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Using Power Management

Chapter 1 Introduction to Power Management

Value of Power Management

Power Management(TM) software contributes to improving the energy efficiency of your system.

Reduction of power use is accomplished in two levels:

Use of this software may be needed for a workstation to meet the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star guidelines.

Note -

As an Energy Star Partner, Sun Microsystems, Inc. has determined that its hardware products that have the Energy Star symbol on the shipping box or on the product itself meet the Energy Star guidelines for energy efficiency.

Display Monitor Power Management

The display can be set to power down after the keyboard and mouse have been idle for a length of time that you specify, and then come back on readily when you're ready to see the display again. Details on this are provided in Chapter 2, Managing Monitor Power.

Note -

A monitor is handled more effectively by Power Management software if it has qualified for the Energy Star logo.

System Power Management

The entire system can power down when it isn't needed and then return to the same working state when you power up the system again. Shut down and start up can happen automatically or at any time you choose. The steps for doing this are explained in Chapter 3, Managing System Power.

Caution - Caution -

System Power Management should not be used on systems that do work that should not be interrupted. Conditions where you should choose to not use Power Management are described in Chapter 3, Managing System Power.

The dtpower Program

The Power Management program called dtpower launches a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows you to designate periods of inactivity after which the system will shut down. You can also use this tool to set the time of day to activate the automatic shutdown (called AutoShutdown); for example, if you want the AutoShutdown feature to activate only after your regular work hours.

On sun4u-architecture workstations, you can also activate the AutoWakeup feature of dtpower, which will power on the system at a specific time following an AutoShutdown.

The Suspend-Resume Feature

Suspend-Resume is a time-saving feature that allows you to power cycle your system without losing the state of your current activities. Your workspace and files are preserved when the system is powered off so that they are restored to the same state when the system is powered on.

For example, if you are in the middle of revising a document when you decide to leave, you can power off your system using the Suspend feature and your work session is automatically saved. The next time you power on the system, the Resume feature causes your work to appear in the same state as before

Suspend-Resume is used automatically when the Power Management software performs AutoShutdown or AutoWakeup of your workstation. You also can use the keyboard to Suspend or Resume your system whenever you choose.

Hardware Support for Power Management Features

Nearly all SPARC workstations can use Power Management software features to some extent. However, some features only work on certain types of hardware. Some default power states vary from one type of system to another.

The following sections describe what Power Management features are supported by your hardware, as well as the defaults that will be in effect when you first use this Solaris release with your hardware.

Note -

The Power Management features described in this manual are only provided in the SPARC Platform Edition of this Solaris release.

System Architecture Distinctions

The SPARC architecture of a workstation determines which Power Management features are available, as described in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 Availability of Power Management Features in Different SPARC Architectures
 SPARC Architecture Display Power Management Suspend-Resume Power Off Under Software Control AutoWakeup
 sun4c Yes No No No
 sun4d Yes No No No
 sun4m Yes Yes  Yes No
 sun4u Yes Yes  Yes Yes

Note -

The SPARCstation Voyager is a sun4m-architecture system that has special Power Management features, which are described in Platform Notes: SPARCstation Voyager Software Guide.

Monitor Hardware Distinctions

Some monitors are capable of screen blanking, while others can also be placed in a power-saving mode through Power Management software.

Default Distinctions

The default behavior in Power Management functions varies on systems as described in this section.

Note -

If you have Sun Microsystems hardware that is not described by this manual, refer to the Sun Hardware Platform Guide for this Solaris release. It may contain additional information about Power management for your system.