Description:BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
Embodiments generally relate to power management for devices of a computer
platform. More particularly, certain embodiments provide for a method tying a processor
power state transition on a platform to another power state transition of the platform.
2. Background Art
In existing computer platforms, operating systems (OS) variously support power
management techniques which are specific to a particular processor - e.g. with traditional
Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI)-based mechanisms. For example,
current OS power management (OSPM) mechanisms provide for transitioning a platform
processor core to a processor-specific, idle processor power state such as a C6 power state.
The introduction of autonomous device power management has allowed such
computer platforms to increasingly rely on drivers for various types of devices that
independently manage transitions between device-specific power states, each for their own
respective platform device. , Claims:1. An apparatus comprising:
a processor having at least one processor core;
an input-output (IO) component operatively coupled to the processor; and
a power management controller operatively coupled to the at least one processor core, wherein the power management controller is operable to determine a current power state of the processor and is to cause the IO component to enter a power state according to the determined current power state.