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diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/pm/strategies.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/pm/strategies.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..afe4d3f83 --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/pm/strategies.rst @@ -0,0 +1,52 @@ +=========================== +Power Management Strategies +=========================== + +:: + + Copyright (c) 2017 Intel Corp., Rafael J. Wysocki <rafael.j.wysocki@intel.com> + +The Linux kernel supports two major high-level power management strategies. + +One of them is based on using global low-power states of the whole system in +which user space code cannot be executed and the overall system activity is +significantly reduced, referred to as :doc:`sleep states <sleep-states>`. The +kernel puts the system into one of these states when requested by user space +and the system stays in it until a special signal is received from one of +designated devices, triggering a transition to the ``working state`` in which +user space code can run. Because sleep states are global and the whole system +is affected by the state changes, this strategy is referred to as the +:doc:`system-wide power management <system-wide>`. + +The other strategy, referred to as the :doc:`working-state power management +<working-state>`, is based on adjusting the power states of individual hardware +components of the system, as needed, in the working state. In consequence, if +this strategy is in use, the working state of the system usually does not +correspond to any particular physical configuration of it, but can be treated as +a metastate covering a range of different power states of the system in which +the individual components of it can be either ``active`` (in use) or +``inactive`` (idle). If they are active, they have to be in power states +allowing them to process data and to be accessed by software. In turn, if they +are inactive, ideally, they should be in low-power states in which they may not +be accessible. + +If all of the system components are active, the system as a whole is regarded as +"runtime active" and that situation typically corresponds to the maximum power +draw (or maximum energy usage) of it. If all of them are inactive, the system +as a whole is regarded as "runtime idle" which may be very close to a sleep +state from the physical system configuration and power draw perspective, but +then it takes much less time and effort to start executing user space code than +for the same system in a sleep state. However, transitions from sleep states +back to the working state can only be started by a limited set of devices, so +typically the system can spend much more time in a sleep state than it can be +runtime idle in one go. For this reason, systems usually use less energy in +sleep states than when they are runtime idle most of the time. + +Moreover, the two power management strategies address different usage scenarios. +Namely, if the user indicates that the system will not be in use going forward, +for example by closing its lid (if the system is a laptop), it probably should +go into a sleep state at that point. On the other hand, if the user simply goes +away from the laptop keyboard, it probably should stay in the working state and +use the working-state power management in case it becomes idle, because the user +may come back to it at any time and then may want the system to be immediately +accessible. |