Patent Publication Number: US-2012030686-A1

Title: Thermal load management in a partitioned virtual computer system environment through monitoring of ambient temperatures of envirnoment surrounding the systems

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a virtualized system environment that includes a plurality of virtual server controlled partitioned computer systems, and particularly to the monitoring of ambient temperatures in the environment of the facilities surrounding the computers. 
     BACKGROUND OF RELATED ART 
     Over the past generation, virtualization of computer processors has become conventional. This virtualization involves time slicing of the virtual processors or machines between physical processors through partitioning. In such virtual processor environments, multiple users, i.e. client devices, are connected to each virtual processor platform that provides a plurality of physical processors respectively connected to these clients. The trend toward virtualization environments has created more concentrated physical processing environments, e.g. virtual environment data centers. Rising equipment temperatures, i.e. heat, generated by such concentrations is an increasing problem as computer developers pack faster and “hotter” processors into smaller and smaller housings. Air cooling and like environmental equipment have been installed to control the generated heat. However, such equipment comes with its own increased energy consumption. Organizations have been forced to expand their virtual data centers or build new facilities in order to try to deal with heating problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present invention addresses this problem of thermal load on equipment and its resulting present day increased demand for expanded plant facilities and ancillary cooling equipment and offers a new approach to the thermal load problem that does not require ever expanding facilities and cooling equipment. The present invention recognizes that while the increasing virtualization of data processing systems has created mcre concentrated physical processing environments, it has also resulted in increasing flexibility in data processing distribution. The present invention monitors and tracks the ambient environmental temperature conditions of the facilities, e.g. the plants and offices housing virtual data processing centers and weighs, anticipates and consequently responds to daily, weekly, seasonal and even hourly effects that our changing outside atmosphere has upon the thermal load on the running virtualized data processing systems. 
     Accordingly, the present invention provides an implementation for thermal load management in a virtualized environment wherein server controlled physical processor systems are partitioned into a plurality of logical partitions (LPAR)s that comprises first predetermining a set of ambient temperature levels for the surrounding outside environment for a first server controlled system having a plurality of LPARs. Then, the set of ambient temperature levels is sensed and if the set or predetermined pattern of temperature levels are exceeded, one or more of the plurality of LPARs are transferred from said first server controlled system to a second server controlled LPAR system over a connecting network. 
     The invention further involves locating an appropriate second server system for receiving transferred LPARs. Thus, an aspect of the invention includes predetermining a set of ambient temperature levels for the surrounding outside environment for said second server controlled system having a plurality of LPARs, sensing whether the set of ambient temperature levels are exceeded for the second server controlled system and transferring the LPARs only when the set of ambient temperature levels for the second server controlled system are not exceeded. 
     The invention also enables the return transfer of LPARs from the second server controlled system back to the first server controlled system when temperature levels at the second server controlled system are exceeded while the temperature levels at the first server controlled system are no longer exceeded. The first and second server controlled systems may be at different physical locations in a local area facility and the movement of LPARs back and forth may be on a daily basis as the heat and cooling of the ambient conditions, due to the movement of the sun, progresses. 
     Likewise, the first and second server controlled systems my be at remote physical locations connected in a global network and the selected periods of time could involve the four seasons. 
     The invention further provides for heuristically tracking the original transfers and return transfers of the LPARs over selected periods of time to determine patterns of transfers and return transfers and then preemptively making the transfers and returns of the LPARs during the selected periods of time based upon the determined patterns. 
     Accordingly, a significant aspect of the invention involves thermal load management in a virtualized environment wherein there is heuristically predetermined a time point at which ambient temperature levels for the surrounding outside environment, for a first server controlled system having a plurality of LPARs, are anticipated to cause thermal load problems for the first system. The passage of time for the arrival of said time point is monitored and, responsive to the arrival of this predetermined time point, there is a transfer of at least one of the plurality of LPARs from the first server controlled system to a second server controlled LPAR system over a connecting network. The first and second server controlled systems may be at different physical locations in a local area facility and the movement of LPARs back and forth may be on a time points daily time of day basis as the heat and cooling of the ambient conditions due to the movement of the sun progresses or first and second server controlled systems may be at remote physical locations connected in a global network and the time points would be seasonal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will be better understood and its numerous objects and advantages will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following drawings, in conjunction with the accompanying specification, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a generalized diagrammatic view of a network portion that may be used in the practice of the present invention both for illustrative daily transfers of LPARs and illustrative remote global transfers based upon seasonal ambient temperature changes; 
         FIG. 2  is an illustrative diagrammatic view of a control processor that may be used for the hypervisors of the server systems of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a general flowchart of a program set up to implement the present invention for thermal load management in a virtualized environment by the transfers and returns of the LPARs during the selected periods of time based upon the sensed ambient temperature patterns; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an illustrative LPAR distribution run of the program set up in  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a generalized diagrammatic view of a network portion illustrating the local daily transfers of LPARs based upon local sensed temperature pattern changes and illustrative remote global transfers based upon seasonal ambient temperature changes. With respect to the local facility  11  that may be an office of a business-type facility or the grounds of a communications or data processing service facility for clients, we will consider the distribution of workload in the form of the transfer of Logical Partitions LPARs between an illustrative pair of server controlled partitioned systems: an initial server system  13  and a receiving or destination server system  14 . Server systems  13  and  14  may be in different portions of the same building  11  in which the ambient temperatures surrounding server systems  13  and  14  vary considerably with the time of day as illustrated by the path of the sun  10 . Alternatively, server system  13  and  14  may respectively be housed at different locations on the ground of a facility site that is subject to different and changing effects as the movement of the sun  10  progresses. Sensors  15  monitor temperature patterns of the ambient environment surrounding initial server system  13  while sensors  16  monitor temperature patterns of the ambient environment surrounding receiving server system  14 . A predetermined temperature pattern is developed for sensors  15  that, when reached or exceeded, indicates that a damaging or problem thermal load is imminent for server system  13  unless workload is transferred from the server system. It is not part of, nor essential to, the present invention to use specific temperature patterns. These patterns may be a combination of simultaneous readings of the set of several sensors  15  distributed in the ambient environment surrounding server system  13 . These temperature patterns may also include the differential increase/decrease of the set of sensors  15  over a defined time period. These sets of sensed temperature levels may be heuristically developed and predetermined. 
     Under any predetermined set of surrounding ambient temperature levels when such levels are exceeded there is a transfer of one or more Logical Partitions LPARs from server system  13  to an appropriate receiving or destination server system  14 . This transfer must be to a server system  14  that has the capacity to accept the LPARs being transferred and, of course, is so situated within a building or facility grounds  11  that sensors  16  surrounding receiving server system  14  indicate a temperature pattern not exceeding the predetermined temperature pattern for server system  14 . 
     Assuming that the temperature conditions surrounding server system  14  are low enough, there is an LPAR transfer from server system  13  to server system  14  that will be illustrated. A particularly effective form of LPAR mobility has been Live Partition Mobility developed by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), which is described in the publication,  IBM PowerVM Live Partition Mobility , John E. Bailey et al, March 2009, that may be obtained at ibm.com/redbooks, particularly at pp. 1-14. This partition mobility permits the migration or transfer of partitions that are running AIX and Linux operating systems including hosted applications from one physical server system to another without disrupting any infrastructure services. The migration transfers the whole partition system environment including the processor state, memory, attached virtual devices and connected users. A system that has been effectively used for such LPAR transfers is the Power6™ System marketed by IBM. 
     The respective server operations between server system  13  and server system  14  are respectively controlled by hypervisors  40  and  50  through their respective servers, VIOS partitions  41  and  51 , i.e. each of the initial  13  and destination  14  systems is respectively configured with a single Virtual I/O Server partition  41  and  51 . The transfer of mobile partition  4 E, as illustrated along a path  49  from system  13  to system  14  over an Ethernet  42  such as the Internet, uses iSCSI protocols. Both initial system  13  and destination system  14  also access, through their respective virtual server partitions  41  and  51  in support of the transfer, an external storage system: the storage area network (SAN)  43  that is supported by a storage system. The transferred LPAR  48  is selected by hypervisor  40  from the plurality of LPARs  18  supported by server system  13  dependent upon workload distribution requirements. At the local facility  11 , such as a data center, the distribution of LPARs back and forth between server systems  13  and  14 , as will be described further, may be coordinated by the data center&#39;s Hardware Management Console (HMC)  60 . 
     As the day progresses, e.g. overnight, the ambient temperature pattern surrounding server system  14  may reach a level that exceeds the predetermined level of the pattern of sensors  16  and there will be a need to transfer one or more of the LPARs  58  supported by system  14 . At such a point, there will be a reverse transfer of one or more LPARs  48  back to initial system  13  along path  49 . Of course, in each such transfer back and forth there must be an initial determination made that the destination server has the capacity to accept such transferred LPARs. 
     This embodiment has just used a pair of server systems  13  and  14  for simplicity of illustration. It will be understood that the local facility  11 , e.g. data center, may have several server systems located through the facility area. LPARs may be distributed and redistributed as described between more than just a pair of server systems. 
     It will be further understood that the tracked temperature patterns at the respective servers will be saved and heuristically analyzed, conveniently at the HMC  60 , to the point that times when the predetermined temperature patterns at specific server systems may be anticipated and LPARs may be preemptively moved and returned based upon the progress of time at anticipated time points of the day, month or seasons. 
     There is further illustrated in  FIG. 1 , transfer of LPARs in accordance with the present invention between remote, e.g. global, locations dependent upon respective temperature pattern sensing and/or anticipated temperature patterns. For the illustration, the selected location are Austin and Buenos Aires on opposite sides of the EQUATOR. Thus, temperatures will be opposite: winter-like vs. summer-like. The illustrative single server system  12  in Buenos Aires has elements equivalent to those in initial server system  13 : a plurality of LPARs  54 , hypervisor  55  and virtual I/O server partition  56 . The temperature pattern is sensed by a set of sensors  17 . Thus, as sensed temperature patterns are exceeded or the exceeding of such temperature patterns is anticipated between the Austin and Buenos Aires server systems, illustrated LPARs  59  may be transferred back and forth along illustrated path  57  across the EQUATOR via an Ethernet  52 , such as the Internet using iSCSI protocols. Both initial system  13  and destination system  12  access, through their respective virtual server partitions  41  and  56 , an external storage system: the storage area network (SAN)  53  that is supported by a storage system. 
     While the transfer of LPARs between remote locations has been illustrated between server system locations with substantial seasonal ambient temperature differences, such transfers and returns of LPARs in accordance with the present invention may be made on a daily or hourly basis just between locations in different time zones, e.g. Austin, Texas, and London. 
     With respect to  FIG. 2 , there is shown an illustrative diagrammatic view of a control processor that may be used for power hypervisors  12 ,  13  and  14  or for HMC  60  of  FIG. 1 . A central processing unit (CPU)  31 , such as one of the microprocessors or workstations, e.g. System p™ series, eServerp5, eServer OpenPower™ or the PowerVM Standard edition, available from IBM, is provided and interconnected to various other components by system bus  21 . An operating system (OS)  29  (e.g. a Linux System) runs on CPU  31 , provides control and is used to coordinate the function of the various components of  FIG. 2 . Operating system  29  may be one of the commercially available operating systems. Application programs  30 , controlled by the system, are moved into and cut of the main memory Random Access Memory (RAM)  28 . These programming applications may be used to implement functions of the present invention. ROM  27  includes the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) that controls the basic computer functions of the hypervisor or HMC. RAM  28 , storage adapter  25  and communications adapter  23  are also interconnected to system bus  21 . Storage adapter  25  communicates with the disk storage device  26  of the server system. Communications adapter  23  interconnects bus  21  with the ethernet network. I/O devices are also connected to system bus  21  via user interface adapter  34 . Keyboard  32  and mouse  38 , when appropriate, may be connected to bus  21  through user interface adapter  34 . Display buffer  22  supports an appropriate display  33 . 
       FIG. 3  is a general flowchart of a program set up to implement the present invention for management of the thermal load in a virtual processor environment in which the system is divided into logical partitions. An implementation is provided for managing the thermal load in server controlled systems in response to sensed ambient temperature conditions, step  71 . Provision is made for predetermining a set of sensed ambient temperature levels for the outside environment surrounding a first server controlled system having a plurality of LPARs, step  72 . Apparatus is provided for sensing the ambient temperatures of the surrounding environment, step  73 . Provision is made, responsive to a sensing that a set of temperature levels exceed the predetermined levels, for transferring at least one of the LPARs in the first server system to the second server controlled system over a connecting network, step  74 . Provision is made for enabling the return transfer of LPARs back to the first server system when temperature levels sensed at the second system exceed predetermined levels for the second system while the set of temperature levels at the first server controlled system are no longer exceeding, step  75 . Further, provision is made for enabling the transfer of LPARs back and forth in accordance with steps  74  and  75  at a local limited facility as ambient temperatures change at the local facility with the time of day, step  76 . Provision is also made for the transfer of LPARs between remote global facilities over the ethernet responsive to changes in global temperatures, step  79 . 
     A simple illustrative example of a run of the process set up in  FIG. 3  will be described with respect to the flowchart of  FIG. 4 . As the virtualized server controlled partitioned systems at a facility are being run, the ambient temperatures surrounding a first server system are being sensed in accordance with the present invention, step  80 . The temperatures are continuously sensed and a determination made as to whether the predetermined levels for the surrounding temperatures are exceeded, step  81 . If Yes, then a next network connected server system is contacted, step  82 , and a determination is made, step  83 , as to whether the sensed temperatures surrounding the next system exceed the predetermined levels for the next system. If Yes, then the process is returned to step  82  wherein a further determination is again made, step  83 , as to whether the sensed temperatures surrounding a further next system exceeds the predetermined levels for the further next system. If the step  83  decision is No, then a further determination is made as to whether the selected next server system has capacity to support LPARs to be transferred, step  84 . If No, then the process is again returned to step  82  wherein the above-described process is continued. However, if the determination in step  84  is Yes, capacity exists, then, step  85 , the LPAR or LPARs are transferred over the connecting network to the second or receiving system. 
     Now, with respect to a potential return transfer as sensed temperature patterns change, the temperatures at the receiving system are continuously sensed, step  86 , and a determination is made, step  87 , as to whether the predetermined levels for the surrounding temperatures for the receiving system are exceeded. If Yes, then the originating first server system is contacted and a determination is made, step  88 , as to whether the sensed temperatures surrounding the first system exceed the predetermined levels for the first system. If No, then LPARs are transferred back to the first server controlled system, step  89 . As described hereinabove, this transferring back and forth with changing ambient temperature patterns may be continuous. Periodically, a determination may be made as to whether the operations of the facility data center are still continuing, step  90 . If No, the process is exited. If Yes, the process is returned to step  80  via branch “A” and continued as described hereinabove. 
     Although certain preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be understood that many changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope and intent of the appended claims.