Vertigo: Automatic Performance-Setting for Linux

Combining high performance with low power consumption is becoming one of the primary objectives of processor designs. Instead of relying just on sleep mode for conserving power, an increasing number of processors take advantage of the fact that reducing the clock frequency and corresponding operating voltage of the CPU can yield quadratic decrease in energy use. However, performance reduction can only be beneficial if it is done transparently, without causing the software to miss its deadlines. In this paper, we describe the implementation and performance-setting algorithms used in Vertigo, our power management extensions for Linux. Vertigo makes its decisions automatically, without any application-specific involvement. We describe how a hierarchy of performance-setting algorithms, each specialized for different workload characteristics, can be used for controlling the processor's performance. The algorithms operate independently from one another and can be dynamically configured...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2002
• Where: OSDI
• Authors: Krisztián Flautner, Trevor N. Mudge
• Keywords: Low Power Consumption, Operating System, OSDI 2002, Power Management Extensions, Significant Power Savings