A Practical Dynamic Frequency Scaling Solution to DPM in Embedded Linux Systems

Abstract

Traditional power management enables CPU to switch among different power consumption modes such as running, idle and standby to save energy to a certain degree. In battery-powered embedded Linux systems, power management plays an even more important role than in desktops. This paper proposes a practical solution to dynamic power management (DPM) based on dynamic frequency scaling (DFS). According to the system workload, it switches the working frequency among several predefined settings. This paper presents a design and implementation of the solution in an embedded Linux system. Experimental results on an Intel PXA250-based system have demonstrated that the system running a DPM-enabled Linux can save up to 44% of execution time with less than 8% extra power consumption in an email application.