Operating system management of network interface devices

• US 9,939,876 B2
• Filed: 10/09/2015
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Gatta, Srinivas Raghu, Srinivasan, Kamalavasan, Ritz, Andrew J., Thaler, David G., Anipko, Dmitry A., Malysh, Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Stoynov, Stefan
• Application Number:
  US14/879,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20160034018A1
• Time in Patent Office: 914 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3209 Monitoring remote activity, e.g. over telephone lines or network connections
• 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 1/325 Power saving in peripheral device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3278 Power saving in modem or I/O interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/10 Current supply arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/405 Physical details, e.g. power supply, mechanical construction or backplane of ATM switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/9068 in the network interface card
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/321 Interlayer communication protocols or service data unit [SDU] definitions; Interfaces between layers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0251 using monitoring of local events, e.g. events related to user activity
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Operating system management of network interface devices is described. In one or more implementations, a determination is made by an operating system that network traffic associated with one or more applications of the computing device has completed. Responsive to the determination, a network interface device is caused to transition to a mode to reduce power consumption of the network interface device by the operating system.

Claims

1. A method implemented by a computing device, the method comprising:

determining, by a network broker module operating on the computing device while the computing device is in a mode to reduce power consumption, that a network traffic pattern associated with an application of the computing device has been received; and

responsive to the determination, waking the application while the computing device remains in the mode to reduce power consumption.

2. A method as described in claim 1, the method further comprising registering the network traffic pattern associated with the application with the network broker module.

3. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the network traffic pattern associated with the application comprises a specific pattern of data received by a network interface device of the computing device.

4. A method as described in claim 3, wherein the specific pattern of data comprises a particular packet, callback, or remote endpoint.

5. A method as described in claim 1, the method further comprising interrupting an operating system of the computing device upon receipt of the network traffic pattern associated with the application.

6. A method as described in claim 5, wherein the operating system of the computing device wakes the application.

7. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the application is vectored into portions such that network functionality of the application is separate from other functionality of the application.

8. A method as described in claim 7, wherein the waking comprises waking only the network functionality portion of the application.

9. A method as described in claim 1, the method further comprising coalescing data for communication to the application at a defined interval.

10. A method as described in claim 1, wherein the network traffic pattern is specific to a particular user of the application.

11. A method as described in claim 1, the method further comprising placing the application in a suspended state.

12. A method as described in claim 11, the application being placed in a suspended state in response to:

focus being moved to another application;

minimizing a user interface of the application;

movement of the user interface of the application from a foreground;

or

navigation away from the user interface of the application.

13. A computing device comprising:

a processor;

a display;

a network interface device; and

computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the processor, implement a network broker module on the computing device while the computing device is in a mode to reduce power consumption, the network broker module configured to;

determine that a network traffic pattern associated with an application of the computing device has been received; and

responsive to the determination, wake the application while the computing device remains in the mode to reduce power consumption.

14. A computing device as described in claim 13, the instructions further configured to interrupt an operating system of the computing device upon receipt of the network traffic pattern associated with the application.

15. A computing device as described in claim 13, wherein the application is vectored into portions such that network functionality of the application is separate from other functionality of the application.

16. A computing device as described in claim 15, wherein the waking comprises waking only the network functionality of the application.

17. A computing device as described in claim 13, the instructions further configured to coalesce data for communication to the application at a defined interval.

18. A system comprising:

a network interface device;

a computing device; and

computer-readable storage media having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by a processor, implement a network broker module on the computing device while the computing device is in a mode to reduce power consumption, the network broker module configured to;

determine that a network traffic pattern associated with an application of the computing device has been received; and

responsive to the determination, wake the application while the computing device remains in the mode to reduce power consumption.

19. A system as described in claim 18, wherein the application is vectored into portions such that network functionality of the application is separate from other functionality of the application and wherein the waking comprises waking only the network functionality of the application.

20. A system as described in claim 18, the instructions further configured to coalesce data for communication to the application at a defined interval.