Embedded Linux Conference Europe

Embedded platforms performances keep increasing, quicker than power and thermal budgets, making Power Management (PM) an essential element. This presentation describes the importance of identifying and tracking KPI (Key Performance Indicators: C-States statistics / OPerating Points (OPP) Usage / Interrupts Rates / MPU Load / Memory Usage / Running Clocks / Power Status / ...) on a per use-case basis, to optimize power consumption at system-level (battery), but also to maintain temperature within limits. Following a short introduction to standard KPI, a methodology will be illustrated with practical examples extracted from critical use-cases (MP3 AV Playback, OS Idle, 3D Gaming) run on a real product. The need for dedicated and automated power management tooling (embedded power measurements, kernel instrumentation, user-space tooling) will be also highlighted.