As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
An information handling system may include a voltage regulator to provide a constant voltage level and a current to power the system. For example, a voltage regulator may receive an input voltage and produce an output current at a predetermined output voltage required by a load, i.e., the circuit element(s) for which it is providing power. Many voltage regulators may be capable of operating in multiple phases, wherein a phase for a voltage regulator may typically refer to combining a driver and a power stage to form one phase. Thus, a multi-phase voltage regulator may include multiple instances of such combinations.
Oftentimes, an information handling system may require multiple voltage rails to power components requiring different power supply voltages. Traditionally, such requirements have been satisfied by providing a stand-alone voltage regulator for each such rail. To enable many configurations of components within an information handling system, each voltage regulator would typically include a number of phases to ensure it can meet power requirements of the components to which power is supplied on each rail. Accordingly, in a configuration of components in which some do not require all of the phases of the voltage regulator providing power to such components, such phases may in a sense be “wasted,” adding cost to and taking space up in an information handling system.