US-20260128914-A1 - Data Processing Performance Optimization Under Power Budgeting Constraints

Abstract

A packet processing and communication system includes multiple subsystems and a power management controller. The multiple subsystems are to process and communicate packets. The power management controller is to obtain one or more performance degradation metrics, which indicate degradations in performance of the subsystems in processing the packets, to evaluate a cost function defined over the performance degradation metrics, and to allocate respective electrical power quotas to the subsystems, aiming to minimize the cost function.

Inventors

• HAIM KUPERSHMIDT
• Yochai COHEN
• Itay Kuperstein
• Krishna Sitaraman
• Ehud Maor
• Rony Kositsky

Assignees

• MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241104

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A packet processing and communication system, comprising: multiple subsystems, to process and communicate packets; and a power management controller, to: obtain one or more performance degradation metrics, which indicate degradations in performance of the subsystems in processing the packets; evaluate a cost function defined over the performance degradation metrics; and allocate respective electrical power quotas to the subsystems, aiming to minimize the cost function.
2. 2 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein: the system further comprises one or more Power Management (PM) circuits to limit power consumption of at least one of the subsystems; and the power management controller is to allocate the electrical power quotas by controlling the PM circuits.
3. 3 . The system according to claim 2 , wherein at least one of the PM circuits comprises a current limiter circuit to limit input current to a corresponding subsystem.
4. 4 . The system according to claim 2 , wherein at least one of the PM circuits comprises a voltage/frequency control circuit to set one or both of (i) an operating voltage and (ii) a clock speed, of a corresponding subsystem.
5. 5 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a rate of packet dropping by one or more of the subsystems.
6. 6 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a number of pending packets in one or more of the subsystems.
7. 7 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a latency in processing the packets in one or more of the subsystems.
8. 8 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of an extent of backpressure, which throttles reception of packets in one or more of the subsystems from one or more other subsystems.
9. 9 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of an extent of flow control, which throttles transmission of packets from one or more of the subsystems to one or more other subsystems.
10. 10 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the power management controller is to run an iterative process that obtains updated values of the performance degradation, re-evaluates the cost function over the updated values, and reallocates the electrical power quotas based on the re-evaluated cost function.
11. 11 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the power management controller is to enforce the allocated electrical power quotas on the subsystems only when the communication system as a whole exceeds a specified power consumption.
12. 12 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the power management controller is to modify the cost function in response to a hint indicative of a pattern of packet processing or communication in the system.
13. 13 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the power management controller is to modify the cost function in response to a hint indicative of a type of application running in the system.
14. 14 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the power management controller is to modify the cost function in response to a hint indicative of a ratio between east-west traffic and north-south traffic in the system.
15. 15 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the power management controller is to evaluate the cost function by calculating a weighted sum of two or more of the performance degradation metrics.
16. 16 . A power management method, comprising: processing and communicating packets by multiple subsystems of a system; obtaining one or more performance degradation metrics, which indicate degradations in performance of the subsystems in processing the packets; evaluating a cost function defined over the performance degradation metrics; and allocating respective electrical power quotas to the subsystems, aiming to minimize the cost function.
17. 17 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a rate of packet dropping by one or more of the subsystems.
18. 18 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a number of pending packets in one or more of the subsystems.
19. 19 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a latency in processing the packets in one or more of the subsystems.
20. 20 . The method according to claim 16 , wherein at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of: an extent of backpressure, which throttles reception of packets in one or more of the subsystems from one or more other subsystems; or an extent of flow control, which throttles transmission of packets from one or more of the subsystems to one or more other subsystems.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to packet processing and communication systems, and particularly to methods and systems for optimizing packet-processing performance under power budgeting constraints. BACKGROUND Electronic systems are often constrained with respect to the maximal amount of electrical power they are permitted to consume. The overall power consumption of a system may be constrained due to, for example, limitations of the power supply subsystem or to thermal constraints. Power constraints can be enforced, for example, by limiting current consumption, or by reducing operation voltage and/or clock speed. SUMMARY An embodiment that is described herein provides a packet processing and communication system including multiple subsystems and a power management controller. The multiple subsystems are to process and communicate packets. The power management controller is to obtain one or more performance degradation metrics, which indicate degradations in performance of the subsystems in processing the packets, to evaluate a cost function defined over the performance degradation metrics, and to allocate respective electrical power quotas to the subsystems, aiming to minimize the cost function. In some embodiments, the system further includes one or more Power Management (PM) circuits to limit power consumption of at least one of the subsystems, and the power management controller is to allocate the electrical power quotas by controlling the PM circuits. In an example embodiment, at least one of the PM circuits includes a current limiter circuit to limit input current to a corresponding subsystem. In a disclosed embodiment, at least one of the PM circuits includes a voltage/frequency control circuit to set one or both of (i) an operating voltage and (ii) a clock speed, of a corresponding subsystem. In an embodiment, at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a rate of packet dropping by one or more of the subsystems. In another embodiment, at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a number of pending packets in one or more of the subsystems. In yet another embodiment, at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of a latency in processing the packets in one or more of the subsystems. In still another embodiment, at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of an extent of backpressure, which throttles reception of packets in one or more of the subsystems from one or more other subsystems. In an embodiment, at least one of the performance degradation metrics is indicative of an extent of flow control, which throttles transmission of packets from one or more of the subsystems to one or more other subsystems. Typically, the power management controller is to run an iterative process that obtains updated values of the performance degradation, re-evaluates the cost function over the updated values, and reallocates the electrical power quotas based on the re-evaluated cost function. In some embodiments, the power management controller is to enforce the allocated electrical power quotas on the subsystems only when the communication system as a whole exceeds a specified power consumption. In an embodiment, the power management controller is to modify the cost function in response to a hint indicative of a pattern of packet processing or communication in the system. In another embodiment, the power management controller is to modify the cost function in response to a hint indicative of a type of application running in the system. In yet another embodiment, the power management controller is to modify the cost function in response to a hint indicative of a ratio between east-west traffic and north-south traffic in the system. In some embodiments, the power management controller is to evaluate the cost function by calculating a weighted sum of two or more of the performance degradation metrics. There is additionally provided, in accordance with an embodiment that is described herein, a power management method including processing and communicating packets by multiple subsystems of a system. One or more performance degradation metrics, which indicate degradations in performance of the subsystems in processing the packets, are obtained. A cost function, defined over the performance degradation metrics, is evaluated. Respective electrical power quotas are allocated to the subsystems, aiming to minimize the cost function. There is also provided, in accordance with an embodiment that is described herein, a power management controller including an interface and a processor. The interface is to operationally couple to multiple subsystems that process and communicate packets. The processor is to obtain one or more performance degradation metrics, which indicate degradations in performance of the subsystems in processing the packets, to evaluate a cost function defined over the performance degradation metri