Intel Low Power Mode Daemon v0.0.4 Released To Optimize Hybrid CPUs On Linux

Intel Low Power Mode Daemon v0.0.4 has been released with "LPMD" being the open-source daemon for optimize active idle power for modern Core hybrid CPUs under Linux that sport a combination of the E and P cores.

The Intel LPMD selects the most power efficient CPUs based on the detected CPU topology or a user configuration file. Then based on system utilization and other hints it will put the system into a low-power mode when applicable by engaging the most power efficient CPU cores and disabling the higher power/performance cores when not needed. This Low Power Mode Daemon so far hasn't been too commonly used by Linux distributions or popular with Intel Linux users, but alas still in its early days and only today crossing the v0.0.4 milestone.

Intel LPMD 0.0.4 enhances its Hardware Feedback Interface (HFI) monitor for handling back-to-back low-power mode hints, support for HFI monitoring of hints from banned CPUs, support for multiple low-power states, support for workload type hints, and support for changing the Energy Performance Preference (EPP) during low-power mode transitions.

With the support for multiple low-power states, Intel LPMD can define multiple states based on EPP / EPB / ITMT settings, IRQ migration, and task migration. Different low-power states can also be selected based on different utilization thresholds.

Downloads and more information on the updated Intel LPMD daemon via GitHub. I've been meaning to run some Intel LPMD power/performance impact benchmarks and now with this new release is a great time to do so.