Method and system for conserving power by degrading network connection speed

1. A method for conserving power comprising:

determining a first network connection speed for a network interface card (NIC);

configuring the NIC to operate at the first network connection speed;

processing, after the configuration, packets received by the NIC;

obtaining a bandwidth utilization of the NIC;

upon determining that the bandwidth utilization of the NIC is outside a threshold range:

determining a power management policy in effect for the NIC, wherein the power management policy is one of a plurality of power management policies, and wherein each of the plurality of power management policies defines a maximum power consumption allowed for the NIC,

determining, based on the power management policy in effect for the NIC, a maximum power consumption level for the NIC,

determining a second network connection speed for the NIC based on the bandwidth utilization and NIC information,

determining, using the NIC information, a power consumption level for the second network connection speed, and

configuring the NIC to operate at the second network connection speed if the power consumption level for the second network connection speed does not exceed the maximum power consumption level for the NIC,

wherein the bandwidth utilization measures a number of bits received by the NIC per unit of time, and

wherein the NIC information defines a plurality of network connection speeds at which the NIC may be configured and a power consumption for each of the plurality of network connection speeds.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second connection speed is less than the first connection speed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first network connection speed is selected based on NIC information, the power management policy, and an anticipated bandwidth utilization of the NIC.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the power management policy further defines a time of day when the power management policy is in effect.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second connection speed is greater than the first connection speed.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold range defines a maximum number of packets that may be dropped over a period of time and a minimum number of packets that must be received over the period of time.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold range is defined globally for all network speeds.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold range is defined on a per-connection basis.

9. A system, comprising:

a network interface card (NIC) configured to receive packets from a network;

a network statistics module configured to determine bandwidth utilization of the NIC; and

a policy engine configured to:

determine a first network connection speed for a network interface card (NIC);

obtain the bandwidth utilization of the NIC from the network statistics module;

upon determining that the bandwidth utilization of the NIC is outside a threshold range:

determine a power management policy in effect for the NIC, wherein the bower management r management policies, and wherein each of the plurality of power management policies defines a maximum power consumption allowed for the NIC,

determine, based on the power management policy in effect for the NIC, a maximum power consumption level for the NIC,

determine a second network connection speed for the NIC based on the bandwidth utilization and NIC information,

determine, using the NIC information, a power consumption level for the second network connection speed, and

configure the NIC to operate at the second network connection speed if the power consumption level for the second network connection speed does not exceed the maximum power consumption level for the NIC,

wherein the bandwidth utilization measures a number of bits received by the NIC per unit of time, and

wherein the NIC information defines a plurality of network connection speeds at which the NIC may be configured and a power consumption for each of the plurality of network connection speeds.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second connection speed is less than the first connection speed.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the policy engine is further configured to select the first network connection speed based on NIC information, the power management policy, and an anticipated bandwidth utilization of the NIC.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the threshold range defines a maximum number of packets that may be dropped over a period of time and a minimum number of packets that must be received over the period of time.

13. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer system to:

determine a first network connection speed for a network interface card (NIC);

configure the NIC to operate at the first network connection speed;

process, after the configuration, packets received by the NIC;

obtain a bandwidth utilization of the NIC;

upon determining that the bandwidth utilization of the NIC is outside a threshold range:

determine a power management policy in effect for the NIC, wherein the power management policy is one of a plurality of power management policies, and wherein each of the plurality of power management policies defines a maximum power consumption allowed for the NIC,

determine, based on the power management policy in effect for the NIC, a maximum power consumption level for the NIC,

determine a second network connection speed for the NIC based on the bandwidth utilization and NIC information,

determine, using the NIC information, a power consumption level for the second network connection speed, and

configure the NIC to operate at the second network connection speed if the power consumption level for the second network connection speed does not exceed the maximum power consumption level for the NIC,

wherein the bandwidth utilization measures a number of bits received by the NIC per unit of time,

wherein the NIC information defines a plurality of network connection speeds at which the NIC may be configured and a power consumption for each of the plurality of network connection speeds.

14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the first network connection speed is selected based on NIC information, the power management policy, and an anticipated bandwidth utilization of the NIC.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the power management policy also defines a time of day when the power management policy is in effect.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the threshold range is defined globally for all network speeds.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the threshold range is defined on a per-connection basis.