Edge Device Power Management via Coordinated State Transitions

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Solution Overview

Problem

Edge devices in edge computing architectures face inefficiencies due to uncontrolled interactions leading to excess power consumption, especially in remote and rugged environments with limited energy resources, where they operate at suboptimal loads resulting in higher power usage without corresponding performance gains.

Innovation Solution

The coordination of edge device operations through a system idle governor that predicts usage and power requirements, synchronizes wake-up events, and aggregates tasks to maintain devices in high-load states for efficient power consumption, thereby optimizing the performance-to-power ratio by ensuring devices are only active when necessary.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If edge devices operate continuously to meet performance requirements, then service availability is improved, but power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice availabilityVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements periodic wake-up cycles where edge devices alternate between active and standby states. Devices wake up at scheduled intervals to process workloads and then return to low-power standby mode, creating a periodic operation pattern that reduces overall power consumption while maintaining service availability through coordinated scheduling across the edge device fleet.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary actions by predicting future workload demands and proactively waking up edge devices before peak demand periods occur. This allows devices to be prepared in advance, ensuring service availability when needed while avoiding unnecessary continuous operation, thereby reducing power consumption.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Use of energy by moving object

If edge devices are kept in standby state to reduce power consumption, then energy efficiency is improved, but response time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveenergy efficiencyVSAvoidresponse time

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms that monitor actual workload patterns, power consumption, and response times. This feedback is used to continuously refine wake-up scheduling decisions, optimizing the balance between energy efficiency and response time by adjusting when devices should wake from standby based on real-world performance data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Productivity

If multiple edge devices operate independently to process workloads, then processing capacity is improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing capacityVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system merges the scheduling and coordination functions into a centralized or federated controller that manages multiple edge devices. This allows individual devices to remain relatively simple while the system as a whole achieves high processing capacity through coordinated operation. The controller handles workload distribution, wake-up scheduling, and state management, reducing complexity at the device level.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The edge devices are designed with universal interfaces and standardized state transitions that allow them to perform multiple functions through a common framework. This multi-functionality enables the same hardware to handle different workload types and operational modes, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining high processing capacity through flexible resource allocation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

4Reliability

If edge devices operate at low load to maintain readiness, then service availability is improved, but power consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice availabilityVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The system employs dynamic state transitions where edge devices can switch between standby, active, and overloaded states based on real-time conditions. This dynamic behavior allows devices to adapt their operational state to current workload demands and power availability, avoiding the inefficiency of operating continuously at low load while maintaining the ability to quickly respond when needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS11874719B2Management of performance and power consumption of edge devices

Publication Date: 2024.01.16 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

Techniques are disclosed for management of edge devices. For example, a method comprises coordinating operation of a plurality of edge devices in a system to process a plurality of workloads. The coordinating of the operation of the plurality of edge devices in the system comprises coordinating one or more times for changing a state of at least a subset of the plurality of edge devices from a first state corresponding to a first level of activity to a second state corresponding to a second level of activity. By way of further example, the coordinating of the operation of the plurality of edge devices in the system may further comprise coordinating one or more times for the processing of the plurality of workloads by at least the subset of the plurality of edge devices in the system.