Patent ID: 8140652

Claim:
A method, comprising: at a data center controller: determining a first server location from a plurality of available server locations at which to change a server active state for a data center, comprising: calculating a first heat potential value for each of the plurality of available server locations based upon currently-active servers; and selecting a server location comprising a first optimal heat potential value from the calculated first heat potential value for each of the plurality of available server locations as the first server location; forecasting a time and configuration change for the data center; determining a second server location from the plurality of available server locations at which to change the server active state based upon the forecasted configuration change for the data center, comprising: calculating a second heat potential value for each of the plurality of available server locations based upon a number of active servers required to service the forecasted configuration change for the data center; and selecting a server location comprising a second optimal heat potential value from the calculated second heat potential value for each of the plurality of available server locations as the second server location; and selecting an available server location at which to change the server active state based upon the first server location, the second server location, and the forecasted time associated with the forecasted configuration change for the data center.