Apparatus, method and computer system for reducing power consumption of a processor or processors upon occurrence of a failure condition affecting the processor or processors

TL;DR: In this paper, a signal is provided which indicates a failure condition affecting the processor such as an overtemperature condition or a failure or reduction in performance of a cooling mechanism, in response to the signal, a power consumption of the processor is periodically reduced.

Abstract: An apparatus, a method and a computer system can be used to reduce power consumption of one or more processors in response to a failure condition such as an overtemperature condition affecting the processor or processors. A signal is provided which indicates a failure condition affecting the processor such as an overtemperature condition or a failure or reduction in performance of a cooling mechanism. In response to the signal, a power consumption of the processor is periodically reduced. This can be accomplished by providing a periodic signal to an input of the processor (e.g., a stop clock input or a processor enable input). The processor reduces power consumption by stopping an internal clock of the processor, for example. The periodic signal can be provided to the input of the processor to periodically reduce power consumption. In this manner, power consumption of the processor may be reduced without shutting down the processor entirely, while maintaining some processor functions and without missing the receipt of any signals corresponding to vital functions of the processor system while the power consumption of the processor is reduced.