Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sat, 27 Apr 2024 00:41:19 +0200 | From | Andrew Lunn <> | Subject | Re: PoE complex usage of regulator API |
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> Let's begin simple, in PSE world we are more talking about power. > Would it be ok to add a regulator_get/set_power_limit() and > regulator_get_power() callback to regulator API. Would regulator API have > interest to such callbacks?
Could you define this API in more details.
I'm assuming this is mostly about book keeping? When a regulator is created, we want to say is can deliver up to X Kilowatts. We then want to allocate power to ports. So there needs to be a call asking it to allocate part of X to a consumer, which could fail if there is not sufficient power budget left. And there needs to be a call to release such an allocation.
We are probably not so much interested in what the actual current power draw is, assuming there is no wish to over provision?
There is in theory a potential second user of this. Intel have been looking at power control for SFPs. Typically they are guaranteed a minimum of 1.5W. However, they can operate at higher power classes. You can have boards with multiple SFPs, with a theoretical maximum power draw more than what the supply can supply. So you need similar sort of power budget book keeping to allocate power to an SFP cage before telling the SFP module it can swap to a higher power class. I say this is theoretical, because the device Intel is working on has this hidden away in firmware. But maybe sometime in the future somebody will want Linux doing this.
Andrew
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