Reducing power consumption in computing devices with wireless network interfaces

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a wireless transceiver configured to communicate data with a network device; and

a processing device, operatively coupled with the wireless transceiver, the processing device to:

determine whether a computing device coupled to the apparatus has data to transmit to the network device, wherein the computing device comprises a source of the data and wherein the apparatus comprises a network interface for the computing device;

in response to determining that the computing device does not have data to transmit to the network device, transmit a first message indicating that the computing device does not have data to transmit to the network device; and

transition the apparatus to a reduced power state, wherein the apparatus uses less power in the reduced power state than an active state without changing a power state of the computing device that provides the data to the apparatus for transmission through the wireless transceiver to the network device and that also provides an indication for the processing device to determine whether the computing device has data to transmit to the network device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first message comprises an 802.11 frame.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to transmit the first message indicating that the computing device does not have data to transmit to the network device, the processing device is further configured to:

set the value of a Power Management field of the 802.11 frame to indicate that the apparatus is transitioning to the reduced power state.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to determine whether the computing device has data to transmit to the network device, the processing device is further to:

determine whether a second message indicating the computing device does not have data to transmit, was received from the computing device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to determine whether the computing device has data to transmit to the network device, the processing device is further to:

analyze a schedule, wherein the schedule indicates periods of time that the computing device will have data to transmit to the network device.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the processing device is further to:

receive the schedule from the computing device.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further to:

transition from the reduced power state to the active state; and

transmit data to the network device for a period of time; and

transition from the active data to the reduced power state, wherein the period of time is less than an inactivity timeout.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further to:

in response to determining that the computing device has data to transmit to the network device, cause the apparatus to remain in the active state.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing device is further to:

determine whether the network device has data to transmit to the computing device during a beacon period, wherein the apparatus remains in the reduced power state;

transition the apparatus to the active state in response to determining that the network device has data to transmit to the computing device; and

cause the apparatus to remain in the reduced power state in response to determining that the network device does not have data to transmit to the computing device.

10. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory configured to store data; and

a processing device, operatively coupled to the memory and coupled to a wireless network interface for the apparatus to transmit data sourced by the apparatus through the wireless network interface to a network device and for the apparatus to provide an indication to the wireless network interface whether the apparatus has data to transmit to the network device, the processing device to:

determine whether there is data to transmit to the network device; and

provide the indication to the wireless network interface coupled to the apparatus that there is no data to transmit to the network device, wherein the wireless network interface is configured to transition to a reduced power state based on the indication without changing a power state of the apparatus, and wherein the wireless network interface is configured to transmit a first message indicating that the apparatus does not have data to transmit to the network device.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein to provide the indication the processing devices is further to:

transmit a message to the network interface indicating that there is no data to transmit to the network device.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein to provide the indication the processing devices is further to:

include the indication in an existing message that was to be transmitted to the network device.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein to provide the indication the processing devices is further to:

transmit a schedule to the network interface, wherein the schedule indicates periods of time that the apparatus will have data to transmit to the network device.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the indication is provided to the network interface in response to determining that there is no data to transmit.

15. A method, comprising:

determining whether a computing device coupled to an apparatus has data to transmit to a network device, wherein the computing device comprises a source of the data and wherein the apparatus comprises a network interface for the computing device;

in response to determining that the computing device does not have data to transmit to the network device, transmitting a first message indicating that the computing device does not have data to transmit to the network device; and

transitioning the apparatus to a reduced power state, wherein the apparatus uses less power in the reduced power state than an active state without changing a power state of the computing device that provides the data to the apparatus for transmission through the apparatus to the network device and that also provides an indication for the apparatus to determine whether the computing device has data to transmit to the network device.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first message comprises an 802.11 frame.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein transmitting the first message indicating that the computing device does not have data to transmit to the network device comprises:

setting the value of a Power Management field of the 802.11 frame to indicate that the apparatus is transitioning to the reduced power state.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining whether the computing device has data to transmit to the network device comprises:

determining whether a second message indicating the computing device does not have data to transmit, was received from the computing device.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining whether the computing device has data to transmit to the network device comprises:

analyzing a schedule, wherein the schedule indicates periods of time that the computing device will have data to transmit to the network device.

20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the computing device has data to transmit to the network device, causing the apparatus to remain in the active state.