POWER MANAGEMENT

Power Budgeting

Device power requirements, slot power limits, and dynamic power allocation

1. Power Budget Overview

What is Power Budgeting?

Power Budgeting allows PCIe devices to report their power requirements to system software, enabling proper power allocation and preventing slot/system power overload.

Power Sources

Rail Typical Max Usage
+3.3V 25W Legacy I/O, auxiliary
+3.3V Aux 375 mW Standby power (PME)
+12V 75W (x16 slot) Main power
Auxiliary Power Varies External connectors

2. Slot Power Limits

Maximum Slot Power by Form Factor

Slot Type Max Power
x1 10W
x4 25W
x8 50W
x16 75W
x16 (high power) 300W+ (with aux)

Set_Slot_Power_Limit Message

Downstream Port sends this message to inform device of available power:

    Set_Slot_Power_Limit Message:
    ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │ Message Type: 0x50 (Slot Power Limit)                        │
    ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
    │ Data Payload:                                                │
    │ ├── Slot Power Limit Value (8 bits)                          │
    │ └── Slot Power Limit Scale (2 bits)                          │
    └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
    
    Scale Values:
    - 00: 1.0x (value in watts)
    - 01: 0.1x (value * 0.1 watts)
    - 10: 0.01x (value * 0.01 watts)
    - 11: 0.001x (value * 0.001 watts)

3. Power Budgeting Extended Capability

Capability Structure

Offset Register Description
00h Extended Cap Header ID = 0004h
04h Data Select Select which data to read
08h Data Power requirement data
0Ch Capability System/Bus allocated

Power Budget Data Format

    Power Budget Data Register (32 bits):
    ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │ Bits   │ Field                                               │
    ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
    │ 7:0    │ Base Power (units depend on scale)                  │
    │ 9:8    │ Data Scale (same as slot power)                     │
    │ 12:10  │ PM Sub State                                        │
    │ 14:13  │ PM State (D0, D1, D2, D3)                           │
    │ 17:15  │ Type (PME Aux, Aux, Max, Sustained)                 │
    │ 20:18  │ Power Rail (12V, 3.3V, etc.)                        │
    │ 31:21  │ Reserved                                            │
    └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

4. Dynamic Power Allocation (DPA)

DPA Concept

Device can operate at different power levels (substates) and dynamically switch:

DPA Extended Capability

Offset Register
00h Extended Cap Header (ID = 0016h)
04h DPA Capability
08h DPA Latency Indicator
0Ch DPA Status
0Eh DPA Control
10h DPA Power Allocation Array

5. Emergency Power Reduction

System can request immediate power reduction from devices:

6. System Integration

Power Budget Flow

    1. System determines slot power limit
           │
    2. Send Set_Slot_Power_Limit message
           │
    3. Device reads power budget data
           │
    4. Software verifies device within budget
           │
    5. Software may limit device via DPA
           │
    6. Monitor actual power consumption