Protocol State Aware Power Management for Network Interfaces
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems fail to accurately predict traffic tendency in network interfaces, leading to inefficient power management in edge computing environments, as they rely solely on processor activity and lack correlation with networking protocol state changes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing protocol state aware power management by using network interface cards (NICs) to monitor stateful protocol traffic trends, allowing for early detection and adaptation of power consumption based on anticipated network activity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If power management relies solely on processor activity monitoring, then power management is simple to implement, but detection latency increases and power management precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines processor activity monitoring with network interface card (NIC) protocol state monitoring into a unified power management system. The host processor and NIC work together, with the NIC detecting protocol states (SYN, FIN, RST packets) and the host processor combining this with its own activity metrics to generate comprehensive power hints, thereby improving measurement precision without proportionally increasing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The NIC monitors protocol states in advance and generates power hints before the host processor needs to make power management decisions. By detecting connection establishment packets (SYN) and termination packets (FIN, RST) early at the network interface level, the system anticipates future processing loads and adjusts power accordingly, reducing detection latency.
2Loss of time
If power management uses only current processor activity, then response time is fast for immediate changes, but detection latency increases for anticipated traffic trends
Solution Approach 1:
The NIC detects protocol states (SYN for connection establishment, FIN/RST for connection termination) in advance of actual processing needs and generates power hints that predict future processor workload. This preliminary detection at the network interface level allows the system to anticipate traffic trends before they reach the processor, reducing detection latency for anticipated changes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the NIC continuously monitors protocol states and provides power hints to the host processor, which adjusts its power state accordingly. This closed-loop feedback enables dynamic adaptation to both immediate and anticipated workload changes, improving overall power management efficiency.
3Measurement precision
If the system monitors detailed protocol states, then power management precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different monitoring strategies to different protocol states at different locations in the system. The NIC specifically monitors network layer protocol states (SYN, FIN, RST packets) that are directly relevant to processor workload prediction, while the host processor monitors its own activity metrics. This localized, targeted monitoring improves precision without requiring comprehensive monitoring of all system parameters.
Data Source
AI summary
Various systems and methods for implementing protocol state aware power management are described herein. A network interface device for implementing protocol state aware power management includes circuitry to provide a direct memory access interface; medium access control (MAC) circuitry to interface with a network; and control circuitry to: classify packets received at the MAC circuitry as packets used to open network connections or packets used to close network connections; maintain statistics of packets used to open network connections and packets used to close network connections; calculate a power hint based on the statistics of packets used to open connections and packets used to close network connections; and write a receive descriptor to a host memory using the direct memory access interface, the receive descriptor including a power hint field with the power hint, the power hint used by a host processor to scale processor power based on the power hint.