Built-in swept-sine testing for a computer system to assure vibrational integrity
Embodiments of the present invention provide a system that performs vibration testing in a computer system. The system starts by generating a vibration at a predetermined frequency in a computer system. The system then determines if the computer system has a resonance at the predetermined frequency. If so, the system adjusts an operating parameter of at least one computer system component to prevent the computer system component from vibrating at or near a resonance frequency.
1. An apparatus for performing vibration testing in a computer system, comprising:
at least one vibration sensor coupled to at least one component in the computer system;
a dedicated vibration-generation mechanism permanently coupled to the computer system, wherein the vibration-generation mechanism is a mechanism separate from the at least one other component and a fan in the computer system that is dedicated to generating a vibration within the computer system at a predetermined frequency;
wherein the at least one vibration sensor is configured to sample the vibration of the computer system in response to the generated vibration;
an analysis mechanism configured to use the sample to determine whether the computer system has a resonance at the predetermined frequency; and
an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a speed of the fan in order to avoid the fan causing vibrations in the computer system at or near a resonance frequency of the computer system determined by the analysis mechanism.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment mechanism is further configured to adjust a speed of a disk drive or a tape drive to avoid the disk drive or tape drive causing vibrations in the computer system at or near a resonance frequency of the computer system determined by the analysis mechanism.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein:
the vibration-generation mechanism is configured to generate vibrations within the computer system across a predetermined range of frequencies;
the at least one vibration sensor is configured to sample the vibration of the computer system in response to the generated vibrations within the computer system across the predetermined range of frequencies; and
the analysis mechanism is configured to use samples to determine whether the computer system has one or more resonances in the range of predetermined frequencies.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising an output mechanism configured to output a representation of the resonances to a user.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the vibration-generation mechanism is additionally configured to selectively generate a vibration within the computer system at predetermined times, wherein the predetermined times include:
when the computer system is initially configured;
when the computer system's configuration is changed; or
when the computer system has been running for a pre-specified time.
6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one vibration sensor is an accelerometer.
7. A method for performing vibration testing in a computer system, comprising:
generating a vibration at a predetermined frequency in a computer system using a dedicated vibration-generation mechanism that is permanently coupled to the computer system, wherein the vibration-generation mechanism is a mechanism that is separate from other components and a fan in the computer system and is dedicated to generating vibrations within the computer system;
determining if the computer system has a resonance at the predetermined frequency; and
in response to determining a resonance, adjusting a speed of the fan to avoid the fan causing vibrations in the computer system at or near a determined resonance frequency of the computer system.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the method further comprises adjusting an operating speed of a disk drive or a tape drive to avoid the disk drive or tape drive causing vibrations in the computer system at or near a determined resonance frequency of the computer system.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the method further comprises:
generating vibrations in a range of frequencies in the computer system;
determining if the computer system has one or more resonances in the range of frequencies; and
in response to determining one or more resonances, adjusting an operating parameter of at least one computer system component to prevent the computer system component from vibrating at or near the one or more resonance frequencies.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the method further comprises outputting a representation of the resonances to a user, which enables the user to adjust an operating parameter of the at least one computer system component to prevent the at least one computer system component from vibrating at or near the resonance frequency.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein generating the vibration at a predetermined frequency in a computer system involves selectively generating the vibration at predetermined times, wherein the predetermined times include:
when the computer system is initially configured;
when the computer system's configuration is changed; or
when the computer system has been running for a pre-specified time.
12. A computer system that performs vibration testing, comprising:
a processor;
a memory;
at least one vibration sensor coupled to at least one of the processor, the memory, or other components in the computer system;
a dedicated vibration-generation mechanism permanently coupled to the computer system, wherein the vibration-generation mechanism is a mechanism separate from the other components and a fan in the computer system that is dedicated to generating a vibration within the computer system at a predetermined frequency;
wherein the at least one vibration sensor is configured to sample the vibration of the computer system in response to the generated vibration;
an analysis mechanism is configured to use the sample to determine whether the computer system has a resonance at the predetermined frequency; and
an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a speed of the fan in order to avoid the fan causing vibrations in the computer system at or near a resonance frequency of the computer system determined by the analysis mechanism.
13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the adjustment mechanism is further configured to adjust a speed of a disk drive or a tape drive to avoid the disk drive or tape drive causing vibrations in the computer system at or near a resonance frequency of the computer system determined by the analysis mechanism.
14. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein:
the vibration-generation mechanism is configured to generate vibrations within the computer system in a predetermined range of frequencies;
the at least one vibration sensor is configured to sample the vibration of the computer system in response to the generated vibrations within the computer system across the predetermined range of frequencies; and
the analysis mechanism is configured to use samples to determine whether the computer system has one or more resonances in the range of predetermined frequencies.
15. The computer system of claim 14 , further comprising an output mechanism configured to output a representation of the resonances to a user.
16. The computer system of claim 14 , wherein the vibration-generation mechanism is configured to selectively generate a vibration within the computer system at a predetermined times, wherein the predetermined time can include:
when the computer system is initially configured;
when the computer system's configuration is changed; or
when the computer system has been running for a pre-specified time.
17. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the at least one vibration sensor is an accelerometer.