Algorithms for power savings

Abstract

This article examines two different mechanisms for saving power in battery-operated embedded systems. The first strategy is that the system can be placed in a sleep state if it is idle. However, a fixed amount of energy is required to bring the system back into an active state in which it can resume work. The second way in which power savings can be achieved is by varying the speed at which jobs are run. We utilize a power consumption curve P ( s ) which indicates the power consumption level given a particular speed. We assume that P ( s ) is convex, nondecreasing, and nonnegative for s ≥ 0. The problem is to schedule arriving jobs in a way that minimizes total energy use and so that each job is completed after its release time and before its deadline. We assume that all jobs can be preempted and resumed at no cost. Although each problem has been considered separately, this is the first theoretical analysis of systems that can use both mechanisms. We give an offline algorithm that is within a factor of 2 of the optimal algorithm. We also give an online algorithm with a constant competitive ratio.