Modeling and analysis of power in multicore network processors

Abstract

With the emergence of multicore network processors in support of high-performance computing and networking applications, power consumption has become a problem of increasing significance. Lower-power multicore processors, such as the Intel IXP network processors, have been employed in network devices to try to address this problem; however, effective tools are still needed to assist in the exploration of the "performance versus power" design space. In this paper, we present a composite power model that simultaneously leverages three existing power-modeling tools (Cacti, Wattch, and Orion) to model the power consumption of Intel IXP2400. This model is then integrated with an open-source Intel IXP2400 NP simulator called NePSim2 and validated against its datasheet to within 5% of actual power consumption. We utilize the simulator and power model to explore how architectural parameters affect the performance and power consumption of a set of high-performance security applications, thus delivering valuable insights to chip architects for designing energy-efficient multicore network processors.