METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ADAPTIVE POWER CONTROL IN A MULTI-LANE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL

摘要

An apparatus consisting of a digital communication channel comprised of a multiplicity of lanes where data is striped across the lanes in a predefined sequence. Each lane has the ability to be powered down or powered up in response to the amount of data being held in a transmit buffer at one end of the communication channel. The method consists of monitoring the amount of data being held in the transmit buffer; making the decision of how many lanes are required based on the amount of data; sending signals to cause the required number of lanes to be powered down or powered up; and performing the required power down or power up action at the particular transmitter and receiver. The fill level of the transmit buffer is continually monitored and the required number of active lanes and the striping sequence is calculated and updated as required as a function of the fill level, where a larger amount of data waiting to be transmitted will result in a greater number of lanes being powered up and a smaller amount of data waiting to be transmitted will result in a lesser number of lanes being powered up.