Patent ID: 7363517

Claim:
A method, comprising: determining a current operating characteristics of a system; and when the current operating characteristics of the system does not comply with a guideline, adjusting operating characteristics of one or more of components in the system by one operating level or by multiple operating levels at a time; wherein the current operating characteristics of the system includes a current level of power consumption of the system; wherein adjusting the operating characteristics of the one or more components in the system by at least one operating level at a time includes adjusting power consumption levels of the one or more components by at least one power consumption level at a time; wherein the guideline includes a high threshold, and wherein the current level of power consumption of the system does not comply with the guideline when the current level of power consumption exceeds the high threshold; wherein the guideline further includes a low threshold, and wherein the current level of power consumption of the system does not comply with the guideline when the current level of power consumption is outside a range between the low threshold and the high threshold; wherein adjusting the power consumption of the one or more components in the system comprises: when the current level of power consumption of the system is below the low threshold, allowing an increase in the power consumption of the one or more components by at least one power consumption level; and wherein the one or more components include a redundant component.