Green computing

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Jump to: navigation, search Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San urugesan defines the field of green computing as !the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems"such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and net#orking and communications systems " efficiently and effectively #ith minimal or no impact on the environment.!$%& The goals of green computing are similar to green chemistry' reduce the use of ha(ardous materials, ma)imi(e energy efficiency during the product*s lifetime, and promote the recyclability or biodegradability of defunct products and factory #aste. +esearch continues into key areas such as making the use of computers as energy,efficient as possible, and designing algorithms and systems for efficiency,related computer technologies.

Contents
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% -rigins . +egulations and industry initiatives o ..% /overnment o ... Industry 0 1pproaches o 0.% 2roduct longevity o 0.. Soft#are and deployment optimi(ation 0...% 1lgorithmic efficiency 0.... +esource allocation 0...0 3irtuali(ation 0...4 Terminal servers o 0.0 2o#er management 0.0.% 5ata center po#er 0.0.. -perating system support 0.0.0 2o#er supply 0.0.4 Storage 0.0.6 3ideo card 0.0.7 5isplay o 0.4 aterials recycling o 0.6 Telecommuting 4 8ducation and certification o 4.% /reen computing degree programs o 4.. /reen computing certifications

6 See also 7 +eferences

Origins
8nergy Star logo In %99., the :.S. 8nvironmental 2rotection 1gency launched 8nergy Star, a voluntary labeling program that is designed to promote and recogni(e energy,efficiency in monitors, climate control e;uipment, and other technologies. This resulted in the #idespread adoption of sleep mode among consumer electronics. <oncurrently, the S#edish organi(ation T<- 5evelopment launched the T<- <ertification program to promote lo# magnetic and electrical emissions from <+T,based computer displays' this program #as later e)panded to include criteria on energy consumption, ergonomics, and the use of ha(ardous materials in construction.$.&

Regulations and industry initiatives

The -rganisation for 8conomic <o,operation and 5evelopment =-8<5> has published a survey of over 9? government and industry initiatives on !/reen I<Ts!, i.e. information and communication technologies, the environment and climate change. The report concludes that initiatives tend to concentrate on the greening I<Ts themselves rather than on their actual implementation to tackle global #arming and environmental degradation. In general, only .?@ of initiatives have measurable targets, #ith government programs tending to include targets more fre;uently than business associations.$0&

Government
any governmental agencies have continued to implement standards and regulations that encourage green computing. The 8nergy Star program #as revised in -ctober .??7 to include stricter efficiency re;uirements for computer e;uipment, along #ith a tiered ranking system for approved products.$4&$6& Some efforts place responsibility on the manufacturer to dispose of the e;uipment themselves after it is no longer needed' this is called the e)tended producer responsibility model. The 8uropean :nion*s directives .??.A96A8< =+estriction of Ba(ardous Substances 5irective>, on the reduction of ha(ardous substances, and .??.A97A8< =Waste 8lectrical and 8lectronic 8;uipment 5irective> on #aste electrical and electronic e;uipment re;uired the substitution of heavy metals and flame retardants like 2olybrominated biphenyl and 2olybrominated diphenyl ethers in all electronic e;uipment put on the market starting on July %, .??7. The directives placed responsibility on manufacturers for the gathering and recycling of old e;uipment.$7&

There are currently .7 :S states that have established state,#ide recycling programs for obsolete computers and consumer electronics e;uipment.$C& The statutes either impose an !advance recovery fee! for each unit sold at retail or re;uire the manufacturers to reclaim the e;uipment at disposal. In .?%?, the 1merican +ecovery and +einvestment 1ct =1++1> #as signed into legislation by 2resident -bama. The bill allocated over D9? billion to be invested in green initiatives =rene#able energy, smart grids, energy efficiency, etc.> In January .?%?, the :.S. 8nergy 5epartment granted D4C million of the 1++1 money to#ards proEects that aim to improve the energy efficiency of data centers. The proEects #ill provide research on the follo#ing three areas: optimi(e data center hard#are and soft#are, improve po#er supply chain, and data center cooling technologies.$F&

Industry
<limate Savers <omputing Initiative =<S<I> is an effort to reduce the electric po#er consumption of 2<s in active and inactive states.$9& The <S<I provides a catalog of green products from its member organi(ations, and information for reducing 2< po#er consumption. It #as started on .??C,?7,%.. The name stems from the World Wildlife Fund*s <limate Savers program, #hich #as launched in %999.$%?& The WWF is also a member of the <omputing Initiative.$9& The /reen 8lectronics <ouncil offers the 8lectronic 2roduct 8nvironmental 1ssessment Tool =8281T> to assist in the purchase of !greener! computing systems. The <ouncil evaluates computing e;uipment on 6% criteria , .0 re;uired and .F optional , that measure a product*s efficiency and sustainability attributes. 2roducts are rated /old, Silver, or Gron(e, depending on ho# many optional criteria they meet. -n .??C,?%,.4, 2resident /eorge W. Gush issued 8)ecutive -rder %04.0, #hich re;uires all :nited States Federal agencies to use 8281T #hen purchasing computer systems.$%%&$%.& The /reen /rid is a global consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centers and business computing ecosystems. It #as founded in February .??C by several key companies in the industry H 1 5, 12<, 5ell, B2, IG , Intel, icrosoft, +ackable Systems, Spray<ool, Sun icrosystems and 3 #are. The /reen /rid has since gro#n to hundreds of members, including end,users and government organi(ations, all focused on improving data center infrastructure efficiency =5<I8>. The /reen6?? list rates supercomputers by energy efficiency =megaflopsA#att, encouraging a focus on efficiency rather than absolute performance. /reen <omm <hallenge is an organi(ation that promotes the development of energy conservation technology and practices in the field of Information and <ommunications Technology =I<T>. The Transaction 2rocessing 2erformance <ouncil=T2<> 8nergy specification augments the e)isting T2< benchmarks by allo#ing for optional publications of energy metrics alongside their performance results.$%0&

The S28< 2o#er is the first industry standard benchmark that measures po#er consumption in relation to performance for server,class computers.

Approaches
In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San urugesan defines the field of green computing as !the study and practice of designing, manufacturing, using, and disposing of computers, servers, and associated subsystems " such as monitors, printers, storage devices, and net#orking and communications systems " efficiently and effectively #ith minimal or no impact on the environment.!$%& urugesan lays out four paths along #hich he believes the environmental effects of computing should be addressed:$%& /reen use, green disposal, green design, and green manufacturing. /reen computing can also develop solutions that offer benefits by !aligning all IT processes and practices #ith the core principles of sustainability, #hich are to reduce, reuse, and recycle' and finding innovative #ays to use IT in business processes to deliver sustainability benefits across the enterprise and beyond!. $%4& odern IT systems rely upon a complicated mi) of people, net#orks, and hard#are' as such, a green computing initiative must cover all of these areas as #ell. 1 solution may also need to address end user satisfaction, management restructuring, regulatory compliance, and return on investment =+-I>. There are also considerable fiscal motivations for companies to take control of their o#n po#er consumption' !of the po#er management tools available, one of the most po#erful may still be simple, plain, common sense.!$%6&

Product longevity
/artner maintains that the 2< manufacturing process accounts for C? @ of the natural resources used in the life cycle of a 2<.$%7& ore recently, FuEitsu released a Iife <ycle 1ssessment =I<1> of a desktop that sho# that manufacturing and end of life accounts for the maEority of this laptop ecological footprint.$%C& Therefore, the biggest contribution to green computing usually is to prolong the e;uipment*s lifetime. 1nother report from /artner recommends to !Iook for product longevity, including upgradability and modularity.! $%F& For instance, manufacturing a ne# 2< makes a far bigger ecological footprint than manufacturing a ne# +1 module to upgrade an e)isting one.

Software and deployment optimization

Algorithmic efficiency ain article: 1lgorithmic efficiency The efficiency of algorithms has an impact on the amount of computer resources re;uired for any given computing function and there are many efficiency trade,offs in #riting programs. While algorithmic efficiency does not have as much impact as other approaches$dubious discuss&, it is still an important consideration. 1 study by a physicist at

Barvard, estimated that the average /oogle search released C grams of carbon dio)ide =<->.$%9& Bo#ever, /oogle disputes this figure, arguing instead that a typical search produces only ?.. grams of <-.$.?& ore recently, an independent study by /reenIT.fr demonstrate that Windo#s C J -ffice .?%? re;uire C? times more memory =+1 > than Windo#s 9F J -ffice .??? to #rite e)actly the same te)t or send e)actly the same e,mail than %? years ago$.%& Resource allocation ain article: +esource allocation 1lgorithms can also be used to route data to data centers #here electricity is less e)pensive. +esearchers from IT, <arnegie ellon :niversity, and 1kamai have tested an energy allocation algorithm that successfully routes traffic to the location #ith the cheapest energy costs. The researchers proEect up to a 4? percent savings on energy costs if their proposed algorithm #ere to be deployed. Bo#ever, this approach does not actually reduce the amount of energy being used' it reduces only the cost to the company using it. Konetheless, a similar strategy could be used to direct traffic to rely on energy that is produced in a more environmentally friendly or efficient #ay. 1 similar approach has also been used to cut energy usage by routing traffic a#ay from data centers e)periencing #arm #eather' this allo#s computers to be shut do#n to avoid using air conditioning.$..& Iarger server centers are sometimes located #here energy and land are ine)pensive and readily available. Iocal availability of rene#able energy, climate that allo#s outside air to be used for cooling, or locating them #here the heat they produce may be used for other purposes could be factors in green siting decisions. irtualization ain article: 2latform virtuali(ation See also: <omparison of platform virtual machines <omputer virtuali(ation refers to the abstraction of computer resources, such as the process of running t#o or more logical computer systems on one set of physical hard#are. The concept originated #ith the IG mainframe operating systems of the %97?s, but #as commerciali(ed for )F7,compatible computers only in the %99?s. With virtuali(ation, a system administrator could combine several physical systems into virtual machines on one single, po#erful system, thereby unplugging the original hard#are and reducing po#er and cooling consumption. 3irtuali(ation can assist in distributing #ork so that servers are either busy or put in a lo#,po#er sleep state. Several commercial companies and open,source proEects no# offer soft#are packages to enable a transition to virtual computing. Intel <orporation and 1 5 have also built proprietary virtuali(ation enhancements to the )F7 instruction set into each of their <2: product lines, in order to facilitate virtuali(ed computing.

Terminal servers ain article: Terminal server Terminal servers have also been used in green computing. When using the system, users at a terminal connect to a central server' all of the actual computing is done on the server, but the end user e)periences the operating system on the terminal. These can be combined #ith thin clients, #hich use up to %AF the amount of energy of a normal #orkstation, resulting in a decrease of energy costs and consumption.$citation needed& There has been an increase in using terminal services #ith thin clients to create virtual labs. 8)amples of terminal server soft#are include Terminal Services for Windo#s and the Iinu) Terminal Server 2roEect =ITS2> for the Iinu) operating system.

Power management
ain article: 2o#er management The 1dvanced <onfiguration and 2o#er Interface =1<2I>, an open industry standard, allo#s an operating system to directly control the po#er,saving aspects of its underlying hard#are. This allo#s a system to automatically turn off components such as monitors and hard drives after set periods of inactivity. In addition, a system may hibernate, #here most components =including the <2: and the system +1 > are turned off. 1<2I is a successor to an earlier Intel, icrosoft standard called 1dvanced 2o#er anagement, #hich allo#s a computer*s GI-S to control po#er management functions.$citation needed& Some programs allo# the user to manually adEust the voltages supplied to the <2:, #hich reduces both the amount of heat produced and electricity consumed. This process is called undervolting. Some <2:s can automatically undervolt the processor, depending on the #orkload' this technology is called !SpeedStep! on Intel processors, !2o#erKo#L!A!<ool*n*Muiet! on 1 5 chips, IongBaul on 3I1 <2:s, and Iong+un #ith Transmeta processors. !ata center power 5ata centers, #hich have been critici(ed for its e)traordinary high energy demand, are a primary focus for proponents of green computing.$.0& The federal government has set a minimum %?@ reduction target for data center energy usage by .?%%.$.0& With the aid of a self,styled ultraefficient evaporative cooling technology, /oogle Inc. has been able to reduce its energy consumption to 6?@ of that of the industry average.$.0& Operating system support The dominant desktop operating system, icrosoft Windo#s, has included limited 2< po#er management features since Windo#s 96.$.4& These initially provided for stand,by =suspend,to,+1 > and a monitor lo# po#er state. Further iterations of Windo#s added hibernate =suspend,to,disk> and support for the 1<2I standard. Windo#s .??? #as the

first KT,based operating system to include po#er management. This re;uired maEor changes to the underlying operating system architecture and a ne# hard#are driver model. Windo#s .??? also introduced /roup 2olicy, a technology that allo#ed administrators to centrally configure most Windo#s features. Bo#ever, po#er management #as not one of those features. This is probably because the po#er management settings design relied upon a connected set of per,user and per,machine binary registry values,$.6& effectively leaving it up to each user to configure their o#n po#er management settings. This approach, #hich is not compatible #ith Windo#s /roup 2olicy, #as repeated in Windo#s N2. The reasons for this design decision by icrosoft are not kno#n, and it has resulted in heavy criticism.$.7& icrosoft significantly improved this in Windo#s 3ista$.C& by redesigning the po#er management system to allo# basic configuration by /roup 2olicy. The support offered is limited to a single per,computer policy. The most recent release, Windo#s C retains these limitations but does include refinements for more efficient user of operating system timers, processor po#er management,$.F&$.9& and display panel brightness. The most significant change in Windo#s C is in the user e)perience. The prominence of the default Bigh 2erformance po#er plan has been reduced #ith the aim of encouraging users to save po#er. There is a significant market in third,party 2< po#er management soft#are offering features beyond those present in the Windo#s operating system.$0?&$0%&$0.& available. ost products offer 1ctive 5irectory integration and per,userAper,machine settings #ith the more advanced offering multiple po#er plans, scheduled po#er plans, anti,insomnia features and enterprise po#er usage reporting. Kotable vendors include %8 KightWatchman.,$00&$04& 5ata Synergy 2o#er 1K =Soft#are>,$06& Faronics 2o#er Save$07& and 3erdiem S:+38O-+.$0C& Power supply 5esktop computer po#er supplies =2S:s> are in general C?HC6@ efficient,$0F& dissipating the remaining energy as heat. 1n industry initiative called F? 2I:S certifies 2S:s that are at least F?@ efficient' typically these models are drop,in replacements for older, less efficient 2S:s of the same form factor.$09& 1s of July .?, .??C, all ne# 8nergy Star 4.?, certified desktop 2S:s must be at least F?@ efficient.$4?& Storage Smaller form factor =e.g., ..6 inch> hard disk drives often consume less po#er per gigabyte than physically larger drives.$4%&$4.& :nlike hard disk drives, solid,state drives store data in flash memory or 5+1 . With no moving parts, po#er consumption may be reduced some#hat for lo#,capacity flash,based devices.$40&$44& In a recent case study, Fusion,io, manufacturers of the #orld*s fastest Solid State Storage devices, managed to reduce the carbon footprint and operating costs of ySpace data centers by F?@ #hile increasing performance speeds beyond that #hich had been

attainable via multiple hard disk drives in +aid ?.$46&$47& In response, ySpace #as able to permanently retire several of their servers, including all their heavy,load servers, further reducing their carbon footprint. 1s hard drive prices have fallen, storage farms have tended to increase in capacity to make more data available online. This includes archival and backup data that #ould formerly have been saved on tape or other offline storage. The increase in online storage has increased po#er consumption. +educing the po#er consumed by large storage arrays, #hile still providing the benefits of online storage, is a subEect of ongoing research.$4C& ideo card 1 fast /2: may be the largest po#er consumer in a computer.$4F& 8nergy,efficient display options include: Ko video card , use a shared terminal, shared thin client, or desktop sharing soft#are if display re;uired. :se motherboard video output , typically lo# 05 performance and lo# po#er. Select a /2: based on lo# idle po#er, average #attage, or performance per #att.

!isplay <+T monitors typically use more po#er than I<5 monitors. They also contain significant amounts of lead. I<5 monitors typically use a cold,cathode fluorescent bulb to provide light for the display. Some ne#er displays use an array of light,emitting diodes =I85s> in place of the fluorescent bulb, #hich reduces the amount of electricity used by the display.$49& Fluorescent back,lights also contain mercury, #hereas I85 back,lights do not.

"aterials recycling
ain articles: 8lectronic #aste and computer recycling +ecycling computing e;uipment can keep harmful materials such as lead, mercury, and he)avalent chromium out of landfills, and can also replace e;uipment that other#ise #ould need to be manufactured, saving further energy and emissions. <omputer systems that have outlived their particular function can be re,purposed, or donated to various charities and non,profit organi(ations.$6?& Bo#ever, many charities have recently imposed minimum system re;uirements for donated e;uipment.$6%& 1dditionally, parts from outdated systems may be salvaged and recycled through certain retail outlets$6.&$60& and municipal or private recycling centers. <omputing supplies, such as printer cartridges, paper, and batteries may be recycled as #ell.$64& 1 dra#back to many of these schemes is that computers gathered through recycling drives are often shipped to developing countries #here environmental standards are less

strict than in Korth 1merica and 8urope.$66& The Silicon 3alley To)ics <oalition estimates that F?@ of the post,consumer e,#aste collected for recycling is shipped abroad to countries such as <hina and 2akistan.$67& In .?%%, the collection rate of e,#aste is still very lo#, even in the most ecology, responsible countries like France. In this country, e,#aste collection is still at a %4@ annual rate bet#een electronic e;uipments sold and e,#aste collected for .??7 to .??9.$6C& The recycling of old computers raises an important privacy issue. The old storage devices still hold private information, such as emails, pass#ords, and credit card numbers, #hich can be recovered simply by someone*s using soft#are available freely on the Internet. 5eletion of a file does not actually remove the file from the hard drive. Gefore recycling a computer, users should remove the hard drive, or hard drives if there is more than one, and physically destroy it or store it some#here safe. There are some authori(ed hard#are recycling companies to #hom the computer may be given for recycling, and they typically sign a non,disclosure agreement.$6F&

Telecommuting
ain article: Telecommuting Teleconferencing and telepresence technologies are often implemented in green computing initiatives. The advantages are many' increased #orker satisfaction, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related to travel, and increased profit margins as a result of lo#er overhead costs for office space, heat, lighting, etc. The savings are significant' the average annual energy consumption for :.S. office buildings is over .0 kilo#att hours per s;uare foot, #ith heat, air conditioning and lighting accounting for C?@ of all energy consumed.$69& -ther related initiatives, such as hotelling, reduce the s;uare footage per employee as #orkers reserve space only #hen they need it.$7?& any types of Eobs, such as sales, consulting, and field service, integrate #ell #ith this techni;ue. 3oice over I2 =3oI2> reduces the telephony #iring infrastructure by sharing the e)isting 8thernet copper. 3oI2 and phone e)tension mobility also made hot desking more practical.

#ducation and certification

Green computing degree programs
5egree programs that provide training in a range of information technology concentrations along #ith sustainable strategies in an effort to educate students ho# to build and maintain systems #hile reducing its negative impact on the environment.

Green computing certifications

Some certifications demonstrate that an individual has specific green computing kno#ledge, including: /reen <omputing Initiative , </<:S, </<1, </<2 certifications$citation needed& <ompTI1 Strata /reen IT is designed for IT managers to sho# that they have good kno#ledge of green IT practices and methods and #hy it is important to incorporate them into an organi(ation. Information Systems 8)amination Goard =IS8G> Foundation <ertificate in /reen IT is appropriate for sho#ing an overall understanding and a#areness of green computing and #here its implementation can be beneficial. Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation =SiTF> Singapore /reen IT 2rofessional is an industry endorsed professional level certification #hich uses a /reen IT frame#ork =adopted by over %0 countries> and is inclusive of vendors #hich provides an in depth understanding of /reen IT and the implementation of these practices.$citation needed&