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2 ARM idle states binding description
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5 ==========================================
7 ==========================================
9 ARM systems contain HW capable of managing power consumption dynamically,
10 where cores can be put in different low-power states (ranging from simple
11 wfi to power gating) according to OS PM policies. The CPU states representing
12 the range of dynamic idle states that a processor can enter at run-time, can be
13 specified through device tree bindings representing the parameters required
14 to enter/exit specific idle states on a given processor.
16 According to the Server Base System Architecture document (SBSA, [3]), the
17 power states an ARM CPU can be put into are identified by the following list:
25 The power states described in the SBSA document define the basic CPU states on
26 top of which ARM platforms implement power management schemes that allow an OS
27 PM implementation to put the processor in different idle states (which include
28 states listed above; "off" state is not an idle state since it does not have
29 wake-up capabilities, hence it is not considered in this document).
31 Idle state parameters (eg entry latency) are platform specific and need to be
32 characterized with bindings that provide the required information to OS PM
33 code so that it can build the required tables and use them at runtime.
35 The device tree binding definition for ARM idle states is the subject of this
38 ===========================================
39 2 - idle-states definitions
40 ===========================================
42 Idle states are characterized for a specific system through a set of
43 timing and energy related properties, that underline the HW behaviour
44 triggered upon idle states entry and exit.
46 The following diagram depicts the CPU execution phases and related timing
47 properties required to enter and exit an idle state:
49 ..__[EXEC]__|__[PREP]__|__[ENTRY]__|__[IDLE]__|__[EXIT]__|__[EXEC]__..
52 |<------ entry ------->|
56 |<-------- min-residency -------->|
57 |<------- wakeup-latency ------->|
59 Diagram 1: CPU idle state execution phases
61 EXEC: Normal CPU execution.
63 PREP: Preparation phase before committing the hardware to idle mode
64 like cache flushing. This is abortable on pending wake-up
65 event conditions. The abort latency is assumed to be negligible
66 (i.e. less than the ENTRY + EXIT duration). If aborted, CPU
67 goes back to EXEC. This phase is optional. If not abortable,
68 this should be included in the ENTRY phase instead.
70 ENTRY: The hardware is committed to idle mode. This period must run
71 to completion up to IDLE before anything else can happen.
73 IDLE: This is the actual energy-saving idle period. This may last
74 between 0 and infinite time, until a wake-up event occurs.
76 EXIT: Period during which the CPU is brought back to operational
79 entry-latency: Worst case latency required to enter the idle state. The
80 exit-latency may be guaranteed only after entry-latency has passed.
82 min-residency: Minimum period, including preparation and entry, for a given
83 idle state to be worthwhile energywise.
85 wakeup-latency: Maximum delay between the signaling of a wake-up event and the
86 CPU being able to execute normal code again. If not specified, this is assumed
87 to be entry-latency + exit-latency.
89 These timing parameters can be used by an OS in different circumstances.
91 An idle CPU requires the expected min-residency time to select the most
92 appropriate idle state based on the expected expiry time of the next IRQ
93 (ie wake-up) that causes the CPU to return to the EXEC phase.
95 An operating system scheduler may need to compute the shortest wake-up delay
96 for CPUs in the system by detecting how long will it take to get a CPU out
99 wakeup-delay = exit-latency + max(entry-latency - (now - entry-timestamp), 0)
101 In other words, the scheduler can make its scheduling decision by selecting
102 (eg waking-up) the CPU with the shortest wake-up latency.
103 The wake-up latency must take into account the entry latency if that period
104 has not expired. The abortable nature of the PREP period can be ignored
105 if it cannot be relied upon (e.g. the PREP deadline may occur much sooner than
106 the worst case since it depends on the CPU operating conditions, ie caches
109 An OS has to reliably probe the wakeup-latency since some devices can enforce
110 latency constraints guarantees to work properly, so the OS has to detect the
111 worst case wake-up latency it can incur if a CPU is allowed to enter an
112 idle state, and possibly to prevent that to guarantee reliable device
115 The min-residency time parameter deserves further explanation since it is
116 expressed in time units but must factor in energy consumption coefficients.
118 The energy consumption of a cpu when it enters a power state can be roughly
119 characterised by the following graph:
138 -----|-------+----------------------------------
141 Graph 1: Energy vs time example
143 The graph is split in two parts delimited by time 1ms on the X-axis.
144 The graph curve with X-axis values = { x | 0 < x < 1ms } has a steep slope
145 and denotes the energy costs incurred whilst entering and leaving the idle
147 The graph curve in the area delimited by X-axis values = {x | x > 1ms } has
148 shallower slope and essentially represents the energy consumption of the idle
151 min-residency is defined for a given idle state as the minimum expected
152 residency time for a state (inclusive of preparation and entry) after
153 which choosing that state become the most energy efficient option. A good
154 way to visualise this, is by taking the same graph above and comparing some
155 states energy consumptions plots.
157 For sake of simplicity, let's consider a system with two idle states IDLE1,
167 r | /-----/--------- IDLE2
168 g | /-------/---------
169 y | ------------ /---|
178 ---/----------------------------+------------------------
179 |IDLE1-energy < IDLE2-energy | IDLE2-energy < IDLE1-energy
183 Graph 2: idle states min-residency example
185 In graph 2 above, that takes into account idle states entry/exit energy
186 costs, it is clear that if the idle state residency time (ie time till next
187 wake-up IRQ) is less than IDLE2-min-residency, IDLE1 is the better idle state
190 This is mainly down to the fact that IDLE1 entry/exit energy costs are lower
193 However, the lower power consumption (ie shallower energy curve slope) of idle
194 state IDLE2 implies that after a suitable time, IDLE2 becomes more energy
197 The time at which IDLE2 becomes more energy efficient than IDLE1 (and other
198 shallower states in a system with multiple idle states) is defined
199 IDLE2-min-residency and corresponds to the time when energy consumption of
200 IDLE1 and IDLE2 states breaks even.
202 The definitions provided in this section underpin the idle states
203 properties specification that is the subject of the following sections.
205 ===========================================
207 ===========================================
209 ARM processor idle states are defined within the idle-states node, which is
210 a direct child of the cpus node [1] and provides a container where the
211 processor idle states, defined as device tree nodes, are listed.
215 Usage: Optional - On ARM systems, it is a container of processor idle
216 states nodes. If the system does not provide CPU
217 power management capabilities or the processor just
218 supports idle_standby an idle-states node is not
221 Description: idle-states node is a container node, where its
222 subnodes describe the CPU idle states.
224 Node name must be "idle-states".
226 The idle-states node's parent node must be the cpus node.
228 The idle-states node's child nodes can be:
230 - one or more state nodes
232 Any other configuration is considered invalid.
234 An idle-states node defines the following properties:
237 Value type: <stringlist>
238 Usage and definition depend on ARM architecture version.
239 # On ARM v8 64-bit this property is required and must
241 - "psci" (see bindings in [2])
242 # On ARM 32-bit systems this property is optional
244 The nodes describing the idle states (state) can only be defined within the
245 idle-states node, any other configuration is considered invalid and therefore
248 ===========================================
250 ===========================================
252 A state node represents an idle state description and must be defined as
257 Description: must be child of the idle-states node
259 The state node name shall follow standard device tree naming
260 rules ([5], 2.2.1 "Node names"), in particular state nodes which
261 are siblings within a single common parent must be given a unique name.
263 The idle state entered by executing the wfi instruction (idle_standby
264 SBSA,[3][4]) is considered standard on all ARM platforms and therefore
267 With the definitions provided above, the following list represents
268 the valid properties for a state node:
272 Value type: <stringlist>
273 Definition: Must be "arm,idle-state".
276 Usage: See definition
278 Definition: if present the CPU local timer control logic is
279 lost on state entry, otherwise it is retained.
283 Value type: <prop-encoded-array>
284 Definition: u32 value representing worst case latency in
285 microseconds required to enter the idle state.
286 The exit-latency-us duration may be guaranteed
287 only after entry-latency-us has passed.
291 Value type: <prop-encoded-array>
292 Definition: u32 value representing worst case latency
293 in microseconds required to exit the idle state.
297 Value type: <prop-encoded-array>
298 Definition: u32 value representing minimum residency duration
299 in microseconds, inclusive of preparation and
300 entry, for this idle state to be considered
301 worthwhile energy wise (refer to section 2 of
302 this document for a complete description).
306 Value type: <prop-encoded-array>
307 Definition: u32 value representing maximum delay between the
308 signaling of a wake-up event and the CPU being
309 able to execute normal code again. If omitted,
310 this is assumed to be equal to:
312 entry-latency-us + exit-latency-us
314 It is important to supply this value on systems
315 where the duration of PREP phase (see diagram 1,
316 section 2) is non-neglibigle.
317 In such systems entry-latency-us + exit-latency-us
318 will exceed wakeup-latency-us by this duration.
320 In addition to the properties listed above, a state node may require
321 additional properties specifics to the entry-method defined in the
322 idle-states node, please refer to the entry-method bindings
323 documentation for properties definitions.
325 ===========================================
327 ===========================================
329 Example 1 (ARM 64-bit, 16-cpu system, PSCI enable-method):
333 #address-cells = <2>;
337 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
339 enable-method = "psci";
340 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
341 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
346 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
348 enable-method = "psci";
349 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
350 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
355 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
357 enable-method = "psci";
358 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
359 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
364 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
366 enable-method = "psci";
367 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
368 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
373 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
375 enable-method = "psci";
376 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
377 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
382 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
384 enable-method = "psci";
385 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
386 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
391 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
393 enable-method = "psci";
394 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
395 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
400 compatible = "arm,cortex-a57";
402 enable-method = "psci";
403 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_0_0 &CPU_SLEEP_0_0
404 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
407 CPU8: cpu@100000000 {
409 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
411 enable-method = "psci";
412 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
413 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
416 CPU9: cpu@100000001 {
418 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
420 enable-method = "psci";
421 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
422 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
425 CPU10: cpu@100000100 {
427 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
429 enable-method = "psci";
430 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
431 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
434 CPU11: cpu@100000101 {
436 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
438 enable-method = "psci";
439 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
440 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
443 CPU12: cpu@100010000 {
445 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
447 enable-method = "psci";
448 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
449 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
452 CPU13: cpu@100010001 {
454 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
456 enable-method = "psci";
457 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
458 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
461 CPU14: cpu@100010100 {
463 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
465 enable-method = "psci";
466 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
467 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
470 CPU15: cpu@100010101 {
472 compatible = "arm,cortex-a53";
474 enable-method = "psci";
475 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_RETENTION_1_0 &CPU_SLEEP_1_0
476 &CLUSTER_RETENTION_1 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
480 entry-method = "arm,psci";
482 CPU_RETENTION_0_0: cpu-retention-0-0 {
483 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
484 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x0010000>;
485 entry-latency-us = <20>;
486 exit-latency-us = <40>;
487 min-residency-us = <80>;
490 CLUSTER_RETENTION_0: cluster-retention-0 {
491 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
493 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x1010000>;
494 entry-latency-us = <50>;
495 exit-latency-us = <100>;
496 min-residency-us = <250>;
497 wakeup-latency-us = <130>;
500 CPU_SLEEP_0_0: cpu-sleep-0-0 {
501 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
503 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x0010000>;
504 entry-latency-us = <250>;
505 exit-latency-us = <500>;
506 min-residency-us = <950>;
509 CLUSTER_SLEEP_0: cluster-sleep-0 {
510 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
512 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x1010000>;
513 entry-latency-us = <600>;
514 exit-latency-us = <1100>;
515 min-residency-us = <2700>;
516 wakeup-latency-us = <1500>;
519 CPU_RETENTION_1_0: cpu-retention-1-0 {
520 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
521 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x0010000>;
522 entry-latency-us = <20>;
523 exit-latency-us = <40>;
524 min-residency-us = <90>;
527 CLUSTER_RETENTION_1: cluster-retention-1 {
528 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
530 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x1010000>;
531 entry-latency-us = <50>;
532 exit-latency-us = <100>;
533 min-residency-us = <270>;
534 wakeup-latency-us = <100>;
537 CPU_SLEEP_1_0: cpu-sleep-1-0 {
538 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
540 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x0010000>;
541 entry-latency-us = <70>;
542 exit-latency-us = <100>;
543 min-residency-us = <300>;
544 wakeup-latency-us = <150>;
547 CLUSTER_SLEEP_1: cluster-sleep-1 {
548 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
550 arm,psci-suspend-param = <0x1010000>;
551 entry-latency-us = <500>;
552 exit-latency-us = <1200>;
553 min-residency-us = <3500>;
554 wakeup-latency-us = <1300>;
560 Example 2 (ARM 32-bit, 8-cpu system, two clusters):
564 #address-cells = <1>;
568 compatible = "arm,cortex-a15";
570 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_0_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
575 compatible = "arm,cortex-a15";
577 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_0_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
582 compatible = "arm,cortex-a15";
584 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_0_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
589 compatible = "arm,cortex-a15";
591 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_0_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_0>;
596 compatible = "arm,cortex-a7";
598 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_1_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
603 compatible = "arm,cortex-a7";
605 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_1_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
610 compatible = "arm,cortex-a7";
612 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_1_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
617 compatible = "arm,cortex-a7";
619 cpu-idle-states = <&CPU_SLEEP_1_0 &CLUSTER_SLEEP_1>;
623 CPU_SLEEP_0_0: cpu-sleep-0-0 {
624 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
626 entry-latency-us = <200>;
627 exit-latency-us = <100>;
628 min-residency-us = <400>;
629 wakeup-latency-us = <250>;
632 CLUSTER_SLEEP_0: cluster-sleep-0 {
633 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
635 entry-latency-us = <500>;
636 exit-latency-us = <1500>;
637 min-residency-us = <2500>;
638 wakeup-latency-us = <1700>;
641 CPU_SLEEP_1_0: cpu-sleep-1-0 {
642 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
644 entry-latency-us = <300>;
645 exit-latency-us = <500>;
646 min-residency-us = <900>;
647 wakeup-latency-us = <600>;
650 CLUSTER_SLEEP_1: cluster-sleep-1 {
651 compatible = "arm,idle-state";
653 entry-latency-us = <800>;
654 exit-latency-us = <2000>;
655 min-residency-us = <6500>;
656 wakeup-latency-us = <2300>;
662 ===========================================
664 ===========================================
666 [1] ARM Linux Kernel documentation - CPUs bindings
667 Documentation/devicetree/bindings/arm/cpus.txt
669 [2] ARM Linux Kernel documentation - PSCI bindings
670 Documentation/devicetree/bindings/arm/psci.txt
672 [3] ARM Server Base System Architecture (SBSA)
673 http://infocenter.arm.com/help/index.jsp
675 [4] ARM Architecture Reference Manuals
676 http://infocenter.arm.com/help/index.jsp
679 https://www.power.org/documentation/epapr-version-1-1/