TEMPERATURE SENSITIVE ROUTING OF DATA IN A COMPUTER SYSTEM

摘要

An apparatus and method routes data over network links based on a temperature of the network links. When the temperature of a link meets a first threshold a routing mechanism re-routes a portion of the network traffic over a lower temperature link to reduce the likelihood that the link will exceed a second threshold that necessitates that the link be throttled back or disabled. Re-routing data to cooler links allows the system to maintain the lowest possible temperature of the network links to gain optimal performance of the system. In the disclosed example, the network links include interconnect cable connections and backplane connections. A temperature of the network links is determined by monitoring a region of an integrated circuit near a line driver driving the network link.

主权项

1. An apparatus comprising:
a plurality of bridge elements in communication with at least one compute node, wherein each bridge element comprises:
a network adapter on an integrated circuit connecting the bridge element over a network link to a second bridge element;a temperature monitor block that monitors a temperature of a region of the integrated circuit in proximity to a line driver that drives the network link; anda routing mechanism that routes data received by the bridge element from a compute node to the second bridge element depending on a temperature of the line driver region, wherein the routing mechanism determines a first threshold temperature and a second threshold temperature based on performance of the network link while sending data over the network link.