Operating System Power Management

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What Does Operating System Power Management Mean?

Operating System Power Management (OSPM) is an operating system technology for managing the power of the underlying platform and switching it between different power states. OSPM enables a platform or system to implement the most efficient power mode and is applicable across all devices and components within a platform/system.

OSPM is also known as Operating System-directed configuration and Power Management.

Techopedia Explains Operating System Power Management

OSPM is primarily designed to work on handheld or portable devices such as laptops and tablets. For OSPM, the entire system is divided into different categories such as the core system and subsystem, each with its own unique power requirements. OSPM works with the System Controller Unit (SCU), a power management unit that directly interfaces with the all the hardware components.

OSPM provides different power-operational modes for a system. When implemented with an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), it can switch a system in between power state, performance state and processor state.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.