Idle duration reporting for power management

• US 9,459,684 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2013
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Gough, Robert E., Kwa, Seh W., Songer, Neil W., Jeyaseelan, Jaya L., Cooper, Barnes
• Primary Examiner(s): YANCHUS III, PAUL B
• Application Number:
  US14/101,545
• Publication Number:
  US 20140101470A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,029 Days
• Field of Search: 713/300, 713/320, 713/323, 713/324
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3215 Monitoring of peripheral devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3228 Monitoring task completion, e.g. by use of idle timers, stop commands or wait commands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken

Abstract

For one disclosed embodiment, data corresponding to an idle duration for one or more downstream devices may be received. Power may be managed based at least in part on the received data. Other embodiments are also disclosed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

interface logic to couple a power management controller of a computing device to one or more downstream component devices in the computing device and receive data identifying a particular expected idle duration for at least a particular one of the one or more downstream component devices in an idle state, wherein the particular idle duration is based on a capacity of a buffer of the particular downstream component device and corresponds to an expected duration of time before data is to be sent from the particular downstream component device; and

control logic of the power management controller of the computing device to identify an expected expiration of the particular idle duration and send a signal to another component device in the computing device to cause the other component to reside in a particular one of a plurality of different idle states based on the expected expiration.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control logic is to cause the other component device to transition to a lower power state in response to receipt of data corresponding to the particular idle duration.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control logic is to cause the other component device to transition from a lower power state based at least in part on the expected expiration of the particular idle duration.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface logic is to receive data corresponding to a plurality of idle durations for each of multiple downstream component devices and the control logic is to transmit data corresponding to an idle duration in the plurality of idle durations that will expire next.

5. A method comprising:

receiving data over a link from one or more downstream component devices in a computing device, wherein the data corresponds to respective idle durations for the one or more downstream component, wherein at least a particular one of the idle durations corresponds to a particular one of the downstream component devices, and the particular duration is based on a capacity of a buffer of the particular downstream component device and corresponds to an expected duration of time before data is to be sent from the particular downstream component device;

determining, from the data, an expected expiration of the particular idle duration; and

sending a signal to another component device in the computing device to cause the other component to reside in a particular one of a plurality of different idle states based on the expected expiration.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the signal comprises a particular signal and the method further comprises sending another signal to the other component device to cause the other component device to transition to a lower power state in response to receipt of data corresponding to the particular idle duration, and the other signal is sent prior to the particular signal.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the receiving includes receiving data corresponding to a plurality of idle durations for each of multiple downstream component devices;

and

wherein the method includes identifying that the particular idle duration is the next to expire in the plurality of idle durations and the signal is sent in response to identifying that the particular idle duration is the next to expire.

8. An apparatus comprising:

receiver logic to receive data corresponding to idle durations for multiple downstream component devices within a computing device, wherein at least a particular one of the idle durations corresponds to a particular one of the downstream component devices, and the particular duration is based on a capacity of a buffer of the particular downstream component device and corresponds to an expected duration of time before data is to be sent from the particular downstream component device;

control logic to track expirations of the idle durations and identify that the particular duration will expire next; and

transmission logic to transmit data to another component device corresponding to the particular idle duration that will expire next to cause another component device in the computing device to reside in a particular one of a plurality of different idle states based on the expirations of the idle durations.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control logic is to compare data corresponding to the idle durations to a timer value to identify the particular idle duration.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the control logic to store data corresponding to idle durations in corresponding timers.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transmission logic is to transmit data to correspond to expiration of the particular idle duration.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the receiver logic is to receive data corresponding to an idle duration from multiple downstream component devices.

13. A method comprising:

receiving data corresponding to idle durations for multiple downstream component devices within a computing device, wherein at least a particular one of the idle durations corresponds to a particular one of the downstream component devices, and the particular duration is based on a capacity of a buffer of the particular downstream component device and corresponds to an expected duration of time before data is to be sent from the particular downstream component device;

tracking expiration of idle durations;

transmitting data to a first component device of the computing device to cause the first component to reside in a particular one of a plurality of different idle states based on one or more of the idle durations;

identifying that the particular duration will expire next; and

transmitting data to a second component device of the computing device corresponding to the particular idle duration that will expire next to cause the second component device to transition from one of the plurality of idle states to an active state in advance of the expiration of the particular idle duration.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the tracking includes comparing data corresponding to the idle durations to a timer value to identify the particular idle duration.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the tracking includes storing data corresponding to idle durations in corresponding timers.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the transmitting includes transmitting data to correspond to expiration of the particular idle duration.

17. An apparatus comprising:

logic to;

identify that communication by a particular downstream component device of a computing device is idle;

determine, from a buffer of the particular downstream component, an idle duration for communication by the particular component device including when the idle duration for the particular component device will expire; and

transmit, to another upstream component device, data corresponding to the idle duration for the particular component device to cause the other component device to reside in a particular one of a plurality of different idle states based on the idle duration for the particular component device.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the logic is further to identify whether at least a portion of the particular component device will communicate with the other upstream component device.

19. A system comprising:

a processor device;

a plurality of component devices downstream from the processor device;

a power controller chip coupled with each of the processor device and the plurality of component devices using respective links, wherein the power controller chip comprises logic, implemented at least in part in hardware circuitry, to;

receive data corresponding to idle durations for one or more of the component devices, wherein the idle durations are to comprise a particular idle duration corresponding to a particular one of the downstream component devices, the particular duration is based on a capacity of a buffer of the particular downstream component device and corresponds to an expected duration of time before data is to be sent from the particular downstream component device;

identify an expected expiration of the particular idle duration; and

send a signal to another component in the system to cause at least a portion of the other component to reside in a particular one of a plurality of different idle states based on the expected expiration of the particular idle duration.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the other component comprises the processor device.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein at least a portion of the respective links support a Peripheral Component Interface Express (PCIe)-based protocol and the signal is sent in accordance with the protocol.