Power conscious disk scheduling for multimedia data retrieval

Abstract

this paper, we present the novel algorithm called Adaptive Round Merge (ARM) of retrieving the multimedia data blocks for real-time playback. We focus on minimizing the power consumption involved in multimedia data retrieval. Different from the legacy text based data, real-time multimedia playback requires that the storage supplies the data block continuously until the end of the playback. This puts immense burden on the power scare environment since the disk has to be active for the entire playback duration. Our algorithm, ARM, carefully analyzes the power consumption profile of the disk drive and establishes the data retrieval schedule for the given playback. The objective is to minimize the power consumption. It determines the amount of data blocks to read, the length of active and idle period. According to our simulation result, the ARM algorithm reduces the power consumption by as much as 40% compared to the Full Buffering strategy. It manifests itself when the playback length is relatively short, typically less than 30 sec.