Patent ID: 8862922

Claim:
A method for managing power consumption in a data center, the method comprising the steps of: one or more processors receiving a priority record from an operator, the priority record indicating that (a) a first virtual machine has a lower priority than a second virtual machine and can be shut down if the power consumption exceeds a predetermined level, (b) a third virtual machine has a lower priority than the second virtual machine and can be shut down if the power consumption exceeds the predetermined level, and (c) the second virtual machine should not be shut down to conserve power; one or more processors determining that power consumption in the data center exceeds a predetermined limit, and in response, based on the priority record, reducing power consumption of the first virtual machine, and subsequently, the one or more processors determining that power consumption in the data center still exceeds the predetermined limit despite the reduced power consumption of the first virtual machine, and in response, based on the priority record, reducing power consumption of the second virtual machine without shutting down the second virtual machine, and subsequently, the one or more processors determining that power consumption in the data center still exceeds the predetermined limit despite reduced power consumption of the first and second virtual machines, and in response, based on the priority record, reducing power consumption of the third virtual machine, and subsequently, the one or more processors determining that power consumption in the data center still exceeds the predetermined limit despite the reduction in power consumption of the first, second and third virtual machines, and in response, based on the priority record, shutting down the first virtual machine, and subsequently, the one or more processors determining that power consumption in the data center still exceeds the predetermined limit despite the shutting down of the first virtual machine and the reduction in power of the second virtual machine, and in response, based on the priority record, shutting down the third virtual machine without shutting down the second virtual machine.