Global throttling of computing nodes in a modular, rack-configured information handling system

1. A computer implemented method for rack-level power control of processing nodes in a rack-configured information handling system, the method comprising:

receiving, at a rack-level management controller, power-usage data, operating parameters, and settings information associated with one or more nodes arranged in a plurality of separately-controlled blocks of the information handling system (IHS), each block comprising at least one node and each block having a separate block controller that is communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller and which controls block-level operations and control for all of the at least one node within that block, the block controller being a different controller than a board controller within each of the at least one node, wherein each of the at least one node within each block further comprises an internal node power distribution subsystem that is communicatively connected to a respective block controller and that receives and controls power distribution to the node;

regulating an amount of power supplied to one or more blocks and one or more of the processing nodes within the one or more blocks based on the received information for the one or more processing nodes and a total amount of available external power received for distribution within the IHS; and

in response to detecting a condition that reduces the total amount of available external power received for distribution within the IHS, the management controller autonomously initiating global throttling of power allocation within the IHS to reduce power consumption by at least one of the processing nodes via an associated block controller.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

initializing the management controller during start up configuration of the IHS;

establishing communication between the management controller, the power subsystem, and one or more block controllers that each control block-level operations of processing nodes within a corresponding block;

retrieving power profile data for each block within the IHS, the power profile data comprising the power-usage data and settings information of the individual processing nodes within the particular block;

generating a power allocation for each block based on the received power profile data; and

triggering the power subsystem to supply power to each block and by extension to each of the nodes based on the power allocation for that block.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the condition is one of a power supply unit (PSU) failure and an AC input power failure, and the method further comprises:

determining which condition has occurred;

in response to determining that the PSU failure has occurred, transmitting a signal to at least one of the block controllers to reduce power to at least one of the nodes, wherein an overall power is reduced by a first amount correlated to a loss of a PSU; and

in response to determining that the AC input power failure has occurred, transmitting a signal to at least one of the block controllers to reduce power to at least one of the nodes, wherein an overall power is reduced by a second amount correlated to a loss of an AC input.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining via at least one block controller, which processing nodes of the corresponding block are to be throttled in order to reduce power consumption by the corresponding block; and

the at least one of the block controller subsequently throttling operations of the processing nodes that are to be throttled within the corresponding blocks.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

establishing a maximum power capacity for the information handing system;

monitoring a total power usage and demand across the IHS; and

in response to determining that a current power demand across the IHS is greater than the maximum power capacity, transmitting a signal to at least one of the block controllers to reduce power to at least one of the nodes.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein initiating global throttling of power allocation within the IHS to reduce power consumption by at least one of the processing nodes via an associated block controller comprises generating a signal on a global throttle wire allocated within each Ethernet cable directly connecting each block controller within the IHS with the management controller, wherein the block controllers within the IHS are pre-programmed to respond to an assertion of a signal on the global throttle wire by the management controller by immediately throttling operations of one or more processing nodes within a respective block being controlled by the block controller.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to detecting that the overall thermal readings of the IHS are above a system thermal threshold, identifying at least one block drawing large amounts of power and contributing to higher than normal thermal threshold readings; and

transmitting a signal to each block controller corresponding to the identified at least one block to reduce power consumption by the at least one node.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether the condition remains present after reducing power to at least one of the nodes; and

in response to the condition remaining present, triggering at least one of the block controllers to shut down at least one of the nodes.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining whether at least one of an infrastructure manager or the block controllers are to be reset; and

in response to determining that at least one of the infrastructure manager or the block controllers are to be reset, generating a reset signal on a reset wire allocated within each Ethernet cable directly connecting the management controller with the infrastructure manager and the block controllers, wherein the reset signal triggers at least one of the infrastructure manager or the block controllers to reset.

10. A rack-level power control system comprising

a rack-level management controller having a processor and a memory coupled to the processor via a system interconnect;

a power subsystem communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller;

a cooling subsystem communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller;

one or more blocks communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller, the blocks each having one or more nodes and at least one block controller, which is communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller and which controls block-level operations of all of the one or more nodes within a corresponding block, the block controller being a different controller than a board controller within each of the at least one node, wherein each of the one or more nodes within each block further comprises an internal node power distribution subsystem that is communicatively connected to a respective block controller and that receives and controls power distribution to the node; and

an Ethernet cable connected between the rack-level management controller and at least one of the block controllers, at least one of the wires in the Ethernet cable allocated as a global throttle wire to provide communication of a global throttle power reduction signal from the rack-level management controller to at least one of the block controllers and at least one of the nodes allowing an immediate reduction in power usage by the nodes upon receipt of the global throttle power reduction signal.

11. The rack-level power control system of claim 10 , further comprising:

an infrastructure manager communicatively connected via the Ethernet cable between the rack-level management controller and at least one of the block controllers, the infrastructure manager comprising a switch communicatively coupled to an infrastructure controller, wherein the infrastructure controller selectively routes the global throttle power reduction signal via the Ethernet cable to at least one selected block controller.

12. The rack-level power control system of claim 11 , wherein the Ethernet cable further comprises:

a rack-level Ethernet cable connected between the management controller and the infrastructure manager, the rack-level Ethernet cable having a first global throttle to provide communication of the global throttle power reduction signal from the rack-level management controller to the infrastructure manager; and

at least one block level Ethernet cable connected between the infrastructure manager and at least one of the block controllers, the block level Ethernet cable having a second global throttle wire to provide communication of the global throttle power reduction signal from the infrastructure manager to at least one of the block controllers.

13. The rack-level power control system of claim 10 , wherein the power subsystem further comprises:

at least one power supply unit communicatively coupled to the management controller, the management controller receiving power supply unit data and settings from the at least one power supply unit;

an AC switch connected to the at least one power supply unit to supply power to the at least one power supply unit, the AC switch communicatively coupled to the management controller, the management controller receiving AC power data and settings from the AC switch; and

at least one backup battery connected to at least one of the power supply units, wherein the management controller has firmware executing thereon that configures the rack-level management controller to:

in response to determining that an AC input power failure has occurred, transmitting a signal to at least one of the block controllers to reduce power to at least one of the nodes in order to extend operating life of the backup battery.

14. The rack-level power control system of claim 10 , wherein the block controller further comprises:

a field programmable gate array that contains pre-determined processing node global throttle data designating at least one of the processing nodes to reduce power in response to receiving the global throttle power reduction signal.

15. The rack-level power control system of claim 10 , wherein the cooling subsystem further comprises:

at least one temperature sensor that is communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller, wherein the management controller has firmware executing thereon that configures the rack-level management controller to, in response to receiving a signal from a temperature sensor indicating that the overall thermal readings of the IHS are above a system thermal threshold:

identify at least one block drawing large amounts of power and contributing to higher than normal thermal threshold readings; and

transmit a signal to at least each block controller corresponding to the identified at least one block to reduce power consumption by the at least one node.

16. The rack-level power control system of claim 10 , wherein the management controller has firmware executing thereon that configures the rack-level management controller to:

in response to reducing power to at least one of the nodes, determine whether a condition that reduces the total amount of available power for distribution within the IHS remains; and

in response to the condition remaining, trigger at least one of the block controllers to shut down at least one of the nodes.

17. The rack-level power control system of claim 10 , wherein the management controller has firmware executing thereon that configures the rack-level management controller to:

determine whether at least one of an infrastructure manager or the block controllers are to be reset; and

in response to determining that at least one of the infrastructure manager or the block controllers are to be reset, generate a reset signal on a reset wire allocated within each Ethernet cable directly connecting the management controller with the infrastructure manager and the block controllers, wherein the reset signal triggers at least one of the of the infrastructure manager or the block controllers to reset.

18. An information handling system (IHS) comprising:

a rack having a plurality of block chasses;

one or more blocks located within respective ones of the plurality of block chassis, the blocks each having one or more processing nodes and at least one block controller that controls block-level operations associated with all of the one or more processing nodes within a corresponding block, the block controller being a different controller than a board controller within each of the at least one node, wherein each of the one or more nodes within each block further comprises an internal node power distribution subsystem that is communicatively connected to a respective block controller and that receives and controls power distribution to the node;

a rack-level management controller having a processor, a memory coupled to the processor via a system interconnect, the rack-level management controller communicatively coupled to the blocks, the block controllers, and the processing nodes;

a power subsystem communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller;

a cooling subsystem communicatively coupled to the rack-level management controller; and

an Ethernet cable connected between the rack-level management controller and at least one of the block controllers, at least one of the wires in the Ethernet cable allocated as a global throttle wire to provide communication of a global throttle power reduction signal from the rack-level management controller to at least one of the block controllers, which throttles operations of at least one of the nodes controlled by a corresponding block controller, allowing an immediate reduction in power usage by the nodes upon receipt of the global throttle power reduction signal.

19. The information handling system of claim 18 , further comprising:

an infrastructure manager communicatively connected via the Ethernet cable between the rack-level management controller and at least one of the block controllers, the infrastructure manager comprising a switch communicatively coupled to an infrastructure controller.

20. The information handling system of claim 19 , wherein the infrastructure controller selectively routes the global throttle power reduction signal via the Ethernet cable to at least one selected block controller.

21. The information handling system of claim 20 , wherein:

the Ethernet cable comprises a rack-level Ethernet cable connected between the management controller and the infrastructure manager, the rack-level Ethernet cable having a first global throttle to provide communication of the global throttle power reduction signal from the rack-level management controller to the infrastructure manager; and

the information handling system further comprises at least one block level Ethernet cable connected between the infrastructure manager and at least one of the block controllers, the block level Ethernet cable having a second global throttle wire to provide communication of the global throttle power reduction signal from the infrastructure manager to at least one of the block controllers.