Method and apparatus for controlling temperature variations in a computer system

1. A method for controlling a temperature variation in a computer system, the method comprising:

monitoring a performance parameter of the computer system;

predicting a future temperature of the computer system based on the performance parameter; and

adjusting a pitch of one or more blades in a cooling device in the computer system based on the future temperature to control the temperature variation in the computer system, wherein adjusting the pitch comprises reversing a flow of air generated by the cooling device by reversing the pitch of the one or more blades.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a speed of the cooling device is controlled to avoid a resonant frequency of the computer system.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the speed is constant.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including:

determining a vibrational frequency response of the computer system.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein a speed of the cooling device is controlled to operate near a minimum in the vibrational frequency response of the computer system.

6. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein monitoring the performance parameter includes systematically monitoring and recording a set of performance parameters of the computer system,

wherein the recording process keeps track of the temporal relationships between events in different performance parameters.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes using an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes predicting the future temperature a predetermined amount of time in the future, wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined based on parameters including a thermal inertia of the computer system.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performance parameter includes at least one of:

a temperature of the computer system;

a current load of the computer system; and

a moving history window of a load on the computer system.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cooling device includes at least one of:

a cooling fan; and

a liquid coolant pump.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein reversing the flow of air facilitates dislodging dust in the computer system.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that when executed by a computer cause the computer to perform a method for controlling a temperature variation in a computer system, the method comprising:

monitoring a performance parameter of the computer system;

predicting a future temperature of the computer system based on the performance parameter; and

adjusting a pitch of one or more blades in a cooling device in the computer system based on the future temperature to control the temperature variation in the computer system, wherein adjusting the pitch comprises reversing a flow of air generated by the cooling device by reversing the pitch of the one or more blades.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein a speed of the cooling device is controlled to avoid a resonant frequency of the computer system.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the speed is constant.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , further including:

determining a vibrational frequency response of the computer system, wherein a speed of the cooling device is controlled to operate near a minimum in the vibrational frequency response of the computer system.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 ,

wherein monitoring the performance parameter includes systematically monitoring and recording a set of performance parameters of the computer system,

wherein the recording process keeps track of the temporal relationships between events in different performance parameters.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes using an autoregressive moving average to predict the future temperature of the computer system.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein predicting the future temperature of the computer system includes predicting the future temperature a predetermined amount of time in the future, wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined based on parameters including a thermal inertia of the computer system.

19. An apparatus that controls a temperature variation in a computer system, the apparatus comprising:

a monitoring mechanism configured to monitor a performance parameter of the computer system, wherein monitoring the performance parameter includes systematically monitoring and recording a set of performance parameters of the computer system, and wherein the recording process keeps track of the temporal relationships between events in different performance parameters;

a predicting mechanism configured to predict a future temperature of the computer system based on the performance parameter; and

an adjusting mechanism configured to adjust a pitch of one or more blades in a cooling device in the computer system based on the future temperature to control the temperature variation in the computer system, wherein, while adjusting the pitch, the adjusting mechanism is configured to reverse a flow of air generated by the cooling device by reversing the pitch of the one or more blades.