Deseeding energy consumption of network stacks

Abstract

Regular works on energy efficiency strategies for wireless communications are based on classical energy models that account for the wireless card only. Nevertheless, there is a non-negligible energy toll called cross-factor that encompasses the energy drained while a frame crosses the network stack of an OS. This paper addresses the challenge of deepen into the roots of the cross-factor, deseed its components and analyse its causes. Energy issues are critical for IoT devices. Thus, this paper conceives and validates a new comprehensive framework that enables us to measure a wide range of wireless devices, as well as multiple devices synchronously. We also present a rigorous methodology to perform whole-device energy measurements in laptops, a more generic and suitable device to perform energy debugging. Finally, and using this framework, we provide a collection of measurements and insights that deepens our understanding of the cross-factor.