Proliant Gen8 Microserver Idle Power Consumption 50W

[mlist]

My ProLiant MicroServer Gen8, 4GB, G1610T (B013UBCHVU)  with one 2,5" HDD running Debian Wheezy consumes 50W when idle.  This seems pretty high for a processor listed as 35W TDP.

• HP Power Profile -> Balanced Power and Performance
• HP Power Regulator -> HP Dynamic Power Savings Mode
• Intel QPI Link Power Management -> Enabled
• Minimum Processor Idle Power Core State -> C6 State
• Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State -> Package C6 (non-retention) State
• Dynamic Power Saving Mode Response -> Fast

Any ideas what the issue could be?

[mlist]

I opened a support case which was closed with the following comment:

I looked up the exact server configuration in HPE Power Advisor, and the expected power consumption is indeed around 50W.
Thus, the power consumption of this server is normal and the case can be closed.

The https://paonline56.itcs.hpe.com/?Page=Index states that the idle power consumption is 46W and the max power consumption is 53W. This is a difference of 7W for the G1610T (rated at 30W TDP) which in my opnion cannot be correct.

The HPE support engineer who work the case also stated that:

The power consumption of the processor depends on its architecture. Obviously, this Celeron processor is not designed for power savings at minimal / no load.

Really? - I'm pretty sure the Intel support engineers would see this differently.

In my opnion there is something wrong with a nacked system running in idle mode that consumes 50% more power than the processors TDP, either it has a defect or the design is hoplessy inadequate.  In HPE's opnion this seems to be quite normal.

[jhc20]

Hi mlist

Please try to change the 'Minimum Processor Idle Power Core State' and 'Minimum Processor Idle Power Package State' to automatic or C1E/C1.
I did this on my DIY laptop-server (wooden box, desktop cooler etc.), i7 2670QM, 16GB RAM. I modded the BIOS to allow the changing of the C states.
I disabled C1 and C1E to try to save power, to force the CPU to jump to C3 and C6 states, but the idle power consumption rose to 43 watt idle (CPU only, HWmonitor) . When i enabled C1 and C1e again, the power consuption decended to 6 watts again (CPU only, HWmonitor).

Please try and play around with the C package states and give a status if it helps the idle power consumption. :)

Regards, 

[Matthew1471]

HP Power Profile -> Balanced Power and Performance

Try changing the "Power Profile".. from what I can work out the "Power Profile" is overall server power (including CPU) and "Regulator" is just for the CPU. The "Regulator" option can be completely ignored in some circumstances, such as if "Power Profile" is set to "Maximum Performance" for instance. The draw you are seeing is probably from other components in the system that can also be tuned down to reduce power using the "Power Profile".

Appreciate it's not for the same model but here's a good table that explains the interactions between the 2 options on at least some server models : Power Profile [Gen9 and Synergy]  and again at Power Profile [m510, m710x, and m710x-L Server Blades in Edgeline Systems]; I suspect this also applies to the Gen8.

Here's the Gen8 guide which isn't written as clearly or as well as the above table: HP ROM-Based Setup Utility User Guide

See also the "Regulator" text in the iLO4 API and iLO4 API [2], "You can only configure this option if the Power Profile is set to Custom.". The Gen8 is an iLO4 system.