Method and apparatus for on-demand power management

A method for determining a processing demand in a processing system, comprising:

• detecting a plurality of processing events on a system bus;
• recognizing a processing event pattern;
• and
• correlating the processing event pattern with a processing demand.

A method, comprising:

• providing a first plurality of voltages to a processing system;
• generating a second plurality of voltages in response to a processing demand;
• and
• switching from each of the first plurality of voltages to each of the second plurality of voltages in a sequence, wherein the sequence minimizes a transient power surge.

A method, comprising:

• providing a first plurality of clock signals to a processing system, each of the first plurality of clock signals comprising a frequency and a phase;
• generating a second plurality clock signals in response to a processing demand, each of the second plurality of clock signals comprising a frequency and a phase;
• adjusting the phases of the first plurality of clock signals and the second plurality of clock signals to control the spectral content of a switching transient;
• and
• switching from the first one or more clock frequencies to the second one or more clock frequencies.

An apparatus, comprising:

• a system controller to monitor an application processing demand on a processing system and to automatically control one or more clock frequencies and one or more voltages at which the processing system operates;
• a power distribution manager coupled with the system controller to provide one or more operating voltages to the processing system and to switch between a first one or more voltages and a second one or more voltages without halting the processing system;
• and
• a clock domain manager coupled with the system controller to provide one or more clock signals to the processing system and to switch between a first one or more clock frequencies and a second one or more clock frequencies without halting the processing system, wherein
• the system controller includes a command interrupt to override the automatic control of the one or more one or more voltages and the one or more clock frequencies, wherein
• the system controller commands the power distribution manger to provide one or more predetermined voltages to the processing system, and wherein
• the system controller commands the clock domain manager to provide one or more predetermined clock signals to the processing system.

A method, comprising:

• monitoring a processing demand in a processing system operating at a first one or more voltages and a first one or more clock frequencies phase-locked to a reference frequency, the first one or more clock frequencies independent of the first one or more voltages;
• generating a second one or more clock frequencies in response to the processing demand, the second one or more clock frequencies phase-locked to the reference frequency and phase-matched to the first one or more clock frequencies;
• and
• generating a second one or more voltages in response to the processing demand, the second one or more voltages independent of the second one or more frequencies;
• switching from the first one or more clock frequencies to the second one or more clock frequencies without halting the processing system;
• and
• switching from the first one or more voltages to the second one or more voltages without halting the processing system.