Virtual cooling infrastructure

Abstract

A virtual cooling infrastructure includes a demand manager having logical descriptions of a plurality of heat loads and the demand manager is configured to determine cooling load demands of the heat loads. The infrastructure also includes a capacity manager having logical descriptions of a plurality of cooling system components configured to supply cooling resources to cool the heat loads. The infrastructure further includes a service operator configured to map the cooling resources of the cooling system components to the cooling load demands of the heat loads.

1 . A virtual cooling infrastructure comprising:
 a demand manager having logical descriptions of a plurality of heat loads, wherein the demand manager is configured to determine cooling load demands of the heat loads;   a capacity manager having logical descriptions of a plurality of cooling system components configured to supply cooling resources to cool the heat loads; and   a service operator configured to map the cooling resources of the cooling system components to the cooling load demands of the heat loads.   
   
   
       2 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 1 , wherein the capacity manager is further configured to identify capacity limitations of the cooling system components and to allocate the cooling resources based upon the cooling load demands determined by the demand manager within the capacity limitations of the cooling system components. 
   
   
       3 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 1 , wherein the service operator is further configured to receive policy constraints and to at least one of prioritize placement of the heat loads in a structure and modify the mapping of the cooling resources to the cooling load demands, or vice versa, based upon the policy constraints. 
   
   
       4 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 3 , wherein the service operator is further configured to monitor operations of sources of the heat loads and the cooling system components to substantially ensure that the policy constraints are being maintained. 
   
   
       5 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 1 , wherein the demand manager is further configured to process a plurality of demand inputs to determine a plurality of demand outputs/capacity inputs, and wherein the demand manager is further configured to convey the demand outputs/capacity inputs to the capacity manager. 
   
   
       6 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 5 , wherein the demand manager is further configured to determine costs associated with the demand outputs/capacity inputs and to provide the service operator with the determined costs, and wherein the service operator is further configured to determine whether one or more policy constraints maintainable based upon the determined costs. 
   
   
       7 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 1 , wherein the logical descriptions of the cooling system components comprise logical descriptions of one or more of physical descriptions, respective capacities, cooling capabilities, actual run times, projected run times, and reliabilities of the plurality of cooling system components. 
   
   
       8 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 1 , wherein the logical descriptions of the cooling system components comprise at least one of resources associated with operating the cooling infrastructures and costs associated with operating the cooling infrastructures. 
   
   
       9 . The virtual cooling infrastructure according to  claim 1 , wherein the demand manager, the capacity manager, and the service operator form part of a single overlay in an integrated cooling management system. 
   
   
       10 . A method of managing a virtual cooling infrastructure to efficiently allocate cooling resources, said virtual cooling infrastructure comprising a demand manager, a service operator, and a capacity manager, said method comprising:
 in the demand manager,
 creating logical descriptions of a plurality of heat loads; and 
 determining cooling load demands of the heat loads; 
   in the capacity manager,
 creating logical descriptions of a plurality of cooling system components configured to supply cooling resources to cool the heat loads; and 
   in the service operator,
 mapping the cooling resources of the cooling system components to the cooling load demands of the heat loads or vice versa. 
   
   
   
       11 . The method according to  claim 10 , said method further comprising:
 in the capacity manager,
 identifying capacity limitations of the cooling system components; and 
 allocating the cooling resources based upon the cooling load demands determined by the demand manager within the capacity limitations of the cooling system components. 
   
   
   
       12 . The method according to  claim 10 , said method further comprising:
 in the service operator,
 receiving policy constraints; 
 at least one of prioritizing placement of the heat loads and modifying the mapping of the cooling resources based upon the policy constraints. 
   
   
   
       13 . The method according to  claim 10 , said method further comprising:
 in the demand manager,
 determining costs associated with cooling the determined cooling load demands in cooling the heat loads; and 
   in the service operator;
 determining whether one or more policy constraints are maintainable based upon the costs determined by the demand manager. 
   
   
   
       14 . A computer readable storage medium on which is embedded one or more computer programs, said one or more computer programs implementing a method of managing a virtual cooling infrastructure to efficiently allocate cooling resources, said virtual cooling infrastructure comprising a demand manager, a service operator, and a capacity manager, said one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for:
 in the demand manager,
 creating logical descriptions of a plurality of heat loads; and 
 determining cooling load demands of the heat loads; 
   in the capacity manager,
 creating logical descriptions of a plurality of cooling system components configured to supply cooling resources to cool the heat loads; and 
   in the service operator,
 mapping the cooling resources of the cooling system components to the cooling load demands of the heat loads. 
   
   
   
       15 . The computer readable storage medium according to  claim 14 , said one or more computer programs further including a set of instructions for:
 in the capacity manager,
 identifying capacity limitations of the cooling system components; and 
 allocating the cooling resources based upon the cooling load demands determined by the demand manager within the capacity limitations of the cooling system components; and 
   in the service operator,
 receiving policy constraints; and 
 at least one of prioritizing the workloads placed on the heat loads and modifying the mapping of the cooling resources based upon the policy constraints.