Method and system for managing network power policy and configuration of data center bridging

1. A network domain device comprising:

a plurality of communication devices, each respective communication device of the plurality of communication devices including one or more circuits configured for data communication according to respective communication parameters designated for each respective communication device of the plurality of communication device, each respective communication device of the plurality of communication devices having a respective power mode and a respective operation mode; and

a logical point of management configured for data communication with communication devices of the plurality of data communication devices, the logical point of management including one or more circuits configured to determine a respective power mode and a respective operation mode for each respective communication device, the one or more circuits of the logical point of management further configured to subsequently adjust the respective communication parameters for communication among the respective communication devices according to communication performance requirements for communication among the respective devices in said network domain among a plurality of modes relating power consumption and communication performance of the respective devices.

2. The network domain device of claim 1 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are configured to receive a network power policy for the network domain device and wherein the network domain device is configured to determine the respective power mode and the respective operation mode for the respective devices using the received network power policy.

3. The network device of claim 2 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are configured to determine as the respective operation mode one of a best performance mode, a normal mode, or a minimal mode of operation of the plurality of communication devices based on the network power policy for the network domain device.

4. The network domain device of claim 3 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are further configured to adjust one or more of a link speed, a link utilization, a maximum power consumed, or an average power consumed by the plurality of communication devices based on the determined respective operation mode for each respective communication device.

5. The network domain device of claim 3 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are further configured to adjust one or more of: system power states, processor P-states, processor C-states, states of the plurality of communication devices, active state power management (ASPM) states, or energy efficient Ethernet (EEE) mode based on the determined operation mode.

6. The network domain device of claim 1 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are further configured to establish a data center bridging policy for communication by the respective communication devices.

7. The network device of claim 6 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are further configured to identify a conflict among respective communication devices due to the established data center bridging policy and to arbitrate the conflict for the respective devices based on a minimum bandwidth available for communication by the respective communication devices.

8. The network device of claim 6 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are configured to establish the data center bridging configuration policy based on one or more of: a particular application, a particular link, a traffic class group, a type of network connection, or a connection speed.

9. The network device of claim 1 wherein the plurality of communication devices comprises one or more of a network interface controller (NIC), a switch, or a server.

10. The network device of claim 1 wherein the one or more circuits of the logical point of management are further configured to determine a respective power mode and a respective operation mode for a portion of the plurality of communication devices.

11. A network domain device comprising:

a plurality of communication devices, each respective communication device of the plurality of communication device including one or more processors programmed for data communication, each respective communication device of the plurality of communication devices having a respective power mode and a respective operation mode; and

a logical point of management including one or more processors programmed for data communication with each communication device of the plurality of data communication devices, the one or more processors of the logical point of management programmed to determine a communication configuration for the network domain device and to establish a data center bridging policy based on the communication configuration, the local point of management further configured to identify a conflict among respective communication devices due to the established data center bridging policy and to arbitrate the conflict for the respective devices based on a minimum bandwidth available.

12. The network domain device of claim 11 wherein the one or more processors of the logical point of management are programmed to determine a type of application handled by the network domain or to determine a particular link handling data as the communication configuration for the network domain device.

13. The network domain device of claim 11 wherein the one or more processors of the logical point of management are programmed to determine a traffic class group handled by the network domain or to determine a type of network connection or connection speed of the network connection as the communication configuration for the network domain device.

14. The network domain device of claim 11 wherein the one or more processors of the logical point of management are programmed to establish respective communication priorities for a respective power mode and a respective operation mode of each respective communication device as the data center bridging policy.

15. The network domain device of claim 14 wherein the one or more processors of the logical point of management are programmed to determine a type of application handled by the network domain device and to establish a communication device priority for lossless service for a first communication device based on the determined type of application and to establish a priority for best effort for a second communication device based on the determined type of application.

16. The network domain device of claim 15 wherein the plurality of communication devices comprises one or more of a switch configured to communicate data with other devices, a server configured to provide services to client devices, and a network interface controller configured to interface a corresponding server with a corresponding switch.

17. The network domain device of claim 11 wherein the one or more processors of the plurality of communication devices comprises a switch programmed to communicate data with other devices and a network interface controller configured for data communication with the switch, and wherein one or more processors of the logical point of management are further programmed to identify a mismatch in communication parameters between the switch and to subsequently set a new data center bridging configuration policy based on the identified mismatch.

18. The network domain device of claim 17 wherein the one or more processors of the logical point of management are programmed to identify a mismatch in Enhanced Transmission Selection protocol parameters or a mismatch in Priority Flow Control protocol parameters of the switch and the network interface controller.

19. A method comprising:

at a network domain device including a plurality of communication devices, receiving a network power policy for configuration of data center bridging;

based on the received network power policy, selecting a mode of operation for the network domain device from among at least a best performance mode, a normal mode and a minimal mode of operation;

for the selected mode of operation for the network domain device, establishing a domain level or sub-domain level power maximum and establishing power average capping; and

adjusting power states of the plurality of communication devices.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein adjusting power states of the plurality of communication states comprises:

adjusting one or more of system power states, processor P-states, processor C-states, active state power management (ASPM) states, or energy efficient Ethernet (EEE) mode based on the selected mode of operation.