DVFS-control techniques for dense linear algebra operations on multi-core processors

This paper analyzes the impact on power consumption of two DVFS-control strategies when applied to the execution of dense linear algebra operations on multicore processors. The strategies considered here, prototyped as the Slack Reduction Algorithm (SRA) and the Race-to-Idle Algorithm (RIA), adjust the operation frequency of the cores during execution of a collection of tasks (in which many dense linear algebra algorithms can be decomposed) with a very different approach to save energy. A power-aware simulator, in charge of scheduling the execution of tasks to processor cores, is employed to evaluate the performance benefits of these power-control policies for two reference algorithms for the LU factorization, a key operation for the solution of linear systems of equations.