INTEGRATING ENERGY BUDGETS FOR POWER MANAGEMENT

• US 20100292854A1
• Filed: 05/13/2009
• Published: 11/18/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sadovsky, Vladimir, Obr, Nathan Steven, Burg, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,433,931 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/291
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system

Abstract

Power consumption of a device (e.g., flash storage driver, hard drive, etc.) connected to a host computer system is managed to promote efficient power usage and improved service. Communication between a host computer system (e.g., an operating system) and a device is enabled so that the host system can ascertain a power footprint of the device. Taking the power footprint of the device into consideration, along with the power consumption of the system as a whole (e.g., including the power consumption needs of other devices), a power manager can provide a power budget to the device based upon an informed decision. This allows for improved system power management through a coordination of the device'"'"'s power consumption by the host system, specifically during operation allowing device performance to be enhanced for the task at hand.

Claims

1. A method for integrating an energy budget of one or more devices into a power management of a host system, comprising:

issuing a query to the one or more devices through a communication protocol to determine an identity of the one or more devices;

obtaining a power footprint of respective identified devices;

determining a power budget for respective devices based upon the obtained power footprint of the respective identified devices; and

allocating the power budget to respective devices.

2. The method of claim 1, the power footprint comprising information pertaining to internal power policies of the one or more devices and the power budget comprising a power policy governing an internal operation of the one or more devices, thereby allowing real time management of the internal operation by the power policy.

3. The method of claim 2, comprising:

receiving a request to change the power policy from the one or more devices; and

determining whether to enable the request based upon the received power footprint.

4. The method of claim 1, the power footprint comprising information pertaining to power consumption of the one or more devices and the power budget comprising an energy allotment for respective devices.

5. The method of claim 1, obtaining the power footprint comprising dynamically monitoring the power footprint of the one or more devices, thereby allowing for dynamic changes to the power budget of respective devices.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising at least one of:

obtaining the power footprint from an information source external to the host system; and

communicating with the one or more devices via at least one of a system bus, storage bus, and device bus.

7. The method of claim 6, the information source external to the host system comprising a device specification provided by an original equipment manufacturer.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising monitoring a at least one of a user'"'"'s usage patterns, a device'"'"'s usage patterns, and a subsystem'"'"'s usage patterns and utilizing the usage patterns to predict the power footprint of the one or more devices.

9. The method of claim 8, comprising issuing a message to a host system user that communicates when the host system does not have an available power for one of the one or more devices to complete an operation.

10. The method of claim 1, allocating the power budget comprising determining the power footprint as a function of an operation the respective devices are trying to perform.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising selectively deactivating one or more devices associated with the host system so that the host system can operate within an available power of the host system.

12. A host system configured to integrate energy budgets for devices, comprising:

a driver configured to obtain a power footprint of a device coupled to the host system; and

a power manager configured to receive the power footprint through a communication protocol between the driver and the power manager and configured to utilize the received power footprint to determine a power budget for the device.

13. The system of claim 12, at least one of:

the power footprint obtained from an information source external to the host system; and

the driver configured to communicate with the device via at least one of a system bus, storage bus and device bus.

14. The system of claim 13, the information source external to the host system comprising a profile configuration file that is received during an update of an operating system of the host system.

15. The system of claim 12, the driver configured to monitor at least one of a user'"'"'s usage patterns, a device'"'"'s usage patterns, and a subsystem'"'"'s usage patterns and communicate the usage patterns, through the communication protocol, to the power manager which utilizes the usage patterns to predict the power footprint of the device.

16. The system of claim 12, the power budget determined as a function of an operation the device is trying to perform.

17. The system of claim 12, the power footprint obtained by dynamically monitoring a power consumption of the device, thereby allowing for dynamic changes to the power budget of the device.

18. The system of claim 12, the driver configured to issue a message to a host system user indicative of the host system not having available power for the device to complete an operation.

19. The system of claim 12, the power manager configured to chose an information source of the power footprint from a hierarchy of ranked information sources, wherein if a given information source cannot provide the power footprint, the power manager receives the power footprint from a lower ranked information source in the hierarchy.

20. A host system configured to integrate power budgets for devices, comprising:

a driver configured to;

provide a communication protocol between a power manager and a device coupled to the host system;

obtain a power footprint of the device by dynamically monitoring the power footprint of the device, the power footprint comprising information pertaining to an internal power policy and a device power consumption;

issue a message to a host system user indicative of the host system having insufficient power for the device to complete an operation; and

monitor at least one of a user'"'"'s usage patterns, a device'"'"'s usage patterns, and a subsystem'"'"'s usage patterns, through the communication protocol, to the power manager;

the power manager configured to;

receive the power footprint through the communication protocol;

utilize the received power footprint to determine a power budget for the device, the power budget comprising a power policy and a energy allotment which are determined as a function of an operation the device is trying to perform;

utilize the usage patterns to predict the power footprint of the device; and

receive a request to change the power policy from the device and determine whether to enable the request based upon the received power footprint.