time specified as prediction do not match, average values in that time range are displayed and, in the case where the two match, instantaneous values at that time are displayed. 
     An area  708  within the hierarchical group operation transition graph display area  707  displays a transition graph of operating information about a hierarchical group selected in the display area  702 . What is to be represented by a vertical axis of the graph and the time range can be selected from an item selection pull-down menu and a time selection pull-down menu that are displayed in an area  709 . In  FIG. 14D , CPU utilization (in percentage) is selected for the left hand-side vertical axis, total power [IT+feeding+cooling] is selected for the right hand-side vertical axis, and “history −24 hours” and “prediction +24 hours” are selected as a time range. The “−” side of the graph shows history values, present values are shown at  0 , and the “+” side of the graph shows predicted values. 
     The CPU utilization (in GHz) displayed in the area  705  is the sum of CPU resource utilization of a plurality of servers mounted on the rack  1  or the rack  2 . In  FIG. 14D , the CPU resource utilization (in GHz) is displayed as a value obtained by multiplying the operating clock frequency by CPU utilization (in percentage) and, when performance varies among the servers, standardization is executed. Performance-to-power efficiency is a value obtained by dividing the CPU utilization (in GHz) by the sum of IT power consumption and facility equipment power consumption, namely, total power. A comparison between the rack  1  and the rack  2  about the performance-to-power efficiency in the area  705  and about the CPU utilization (in percentage) and the total power in the area  708  shows that the rack  1  is higher in performance-to-power efficiency and smaller in total power than the rack  2 . In this case, the CPU utilization (in percentage) of the rack  1  is still low and it is therefore determined that shifting workload of the rack  2  to the rack  1  is beneficial for power saving. 
     In this manner, a hierarchical group whose operation management should be reviewed and information processing equipment and facility equipment that belong to the hierarchical group can be spotted from the hierarchical group operating information  704  and the hierarchical group operation transition graph  707 . To review, the operation manager may operate an automatic execution button in the area  709 . Alternatively, the operation manager may operate a manual execution button to perform operation (load) allocation optimization, IT operating control optimization, feeding control optimization, or cooling control optimization. The operation manager then checks prediction results displayed in the area  708  in the form of graph, and performs workload control execution, IT operating control execution, feeding control execution, or cooling control execution as necessary. 
     According to the operation management method for the information processing system which has been described with reference to  FIGS. 14A to 14D , by using the graphical user interface screen  700  of information processing system integrated operation management, the operation situation of each hierarchical group is grasped visually and a problem in operation management can be spotted and dealt with at an early stage. This helps the operation manager and has an effect of improving operation efficiency. What is important in this operation management method is to display configuration information and operating information of each group in association with each other, and the effect is not exclusive to the exact screen configuration illustrated in  FIGS. 14A to 14D . 
     When operation systems are associated with hierarchical groups as illustrated in  FIG. 13 , the screen  700  may be designed to add the operation systems to the tree of the area  702  and to display operating information of the operation systems in the table of the area  705  and the graph of the area  708 . Then the method of  FIGS. 14A to 14D  realizes operation management in which hierarchical groups and operation systems cooperate with each other, and contributes to improvements in operation services and operation efficiency. With respect to operation systems, the method can be made further useful by displaying, as a productivity index, instead of performance-to-power efficiency, performance-to-energy efficiency such as the turnaround time of operation processing or workload amount (load×time) relative to the power consumption (power×time) of information processing equipment and facility equipment that are associated with the operation systems. 
     Second Embodiment 
       FIG. 15  is a system configuration diagram illustrating an operation management method for an information processing system according to a second embodiment of this invention. 
     An information processing system  800  (a site) of Embodiment 8 is constituted of an aggregation of container datacenters  820 , which are arranged in the unit of partitions  810 . The partitions  810  are each constituted of four container datacenters  820 , power feed equipment  830 , which includes an uninterruptible power-supply system and the like to supply power to the datacenters  820 , and cooling equipment  840 , which includes a chiller and the like to supply a refrigerant to the datacenters  820 . Although omitted from  FIG. 15 , an operation management unit similar to the operation management unit  440  of the first embodiment is disposed in an operation management center  801 . The operation management unit manages the container datacenters  820 , and substation equipment  802  supplies power to the power feed equipment  830 . In each of the container datacenters  820 , information processing equipment racks  821  and rack-type air-conditioners  822  form two rack rows, and a cold aisle  823  and an anteroom  824  are provided. 
     The hierarchy of hierarchical groups has, from the upper level down, the first hierarchy level which is associated with the site  800 , the second hierarchy level which is associated with the partitions  810 , the third hierarchy level which is associated with the container datacenters  820 , the fourth level which is associated with the racks  821 , and the fifth hierarchy level which is associated with information processing equipment components mounted on the racks  821 . The substation equipment  802  is associated with the first hierarchy level, the power feed equipment  830  and the cooling equipment  840  are associated with the second hierarchy level, and the rack-type air conditioners  822  are associated with the third hierarchy level. The interior of each of the container datacenters  820  is a relatively small, closed space, and there is no air-conditioner that is associated with the partitions  810 . Therefore, hierarchical groups associated with rack rows are not provided in the second embodiment. 
     According to an operation management method for the information processing system of the second embodiment, by defining hierarchical groups, hierarchical operation management similar to the management of a datacenter inside a building which has been described in the first embodiment is accomplished in the information processing system  800  constituted of the container datacenters  820 . It is also self-evident that the methods allows the information processing system  800  to flexibly adapt to the expansion of the site  800 , an addition of more container datacenters  820 , and the like. 
     Third Embodiment 
       FIG. 16  is a system configuration diagram illustrating an operation management method for an information processing system according to a third embodiment of this invention. 
     An information processing system  900  of the third embodiment is constituted of information processing equipment components that are connected to one another via a wide area network  901  and local area networks  913  to  915 . Hierarchical groups include, from the upper level down, H 1  ( 900 ) which is associated with the first hierarchy level, H 2   a  to H 2   c  ( 910  to  912 ) which are associated with the second hierarchy level, and H 3   a  to H 3   f  ( 920  to  926 ), which are associated with the third hierarchy level. 
     The hierarchical group H 3   a  ( 920 ) is made up of a switch  930  and information processing equipment components  931  to  933  connected to the switch  930 . The hierarchical group H 3   b  ( 921 ) is made up of a switch  940  and information processing equipment components  941  to  944  connected to the switch  940 . The hierarchical group H 3   c  ( 922 ) is made up of a switch  950  and information processing equipment components  951  and  952  connected to the switch  950 . The hierarchical group H 3   d  ( 924 ) is made up of switches  960 ,  962 , and  964 , and rack-type information processing equipment  961  and  963  and information processing equipment components  965  to  969  which are connected to the switches  960 ,  962 , and  964 . The hierarchical group H 3   e  ( 925 ) is made up of switches  970  and  972 , and information processing equipment components  971  and  973  to  975  connected to the switches  970  and  972 . The hierarchical group H 3   f  ( 926 ) is made up of information processing equipment components  980  to  984  which have a switch function. 
     According to an operation management method for the information processing system of the third embodiment, in the information processing system  900 , where components are dispersed spatially and connected to one another via the wide area network  901  and local area networks  913  to  915 , hierarchical control based on operating information of each hierarchical group is accomplished by configuring hierarchical groups the same way as in the preceding embodiments. This method can similarly be applied to the operation management of, for example, a datacenter dispersed over a wide area or a large-scale distributed system, and effects of this invention are brought out irrespective of the architecture of the information processing system.