SYNOPSIS
Abstract:-
Network-based cloud computing is rapidly expanding as an alternative to conventional office-based
computing.As cloud computing becomes more widespread, the energy consumption of the network and
computing resources that underpin the cloud will grow. This is happening at a time when there is
increasing attention being paid to the need to manage energy consumption across the entire information
and communications technology (ICT) sector. While data center energy use has received much
attention recently, there has been less attention paid to the energy consumption of the transmission and
switching networks thatare key to connecting users to the cloud. In this paper, we present an analysis of
energy consumption in cloud computing. The analysis considers both public and private clouds, and
includes energy consumption in switching and transmission as well as data processing and data storage.
We show that energy consumption in transport and switching can be a significant percentage of total
energy consumption in cloud computing. Cloud computing can enable more energy-efficient use of
computing power, especially when the computing tasks are of low intensity or infrequent. However,
under some circumstances cloud computing can consume more energy than conventional computing
where each user performs all computing on their own personal computer (PC).
Introduction:-
Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. In the article
Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan 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 networking and
communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment.
The goals of green computing are similar to green chemistry; reduce the use of hazardous materials,
maximize energy efficiency during the product's lifetime, and promote the recyclability or
biodegradability of defunct products and factory waste. Research 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
Modern IT systems rely upon a complicated mix of people, networks and hardware; as such, a green
computing initiative must be systemic in nature, and address increasingly sophisticated problems.
Elements of such as solution may comprise items such as end user satisfaction, management
restructuring, regulatory compliance, disposal of electronic waste, telecommuting, virtualization of
server resources, energy use, thin client solutions, and return on investment (ROI).
Origins:-
In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched Energy Star, a voluntary labeling
program which is designed to promote and recognize energy-efficiency in monitors, climate control
equipment, and other technologies. This resulted in the widespread adoption of sleep mode among
consumer electronics. The term "green computing" was probably coined shortly after the Energy Star
program began; there are several USENET posts dating back to 1992 which use the term in this
manner. Concurrently, the Swedish organization TCO Development launched the TCO Certification
program to promote low magnetic and electrical emissions from CRT-based computer displays; this
program was later expanded to include criteria on energy consumption, ergonomics, and the use of
hazardous materials in construction.
Scope Of The Seminar:-
Each Green IT seminar targets specified aspects of sustainability. All seminar cover basic elements:
• The difference between “green” and “green wash”
• How to access their organizations current ICT eco-footprint
• How to create objective standards for measurement and performance.
• How to create a plan to reduce the cost and eco-footprint of ICT operations.
• How to document the benefits of greening IT
• How to present and justify green ICTinitiatives to stakeholders
Approches To Green Computing:-
In the article Harnessing Green IT: Principles and Practices, San Murugesan 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 networking and
communications systems—efficiently and effectively with minimal or no impact on the environment."
Murugesan lays out four paths along which he believes the environmental affects of computing should
be addressed: Green use, green disposal, green design, and green manufacturing.
Modern IT systems rely upon a complicated mix of people, networks and hardware; as such, a green
computing initiative must cover all of these areas as well. A solution may also need to address end user
satisfaction, management restructuring, regulatory compliance, and return on investment (ROI). There
are also considerable fiscal motivations for companies to take control of their own power consumption;
"of the power management tools available, one of the most powerful may still be simple, plain,
common sense."
Product longevity
Gartner maintains that the PC manufacturing process accounts for 70 % of the natural resources used in
the life cycle of a PC.. Therefore, the biggest contribution to green computing usually is to prolong the
equipment's lifetime. Another report from Gartner recommends to "Look for product longevity,
including upgradability and modularity." For instance, manufacturing a new PC makes a far bigger
ecological footprint than manufacturing a new RAM module to upgrade an existing one, a common
upgrade that saves the user having to purchase a new computer]
Algorithmic efficiency
The efficiency of algorithms has an impact on the amount of computer resources required for any given
computing function and there are many efficiency trade-offs in writing programs. As computers have
become more numerous and the cost of hardware has declined relative to the cost of energy, the energy
efficiency and environmental impact of computing systems and programs has received increased
attention. A study by Alex Wissner-Gross, a physicist at Harvard, estimated that the average Google
search released 7 grams of carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, Google disputes this figure, arguing
instead that a typical search produces only 0.2 grams of CO.
Resource allocation
Algorithms can also be used to route data to data centers where electricity is less expensive.
Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and Akamai have tested an energy allocation
algorithm that successfully routes traffic to the location with the cheapest energy costs. The researchers
project up to a 40 percent savings on energy costs if their proposed algorithm were to be deployed.
Strictly speaking, this approach does not actually reduce the amount of energy being used; it only
reduces the cost to the company using it. However, a similar strategy could be used to direct traffic to
rely on energy that is produced in a more environmentally friendly or efficient way. A similar approach
has also been used to cut energy usage by routing traffic away from data centers experiencing warm
weather; this allows computers to be shut down to avoid using air conditioning.
Virtualization
Computer virtualization refers to the abstraction of computer resources, such as the process of running
two or more logical computer systems on one set of physical hardware. The concept originated with the
IBM mainframe operating systems of the 1960s, but was commercialized for x86-compatible
computers only in the 1990s. With virtualization, a system administrator could combine several
physical systems into virtual machines on one single, powerful system, thereby unplugging the original
hardware and reducing power and cooling consumption. Several commercial companies and open-
source projects now offer software packages to enable a transition to virtual computing. Intel
Corporation and AMD have also built proprietary virtualization enhancements to the x86 instruction set
into each of their CPU product lines, in order to facilitate virtualized computing.
Terminal servers
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
experiences the operating system on the terminal. These can be combined with thin clients, which use
up to 1/8 the amount of energy of a normal workstation, resulting in a decrease of energy costs and
consumption. There has been an increase in using terminal services with thin clients to create virtual
labs. Examples of terminal server software include Terminal Services for Windows and the Linux
Terminal Server Project (LTSP) for the Linux operating system.
Power management
The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI), an open industry standard, allows an
operating system to directly control the power-saving aspects of its underlying hardware. This allows a
system to automatically turn off components such as monitors and hard drives after set periods of
inactivity. In addition, a system may hibernate, where most components (including the CPU and the
system RAM) are turned off. ACPI is a successor to an earlier Intel-Microsoft standard called
Advanced Power Management, which allows a computer's BIOS to control power management
functions
Some programs allow the user to manually adjust the voltages supplied to the CPU, which reduces both
the amount of heat produced and electricity consumed. This process is called undervolting. Some CPUs
can automatically undervolt the processor depending on the workload; this technology is called
"SpeedStep" on Intel processors, "PowerNow!"/"Cool'n'Quiet" on AMD chips, LongHaul on VIA
CPUs, and LongRun with Transmeta processors.
Operating system support
The dominant desktop operating system, Microsoft Windows, has included limited PC power
management features since Windows 95. These initially provided for stand-by (suspend-to-RAM) and
a monitor low power state. Further iterations of Windows added hibernate (suspend-to-disk) and
support for the ACPI standard. Windows 2000 was the first NT based operation system to include
power management. This required major changes to the underlying operating system architecture and a
new hardware driver model. Windows 2000 also introduced Group Policy, a technology which allowed
administrators to centrally configure most Windows features. However, power management was not
one of those features. This is probably because the power management settings design relied upon a
connected set of per-user and per-machine binary registry values, effectively leaving it up to each user
to configure their own power management settings.
This approach, which is not compatible with Windows Group Policy, was repeated in Windows XP.
The reasons for this design decision by Microsoft are not known, and it has resulted in heavy criticism
Microsoft significantly improved this in Windows Vista by redesigning the power management system
to allow basic configuration by Group Policy. The support offered is limited to a single per-computer
policy. The most recent release, Windows 7 retains these limitations but does include refinements for
more efficient user of operating system timers, processor power management, and display panel
brightness. The most significant change in Windows 7 is in the user experience. The prominence of the
default High Performance power plan has been reduced with the aim of encouraging users to save
power.
There is a significant market in third-party PC power management software offering features beyond
those present in the Windows operating system. Most products offer Active Directory integration and
per-user/per-machine settings with the more advanced offering multiple power plans, scheduled power
plans, anti-insomnia features and enterprise power usage reporting. The University of California,
Berkeley has started an initiative using a system called the Auto Shutdown Manager along with
wireless power meters to measure energy consumption and reduction in real time.
Power supply
Desktop computer power supplies (PSUs) are generally 70–75% efficient, dissipating the remaining
energy as heat. An industry initiative called 80 PLUS certifies PSUs that are at least 80% efficient;
typically these models are drop-in replacements for older, less efficient PSUs of the same form factor.
As of July 20, 2007, all new Energy Star 4.0-certified desktop PSUs must be at least 80% efficient.
Storage
Smaller form factor (e.g. 2.5 inch) hard disk drives often consume less power per gigabyte than
physically larger drives.
Unlike hard disk drives, solid-state drives store data in flash memory or DRAM. With no moving parts,
power consumption may be reduced somewhat for low capacity flash based devices. In a recent case
study, Fusion-io, manufacturers of the world's fastest Solid State Storage devices, managed to reduce
the carbon footprint and operating costs of My Space data centers by 80% while increasing
performance speeds beyond that which had been attainable via multiple hard disk drives in Raid 0. In
response, My Space was able to permanently retire several of their servers, including all their heavy-
load servers, further reducing their carbon footprint.
As 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 would formerly have been saved on tape
or other offline storage. The increase in online storage has increased power consumption. Reducing the
power consumed by large storage arrays, while still providing the benefits of online storage, is a subject
of ongoing research.
Video card
A fast GPU may be the largest power consumer in a computer.
Energy efficient display options include:
• No video card - use a shared terminal, shared thin client, or desktop sharing software if display
required.
• Use motherboard video output - typically low 3D performance and low power.
• Select a GPU based on average wattage or performance per watt.
Display
LCD monitors typically use a cold-cathode fluorescent bulb to provide light for the display. Some
newer displays use an array of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in place of the fluorescent bulb, which
reduces the amount of electricity used by the display.
Materials recycling
Recycling computing equipment can keep harmful materials such as lead, mercury, and hexavalent
chromium out of landfills, and can also replace equipment that otherwise would need to be
manufactured, saving further energy and emissions. Computer systems that have outlived their
particular function can be re-purposed, or donated to various charities and non-profit organizations.
However, many charities have recently imposed minimum system requirements for donated equipment.
Additionally, parts from outdated systems may be salvaged and recycled through certain retail outlets
and municipal or private recycling centers. Computing supplies, such as printer cartridges, paper, and
batteries may be recycled as well. A drawback to many of these schemes is that computers gathered
through recycling drives are often shipped to developing countries where environmental standards are
less strict than in North America and Europe. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition estimates that 80%
of the post-consumer e-waste collected for recycling is shipped abroad to countries such as China and
Pakistan
The recycling of old computers raises an important privacy issue. The old storage devices still hold
private information, such as emails, passwords and credit card numbers, which can be recovered simply
by someone using software that is available freely on the Internet. Deletion of a file does not actually
remove the file from the hard drive. Before 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 somewhere safe. There are
some authorized hardware recycling companies to whom the computer may be given for recycling, and
they typically sign a non-disclosure agreement.
Telecommuting
Teleconferencing and telepresence technologies are often implemented in green computing initiatives.
The advantages are many; increased worker satisfaction, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions related
to travel, and increased profit margins as a result of lower overhead costs for office space, heat,
lighting, etc. The savings are significant; the average annual energy consumption for U.S. office
buildings is over 23 kilowatt hours per square foot, with heat, air conditioning and lighting accounting
for 70% of all energy consumed. Other related initiatives, such as hotelling, reduce the square footage
per employee as workers reserve space only when they need it. Many types of jobs, such as sales,
consulting, and field service, integrate well with this technique.
Future Of Green Computing:-
As 21st century belongs to computers, gizmos and electronic items, energy issues will get a serious
ring in the coming days, as the public debate on carbon emissions, global warming and climate change
gets hotter. If we think computers are nonpolluting and consume very little energy we need to think
again. It is estimated that out of $250billion per year spent on powering computers worldwide only
about 15% of that power is spent computing- the rest is wasted idling. Thus, energy saved on computer
hardware and computing will equate tonnes of carbon emissions saved per year. Taking into
consideration the popular use of information technology industry, it has to lead a revolution of sorts by
turning green in a manner no industry has ever done before. Opportunities lie in green technology like
never before in history and organizations are seeing it as a way to create new profit centers while trying
to help the environmental cause.
The plan towards green IT should include new electronic products and services with optimum
efficiency and all possible options towards energy savings. Faster processors historically use more
power. Inefficient CPU's are a double hit because they both use too much power themselves and their
waste heat increases air conditioning needs, especially in server farms--between the computers and the
HVAC.
The waste heat also causes reliability problems, as CPU's crash much more often at higher
temperatures. Many people have been working for years to slice this inefficiency out of computers.
Similarly, power supplies are notoriously bad, generally as little as 47% efficient. And since everything
in a computer runs off the power supply, nothing can be efficient without a good power supply.
Recent Implementation :-
Blackle:
Blackle is a search-engine site powered by Google Search. Blackle came into being based on the
concept that when a computer screen is white, presenting an empty word page or the Google home
page, your computer consumes 74W. When the screen is black it consumes only 59W. Based on this
theory if everyone switched from Google to Blackle, mother earth would save 750MW each year. This
was a really good implementation of Green Computing. The principle behind Blackle is based on the
fact that the display of different colors consumes different amounts of energy on computer monitors.
Fit-PC: a tiny PC that draws only 5w:
Fit-PC is the size of a paperback and absolutely silent, yet fit enough to run Windows or Linux. Fit-PC
is designed to fit where a standard PC is too bulky, noisy and power hungry. If you ever wished for a
PC to be compact, quiet and green – then fit-PC is the perfect fit for you. Fit-PC draws only 5 Watts,
consuming in a day less power than a traditional PC consumes in 1 hour. You can leave fit-PC to work
24/without making a dent in your electric bill.
Zonbu Computer:
The Zonbu is a new, very energy efficient PC. The Zonbu consumes just one third of the power of a
typical light bulb. The device runs the Linux operating system using a1.2 gigahertz processor and 512
Meg of RAM. using a1.2 gigahertz processor and 512 Meg of RAM. It also contains no moving parts,
and does even contain a fan. You can get one for as little as US$99, but it does require you to sign up
for a two-year subscription
CONCLUSION
So far, consumers haven't cared about ecological impact when buying computers, they've cared only
about speed and price. But as Moore's Law marches on and computers commoditize, consumers will
become pickier about being green. Devices use less and less power while renewable energy gets more
and more portable and effective. New green materials are developed every year, and many toxic ones
are already being replaced by them. The greenest computer will not miraculously fall from the sky one
day, it’ll be the product of years of improvements. The features of a green computer of tomorrow
would be like: efficiency, manufacturing & materials, recyclability, service model, self-powering, and
other trends. Green computer will be one of the major contributions which will break down the 'digital
divide', the electronic gulf that separates the information rich from the information poor.
