Measuring performance, power, and temperature from real processors

ABSTRACT

The modeling of power and thermal behavior of processors requires challenging validation processes, which may be complex and undependable. In order to ameliorate some of the difficulties associated with the validation of power and thermal models, this paper describes an infrared measurement setup that simultaneously captures run-time power consumption, thermal characteristics, and performance activity counters from modern processors. We use infrared cameras with high spatial resolution (10x10/μm) and high frame rate (125Hz) to capture thermal maps. Power measurements are obtained with a multimeter, while performance counters are obtained after modifying the operating system (Linux), both at a sampling rate of 1KHz. The synchronized traces can then be used in the validation process of possible thermal, power, and processor activity models.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.4 PERFORMANCE OF SYSTEMS

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.1 PROCESSOR ARCHITECTURES

General Terms:
Experimentation, Performance

Keywords:
power and thermal measurements