Using Asymmetric Single-ISA CMPs to Save Energy on Operating Systems (original) (raw)

Energy consumption in computer systems is often disproportionate to workload, especially within operating systems (OS). Research indicates most servers operate at modest utilization levels, consuming significant energy even when idle. Traditional OS performance has not improved at a similar rate to hardware advancements, leading to inefficient energy use in OS code execution. Asymmetric Single-ISA Chip Multiprocessors (ASISA-CMPs) are proposed as a solution, allowing migration of OS code to energy-efficient cores. This paper discusses the advantages of ASISA-CMP systems compared to heterogeneous multicore systems and suggests that core designs do not need to be novel to achieve significant energy savings. Recommendations include binding kernel threads to OS-friendly cores and re-evaluating the execution of OS-like code.