Patent ID: 8214663

Claim:
A method, in a data processing system, for using a power proxy unit combined with on-chip actuators to meet a defined power target value identifying a target power consumption of a component of the data processing system, the method comprising: identifying, by a power manager in the data processing system, a power proxy threshold value, for the defined power target value, identifying a maximum power usage for the component, and a power usage estimate value identifying a current power usage estimate for the component, wherein identifying the power usage estimate value for the component further comprises: identifying, by the power proxy unit, a set of activities to be monitored for the component; storing, by the power proxy unit, a value for each activity of the set of activities in an assigned counter of a first set of counters, forming a set of stored values, wherein the value comprises a count registered by the counter multiplied by a first weight factor specific to the activity, wherein the count is based on a number of occurrences of the activity; grouping, by the power proxy unit, the set of activities into subsets based on type of the activities; summing, by the power proxy unit, the stored values corresponding to each activity in each of the subsets to reach a total value for each of the subsets; multiplying, by the power proxy unit, for each of the subsets, the total value of the subset by a second weight factor corresponding to the subset to form a scaled value for the subset; summing, by the power proxy unit, the scaled values for the subsets to form the power usage estimate value; and sending, by the power proxy unit, the power usage estimate value of the component to the power manager; determining, by the power manager, whether the power usage estimate value is greater than the power proxy threshold value; responsive to the power usage estimate value being greater than the power proxy threshold value, sending, by the power manager, a set of signals to one or more on-chip actuators in the power proxy unit associated with the component; and adjusting, by the one or more on-chip actuators, a set of operational parameters associated with the component in order to meet the defined power target value.