Computers as Components, 3rd Edition

6.8 Power Optimization Strategies for Processes

We learned in Section 3.7 about the features that CPUs provide to manage power consumption. The RTOS and system architecture can use static and dynamic power management mechanisms to help manage the system’s power consumption. A power management policy[Ben00] is a strategy for determining when to perform certain power management operations. A power management policy in general examines the state of the system to determine when to take actions. However, the overall strategy embodied in the policy should be designed based on the characteristics of the static and dynamic power management mechanisms.

Power-down trade-offs

Going into a low-power mode takes time; generally, the more that is shut off, ...