Computer System with Over-Subscription Mode of Power Supply
A computer system with an over-subscription mode of power-supplying device is provided. The computer system includes at least a power-consuming device, at least a power-supplying device, and a power management controller. The at least a power-supplying device supplies power to the at least a power-consuming device. The output power of the at least a power-supplying device has a maximum label value, a safety limitation value higher than the maximum label value, and an over-subscription zone between the maximum label value and the safety limitation value. The power management controller is coupled with the at least a power-supplying device and the at least a power-consuming device that controls the power consumption of the at least a power-consuming device. If the output power exceeds the maximum label value to enter the over-subscription zone, the power management controller will lower the power consumption of the power-consuming device(s).
1 . A computer system, comprising:
a power-consuming device;
a power-supplying device that supplies power to the power-consuming device, wherein a metric of the power supplied by the power-supplying device has a maximum label value, a safety limitation value higher than the maximum label value, and an over-subscription zone between the maximum label value and the safety limitation value, and wherein the power-supplying device enters a protection procedure in response to the metric exceeding the safety limitation value; and
a power management controller, coupled to the power-supplying device and to the power-consuming device, that controls power consumption of the power-consuming device, wherein the power management controller lowers the power consumption of the power-consuming device in response to the metric of the power exceeding the maximum label value and entering the over-subscription zone.
2 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the power-supplying device transmits a throttle signal to the power management controller in response to the metric of the power entering the over-subscription zone.
3 . The computer system of claim 2 , wherein the power-supplying device transmits the throttle signal by changing a level of the throttle signal.
4 . The computer system of claim 3 , wherein the power-supplying device transmits the throttle signal by changing the level of the throttle signal from a high voltage level to a low voltage level.
5 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the power management controller controls power consumption of the power-consuming device, such that the metric of the power remains continuously in the over-subscription zone for no more than a predetermined time period.
6 . The computer system of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined time period is approximately 1 second.
7 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
the metric of the power of the power-supplying device has a reference value lower than the maximum label value; and
the power management controller controls the power-consuming device to stop lowering the power consumption of the power-consuming device in response to the metric decreasing from the over-subscription zone to not higher than the reference value.
8 . The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the reference value is about 90% to 96% of the maximum label value.
9 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the protection procedure comprises entering one of a constant current mode, a hiccup mode, and a shutdown mode.
10 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the metric is output power.
11 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the metric is output voltage.
12 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the metric is output current.
13 . A method of operating a computer system including a power-consuming device, a power-supplying device, and a power management controller, the method comprising:
the power-supplying device supplying power to the power-consuming device, wherein a metric of the power supplied by the power-supplying device has a maximum label value, a safety limitation value higher than the maximum label value, and an over-subscription zone between the maximum label value and the safety limitation value;
the power-supplying device entering a protection procedure in response to the metric exceeding the safety limitation value;
the power management controller controlling power consumption of the power-consuming device, wherein the controlling includes the power management controller lowering the power consumption of the power-consuming device in response to the metric of the power exceeding the maximum label value and entering the over-subscription zone.
14 . The method of claim 13 , and further comprising the power-supplying device transmitting a throttle signal to the power management controller in response to the metric of the power entering the over-subscription zone.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the transmitting includes the power-supplying device changing a level of the throttle signal from a high voltage level to a low voltage level.
16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the controlling includes the power management controller controlling power consumption, such that the metric of the power remains continuously in the over-subscription zone for no more than a predetermined time period.
17 . The computer system of claim 5 , wherein the predetermined time period is approximately 1 second.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the metric of the power of the power-supplying device has a reference value lower than the maximum label value; and
the controlling further includes the power management controller controlling the power-consuming device to stop lowering the power consumption of the power-consuming device in response to the metric decreasing from the over-subscription zone to not higher than the reference value.
19 . The computer system of claim 19 , wherein the reference value is about 90% to 96% of the maximum label value.
20 . The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the metric is one of a set including output power, output voltage, and output current.