COMP 4923 A2Green IT: 11 Initiatives

PLUS 5 OthersStudent Workshop SlidesJSOCS, Acadia University

References

• “Green IT: Why mid-size companies are investing now” by Infotech research group for IBM, March, 2009

Summary of 11 Green IT Initiatives

By Mid-size organizations around the world:– server virtualization and consolidation– storage consolidation– desktop virtualization– existing server room upgrades– new server room builds– IT energy measurement– PC power management– printer consolidation– remote conferencing– telecommuting– IT equipment recycling

PLUS 5 additional Initiatives we have identified

• Development of low energy technology• Efficiency of IT product manufacturing • Energy efficient program coding and data

storage• Use of shared cloud computing• Use of IT to measure and control organization

energy use and carbon footprint

Green IT Adoption Trends

• Success of initiatives has been high

• 65% successful in realizing goals

Storage Consolidation and Server Virtualization(Janna Conrad, Temar Richards)

Initiatives in the area include server virtualization and

consolidation, storage consolidation and desktop virtualization. These projects typically improve cost and

energy efficiency through optimized use of existing and new computing and storage capacity, electricity, cooling,

ventilation and real estate.

Decrease the overall number of devices running in the server room, along with the square footage needed to house these devices.

Decrease the energy required to run servers and storage, along with the associated cost and greenhouse gas emissions.

Decrease the cost of future investments in physical servers and storage devices. By operating server room assets at higher utilization rates, many IT shops will require fewer purchases during future refreshes.

Solutions - decrease the number of devices running in the server room, implement thin clients, work on efficiency of the server room, and management of maintenance time.

Businesses cite the following as most important when making consolidation and virtualization decisions:

Desktop Virtualization and Thin Clients(Katie Both, Anquin C. Cooper)

Problem Issues • A typical Computer uses a 250-watt power

supply, which is very costly as well as environmentally strenuous

• A typical computer has a CPU, RAM, moving parts and does not connect to a virtual desktop environment

• A typical computer has a very high cost of maintenance and management

Desktop Virtualization and Thin Clients

Solutions • Making the move to desktop virtualization and by

employing thin client machines reduces energy consumption as well as users environmental impact

• Thin-clients reduce energy use by 97-98%, energy savings and cost avoidance is a result

• Thin-clients have no CPU, No RAM, no moving parts and connect to a virtual desktop environment

• By using thin-clients reducing service-desk staff can be justified

Server Room Upgrades(Daniel Allen and Chengchao Gao)

• Increase effectiveness of cooling and ventilation systems - this can be achieved by upgrading older HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-Controlling) systems to deal with the smaller, more powerful modern systems which throw out more heat than older machines.

• Increase sever and computing capacity

• Investigate the reliability of aging infrastructure - make a move to systems and equipment that support denser, smaller footprints (e.g., rack mounts vs. blade servers).

• Older facilities and equipment needs more maintenance, and they may not handle the growth of computing and storage affordably.

New server Room Build(John Morse, Xufeng Zhu)

• Decreased Energy– firms’ using natural cooling methods for server rooms

rather then artificial air conditioning– Integrated server room saving more energy than

separated server rooms• Decreased Consumables

– server rooms built more suitable to new infrastructure and technology

• Increased Features and Functionality -upgrading old systems to new more efficient systems, and new systems or equipment will provide some new functions

New server Room Build

• Decreased other Expenses/ Future Investment– Saving administration expense (less employees)– Decrease utility expense– Saving money on Buildings– New server room fit for next few decades will save

future investment

IT ENERGY MEASUREMENT

A Service Room might contain equipments like: light, computer, cooling system, monitor, and etc.

We need to know the energy used by each unit and in total, so we can control the cost and reduce the waste.

Therefore, we got questions like: how to measure the energy? And by what kind of device?

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What do we use to measure the energy we used• Electricity meters are the most common

devices for measuring the vast quantities of electrical energy used by industry and the general public.

• For example: The Analog Devices IC (ADE) family (http://www.newark.com/pdfs/techarticles/adi/EnergyMeasurementProductsFINAL.pdf)

How to manage power for Home & Office PCs(Dylan Boates, Osamah Alsudais)

Problems Solutions

Computers left on when not needed

Inefficent management of peripherals

Inefficent use of computer resources

Automatically shut down computers and peripherals after hours

Shut down peripherals when not in useShare peripherals within officesUse energy efficent peripherals when possible

Configure systems to run in low power modesUse advanced power management softwareUse energy effecent computers where possible

Why to manage power for Home & Office PCs

Save money!-Energy Star estimates suggest you can save 25$ to 75$ per computer per year by powering down inactive machines-By powering down their 300,000 PCs AT&T expects to save $12.8m per year

Save the environment!-The average desktop PC wastes half of the energy it consumes and by turning on energy-saving features you can reduce your CO2 emissions by nearly half a ton

Address your most energy-consuming environment.- According to a recent Forrester survey, IT professionals report that more electricity is used outside the data center by a margin of 10%.

Printer consolidation and reduction(Aziz and Malte)

Options:•Print limit•One printer per department•Use batteries instead of electricity•Use recycled paper•Develop printers that automatically shut down after printing

Disadvantages

• One printer per department: privacy issues if information is confidential

Advantages:• One printer per department:(less paper used, thus more

environmentally friendly and lower costs)• Recycled paper(more environmentally friendly)• Develop printers to shut-down after printing( lower energy

use,• Thus more environmentally friendly and reduction in costs)

Remote Conferencing and Collaboration(Justin Haynes / Misfer Aldossari)

Problems:• Smaller companies more expensive to start• Employees may not be professional / professional

environment• Not be able to view surroundings, no eye contact• Afraid of wasting time / afraid of technology

Remote Conferencing and Collaboration

Solutions:• Make technology cheaper• Easily share and collaborate software and documents• Virtual desktop technology• Use of video and audio, can be easily recorded to

later use• Wireless networks 3GB networks can reduce

infrastructure • NetMeeting, MSN Messenger, Skype, MyOffice

Telecommute strategies(Johnny MacDonald, Sarah Sun)

The ConceptOn Wikipedia under telecommuting It is

said that if 40% of people who telecommute worked from home half of the time the U.S would save 453 million

barrels of oil

The Statistics The problemTelecommuting is still relatively new,

and still not widely practiced.

The Solution???

Issues of IT equipment recycling(Ali Asghar, Michael Stevenson)

• Regulations and laws (both federal and local)• Takes up too much space at the office• Decrease waste sent to landfills• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpPBonq

AbNk

Solutions to IT equipment recycling

• Remanufacturing refers to disassembling computers and making new systems from parts • Asset Recovery', which is essentially a contract between a recycler and an organization to take away excess equipment and to guarantee safe disposal, perhaps with some economic value returned to the organization.