Cross-layer power management in a multi-layer system

1. A method of cross-layer power management in a multi-layer system, the method comprising:

determining whether there is a service level violation for an application running on a hardware platform; and

controlling power consumption of the hardware platform in response to the service level violation.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-layer computer system includes an application layer, a hardware layer and a virtualization layer including virtual machines, each layer including at least one from a group comprising a sensor and an actuator for controlling power consumption, and

determining whether there is a service level violation comprises receiving service level violation information for the application from a sensor at the application layer; and

controlling power consumption comprises using an actuator at the hardware layer or the virtual machine layer to control power consumption of the hardware platform.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the multi-layer computer system comprises at least one management channel providing bidirectional communication between management entities, wherein one or more of the management entities include a management application running on a virtual machine; at least one management broker implementing a coordination policy for coordinating information from one or more of the management entities and making actuation decisions based on the information and the coordination policy; and at least one management agent communicating information from the management on the at least one management channel to the at least one management broker, wherein the method comprises:

using the at least one management channel, the at least one management broker, and the at least one management agent to collect the service level violation information and information related to power consumption to control the actuator to control the power consumption of the hardware platform.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein controlling power consumption comprises the at least one management broker determining whether to control power consumption based on one or more power management policies, wherein the at least one management broker is provided in at least one of a management processor, a management virtual machine and a virtual machine.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein controlling power consumption comprises using an actuator in the hardware layer or the virtual machine layer to control power consumption of the hardware platform comprises:

increasing or reducing a power state of a processor to control the power consumption and minimize service level violations.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein controlling power consumption comprises using an actuator in the hardware layer or the virtual machine layer to control power consumption of the hardware platform comprises:

selecting another processor that has capacity to host a virtual machine running the application having the service level violation; and

migrating the virtual machine to the another processor.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein selecting another processor that has capacity to host a virtual machine running the application having the service level violation further comprises:

calculating a probability of the another processor being able to satisfy processor capacity requirements for the virtual machine for a period of time into the future.

8. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

determining whether a power cap is exceeded; and

migrating a virtual machine or reducing power-state of a processor if the power cap is exceeded.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein if the power cap is exceeded, reducing the power-state of the processor; and

if a service level violation occurs after reducing the power-state, then migrating a virtual machine from the processor to another processor.

10. A system for coordinating information between management entities in different layers of the system, the system comprising:

at least one management channel providing bidirectional communication between the management entities, wherein one or more of the management entities include a management agent or a management broker communicating information for application service level violations and information related to power consumption to another management entity; and

at least one management broker implementing a power management policy for managing power consumption and service level violations by coordinating information received via the at least one management channel from one or more of the management entities and making actuation decisions based on the information and the power management policy.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein at least some of the management entities are configured to monitor application metrics for applications running on virtual machines and the applications have different service level requirements, and

the at least one management broker is configured to manage power consumption and service level violations associated with the different service level requirements.

12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the management entities comprise entities in a hardware layer, a virtualization layer and an application layer.

13. The system of claim 10 , wherein one or more of the management entities comprises a power broker that coordinates between a power regulation policy and a power budget policy to minimize system instability.

14. A power management system comprising:

a power broker monitoring data, including service level violations, virtual machine utilization and power consumption of one or more computer systems; and

actuators available at a hardware platform layer and a virtual machine layer, wherein the power broker is configured to use the actuators in one or more of the hardware platform layer and the virtual machine layer in a single run to control power consumption of the one or more computer systems based on the monitored data.

15. The power management system of claim 14 , further comprising:

sensors at an application layer providing the monitored data associated with service level violations, and the power broker is configured to use the actuators to control service level violations and minimize power consumption.