Re: [linux-pm] [PATCH 1/8] PM: Add suspend block api.

[Tony Lindgren <tony@atomide.com>]

* Daniel Walker <dwalker@fifo99.com> [100506 12:07]:
> On Thu, 2010-05-06 at 11:36 -0700, Tony Lindgren wrote:
> > * Daniel Walker <dwalker@fifo99.com> [100506 10:30]:
> > > On Thu, 2010-05-06 at 10:14 -0700, Tony Lindgren wrote:
> > > > * Matthew Garrett <mjg@redhat.com> [100506 10:05]:
> > > > > On Thu, May 06, 2010 at 10:01:51AM -0700, Tony Lindgren wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > Or are you suspending constantly, tens of times per minute even if
> > > > > > there's no user activity?
> > > > > 
> > > > > In this case you'd be repeatedly trying to suspend until the modem 
> > > > > driver stopped blocking it. It's pretty much a waste.
> > > > 
> > > > But then the userspace knows you're getting data from the modem, and
> > > > it can kick some inactivity timer that determines when to try to
> > > > suspend next.
> > > 
> > > If the idle thread was doing the suspending then the inactivity timer by
> > > it's self could block suspend. As long as the idle thread was setup to
> > > check for timers. I'm sure that _isn't_ the point your trying to make.
> > > It just makes gobs more sense to me that the idle thread does the
> > > suspending .. Your idle, so depending on how long your idle then you
> > > suspend.
> > 
> > The alternative logic I'm suggesting is get the GUI into idle mode as
> > soon as possible, then limp along with off-while-idle or
> > retention-while-idle until some timer expires, then suspend the whole
> > device.
> 
> Could you elaborate on "off-while-idle" and "retention-while-idle" ? I'm
> not sure I follow what you mean.

Oh some SoC devices like omap hit retention or off modes in the idle loop.
That brings down the idle consumption of a running system to minimal
levels. It's basically the same as suspending the device in every idle loop.

The system wakes up every few seconds or so, but that already provides
battery life of over ten days or so on an idle system. Of course the
wakeup latencies are in milliseconds then.

Regards,

Tony