Coordinating protocol for a multi-processor system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A networked computing system comprising:
- a plurality of processing units including at least first and second processing units, said first processing unit running a coordinating protocol to control operation of the processing units in order to reduce power consumption of the system;
wherein the first processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to the second processing unit because the second processing unit can execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol; and
wherein, after executing the function, the second processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a processing unit in the plurality of processing units that consumes a lowest amount of power when executing the coordinating protocol.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-processor computing system included a plurality of processing units is provided in which each of the plurality of processing units operates at clock frequency and a coordinating protocol is used to assign tasks and operations to any of the plurality of processing units in a manner such that the power efficiency of the system is optimized.
116 Citations
50 Claims
-
1. A networked computing system comprising:
-
a plurality of processing units including at least first and second processing units, said first processing unit running a coordinating protocol to control operation of the processing units in order to reduce power consumption of the system;
wherein the first processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to the second processing unit because the second processing unit can execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol; and
wherein, after executing the function, the second processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a processing unit in the plurality of processing units that consumes a lowest amount of power when executing the coordinating protocol. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. A multiple processor computer system comprising:
-
a plurality of processing units, each of the plurality of processing units operating at a clock frequency, with at least a first processing unit operating at a clock frequency that is lower than clock frequencies of others of the processing units;
wherein the first processing unit coordinates operation of the processing units via a coordinating protocol so as to reduce power consumption of the computer system;
wherein the first processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a second processing unit because the second processing unit can execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol; and
wherein, after executing the function, the second processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a processing unit in the plurality of processing units that consumes a lower amount of power than the second processing unit when executing the coordinating protocol. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
-
21. A method of reducing power consumption in a multi-processor computing system, the method comprising:
-
operating a coordinating protocol on a first processing unit of a plurality of processing units, the coordinating protocol comprising;
receiving a request to perform a task;
determining to which of the plurality of processing units to assign the task; and
assigning the task to one of the plurality of processing units; and
transferring the coordinating protocol to a second processing unit of the plurality of processing units because the second processing unit can execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol;
wherein, after executing the function, the second processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a processing unit in the plurality of processing units that consumes a lowest amount of power when executing the coordinating protocol. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A computer system comprising:
-
a plurality of processing units including first and second processing units, the first processing unit running a coordinating protocol operable to coordinate operation of the first and second processing units;
a power source;
a flash memory module; and
a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, wherein the first processing unit assigns tasks to the first and second processing units to reduce power consumption of the system;
wherein the first processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to the second processing unit because the second processing unit can execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol; and
wherein after executing the function, the second processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a processing unit in the plurality of processing units that consumes a lowest amount of power when executing the coordinating protocol. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
-
-
34. A computing system comprising:
-
a plurality of processing units including at least first and second processing units, the first processing unit running a coordinating protocol to control operation of the processing units;
wherein the first processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to the second processing unit because the second processing unit can execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol; and
wherein, after executing the function, the second processing unit transfers the coordinating protocol to a processing unit in the plurality of processing units that consumes a lower amount of power than the second processing unit when executing the coordinating protocol. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
-
-
50. A system comprising a plurality of communication devices, the plurality of communication devices comprising:
-
a coordinating device that runs a coordinating protocol to control operation of other communication devices, the coordinating device having a lowest clock speed of the plurality of communication devices;
a first communication device that operates in a standby mode to receive signals and in a sleep mode that consumes less power than the standby mode, the first communication device having a higher clock speed than the coordinating device;
a second communication device that operates in the standby mode to receive signals and in the sleep mode that consumes less power than the standby mode, the second communication device having a higher clock speed than the first communication device;
wherein the coordinating device controls the first communication device to enter the sleep mode for a first amount of time, and controls the second communication device to enter the sleep mode for a second amount of time, the first and second amounts of time being based on frequencies of operation of the first and second communication devices, respectively, the frequencies of operation being set by the coordinating protocol;
wherein the coordinating device transfers the coordinating protocol to the second communication device to execute a function associated with the coordinating protocol that the coordinating device could not timely execute; and
wherein, after executing the function, the second communication device transfers the coordinating protocol to a communication device based on an amount of power consumed by the communication device when executing the coordinating protocol.
-
Specification