HP ProLiant DL288 HP Power Regulator for ProLiant servers - Page 2

Abstract, Introduction, Processor P-states, AMD Opteron processors.

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Abstract HP Power Regulator is an innovative, operating system-independent, power management feature of HP ProLiant servers. Using Power Regulator, a system administrator can manage processor power consumption and system performance to meet critical business needs. This paper describes Power Regulator technology, how it can be used, and its relationship to other power management tools. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with ProLiant servers and the Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) management processor. Introduction Enterprise server systems place large demands on facility power and cooling resources. Expanding these systems challenges IT organizations to maximize existing facility resources that may not be as scalable as the server system. Facility power and cooling limitations can, in fact, delay the expansion of existing server systems. HP Power Regulator is a standard feature on HP ProLiant servers 200-series and above. It leverages processor power state registers exposed by processor vendors. Power Regulator enables control of processor power usage and performance to minimize power consumption, maintain desired performance levels, and maximize facility resources. HP Power Regulator is implemented in firmware and is therefore not affected by operating system or application upgrades. The Power Regulator firmware monitors the application load of the processor and, depending on the power mode selected, controls the power state of the processor to provide efficient use of processor power. Power Regulator includes support for dynamic and static power saving modes on multiple ProLiant server models. It increases system efficiency by freeing up system and cooling power for use when and where it is most necessary. Processor P-states Server processors from Intel and AMD have power state registers that are available to programmers. With the appropriate interface, these hardware registers can be used to switch a processor between different performance states or P-states1. Changing the performance state (that is, the processor frequency and voltage) enables processors to operate at different power levels and thus allows some control over total system power consumption. Today's processors may have as many as five defined P-states. However, the difference in power consumption between some P-states is too small to make a significant contribution to overall power savings. Tables 1 and 2 show the maximum and minimum P-states on examples of Intel® Xeon™ and AMD Opteron processors. Table 1. P-states of the Quad-core Intel Xeon E5420 3.00-GHz processor P-state Description Core Frequency Pmax Pmin Maximum performance Minimum power 3.0 GHz 2.0 GHz 1 P-states-The ACPI body defines P-states as processor performance states. For Intel® and AMD processors, a P-state is defined by a fixed operating frequency and voltage. 2

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Abstract
HP Power Regulator is an innovative, operating system-independent, power management feature of
HP ProLiant servers. Using Power Regulator, a system administrator can manage processor power
consumption and system performance to meet critical business needs. This paper describes Power
Regulator technology, how it can be used, and its relationship to other power management tools. It is
assumed that the reader is familiar with ProLiant servers and the Integrated Lights-Out (iLO)
management processor.
Introduction
Enterprise server systems place large demands on facility power and cooling resources. Expanding
these systems challenges IT organizations to maximize existing facility resources that may not be as
scalable as the server system. Facility power and cooling limitations can, in fact, delay the expansion
of existing server systems.
HP Power Regulator is a standard feature on HP ProLiant servers 200-series and above. It leverages
processor power state registers exposed by processor vendors. Power Regulator enables control of
processor power usage and performance to minimize power consumption, maintain desired
performance levels, and maximize facility resources.
HP Power Regulator is implemented in firmware and is therefore not affected by operating system or
application upgrades. The Power Regulator firmware monitors the application load of the processor
and, depending on the power mode selected, controls the power state of the processor to provide
efficient use of processor power. Power Regulator includes support for dynamic and static power
saving modes on multiple ProLiant server models. It increases system efficiency by freeing up system
and cooling power for use when and where it is most necessary.
Processor P-states
Server processors from Intel and AMD have power state registers that are available to programmers.
With the appropriate interface, these hardware registers can be used to switch a processor between
different performance states or P-states
1
.
Changing the performance state (that is, the processor frequency and voltage) enables processors to
operate at different power levels and thus allows some control over total system power consumption.
Today’s processors may have as many as five defined P-states. However, the difference in power
consumption between some P-states is too small to make a significant contribution to overall power
savings. Tables 1 and 2 show the maximum and minimum P-states on examples of Intel® Xeon™ and
AMD Opteron processors.
Table 1.
P-states of the Quad-core Intel Xeon E5420 3.00-GHz processor
P-state
Description
Core Frequency
Pmax
Maximum performance
3.0 GHz
Pmin
Minimum power
2.0 GHz
1
P-states
—The ACPI body defines P-states as processor performance states. For Intel® and AMD processors, a
P-state is defined by a fixed operating frequency and voltage.
2