Power controller for multiprocessor computing system having shared input/output devices

摘要

A shared power controller for a rack of interface devices which are shared among a plurality of processor units. The shared power controller may be commanded into a power up mode by any connected central processor via its system power interface (16, 17, 18). A power down of a connected rack of interface units may, however, only be effected when all the connected CPU units (11, 12, 13) enter a power down mode. A system power controller provides both remote and local operation such that diagnosis and analysis of problems may be effected locally at each rack of input/output devices.