POWER SAVING METHOD AND DEVICE FOR NETWORK PROCESSOR

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a programmable state machine built in a core of a network processor (NP) for monitoring the utilization rate of various processing elements in the NP and controlling the power states of the respective elements as a function of the past utilization rate and an estimated utilization rate.

SOLUTION: The state machine can be utilized for controlling a centralized power saving control unit or controlling a distributed power saving control unit including the state machine itself. The function of the power saving state machine can be executed in an arbitrary connection of software and/or hardware logic according to the requirements of a system design. The monitoring and the control are performed through the usage of the power saving state change algorithm. The determination of the power state of the processing elements is adapted to the interdependency between the elements. This machine also adjusts a gain coefficient in response to the actual performance and the utilization rate of the network processor.

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