Chris D. Lucero Thermal Mechanical Applications Engineering Manager Chakravarthy Akella Sr.

Thermal Mechanical Engineer Intel Corporation

Power Profiling for Embedded Applications

January 2009

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Executive Summary
Todays embedded customers are becoming more and more conscious of how much power their platforms consume. In an effort to reduce overall global power consumption and in turn minimize a businesss carbon footprint, companies must optimize their hardware and software computing solutions to run more efficiently. Intels Embedded and Communications Group (ECG) developed a new power profiling kit which can accurately measure a platforms total AC, DC, and component level power consumption while running standard applications or benchmarks. Armed with this data, embedded system designers can take advantage of various power saving Intel architecture features to match the demands put on their systems during peak and off-peak operation.

In an effort to reduce overall global power consumption and in turn minimize a businesss carbon footprint, companies must optimize their hardware and software computing solutions to run more efficiently.
Power profiling is a method used to measure actual power consumption of the major components within a computing platform by running standard applications and benchmarks. Multiple components rarely run simultaneously at their maximum thermal design power TDP, hence this procedure tends to provide a more realistic system power estimate and avoid unwarranted conservatism. This paper describes steps in implementing power profiling on an Intel architecture platform. Power profiling is done in three main steps: computing the system AC power, computing the system DC power and computing the component power. The system AC power can be monitored using an AC power meter; the DC power supply can be measured by employing a separate system

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breakout board. The breakout board introduces a lossless circuit between the power supply and the motherboard by employing Hall Effect transducers for the voltage rails of interest (I.E. 3.3V, 5V, 12V etc). Component level power profiling is slightly more complicated since it involves isolating all power sources the sources of power to a given component and measuring the power consumed in each.

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Contents
Executive Summary ................................................................................................2 Contents ...............................................................................................................4 Introduction ...........................................................................................................5 The Need for Power Profiling.....................................................................................5 Tendency to Sum Up TDPs .....................................................................5 For Power Management Implementation...................................................6 Advantages of Power Profiling To Customers...............................................................7 How is Power Profiling Done?....................................................................................7 AC Power Measurement .........................................................................8 DC Power Measurement .........................................................................8 Component Power Measurement ...........................................................10 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................11

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Introduction
System designers frequently need a tool or procedure that enables them to take real time platform power measurements. The number of ways in which the power data can be used is endless. Power data collected can be used to compare various platforms under a performance/watt scale. Armed with this data a system designer can pinpoint the inefficiencies of voltage regulators and optimize the system or better utilize the various power saving features of Intel architecture. Power profiling is a method used to measure platform and component level power while running standard applications or benchmarks. Intels latest tool suite consists of a new power profiling kit comprising hardware and software which can be used to accurately measure power. The power profiling kit can measure a platforms total AC, DC, and component level power consumption while running standard applications or benchmarks. Power data can be collected from real- life applications and this data can be used to compare various platforms from a power perspective. This data can also help customers understand the amount of power their applications consume compared to standard industry benchmarks. System engineers can use power profiling data to optimize the system by choosing correct components and identifying redundant components or features on the board. The power savings using various Intel architecture features such as C-States, P-States, and S-States can be determined and the platforms can be optimized accordingly to extract full benefit of all the features.

The Need for Power Profiling

Power profiling data is a valuable tool and can be used for a wide variety of applications. This section explains where power profiling plays a key role in the decision making process.

Tendency to Sum Up TDPs

Engineers tend to sum up TDPs of individual components to estimate the platform power. Given that individual components never simultaneously run at TDP, the summation of individual component TDPs will yield a very conservative number. This summation method has been proven to be an incorrect approach. Power profiling can provide more realistic platform power consumption numbers.

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Figure 1 shows how the power consumption of each component changes running a specific application. The first set of bars show that when the Max power program 1 is used, the CPU runs at 100% of its TDP, while the memory and chipsets run at much lower power. On the other hand when a memory intensive application is used the CPU is underutilized. However, no single application can simultaneously exercise all components. Figure 1. Multiple Components Never Sun at TDP Simultaneously
100% of specified TDP

Percent of TDP (%)

M e m o ry MCH CPU
Max MCH

CPU Memory MCH ICH

CPU Memory MCH ICH

Memory MCH ICH

CPU Memory MCH ICH

Max Power SW

SpecInt SW

SpecFP SW

IO Benchmark

ICH
TDP Specified .

For Power Management Implementation

Todays embedded customers are becoming more power sensitive. Across the industry, efforts are underway to reduce the overall power consumption and, in turn, minimize the carbon footprint. Companies need a tool to monitor power consumption. With a power profiling tool the customers are able to test various configurations and optimize the system so that computing solutions run more efficiently. Each power management feature has tradeoffs that the customer should evaluate. Power states such as C1, C6, C7 help the system consume very low power when the system is idle for a longer duration. However, the drawback with the low power states is latency. Deeper sleep states translate to more power savings; the tradeoff is higher system latency. Power profiling tools let the customers measure the power under various sleep states and then make an informed decision about such tradeoffs in their power management solution.

Intels Max Power and Max MCH Programs are designed to exercise the CPU and the chipset, respectively. 321056

CPU Memory MCH ICH

CPU

Power Profiling for Embedded Applications

Datacenter hosting is a significant cost concern for several embedded customers. The operation cost of a datacenter is directly proportional to the number of leased racks. It is in the best interest of the customers to populate the racks fully to realize the highest performance for the price. However, the racks are not fully populated with servers due to power constraints. So, there is a need to optimize server performance and power consumption to maximize the server density of a rack. Several power management features are used to ensure that the power envelope for the rack does not exceed the specified limit. Power profiling ensures that the power management features like this can be implemented at a rack level.

Advantages of Power Profiling To Customers

Power profiling has several benefits for the customers. This section identifies several advantages of power profiling. Measure the actual power vs calculating: power profiling gives the ability to measure the power in a platform real time. Users can accurately measure the total platform power rather than approximating the value by adding up the TDPs values. Compare customer application with benchmark application: users can compare the power consumed in their application against standard benchmarks for an estimate of how their application compares to industry benchmarks. Compare platforms: power profiling can be a powerful tool in comparing different platforms. The user can compare platforms between two generations to observe the benefits of moving to a newer architecture or compare Intel architecture platforms with competitors to evaluate the benefits of the Intel architecture. Implement power management features: customers can take full advantage of Intel architectures power saving features and optimize their system using the power profiling data. Each usage condition is unique; therefore, the customer can fine-tune the power saving features according to their usage models. Obtain performance per watt data: To gauge the performance of a platform, the performance per watt number is critical. Power profiling data can be used along with the performance data to get an accurate performance/watt number.

How is Power Profiling Done?

Power profiling at the system level is done in three steps: 321056 7

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1. Compute AC power 2. Compute DC power 3. Compute component power Intels latest power profiling test suite comprises an AC power measurement unit, a breakout board to measure DC power, and a DAQ and host system with software to run the entire setup.

AC Power Measurement
System AC power can be measured using an AC power meter and a breakout box. The breakout box is connected to the wall (ex. 120V AC, 60HZ) and the power supply is connected to breakout box. The breakout box feeds the voltage and current signals to the AC power meter. Figure 2 shows the block diagram used of the AC power measurement. Figure 2. AC Power Measurement

Breakout box

AC Power Meter DC Power Measurement

A system breakout board can be used to measure the DC power in a system. The breakout board introduces a lossless circuit between the power supply and the motherboard by employing Hall Effect transducers for all the rails, e.g. 3.3V, 5V, 12V. For all system DC power measurements, a lossless Hall Effect transducer is used on every rail. The transducer is supplied with a 5V DC power supply and the transducer produces an output voltage proportional to the current in the circuit. DAQ calculates the current with the help of linear relationship of Voltage and Current. This procedure of measurement of current is almost lossless as the transducer does not induce any voltage drop in the circuit.

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Figure 3. Current Measurement Transducer

Power supply to the transducer, +5V DC, lossless

P/S

3.3 V

3.3 V

0V

V out

Intels Embedded and Communications Group (ECG) has designed a breakout board using a series of current transducers to measure the system DC power. The breakout board can accept input from the power supply, such as from 24 pin, 8 pin, 4 pin connectors. The breakout board senses the current and then feeds the various rails into the printed circuit board. Figure 4. Breakout Board

DC power is the actual power that the system consumes. The efficiency of the power supply can be computed by comparing the system AC power and system DC power. The power supply efficiency is a useful tool for selecting the most efficient power supplies for the system.

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Component Power Measurement

The component level power measurement is the most complicated step in power profiling. To perform component level power measurements, a component must be selected and all the rails supplying power must be isolated. In several cases components share common power planes. In such cases the power to the component cannot be isolated. The flowchart in Figure 5 shows the steps to perform component level power measurement. Figure 5. Flowchart to Explain Component Level Power Measurement

Precautions to observe when power profiling: For linear regulators with less than 4A output current, use a series 2W+ metal film power resistor in a 1812 package. For linear regulators with 4A or more of output current, use a hall effect or transducer (LTS-25NP) placed in series with the output. For single phase switching buck regulators, use a transducer on the output side. For multiphase buck regulators, use a transducer on the input side of the voltage regulator. A two-step measurement approach is: 321056

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Step 1: Measure the VRs conversion efficiency and record this data for future reference. This is achieved with a CPU_VTT, Memory_VTT or a DC_Electronic load for loads without a supported VTT. Step 2: During power profiling measurement, measure the input side and reference the collected data in step 1 to extrapolate the output current. Component level power measurement is usually done for key components on the motherboard e.g. CPU, chipsets and memory. Usually other components are on a shared power plane and very difficult to isolate.

Conclusion
Power Profiling is a technique that helps system designers make informed decisions and optimize the features available on the platform. The power profiling tool can be used for a wide variety of applications from comparing different platforms to optimizing the power management features on a platform. This paper provided details on the three steps in power profiling (system AC, system DC and component level power measurement). The new tools and techniques from Intel offer several benefits and advantages. In summary, Intels customers need a solution for real time platform power measurements. The power profiling system provides such a solution.

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Power Profiling for Embedded Applications

Chris D. Lucero is a Thermal Mechanical Applications Manager with Embedded and Communications Group. Chakravarthy Akella is a Sr. Thermal Mechanical Engineer with Embedded and Communications Group.

Acronyms
TDP Thermal Design Power - It is the recommended design point for thermal solution power dissipation.

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