Rack Controllers for Data Center Management via Virtualization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current data center management systems face challenges with limited API capabilities, reliance on wired connections and baseboard management controllers, and the inability to aggregate and analyze data across various services, leading to inefficient monitoring and control capabilities.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a Data Center Sensorfication, Control, Analytics, and Management Platform, referred to as Vapor CORE, which provides south-of-rack management and monitoring capabilities, as well as north-of-rack aggregation and analytics through a set of microservices, including a southbound API for device control and a northbound API for data analysis, supported by tools for integration, visualization, and decision-making.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional out-of-band management network is implemented using wired connections and baseboard management controllers, then device control and monitoring capabilities are provided, but device complexity and hardware investment requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the management control functionality from the physical hardware layer and relocates it to the virtualization layer through virtual management controllers. This allows management capabilities to be provided through software virtualization rather than requiring dedicated physical hardware controllers for each device, thereby reducing hardware complexity while maintaining control reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal virtual management controller that can manage multiple different types of computing devices through a standardized interface. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for device-specific management hardware, allowing a single virtual controller to perform diverse management tasks across heterogeneous devices, thus reducing overall hardware requirements.
2Ease of operation
If extensive hardware investments are made for management and monitoring capabilities, then comprehensive device control is achieved, but cost and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of management controller functionality through software rather than requiring physical hardware copies for each managed device. The virtual management controllers are instantiated as software entities that replicate the control and monitoring capabilities needed, eliminating the need for expensive physical hardware investments while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical hardware-based management system with a software-based virtualization approach. Instead of using physical baseboard management controllers and wired connections for each device, the system uses virtualized management planes that provide the same functionality through software, thereby substituting hardware investments with software solutions.
3Productivity
If data aggregation and analysis across various services is not implemented, then system simplicity is maintained, but operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges data aggregation and analytics capabilities into the virtualization layer through a unified management plane. By combining these functions at the virtualization level rather than requiring separate dedicated hardware systems for each function, the patent achieves comprehensive data aggregation and analysis while avoiding proportional increases in hardware complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the analytics and aggregation dimension to the existing management architecture by introducing a northbound API layer that provides analytical capabilities. This dimensional addition is achieved through software services rather than physical hardware layers, allowing enhanced operational efficiency without proportionally increasing system hardware complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a process, including: receiving, with a rack-controller, via a first network, an application program interface (API) request; based on the API request, selecting, with the rack-controller, one of a plurality of routines to effectuate control via the second network of at least some of the plurality of rack-mounted computing devices; executing, with the rack-controller, the selected routine and, as a result, sending one or more commands via the second network encoded in a second protocol different from the first protocol to effectuate an action indicated by the API request.