Dynamic Clock Voltage Scaling for Shared Resource Idle Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current power management schemes for systems on a chip (SoC) do not consider the overall energy efficiency of processors and shared resources, leading to inefficiencies when only one processor is active, as they keep shared resources active to serve a single processor, reducing idle time and increasing energy consumption.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that determine whether only a subset of multiple processors is active, and if so, increase the frequency of that processor below a threshold to reduce the time shared resources need to be active, thereby increasing energy efficiency by prolonging idle periods of shared resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the frequency of the processor is increased to improve processing speed, then the productivity is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamic frequency scaling by adjusting the processor frequency based on real-time detection of active processors. When only one processor is active, the frequency is increased to maximize processing speed; when multiple processors are active, the frequency is reduced to lower energy consumption. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between productivity and energy consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the frequency parameter of the processor based on the number of active processors. By detecting whether one or multiple processors are active and adjusting the frequency accordingly, the system optimizes the trade-off between processing speed and energy consumption, directly addressing the technical contradiction.
2Reliability
If shared resources are kept active to serve a single processor, then the reliability of resource availability is improved, but the energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the operational state of shared resources based on the number of active processors. When only one processor is active, shared resources are kept active to ensure immediate resource availability. When multiple processors are active, shared resources are allowed to enter idle state to reduce energy consumption, while still maintaining availability when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system proactively manages the state of shared resources based on predicted usage patterns. By detecting the number of active processors, the system preemptively adjusts resource availability, keeping resources active when likely to be needed and allowing idle when multiple processors are active, thus preventing energy waste while maintaining reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
In certain aspects, a method for frequency scaling comprises determining whether only a subset of multiple processors is active, wherein the multiple processors share one or more resources. The method also comprises increasing a frequency of at least one processor in the subset of the multiple processors if a determination is made that only the subset of the multiple processors is active and the frequency of the at least one processor is below a frequency threshold. This may be done, for example, to increase the time duration of an idle mode for the one or more shared resources and achieve an overall power reduction for a system including the multiple processors, the one or more shared resources, and/or other function blocks.