Kashif Tahir Research Assignment ISM3314 Lesson 3 June 2, 2013 Task1: Research green computing and projects that

have been done or are being done by large organizations such as IBM, Dell, HP, and Google. Include your definition of green computing to include the topics listed. Describe each of these areas of green computing, including a detailed example of how at least one organization has implemented each one, and investigate the return on investment. Summarize your results in a two-to three-page pare. The world around us is constantly changing. Whether its the environment changing us, or us changing the environment, all actions have consequences which all of us are responsible for. Going green is a popular trend, and is slowly turning into a movement for change. Green IT and computing plays a major role in this, as IT is one of the biggest consumers of electricity all over the globe. From data centers being on 24/7, constant cooling systems running to keep server systems at optimal temperature to office workers using monitors, desktops, printers, faxes, lighting and the list just never ends.

All of this constitutes to more and more power usage, which in term requires more and more power plants to be built. A chain reaction is caused from the tiniest of things, which is why we must strive to not improve our planet, but desperately try to keep it the same. Server Virtualization (1st topic)

With hardware costs constantly rising due to new model releases annually, many companies have opted to turn to Server Virtualization. One leading company, VMWare, have proven that virtualizing multiple servers on a single host machine can offer savings of up to 80% in small to large companies. By eliminating the need for a whole room for server space, separate power supplies or power lines as well as a mountain of cabling, server virtualization helps not only in making a physical server more compact, but one machine alone can now run multiple servers with no danger of them interfering with each other. Virtualization essentially creates a separate container for each server, allowing individual connections to and from each server. This ultimately results in less energy usage, minimal waste and pollution, as well as reducing the carbon footprint the IT industry has on our planet. Thin Client Solutions (2nd Topic) Day by day, appliances are getting smaller, use less energy and have more processing power. It is no wonder that companies are starting to use thin client solutions, allowing them the space and freedom they would otherwise not get with an everyday average desktop.

Thin clients are basically a small shell of desktops, possessing only the necessary hardware to simply power on. A process is then started upon booting, where the thin client machine connects to a host network, where it obtains a video signal which is output onto the local monitor. This means that all programs and other essentials are stored remotely, accessible at any time with the right user credentials. This essentially eliminates piracy, as no local software can be installed, as well as no annual hardware upgrades are necessary. Because thin client units are small in physical size, their power consumption is a fraction of a desktops, granting versatile mobility, energy savings and advanced security. VMWare, together with Dell have been experimenting with thin client solutions for months, having reached power consumption results below that of an average laptop. While being more energy efficient, just as mobile and never running out of battery power, thin clients are definitely the ways of the future.

Telecommuting Telecommuting refers to the practice of working away from the central workplace, communicating to the workplace using telephones, fax machines, and modems. This allows for flexibility in work location and working hours. Cisco has implemented a large telecommuting program allowing their employees to work from home. Cisco estimates that 20,000 of their employees are telecommuting. The company uses its own Cisco Virtual Office package, which includes IP phones and multiservice routers. The average Cisco worker telecommutes 2 days out of the week.

The program has had massive economic savings for the company. A survey of 2000 telecommuting workers resulted in 69% of employees citing higher productivity, which in turn resulted in an average saving of $91 per hour with a total saving of $277 million. It is also estimated that employees saved upwards of $10 million on fuel each year. Employees cited increases in productivity, timeliness of their work, collaboration with coworkers and an improved quality of life. A majority of telecommuting employees are using their newfound extra time to get more work done.

Open-Source Software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a free software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software. (Wikipedia) E-Trade is a United States based financial services company. E*TRADE shrunk their technology budget in 2001 and 2002. To help stay under the reduced budget the company started to use open-source software that is freely available on the internet. This open-source software could also be run on cheaper hardware further saving on costs. By the end of 2002, less than 2 years after beginning to use open-source software, the company was saving $13 million per year. With companies looking to save as much money as possible and reduce costs wherever they can many are turning to open-source in favor of the propriety alternatives, leading to large savings each year.

Green data centres

Efficient, cost effective and environmentally sustainable data centre operations almost sound too good to be true. AMDs External Research Office, has been working on a project aimed at creating a network of data centres that are powered by carbon-free renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The project is a partnership with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Clarkson University, HP, and others.

The data centres will be locating close to the wind turbines or solar arrays to improve the power transmission efficiency. By linking the data centres together with fibre optic data lines, information can be moved between them to take advantage of available renewable power. For example, if a wind-powered data centre was unable to operate due to low wind velocity its workload could be transferred to a solar-powered data centre that is getting plenty of sunshine.

According to Kester, moving bytes on fibre optic lines is more efficient and cheaper than moving electricity on transmission lines. The cost of fibre optic line installation costs $10,000-$30,000 per mile compared to power transmission line costs of up to $1m per mile. This results in savings for the power generator, the utilities and the data centre operators.

The first stage is a feasibility study which is being led by Clarkson University and due to complete in 2012. After that a demonstration project will be built to serve as a laboratory for testing different types of computer hardware, software, power supplies, energy storage and other equipment.

Dominion Energy is an affiliate of Dominion Resources, one of the largest producers and transporters of energy in the US. Dominion Energy Technologies has invested $1m in US data centre energy management software.

A smart grid is able to accommodate a variety of variable inputs from different energy sources to help match demand with supply. The main reason for this is that renewable energy is becoming a main tariff. All this means cheaper power during off-peak when renewable energy is plentiful.

The smart grids of the future could schedule their work to take advantage of favourable off-peak tariffs. Companies with multiple data centres could dynamically switch the computing load between different locations to take advantage of tariffs elsewhere. This is possible because applications can already be easily and seamlessly switched between locations. AMDs main idea is to use modular data centres placed next to renewable energy sources connected by fast communications lines, the data centres can maximise the renewable energy use as well as benefitting from low tariffs when power is abundant.

Reference: http://tliproject.wikispaces.com/ http://is331.wikispaces.com/file/view