Computing center power and cooling control apparatus and method

1. A method of controlling plural processors of a computing system, comprising:

monitoring activity levels of the plural processors over a time interval and based on that monitoring determining plural processor activity level scores, the plural processor activity level scores being based on a scale and broken out according to daytime versus nighttime, weekday versus weekend and regular power supply versus backup power supply;

comparing the plural processor activity level scores with processor vendor predetermined processor activity level scores also based on the scale and corresponding to preselected processor operating modes and based on that comparison determining a recommended operating mode for each of the plural processors; and

instructing each of the plural processors to operate in its recommended operating mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring, comparing and instructing are performed by a controller.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the controller includes instructions stored in a computer readable medium.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined processor activity level scores include activity level scores corresponding to processor activity levels for plural software applications requiring differing levels of processor activity.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plural operating modes comprise plural processor clock speeds.

6. The method of claim 1 , comprising monitoring a temperature of each of the plural processors, comparing the monitored temperatures to critical temperatures corresponding to each of the processors and instructing each of the plural processors to operate in a different operating mode if the monitored temperatures exceed the critical temperatures.

7. A method of cooling a computing system that includes plural processors and a cooling system capable of delivering a cooling fluid, comprising:

determining a first relationship between cooling system power consumption and temperature of at least one of the plural processors;

determining a second relationship between power consumption of the at least one processor and temperature of the at least one of the processors;

determining a processor temperature at which the first and second relationships are approximately equal; and

setting the processor power consumption and cooling power consumption at levels corresponding to the determined processor temperature using the first and second relationships.

8. The method of claim 7 , comprising determining a third relationship between processor temperature and cooling air temperature and using the third relationship to set the cooling power consumption to a level corresponding to the determined processor temperature.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the steps of determining and the step of setting are performed by a controller including instructions in a computer readable medium.

10. The method of claim 7 , comprising allocating portions of delivered cooling fluid corresponding to the set cooling power consumption level to the plural processors based on a measured temperature of each of the plural processors.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the allocating is not equal among the plural processors.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the allocating comprises varying cooling fluid flow rate past a given of the plural processors using a flow control device.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the flow control device comprises a louver.

14. A system, comprising:

a controller programmed with instructions stored in a computer readable medium to monitor activity levels of plural processors over a time interval to determine plural activity level scores, compare the plural activity level scores with predetermined processor activity level scores corresponding to preselected processor operating modes to determine a recommended operating mode for each of the plural processors, and instruct each of the plural processors to operate in its recommended operating mode; and

wherein the controller is programmed to determine a first relationship between cooling system power consumption and temperature of at least one of the plural processors, determine a second relationship between power consumption of the at least one processor and temperature of the at least one of the processors, determine a processor temperature at which the first and second relationships are approximately equal, and set the processor power consumption and cooling power consumption at levels corresponding to the determined processor temperature using the first and second relationships.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the system comprises a computing system including plural processors.

16. The computing system of claim 15 , wherein the plural processors are positioned in at least two computer servers.

17. The computing system of claim 15 , comprising a cooling system capable of delivering a cooling fluid to the plural processors.

18. The computing system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is programmed to determine a third relationship between processor temperature and cooling air temperature and use the third relationship to set the cooling power consumption to a level corresponding to the determined processor temperature.

19. The computing system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is programmed to allocate portions of delivered cooling fluid corresponding to the set cooling power consumption level to the plural processors based on a measured temperature of each of the plural processors.

20. The computing system of claim 19 , wherein the allocation is not equal among the plural processors.

21. The computing system of claim 19 , wherein the allocating comprises varying cooling fluid flow rate past a given of the plural processors using a flow control device.