Foundations and Trends® in Electronic Design Automation > Vol 6 > Issue 2

Power Modeling and Characterization of Computing Devices

By Sherief Reda, Brown University, USA, sherief reda@brown.edu | Abdullah N. Nowroz, Brown University, USA, Abdullah nowroz@brown.edu

 
Suggested Citation
Sherief Reda and Abdullah N. Nowroz (2012), "Power Modeling and Characterization of Computing Devices", Foundations and TrendsĀ® in Electronic Design Automation: Vol. 6: No. 2, pp 121-216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/1000000022

Publication Date: 30 May 2012
© 2012 S. Reda and A. N. Nowroz
 
Subjects
System level design
 

Free Preview:

Download extract

Share

Download article
In this article:
1 Introduction 
2 Background: Basics of Power Modeling 
3 Pre-Silicon Power Modeling Techniques 
4 Post-Silicon Power Characterization 
5 Future Directions 
Acknowledgments 
Notations and Acronyms 
References 

Abstract

In this survey we describe the main research directions in pre-silicon power modeling and post-silicon power characterization. We review techniques in power modeling and characterization for three computing substrates: general-purpose processors, system-on-chip-based embedded systems, and field programmable gate arrays. We describe the basic principles that govern power consumption in digital circuits, and utilize these principles to describe high-level power modeling techniques for designs of the three computing substrates. Once a computing device is fabricated, direct measurements on the actual device reveal a great wealth of information about the device's power consumption under various operating conditions. We describe characterization techniques that integrate infrared imaging with electric current measurements to generate runtime power maps. The power maps can be used to validate design-time power models and to calibrate computer-aided design tools. We also describe empirical power characterization techniques for software power analysis and for adaptive power-aware computing. Finally, we provide a number of plausible future research directions for power modeling and characterization.

DOI:10.1561/1000000022
ISBN: 978-1-60198-560-6
108 pp. $75.00
Buy book (pb)
 
ISBN: 978-1-60198-561-3
108 pp. $110.00
Buy E-book (.pdf)
Table of contents:
1: Introduction
2: Background: Basics of Power Modeling
3: Pre-Silicon Power Modeling Techniques
4: Post-Silicon Power Characterization
5: Future Directions
Acknowledgements
Notations and Acronyms
References

Power Modeling and Characterization of Computing Devices

Power consumption has emerged as the number one challenge towards improving the performance of future computing systems. Power Modeling and Characterization of Computing Devices: A Survey provides an overview of techniques in power modeling and characterization for three computing substrates: general-purpose processors, system-on-chip-based embedded systems, and field programmable gate arrays. It describes the basic principles that govern power consumption in digital circuits, and utilizes these principles to describe high-level power modeling techniques for designs of the three computing substrates. Once a computing device is fabricated, direct measurements on the actual device reveal a great wealth of information about the device's power consumption under various operating conditions. This monograph discusses characterization techniques that integrate infrared imaging with electric current measurements to generate runtime power maps. The power maps can be used to validate design-time power models and to calibrate computer-aided design tools. The monograph also describes empirical power characterization techniques for software power analysis and for adaptive power-aware computing. It concludes by outlining four promising future research areas. Power Modeling and Characterization of Computing Devices: A Survey is an invaluable reference for anyone with an interest in power consumption and how it affects the performance of computing systems.

 
EDA-022