- Preface
- Overview of Cisco Unified Computing System
- Overview of Cisco UCS Manager
- Overview of Cisco UCS Manager CLI
- Configuring the Fabric Interconnects
- Configuring Ports and Port Channels
- Configuring Communication Services
- Configuring Authentication
- Configuring Organizations
- Configuring Role-Based Access Control
- Configuring DNS Servers
- Configuring System-Related Policies
- Managing Licenses
- Managing Virtual Interfaces
- Registering Cisco UCS Domains with Cisco UCS Central
- VLANs
- Configuring LAN Pin Groups
- Configuring MAC Pools
- Configuring Quality of Service
- Configuring Network-Related Policies
- Configuring Upstream Disjoint Layer-2 Networks
- Configuring Named VSANs
- Configuring SAN Pin Groups
- Configuring WWN Pools
- Configuring Storage-Related Policies
- Configuring Fibre Channel Zoning
- Configuring Server-Related Pools
- Setting the Management IP Address
- Configuring Server-Related Policies
- Configuring Server Boot
- Deferring Deployment of Service Profile Updates
- Service Profiles
- Configuring Storage Profiles
- Managing Power in Cisco UCS
- Managing Time Zones
- Managing the Chassis
- Managing Blade Servers
- Managing Rack-Mount Servers
- CIMC Session Management
- Managing the I/O Modules
- Backing Up and Restoring the Configuration
- Recovering a Lost Password
- Power Capping in Cisco UCS
- Rack Server Power Management
- Power Management Precautions
- Configuring the Power Policy
- Viewing and Modifying the Global Power Profiling Policy
- Configuring the Global Power Allocation Policy
- Configuring Policy-Driven Chassis Group Power Capping
Managing Power in Cisco UCS
This chapter includes the following sections:
- Power Capping in Cisco UCS
- Rack Server Power Management
- Power Management Precautions
- Configuring the Power Policy
- Viewing and Modifying the Global Power Profiling Policy
- Configuring the Global Power Allocation Policy
- Configuring Policy-Driven Chassis Group Power Capping
- Configuring Manual Blade-Level Power Capping
- Power Sync Policy
- Power Synchronization Behavior
- Displaying the Global Power Sync Policy
- Setting Global Policy Reference for a Service Profile
- Creating a Power Sync Policy
- Deleting a Power Sync Policy
- Displaying All Power Sync Policies
- Creating a Local Policy
- Showing a Local Policy
- Deleting a Local Policy
Power Capping in Cisco UCS
You can control the maximum power consumption on a server through power capping, as well as manage the power allocation in the Cisco UCS Manager for the UCS B-Series Blade Servers, UCS Mini, and mixed UCS domains.
UCS Manager supports power capping on the following servers:
You can use Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Cap, or Manual Blade Level Power Cap methods to allocate power that applies to all of the servers in a chassis.
Cisco UCS Manager provides the following power management policies to help you allocate power to your servers:
Power Management Policies |
Description |
---|---|
Power Policy |
Specifies the redundancy for power supplies in all chassis in a Cisco UCS domain. |
Power Control Policies |
Specifies the priority to calculate the initial power allocation for each blade in a chassis. |
Global Power Allocation |
Specifies the Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Cap or the Manual Blade Level Power Cap to apply to all servers in a chassis. |
Global Power Profiling |
Specifies how the power cap values of the servers are calculated. If it is enabled, the servers will be profiled during discovery through benchmarking. This policy applies when the Global Power Allocation Policy is set to Policy Driven Chassis Group Cap. |
Viewing Power Measured for Blades
Command or Action | Purpose |
---|
The following example lists the minimum and maximum power measured for blades.
UCS-A# show power-measured Measured Power: Device Id (W) Minimum power (W) Maximum power (W) OperMethod -------------- ----------------- ----------------- ---------- blade 1/1 168 252 Pnuos blade 1/2 350 580 Static blade 1/3 350 560 Static blade 1/4 350 398 Static blade 1/5 350 544 Static blade 1/6 350 560 Static blade 1/7 180 276 Pnuos blade 1/8 350 544 Static
Rack Server Power Management
Power capping is not supported for rack servers.
Power Management Precautions
If the CIMC is reset, the power monitoring functions of Cisco UCS become briefly unavailable until the CIMC reboots. Typically, the reset only takes 20 seconds; however, it is possible that the peak power cap can exceed during that time. To avoid exceeding the configured power cap in a low power-capped environment, consider staggering the rebooting or activation of CIMCs.
Configuring the Power Policy
Power Policy for Cisco UCS Servers
The power policy is global and is inherited by all of the chassis' managed by the Cisco UCS Manager instance. You can add the power policy to a service profile to specify the redundancy for power supplies in all chassis' in the Cisco UCS domain. This policy is also known as the PSU policy.
For more information about power supply redundancy, see Cisco UCS 5108 Server Chassis Hardware Installation Guide.
Configuring the Power Policy
The following example configures the power policy to use grid redundancy and commits the transaction:
UCS-A# scope org / UCS-A /org # scope psu-policy UCS-A /org/psu-policy # set redundancy grid UCS-A /org/psu-policy* # commit-buffer UCS-A /org/psu-policy #
Viewing and Modifying the Global Power Profiling Policy
The following example show how to display the global power profiling policy
UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # show profile-policy Global Power Profiling Policy: Power Profiling --------------- No UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # set profile-policy no yes UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # set profile-policy yes UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt* # comm-buffer UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # show profile-policy Global Power Profiling Policy: Power Profiling --------------- Yes
Configuring the Global Power Allocation Policy
Global Power Allocation Policy
The Global Power Allocation Policy allows you to specify the Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Cap or Manual Blade-level Power Cap power allocation method applied to servers in a chassis.
Cisco recommends using the default Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Cap power allocation method.
Any change to the Manual Blade level Power Cap configuration results in the loss of any groups or configuration options set for the Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Cap.
Configuring the Global Power Allocation Policy
UCS-A# scope power-cap-mgmt UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # set cap-policy manual-blade-level-cap UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt* # commit-buffer UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt #
Viewing the Power Cap Values for Servers
Command or Action | Purpose |
---|
The following example shows how to display the minimum and maximum power cap values:
UCS-A# scope power-cap-mgmt UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # show power-measured Measured Power: Device Id (W) Minimum power (W) Maximum power (W) OperMethod -------------- ----------------- ----------------- ---------- blade 1/1 234 353 Pnuos UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt #
Configuring Policy-Driven Chassis Group Power Capping
Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Capping
When you select the Policy Driven Chassis Group Power Cap in the Global Cap Policy, Cisco UCS can maintain the over-subscription of servers without risking power failures. You can achieve over-subscription through a two-tier process. For example, at the chassis level, Cisco UCS divides the amount of power available among members of the power group, and at the blade level, the amount of power allotted to a chassis is divided among blades based on priority.
Each time a service profile is associated or disassociated, Cisco UCS Manager recalculates the power allotment for each blade server within the chassis. If necessary, power from lower-priority service profiles is redistributed to higher-priority service profiles.
UCS power groups cap power in less than one second to safely protect data center circuit breakers. A blade must stay at its cap for 20 seconds before the chassis power distribution is optimized. This is intentionally carried out over a slower timescale to prevent reacting to transient spikes in demand.
![]() Note | The system reserves enough power to boot a server in each slot, even if that slot is empty. This reserved power cannot be leveraged by servers requiring more power. Blades that fail to comply with the power cap are penalized. |
Power Groups in UCS Manager
A power group is a set of chassis that all draw power from the same power distribution unit (PDU). In Cisco UCS Manager, you can create power groups that include one or more chassis, then set a peak power cap in AC watts for that power grouping.
The peak power cap is a static value that represents the maximum power available to all blade servers within a given power group. If you add or remove a blade from a power group, but do not manually modify the peak power value, the power group adjusts the peak power cap to accommodate the basic power-on requirements of all blades within that power group.
A minimum of 890 AC watts should be set for each chassis. This converts to 800 watts of DC power, which is the minimum amount of power required to power an empty chassis. To associate a half-width blade, the group cap needs to be set to 1475 AC watts. For a full-width blade, it needs to be set to 2060 AC watts.
After a chassis is added to a power group, all service profile associated with the blades in the chassis become part of that power group. Similarly, if you add a new blade to a chassis, that blade inherently becomes part of the chassis' power group.
![]() Note | Creating a power group is not the same as creating a server pool. However, you can populate a server pool with members of the same power group by creating a power qualifier and adding it to server pool policy. |
When a chassis is removed or deleted, the chassis gets removed from the power group.
- Explicit: You can create a power group, add chassis' and racks, and assign a budget for the group.
-
Implicit: Ensures that the chassis is always protected by limiting the power consumption within safe limits. By default, all chassis that are not part of an explicit power group are assigned to the default group and the appropriate caps are placed. New chassis that connect to UCS Manager are added to the default power group until you move them to a different power group.
Error Message | Cause | Recommended Action |
---|---|---|
Insufficient budget for power
group POWERGROUP_NAME
and/or Chassis N cannot be capped as group cap is low. Please consider raising the cap.and/or Admin committed insufficient for power group GROUP_NAME, using previous value Nand/or Power cap application failed for chassis N |
One of these messages displays if you did not meet the minimum limit when assigning the power cap for a chassis, or the power requirement increased because of the addition of blades or change of power policies. |
Increase the power cap limit to the Minimum Power Cap for Allowing Operations (W) value displayed on the Power Group page for the specified power group. |
Chassis N cannot be capped as the available PSU power is not enough for the chassis and the blades. Please correct the problem by checking input power or replace the PSU |
Displays when the power budget requirement for the chassis is more than the PSU power that is available. |
Check the PSU input power and redundancy policy to ensure that enough power is available for the chassis. If a PSU failed, replace the PSU. |
Power cap application failed for server N |
Displays when the server is consuming more power than allocated and cannot be capped, or the server is powered on when no power is allocated. |
Do not power on un-associated servers. |
P-State lowered as consumption hit power cap for server |
Displays when the server is capped to reduce the power consumption below the allocated power. |
This is an information message. If a server should not be capped, in the service profile set the value of the power control policy Power Capping field to no-cap. |
Chassis N has a mix of high-line and low-line PSU input power sources. |
This fault is raised when a chassis has a mix of high-line and low-line PSU input sources connected. |
This is an unsupported configuration. All PSUs must be connected to similar power sources. |
Creating a Power Group
Ensure that the global power allocation policy is set to Policy Driven Chassis Group Cap.
The following example creates a power group called powergroup1, specifies the maximum peak power for the power group (10000 watts), adds chassis 1 to the group, and commits the transaction:
UCS-A# scope power-cap-mgmt UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # create power-group powergroup1 UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt/power-group* # set peak 10000 UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt/power-group* # create chassis 1 UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt/power-group/chassis* # commit-buffer UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt/power-group/chassis #
Deleting a Power Group
Command or Action | Purpose |
---|
The following example deletes a power group called powergroup1 and commits the transaction:
UCS-A# scope power-cap-mgmt UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt # delete power-group powergroup1 UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt* # commit-buffer UCS-A /power-cap-mgmt #
Power Control Policy
Cisco UCS uses the priority set in the power control policy along with the blade type and configuration to calculate the initial power allocation for each blade within a chassis. During normal operation, the active blades within a chassis can borrow power from idle blades within the same chassis. If all blades are active and reach the power cap, service profiles with higher priority power control policies take precedence over service profiles with lower priority power control policies.
Priority is ranked on a scale of 1-10, where 1 indicates the highest priority and 10 indicates lowest priority. The default priority is 5.
For mission-critical application a special priority called no-cap is also available. Setting the priority to no-cap prevents Cisco UCS from leveraging unused power from a particular server. With this setting, the server is allocated the maximum amount of power possible for that type of server.
![]() Note | You must include the power control policy in a service profile and that service profile must be associated with a server for it to take effect. |
Creating a Power Control Policy
The following example creates a power control policy called powerpolicy15, sets the priority at level 2, and commits the transaction:
UCS-A# scope org / UCS-A /org # create power-control-policy powerpolicy15 UCS-A /org/power-control policy* # set priority 2 UCS-A /org/power-control policy* # commit-buffer UCS-A /org/power-control policy #
Include the power control policy in a service profile.
Deleting a Power Control Policy
The following example deletes a power control policy called powerpolicy15 and commits the transaction:
UCS-A# scope org / UCS-A /org # delete power-control-policy powerpolicy15 UCS-A /org* # commit-buffer UCS-A /org #
Configuring Manual Blade-Level Power Capping
Manual Blade Level Power Cap
When manual blade-level power cap is configured in the global cap policy, you can set a power cap for each blade server in a Cisco UCS domain.
The following configuration options are available:
-
Watts—You can specify the maximum amount of power that the server can consume at one time. This maximum can be any amount between 0 watts and 1100 watts.
-
Unbounded—No power usage limitations are imposed on the server. The server can use as much power as it requires.
If the server encounters a spike in power usage that meets or exceeds the maximum configured for the server, Cisco UCS Manager does not disconnect or shut down the server. Instead, Cisco UCS Manager reduces the power that is made available to the server. This reduction can slow down the server, including a reduction in CPU speed.
![]() Note | If you configure the manual blade-level power cap using , the priority set in the Power Control Policy is no longer relevant. |
Setting the Blade-Level Power Cap for a Server
Ensure that the global power allocation policy is set to Manual Blade Level Cap.
The following example limits the power usage for a server to 1000 watts and commits the transaction:
UCS-A# scope server 1/7 UCS-A /chassis/server # show power-budget Budget: AdminCommitted (W) ----------------- 139 UCS-A /chassis/server # set power-budget committed unbounded UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer UCS-A /chassis/server # show power-budget Budget: AdminCommitted (W) ----------------- Unbounded UCS-A /chassis/server # set power-budget committed 1000 UCS-A /chassis/server* # commit-buffer UCS-A /chassis/server # show power-budget Budget: AdminCommitted (W) ----------------- 1000 UCS-A /chassis/server #
Viewing the Blade-Level Power Cap
Command or Action | Purpose |
---|
The following example shows the server power usage:
UCS-A# scope server 2/4 UCS-A /chassis/server # show stats Mb Power Stats: Time Collected: 2010-04-15T21:18:04.992 Monitored Object: sys/chassis-1/blade-2/board Suspect: No Consumed Power (W): 118.285194 Input Voltage (V): 11.948000 Input Current (A): 9.900000 Thresholded: Input Voltage Min UCS-A /chassis/server #
Power Sync Policy
Cisco UCS Manager includes a global (default) power sync policy to address power synchronization issues between the associated service profiles and the servers. You can use the power sync policy to synchronize the power state when the desired power state of the service profile differs from the actual power state of the server. The power sync policy allows you to control when to synchronize the desired power state on the associated service profiles for M-series modular servers, rack-mount servers, and blade servers. The power sync policy does not affect other power-related policies.
The power sync policy applies to all the service profiles by default. You cannot delete the default power sync policy, but you can edit the default policy. You can create your own power sync policies and apply them to the service profiles. You can also create a power sync policy that is specific to a service profile and it always takes precedence over the default policy.
Cisco UCS Manager creates a fault on the associated service profile when the power sync policy referenced in the service profile does not exist. Cisco UCS Manager automatically clears the fault once you create a power sync policy for the specified service profile or change the reference to an existing policy in the service profile.
Power Synchronization Behavior
Event |
Desired Power State |
Actual Power State Before Event |
Actual Power State After Event |
---|---|---|---|
Shallow Association |
ON |
OFF |
ON |
Shallow Association |
OFF |
OFF |
OFF |
Shallow Association |
ON |
ON |
ON |
Shallow Association |
OFF |
ON |
ON |
Displaying the Global Power Sync Policy
The following example displays the global (default) power sync policy:
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A /org # scope power-sync-policy default-sync UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy # show expand Power Sync Policy: Name Power Sync Option -------------------- ----------------- default Default Sync UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy # show detail expand Power Sync Policy: Full Name: org-root/power-sync-default Name: default Description: Power Sync Option: Default Sync Policy Owner: Local UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy #
Setting Global Policy Reference for a Service Profile
To refer the global power sync policy in a service profile, use the following commands in service profile mode:
The following example sets the reference to the global power sync policy for use in the service profile.
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A/org # scope service-profile spnew UCS-A/org/service-profile # set power-sync-policy default UCS-A/org/service-profile* # commit-buffer
Creating a Power Sync Policy
The following example creates a power sync policy called newSyncPolicy, sets the default sync-option, and commits the transaction to the system configuration:
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A /org # create power-sync-policy newSyncPolicy UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy* # set decsr newSyncPolicy UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy* # set sync-option default-sync UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy* # commit-buffer UCS-A /org/power-sync-policy #
Include the power sync policy in a service profile or in a service profile template.
Deleting a Power Sync Policy
The following example deletes the power sync policy called spnew and commits the transaction to the system:
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A /org # delete power-sync-policy spnew UCS-A /org # commit-buffer
Displaying All Power Sync Policies
Command or Action | Purpose |
---|
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A /org # show power-sync-policy expand Power Sync Policy: Name Power Sync Option -------------------- ----------------- default Default Sync policy-1 Default Sync UCS-A /org # show power-sync-policy detail expand Power Sync Policy: Full Name: org-root/power-sync-default Name: default Description: Power Sync Option: Default Sync Policy Owner: Local Full Name: org-root/power-sync-policy-1 Name: policy-1 Description: Power Sync Option: Default Sync Policy Owner: Local UCS-A /org #
Creating a Local Policy
To create a local power sync policy that you want to use by any service profile, create a power sync definition for the power sync policy.
The following example creates a local policy using the policy sync definition, sets the sync-option, and commits the transaction to the system configuration:
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A/org # scope service-profile spnew UCS-A/org/service-profile # create power-sync-definition UCS-A/org/service-profile/power-sync-definition* # set decsr spnew UCS-A/org/service-profile/power-sync-definition* # set sync-option default-sync UCS-A/org/service-profile/power-sync-definition* # commit-buffer
Showing a Local Policy
The following example displays the local policy in use by the service profile spnew:
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A/org # scope service-profile spnew UCS-A/org/service-profile # show power-sync-definition expand Power Sync Definition: Name Power Sync Option -------------------- ----------------- spnew Always Sync UCS-A/org/service-profile # show power-sync-definition detail expand Power Sync Definition: Full Name: org-root/ls-sp2/power-sync-def Name: spnew Description: optional description Power Sync Option: Always Sync Policy Owner: Local UCS-A/org/service-profile #
Deleting a Local Policy
Command or Action | Purpose | |
---|---|---|
Step 1 | UCS-A # scope org org-name |
Enters organization mode for the specified organization. To enter the root organization mode, type / as the org-name. |
Step 2 | UCS-A/org # scope service-profile service-profile-name |
Enters the service profile mode for the specified service profile. The name of the service profile can be a minimum of two characters and a maximum up to 32 characters. |
Step 3 | UCS-A /org/service-profile # delete power-sync-definition |
Enters the power sync definition mode. You can delete a power sync policy definition that you defined for the power sync policy. |
Step 4 | UCS-A /org/service-profile* # commit-buffer |
Commits the transaction to the system configuration. |
The following example deletes the local policy in use by the service profile.
UCS-A # scope org UCS-A/org # scope service-profile spnew UCS-A/org/service-profile # delete power-sync-definition UCS-A/org/service-profile* # commit-buffer