Systems and methods of adaptive thermal control for information handling systems

1. An information handling system, comprising:

a chassis enclosure;

at least one heat-generating component to be cooled that is contained within the chassis enclosure that consumes electrical power for operation, the heat-generating component including its own internal memory register storing at least one component thermal control parameter that includes a component fan control target setpoint temperature value for the heat-generating component;

at least one temperature sensor configured to sense and report an operating temperature of the heat generating component;

one or more variable speed cooling fans configured to provide different flow rates of cooling air within the chassis enclosure to cool the heat generating component;

system persistent storage separate from the heat-generating component to be cooled and that is separate from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, the persistent storage including system thermal control parameter information stored thereon, the system thermal control parameter information defining a relationship between different values of closed loop controller gains stored on the system persistent storage as a function of different component fan control target setpoint temperature values retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat generating component; and

at least one processing device separate from the heat generating component, and that is coupled to receive values of real time sensed component temperature from the temperature sensor, and to implement a closed loop process controller to provide control signals to control a fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component based on the received values of real time sensed component temperature;

where the processing device is coupled to retrieve the component fan control target setpoint temperature value stored in the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, and is further coupled to access the system thermal control parameter information stored on the system persistent storage;

where the processing device is configured to determine a value of at least one closed loop controller gain for the closed loop process controller based on the component fan control target setpoint temperature value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component and the relationship between different values of closed loop controller gains as a function of different component fan control target setpoint temperature values that is retrieved from the system persistent storage that is separate from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component;

where the processing device is configured to use the at least one determined closed loop controller gain in the closed loop process controller to further provide the control signals based on the component fan control target setpoint temperature value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component and a selected fan control target setpoint temperature value to control a fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component; and

where the at least one closed loop controller gain comprises at least one of proportional gain (K p ), integral gain (K i ), derivative gain (Kd), or any combination thereof; and where the relationship between different values of closed loop controller gains and different component fan control target setpoint temperature values that is stored on the system persistent storage is a lookup table storing multiple scalable controller gain values for at least one of the proportional gain (K p ), the integral gain (K i ), or the derivative gain (Kd) as a function of specified component fan control target temperature setpoint value retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat generating component.

2. The system of claim 1 , where the selected fan control target setpoint temperature value is a system fan control target setpoint temperature value; and where the processing device is further configured to determine a value of the system fan control target setpoint temperature by subtracting an offset value from the component fan control target setpoint temperature value, and to use the at least one determined closed loop controller gain in the closed loop process controller to further provide the control signals based on the retrieved component fan control target setpoint temperature value and the determined system fan control target setpoint temperature value to control the fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component.

3. The system of claim 1 , where the at least one heat-generating component is a central processing unit (CPU); and where the at least one processing device that is separate from the heat-generating component is an out-of-band processing device.

4. An adaptive method for controlling cooling fan response in an information handling system, comprising:

operating at least one heat-generating component that consumes electrical power within an information handling system chassis enclosure, the heat-generating component including its own internal memory register storing at least one component thermal control parameter that includes a component fan control target setpoint temperature value for the heat-generating component;

using one or more variable speed cooling fans to provide different flow rates of cooling air within the chassis enclosure to cool the heat generating component;

using at least one temperature sensor to sense an operating temperature of the heat generating component in real time;

using at least one processing device separate from the heat generating component to:

retrieve the component fan control target setpoint temperature value profile stored in the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, and

receive values of real time sensed component temperature from the temperature sensor; and

using at least one processing device separate from the heat generating component to:

determine a value of at least one closed loop controller gain for a closed loop process control based on the component fan control target setpoint temperature value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component and a relationship between different values of closed loop controller gains as a function of different component fan control target setpoint temperature values that is stored separately from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component,

receive values of real time sensed component temperature from the temperature sensor,

implement a closed loop process controller to provide control signals to control a fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component based on the received values of real time sensed component temperature, and

use the at least one determined closed loop controller gain in the closed loop process controller to further provide the control signals based on the component fan control target setpoint temperature value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component and a selected fan control target setpoint temperature value to control a fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component;

where the at least one closed loop controller gain comprises at least one of proportional gain (K p ), integral gain (K i ), derivative gain (Kd), or any combination thereof; where the separately-stored relationship between different values of closed loop controller gains and different component fan control target setpoint temperature values is a lookup table storing multiple scalable controller gain values for at least one of the proportional gain (K p ), the integral gain (K i ), or the derivative gain (Kd) as a function of specified component fan control target temperature setpoint value retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat generating component; and where the step of determining further comprises:

accessing the lookup table that is stored separately from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component to determine the value of the at least one closed loop controller gain specified by the lookup table as corresponding to the component fan control target setpoint temperature value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component.

5. The method of claim 4 , where the selected fan control target setpoint temperature value is a system fan control target setpoint temperature value; and where the method further comprises using the processing device to determine a value of a system fan control target setpoint temperature by subtracting an offset value from the component fan control target setpoint temperature value, and to use the at least one determined closed loop controller gain in the closed loop process control algorithm to provide control signals based on the determined system fan control target setpoint temperature value to control the fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component.

6. The method of claim 4 , where the at least one heat-generating component is a central processing unit (CPU); and where the at least one processing device that is separate from the heat-generating component is an out-of-band processing device.

7. An information handling system, comprising:

a chassis enclosure;

at least one heat-generating component to be cooled that is contained within the chassis enclosure that consumes electrical power for operation, the heat-generating component including its own internal memory register storing at least one component thermal control parameter that includes a component thermal throttling temperature threshold value for the heat-generating component;

at least one temperature sensor configured to sense and report an operating temperature of the heat generating component;

one or more variable speed cooling fans configured to provide different flow rates of cooling air within the chassis enclosure to cool the heat generating component;

system persistent storage separate from the heat-generating component to be cooled and that is separate from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, the persistent storage including system thermal control parameter information stored thereon, the system thermal control parameter information defining a relationship between values of the component thermal throttling temperature threshold retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat generating component and values of one or more system thermal control parameters stored on the system persistent storage; and

at least one processing device separate from the heat generating component, and that is coupled to receive values of real time sensed component temperature from the temperature sensor, and to provide control signals to control a fan speed of each of the cooling fans to cool the heat-generating component and/or to control power consumption of the heat-generating component;

where the processing device is coupled to retrieve the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value stored in the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, and is further coupled to retrieve the system thermal control parameter information stored on the system persistent storage;

where the processing device is configured to determine a value of at least one system thermal control parameter based on the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component and the relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of one or more system thermal control parameters that is retrieved from the system persistent storage that is separate from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component; and

where the processing device is configured to control cooling fan speed of one or more of the cooling devices and/or control power consumption of the heat-generating component based on a combination of the determined system thermal control parameter value and the value of the real time current sensed component temperature;

where the at least one heat-generating component comprises multiple different heat-generating components, each given one of the different heat-generating components including its own internal memory register storing at least one component thermal control parameter that includes a component thermal throttling temperature threshold value for the given heat-generating component; where the processing device is coupled to retrieve the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value stored in the internal memory register of each of the different heat-generating components; and where the processing device is configured to:

determine a value of at least one system thermal control parameter based on the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components and the relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of one or more system thermal control parameters that is retrieved from the system persistent storage that is separate from the internal memory register of each of the different heat-generating components; and

control cooling fan speed of one or more of the cooling devices and/or control power consumption of one or more of the different heat-generating components based on a combination of the determined system thermal control parameter value and the value of the real time current sensed component temperature for each of the different heat-generating components.

8. The system of claim 7 , where the retrieved relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of one or more system thermal control parameters comprises an offset value between the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components and a lower system power capping threshold value; and where the processing device is configured to determine the value of the system power capping threshold by subtracting the offset value from the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components, and to control power consumption of the heat-generating components based on the determined system power capping threshold value and the real time current sensed component temperature for each of the different heat-generating components.

9. The system of claim 7 , where the retrieved relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of one or more system thermal control parameters comprises an offset value between the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components and a lower value of system fan control target setpoint temperature; and where the processing device is configured to determine the value of the system fan control target setpoint temperature by subtracting the offset value from the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components, and to control cooling fan speed of one or more of the cooling devices based on the determined system fan control target setpoint temperature and the real time current sensed component temperature for each of the different heat-generating components.

10. The system of claim 7 , where the multiple different heat-generating components comprise at least one heat-generating component that is a central processing unit (CPU); where the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value for the CPU is a temperature at and above which the CPU attempts to reduce the CPU die operating temperature using clock modulation and/or by throttling down the CPU clock speed and operating input voltage until the sensed CPU die operating temperature drops below the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value; and where the at least one processing device that is separate from the heat-generating component is an out-of-band processing device.

11. The system of claim 7 , where the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value is a hard-coded register value set by the manufacturer of the at least one heat-generating component.

12. An adaptive method for controlling cooling fan response in an information handling system, comprising:

operating at least one heat-generating component that consumes electrical power within an information handling system chassis enclosure, the heat-generating component including its own internal memory register storing at least one component thermal control parameter that includes a component thermal throttling temperature threshold value for the heat-generating component;

using one or more variable speed cooling fans to provide different flow rates of cooling air within the chassis enclosure to cool the heat generating component;

using at least one temperature sensor to sense an operating temperature of the heat generating component in real time; and

using at least one processing device separate from the heat generating component to:

retrieve the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value stored in the internal memory register of the heat-generating component,

receive values of real time sensed component operating temperature from the temperature sensor,

determine a value of at least one system thermal control parameter based on the component thermal throttling temperature threshold that is retrieved from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component and a separate defined relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of system thermal control parameter that is stored separately from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, and

control cooling fan speed of one or more of the cooling devices and/or control power consumption of the heat-generating component based on a combination of the determined system thermal control parameter value and the value of the real time current sensed component temperature;

where the at least one heat-generating component comprises multiple different heat-generating components, each given one of the multiple different heat-generating components including its own internal memory register storing at least one component thermal control parameter that includes a component thermal throttling temperature threshold value for the given heat-generating component; and where the method further comprises using at least one processing device separate from the heat generating component to:

retrieve the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value stored in the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components,

determine a value of at least one system thermal control parameter based on the component thermal throttling temperature threshold that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components and the separate defined relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of system thermal control parameter that is stored separately from the internal memory register of the heat-generating component, and

control cooling fan speed of one or more of the cooling devices and/or control power consumption of one or more of the different heat-generating components based on a combination of the determined system thermal control parameter value and the value of the real time current sensed component temperature for each of the different heat-generating components.

13. The method of claim 12 , where the defined relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of one or more system thermal control parameters comprises an offset value between the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components and a lower system power capping threshold value; and where the method further comprises using the processing device to determine the value of the system power capping threshold by subtracting the offset value from the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components, and to control power consumption of the heat-generating components based on the determined system power capping threshold value and the real time current sensed component temperature for each of the different heat-generating components.

14. The method of claim 12 , where the defined relationship between values of component thermal throttling temperature threshold and values of one or more system thermal control parameters comprises an offset value between the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components and a lower value of system fan control target setpoint temperature; and where the method further comprises using the processing device to determine the value of the system fan control target setpoint temperature by subtracting the offset value from the retrieved component thermal throttling temperature threshold value that is retrieved from the internal memory register of each of the multiple different heat-generating components, and to control cooling fan speed of one or more of the cooling devices based on the determined system fan control target setpoint temperature and the real time current sensed component temperature for each of the different heat-generating components.

15. The method of claim 12 , where the multiple different heat-generating components comprise at least one heat-generating component that is a central processing unit (CPU); where the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value for the CPU is a temperature at and above which the CPU attempts to reduce the CPU die operating temperature using clock modulation and/or by throttling down the CPU clock speed and operating input voltage until the sensed CPU die operating temperature drops below the component thermal throttling temperature threshold value; and where the at least one processing device that is separate from the heat-generating component is an out-of-band processing device.

16. The method of claim 12 , further comprising using the manufacturer of the at least one heat-generating component to set the thermal throttling temperature threshold value as a hard-coded register value prior to the step of operating the at least one heat-generating component.