Thermal capacity management

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of thermal capacity management within data centers. In an embodiment, the present disclosure describes a method including using temperature measurements to provide real-time capacity usage information in a given data center and to use that information to perform moves/adds/changes with a particular level of confidence.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method for data center thermal capacity management, comprising:
 collecting cabinet information from a plurality of cabinets in a data center, the cabinet information including at least an inlet temperature and a maximum allowable cabinet temperature for each of the plurality of cabinets;   deriving a remaining cooling capacity for the data center;   for each cabinet among the plurality of cabinets, calculating a θ value using at least the collected cabinet information for the cabinet;   determining that all of the inlet temperatures for the plurality of cabinets are below their respective maximum allowable cabinet temperatures, and in response, determining whether each of the calculated θ values is below, at, or above a user-defined θ value;   if any one of the calculated θ values is at or above the user-defined θ value, providing an alarm; and   if all of the calculated θ values are below the user-defined θ value, distributing the derived remaining cooling capacity among the plurality of cabinets.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein distributing the derived remaining cooling capacity among the plurality of cabinets comprises:
 distributing the derived remaining cooling capacity evenly among the plurality of cabinets.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 collecting a total power usage for the plurality of cabinets.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein collecting the total power usage for the plurality of cabinets comprises:
 collecting total power usage readings from each cabinet among the plurality of cabinets; and   summing each of the collected total power usage readings for each cabinet among the plurality of cabinets to obtain the total power usage for the plurality of cabinets.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein collecting the total power usage reading from a cabinet comprises:
 collecting the total power usage reading from a power outlet unit installed in the cabinet.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , comprising:
 calculating a total cooling capacity for the data center.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein calculating the total cooling capacity for the data center comprises:
 obtaining a rated capacity of cooling equipment within the data center; and   summing the obtained rated capacities of the cooling equipment within the data center to obtain the total cooling capacity for the data center.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein deriving the remaining cooling capacity for the data center comprises:
 subtracting the total power usage for the plurality of cabinets from the calculated total cooling capacity for the data center.   
     
     
         9 . A method for data center thermal capacity management, comprising:
 collecting an inlet temperature and a maximum allowable cabinet temperature for each cabinet among a plurality of cabinets in a data center;   for each cabinet among the plurality of cabinets, calculating a θ value using at least the collected inlet temperature and maximum allowable cabinet temperature for the cabinet;   determining whether any of the calculated θ values is greater than or equal to 1;   if any of the calculated θ values is greater than or equal to 1:
 providing a first alarm to a user of a potential overheating risk; and 
 providing the user with suggestions for correcting the overheating risk; 
   if none of the calculated θ values is greater than or equal to 1, determining whether any of the calculated θ values is greater than or equal to a user-defined θ value;   if any one of the calculated θ values is greater than or equal to the user-defined θ value, providing a second alarm to the user to adjust the user-defined θ value; and   if none of the calculated θ values is greater than or equal to the user-defined θ value, distributing any remaining cooling capacity among the plurality of cabinets.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein collecting an inlet temperature for a cabinet among a plurality of cabinets in a data center comprises:
 recording temperatures from a plurality of temperature sensors installed in the cabinet; and   selecting a maximum recorded temperature among the recorded temperatures as the inlet temperature for the cabinet.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein collecting an inlet temperature for a cabinet among a plurality of cabinets in a data center comprises:
 recording temperatures from a plurality of temperature sensors installed in the cabinet; and   averaging the recorded temperatures to obtain the inlet temperature for the cabinet.