cpupower

cpupower is a set of command-line utilities for Linux that allows users to monitor and control CPU frequency scaling. It provides tools for managing the CPU's performance and power consumption by adjusting its operating frequency and governor settings. The primary utility, cpupower, can display current CPU frequency, available governors, and their settings. It can also be used to set the CPU frequency governor, which determines how the CPU frequency is managed. Common governors include 'performance', which sets the CPU to its maximum frequency, and 'ondemand', which scales the frequency up and down based on system load. Other governors like 'powersave' prioritize energy efficiency.

The cpupower suite also includes utilities like cpupower-info, which provides detailed information about the CPU's capabilities, and cpupower-bench, which can be used to benchmark CPU performance. These tools are valuable for system administrators and power users who need to fine-tune system performance, optimize power usage, or diagnose CPU-related issues. Proper configuration of cpupower can lead to significant power savings on mobile devices and reduce overall energy consumption in data centers without compromising performance when needed. Understanding and utilizing cpupower effectively is a key aspect of Linux system optimization.