Patent Application
20070050653
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system power management, and more particularly to a system and method for information handling system adaptive variable bus idle timer.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling system performance has steadily increased over time as processing components have increased their ability to process greater amounts of information in reduced amounts of time. Another factor to improved information handling system performance is the greater speeds at which buses within information handling systems are able to communication information between processing components. For example, the recently introduced PCI Express bus communicates information at rates that are considerably more rapid than its predecessor PCI bus. Generally, the more rapid processing and communication of information occurs due to the increased number of transistor devices integrated within processing components to perform processing operations and the greater number of operating cycles that the processing components run per operating time period. However, the ability of processing components within an information handling system to more rapidly process information typically means that the amount of power used by the information handling system also increases. For portable information handling systems that operate on internal battery power having limited duration, the increased power consumption often translates into reduced battery life for a give battery charge.
One method for reducing power consumption of an information handling system is to place processing components in an idle state when the processing components are inactive. As an example, the PCI Express standard defines an Active State Power Management (ASPM) protocol in which transmission of characters over a PCI Express link are stopped during idle periods in order to reduce power during times of inactivity. The ASPM protocol states that an inactivity timer set at a value determinable by the processing component manufacturer determines when the communication link should transition to a low power state. Before the transition to the low power state, the PCI Express link transmits characters during times of inactivity in order to maintain the serial link synchronization, such as the synchronization of a phased lock loop (PLL). In the idle state, link synchronization is sacrificed for power savings and re-established once the link becomes active again. However, re-establishing synchronization of a PCI Express link takes some time and thus introduces some delay in the communication of information across the link. An ideal inactivity timer value for assertion of low power states at a PCI Express link depends upon link traffic patterns which vary widely depending upon the type of components involved, system activity, the application being run or other factors. Component manufacturers are motivated to select an inactivity timer value that minimizes the impact on component performance or is optimized for a give set of conditions that may differ substantially from actual operating conditions.
Therefore a need has arisen for a system and method which adapts a bus inactivity timer value to variable operating conditions.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method are provided which substantially reduce the disadvantages and problems associated with previous methods and systems for setting a bus inactivity timer value. Bus activity is analyzed to determine an activity threshold for initiating bus power down states. Adaptive variable bus power downs balance information handling system power conservation and performance goals.
More specifically, a power manager monitors a PCI Express bus for idle communication periods greater than an inactivity timer value to place the bus in a power down state and recovers the bus from the power down state upon initiation of communication on the bus. An activity analyzer analyzes one or more factors to dynamically adapt the inactivity timer value to variable operating conditions of the bus. For instance, a dwell timer times the duration of power down states, such as the time from entry until the initiation of a return to a normal operating state, and an inactivity engine compares dwell times with a desired goal value to adjust the inactivity timer value. As an example, the inactivity engine adjusts the inactivity timer to maintain the median dwell time at a value substantially equal to the time required to enter and exit the low power state.
The present invention provides a number of important technical advantages. One example of an important technical advantage is that power conservation and bus performance of an information handling system are balanced for an improved user experience. Dynamic adjustment of the sensitivity of the bus to idle time for the entry of a power down state adjusts system performance to varying conditions for optimal performance with minimal power consumption. Adjustable PCI Express inactivity timer values for each of plural buses of a portable information handling system improves battery charge life while minimizing the affect on component performance for varying operating conditions of the various components of an information handling system.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element.
Power conservation and performance of an information handling system PCI Express bus are balanced by adapting the inactivity timer value for transition to a power down state to take in account variable and changing operating conditions. For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.
Referring now to
Power manager 12 reduces power consumption of PCI Express bus 26 by placing PCI Express bus 26 in a power down state if the bus is determined as idle for an inactivity timer value in an activity timer 30. For instance, power manager 12 monitors activity on PCI Express bus 26 by tracking information communicated through bus 26 other than synchronization information. If no information is detected before expiration at inactivity timer 30 of the inactivity time value, then power manager 12 transitions PCI Express bus 26 to a low power state. When activity is again detected, such as an attempt to send information across bus 26, power manager 12 transitions bus 26 to an active state by re-establishing synchronization. The setting for the inactivity timer value is dynamically adjusted over time by an activity analyzer 32. Activity analyzer 32 analyzes a variety of factors to adjust the inactivity timer value to achieve a desired balance between power consumption and bus performance. For instance, activity analyzer 32 has a dwell timer 34 that measures time values related to the transitions between low power and operating states, such as the length of time that bus 26 is in a low power state before initiation of transition to an operating state. The dwell time measured by dwell timer 34 is analyzed by inactivity engine 36 to determine an adjusted inactivity timer value for inactivity timer 30. For example, inactivity engine incrementally adjusts the inactivity timer value to attempt to maintain a desired average dwell time over a given operating period. In alternative embodiments, other factors used to determine the inactivity timer value include the type of application run on the system, the use of internal or external power sources, and various measures of the rate and timing of information transfers across the bus.
Referring now to
At step 56, the ratio of dwell times above and below the inactivity goal time is analyzed to determine if the inactivity timer is causing too many low power periods for which the dwell time is below the activity goal value. For instance, the inactivity goal value is set substantially at the time required for entry into and exit from the low power state. If a dwell time is less than the time required to enter and exit the low power state, then little or no power savings is experienced for the performance impact sustained. However, if the dwell time is greater than the time required to enter and exit the low power state, at least some power savings is achieved. By tracking bus performance statistics over time, the relative impact of the inactivity timer value is determined so that the inactivity timer value is adjusted to meet desired performance goals. At step 60, for instance, the inactivity timer value is incremented to a greater value if the dwell times are low to achieve fewer low power states after greater inactivity delays, or, the inactivity timer value is decremented to a lower value if the dwell times are high to achieve more low power states with lesser inactivity delays. The process then continues to step 40 to continue monitoring bus activity to detect idle periods in excess of the adjusted inactivity timer value. In alternative embodiments, a variety of factors may be considered in setting a desired inactivity goal and timer value, including time in power down states, time in normal operating states, frequency and quantity of bus activity, applications in use and other factors predictive of bus use.
Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
