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 “The Green IT code”: if it had been written by Dan Brown, featured an IT administrator called Robert Langdon and was set in a French data centre built on top of an ancient disaster recovery site containing remnants of the first server rack ever built, it would have sold billions of copies.
You see Green IT is a new area that has recently opened up to CIO’s and senior IT managers. The challenges that are being faced at this level are that there is a lack of understanding on what Green IT means and how they should go about implementing it. On top of this there is a considerable amount of “Greenwash” going around from various sources that only makes the waters murkier. So what I will aim to do in this article is be your “Robert Langdon” and take you on a journey to unravel the mystery code that is "Green IT".
“I've got to get to a library... Fast!” Robert Langdon.
STEP 1: Defining Green ITBefore our journey can begin we first need to know what it is that we are dealing with in the first place. That is, what is Green IT? So a general definition would be a logical point of departure, according to the great library of all knowledge that is Wikipedia, Green IT is defined as follows ... “Green computing or green IT, refers to environmentally sustainable computing or IT. It is "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. Green IT also strives to achieve economic viability and improved system performance and use, while abiding by our social and ethical responsibilities. Thus, green IT includes the dimensions of environmental sustainability, the economics of energy efficiency, and the total cost of ownership, which includes the cost of disposal and recycling. It is the study and practice of using computing resources efficiently." That is way too many words for me! So the definition that I like to subscribe to is one that was created by our Green IT partners in crime Connection Research (http://www.connectionresearch.com.au), who co-developed the Green IT courses with us. We like to define Green IT like this ... “Green IT is the conscious implementation of technologies, techniques and policies designed to reduce the carbon footprint of the IT function within the organisation … and the use of IT to reduce the carbon footprint of the whole organisation” The last statement is particularly interesting as IT is responsible for only about 2% of the worlds carbon emission output, so it is important to look at ways of reducing the “other” 98% of the worlds emissions.
IT has a massive role to play in the implementations of technologies to reduce carbon output in a whole range of areas within any business. You just need to start looking at things with “Green goggles” !
STEP 2: Why Green IT and Why Now?
There are a number of reasons why Green IT has suddenly jumped on the IT catwalk recently and has an army of Green IT “Fashionistas” following it around. You only need the latest copy of any IT magazine to see adverts from hardware manufacturers on their new “Green power efficient” equipment (seen that ad where the geeks have painted the whole server room green?). You see Green IT has suddenly become important and “fashionable”.... But Why? There are a number of reasons.. - Because it can save $$$$$
Contrary to popular belief being Green does not necessarily mean it will cost you more money. There are indeed situations where due to economies of scale being Green will cost you more. However there are many instances where being Green is great for the environment AND your bottom line. One such area is in shutting down machines at night. Dell computers have approximately 55,000 seats on their network and were able to save $1.6 million US dollars per year in power savings by utilising software to control the shutdown of their desktop fleet during off peak periods. Not a bad saving that will keep the greenies happy as well!
- Broader Green Issues are gaining prominence
Everyone is now more “Green” aware and therefore all environmental issues are now being taken on board by serious people. Governments and corporations are putting Green issues on their main stream agenda and therefore being Green is no longer a fringe issue that is supported only by bandana wearing tree hugging hippies.
- Power Bills are rising
Electricity is getting more in demand and as a result its costs are rising. In Australia the cost for electricity is around 18c/kwh (Kilowatt Hour) and is steadily rising at the rate of about 2% annually. Therefore there is a long term cost saving element to keeping your power consumption down.
- IT power consumption is rising
Servers need more and more power to do their work which means more electricity. Over the last few years for example in the European Union consumption has risen by 11% and is essentially cancelling out carbon savings made elsewhere through energy saving technologies.
- IT power consumption is now more visible
Many data centres and larger IT infrastructures are being required to meter their power usage. In the past the power used by IT equipment was collectively billed and metered with the power requirements for the entire facility. This is now steadily changing with the introduction of metered electricity into server rooms and Data centres. This not only allows the business to apportion cost to the appropriate cost centre but to also allow the IT business unit to understand its actual power consumption and carbon footprint.
The most common measures of the power efficiency of data centres are Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and its inverse the Data Centre Infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE).
By having this standard unit of measure it then becomes easy to be able to compare Data centres for their power efficiency across the board. - Carbon Emissions Reporting is becoming mandatory Recently the legislation of being Green has started to emerge from the corridors of parliament house in Canberra. You see not only is the government encouraging you to be Green but it is making sure you are being Green through monitoring your carbon output! Here in Australia fines may be imposed on facilities that do not report their carbon footprint to the government.
The piece of legislation that defines the reporting of carbon emissions is National Greenhouse Emissions Reporting Scheme (NGERS). This legislation defines the Carbon footprint thresholds that will need to be met in order for reporting to be submitted to the governments tracking system Online System Comprehensive Emissions Reporting or (OSCAR).
In addition to the reporting of carbon emissions there is the legislation that NGERS underpins which is the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). This legislation details how organisations will be keeping their carbon pollutions in check by implementing a system of carbon permits that may be traded between organisations. In a nutshell if you exceed your carbon emissions threshold you will need to 'buy" permits to stay compliant.
Conversely if you are doing really well and are greener than Kermit the Frog then you can "sell' your permits to the "polluters" who exceeded their threshold. So you see being Green is no longer becoming something that you choose to do but something that you "need" to do, otherwise you may have to pay a hefty fine! (To get more information about NGER, OSCAR and CPRS check out the official government website at http://www.climatechange.gov.au/.) STEP 3: How to get the keys to the Green "Cryptex"The orb which fell from the heavens, and inspired Newtons life's work, work that incurred the wrath of the church. Until his dying day. A P P L E - Apple. - Robert Langdon
When I first started venturing into the world of Green IT I did not have a real grip on exactly what it was all about. I had heard of power efficient servers, data centre efficiency indexes and the like but It was not until I was able to get the "keys" to the green "cryptex" that the mystery started to unravel itself.
So how do I get the keys to the Green cryptex I hear you ask? Well the first key is to be able to structure your world within a Green framework. The framework will allow you to categorise things that you experience day to day into manageable components, which you can then take action on to make them Green. The Green framework is broken up into Vertical and Horizontal "dimensions" (which sounds like something out of a Stephen Hawkins book on black holes!) which makes looking at the Green world a lot simpler.
The Green IT framework (or the keys to the Green Cryptex!) looks something like this:
It looks colourful doesn't it ? (A bit like Rubik's cube!)
But what does it do and how does it work? It works by having you focus your energies on particular vertical and horizontal dimensions that relate to your task. before we can understand how it all works lets get a grip on what each of the dimensions are. Let's explore the vertical dimensions first... - End user Efficiencies: This encompasses the user experience i.e Desktops, printing and mobile devices.
- Enterprise Efficiencies: This encompasses the back end or data centre i.e servers, virtualisation and data centre design.
- Lifecycle and procurement: This encompasses buying, managing and disposing of equipment
- IT as an Enabler: This encompasses how IT can be used to reduce carbon and solve problems in other areas of the business i.e supply chain management and video conferencing.
Now the horizontal dimensions line up like this: - Attitude: The beliefs and mindset to staff within the organisation.
- Policy: The formalisation of corporate Green IT tactics and strategies.
- Practice: Green IT practices that do not require new technologies, but simply changes of behaviour.
- Technology: Hardware and software which reduces power consumption or the carbon footprint.
- Metrics: The process of measuring and monitoring the Green IT process to ensure it is effective.
Ok now we know what the buttons all do. Lets apply the keys to the cryptex in a real world scenario! Let's use the example I gave earlier from Dell computers and put it into the Green IT framework. Example of applying the Framework keys to the Green Cryptex - Task: Shutting down the Desktop fleet at Dell to save carbon and reduce TCO.
- Vertical Dimension: End user Efficiencies (It was a desktop related task)
- Horizontal Dimension(s):
- Attitude (company shift to be Green)
- Policy (Green attitude clarified through corporate policy)
- Practice (Procedures put in place by IT administration to reflect corporate policy)
- Technology (IT used software to enforce the Practice of shutting down the computers)
See it is as easy A P P L E ! : )
STEP 4: Putting the theory into PracticeHopefully by now you will have some of your Green indicators flashing telling you that there are possibilities everywhere in the organisation to incorporate Green. But some of you may still not be totally convinced that this Green business has anything to offer you in the "real world", so I have put together a list of things that you can do to start being Green. This is not by any means an exhaustive list but more of a "Quick Start guide". So here goes..! End User Efficiencies Automate the shutting down of monitors and desktops when not in use using software (Night Watchman is a good example) Switch from older operating systems like XP to Windows 7. Windows 7 can be up to 30% more power efficient than XP! Set default printing modes on printers to be draft quality Use your internal directory based policies (i.e Active Directory Group Policy) to set desktop power saving settings across the network.
Enterprise Efficiencies Implement virtualisation to reduce physical space and incorporate features such as 'Core Parking" which can reduce power by shutting down server cpu cores that are not in use. Run your data centres at 25 deg C as opposed to 19-21 deg. This will reduce your power bill for your air con system. Use blanking panels in your racks to cover 'voids' that can trap air that could be used for cooling. Ensure your UPS is sized correctly and is a new generation model. Implement hot aisle/cold aisle machine arrangements in your data centres and server rooms
Lifecycle and Procurement
IT as an Enabler
Implement IT based solutions to try and cut carbon emissions. For example video conferencing facilities. Using software to get a better understanding on business process management. For example supply chain management software can make a huge difference to your overall efficiency. Try http://www.i2.com/ for a sample of what these packages can do. Other options will be dependent on your industry and its idiosyncrasies, but the sky is the limit!
Do you get the idea now ??
"What really matters is what you believe" - Robert Langdon Hopefully from this brief introduction you will slowly begin to see the possibilities and opportunities that are being offered by Green IT. Although somewhat cryptic at first glance Green IT has the ability to be deciphered through the application of a solid framework. The framework I have introduced you to will allow you to apply the principle of Green to anything. Whether its commissioning a server, project management or changing the user experience all elements of our day to day operations can be made Greener. It is this understanding of how you can incorporate green processes into standard business processes that has the potential to make a positive difference to not only the environment but to the efficiencies and TCO of your business. Get yourself onto one of our Green IT courses to learn how you can unravel the Green IT code for your organisation! :)
About the Author
John Filippis is certified by Microsoft as an MCT, MCSE, MCTS and MCITP (Enterprise Administrator Server 2008 and Enterprise Support Technician) . He has trained thousands of students over 12 years in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. John has delivered standard and customised courses on Windows Server, Exchange, SBS, IIS, SMS, SCCM and MOM. He has a degree in Mechanical Engineering is a member of the Australian Computer Society, Mensa Australia and a Graduate Member of the Institution of Engineers Australia. In the past John was a director of two IT companies for four years in the UK and before that was a mechanical engineer in the automotive industry. He is now the Asia Pac Training Manager for EXCOM Education
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