The source is a feature request, not a finished ZimaOS power-management feature. TOMillr asked IceWhale to expose CPU governor selection and Powertop --auto-tune through the GUI, possibly alongside HDD standby controls. Months later, the user measured about 3.7 W idle on OpenMediaVault with Powertop/powersave tuning versus about 10 W on a clean ZimaOS installation on the same test system.
That comparison is useful evidence for one hardware/configuration, but it is not a universal “ZimaOS uses 170% more power” benchmark. Current public ZimaOS documentation clearly covers Disk Standby and UPS power-loss protection; it does not currently document a built-in Powertop auto-tune or CPU-governor GUI equivalent to what this feature request proposed.
The Request Combined Several Different Power Controls
- CPU frequency-scaling governor selection;
- Powertop
--auto-tune; - Wake-on-LAN tuning;
- HDD standby/spin-down;
- a dedicated GUI section to make those changes persistent.
These controls operate at different layers and should not be treated as one switch.
The Source Commands Were Community-Level Linux Examples
TOMillr posted commands to inspect available/active governors and write powersave into sysfs. They also correctly noted that such changes can reset after reboot and may need a persistent service/task.
Those commands were not posted by IceWhale staff as an official ZimaOS procedure. Current ZimaOS remains an appliance-style system where arbitrary host modifications should be approached carefully.
Powertop Auto-Tune Can Change More Than CPU Frequency
Powertop may adjust USB autosuspend, PCIe runtime power behavior, SATA/ALPM settings, audio devices, Wake-on-LAN, and other tunables. Some combinations can reduce idle watts; others can make network cards, USB devices, storage controllers, or wake functions unreliable.
A GUI would need hardware-aware defaults and rollback rather than simply running every recommendation blindly.
The 3.7 W vs 10 W Test Is Useful but Hardware-Specific
The strongest part of the source is that both measurements came from the same test machine. However, different kernels, services, NIC states, storage activity, logging, and background jobs can contribute to the gap.
Use wall-power measurements before and after each individual change to find what actually matters on your hardware.
Current ZimaOS Already Has HDD Standby Improvements
Earlier ZimaOS releases added disk standby controls and later reduced unnecessary disk health queries. ZimaOS 1.6.0 also fixed a known case where smartd intermittently woke sleeping disks.
See the official Disk Standby improvements.
Current ZimaOS Also Supports UPS-Based Power-Loss Protection
From v1.5.3, ZimaOS supports compatible USB UPS devices and configurable shutdown behavior during a power outage.
Use the current ZimaOS UPS controls.
Do Not Claim the Requested Powertop/Governor GUI Has Shipped Without Current Evidence
The source contains no IceWhale confirmation that those requested controls were implemented. The current public settings documentation likewise does not describe a dedicated Powertop auto-tune or CPU-governor selection page.
A Safer Power-Optimization Order
- measure idle power at the wall;
- stop unnecessary containers/services;
- use HDD standby where appropriate;
- remove unused PCIe/USB devices;
- test BIOS C-state/ASPM settings one at a time;
- only then test advanced governor/runtime tuning with a rollback path.
ZimaOS Power Management FAQ
Did IceWhale confirm Powertop auto-tune in the GUI?
No. The source is a feature request and does not contain implementation confirmation.
Was the user's lower-power comparison on the same hardware?
Yes, according to the source: about 3.7 W on an optimized OpenMediaVault setup versus about 10 W on clean ZimaOS.
What power controls are clearly documented today?
Disk standby/storage-power improvements and USB UPS-based power-loss protection are documented current features.
