Recently in Green IT Category

If you are in the data center business, get to know PUE: Power Usage Efficiency. PUE is a measure of how much additional electrical power is needed for cooling to deliver computing power. A PUE of 1 means all power being used for computing and none for cooling.

A 2007 US EPA survey put the PUE for your average data center at 2.

On the other hand, Google claims a PUE of less than 1.21 for six large scale Google-designed data centers.

Now vendors are responding to the need with self-contained low PUE computing systems packaged in shipping-style containers. SUN was first with their MD S20 with 280 pizza servers in one container, while the Verari Systems solution has 1400 blade servers.

Very large low PUE data centers such as required by Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! can be built by deploying warehouses with potentially hundreds or even thousands of these containers. Continue Reading...

I wrote awhile back that there were three problems with Energywise:
1) It is a security breach waiting to happen.
2) Apps should run on IP networks not be slave to them.
3) Painting Cisco switches with EnergyWise paint doesn't make them any more energy efficient. The Cisco Energy Tax lives on.

Now, Mike Fratto talks to a fourth major problem, when he says
"Cisco's EnergyWise, which proposes building-wide energy management, should have gone to the International Telecommunication Union three years ago."

So buyer beware.

Mike continues on a differnet front:
"Take network access control. Continue Reading...

Greenroots is Nortel's new blog devoted to all things green!

Back in August, I highlighted the walkstation. Now a potential competitor has emerged.

All you need is pedals to turn this slick ergonomic PC chair into a green-friendly workstation!

Previously, I highlighted three problems with Cisco's EnergyWise:
1) security vulnerabilities,
2) it's should be an app, and
3) it doesn't make Cisco switches any more efficient.

Now Art Wittmann has raised the very valid concern that it's proprietary to Cisco and its few partners. He observes "So if you happen to be a Cisco, Schneider, SolarWinds, or Verdiem shop--lucky you!" But if you're one of these and want to change, you have just been locked in. And if you're not one of these, you have just been locked out. Ugh! This is not the business practice that is going to help save this planet.

Art then hit the nail on the head: "there was a buck to made, so Cisco decided not to go that (standards) route". Continue Reading...

No argument for me: Green IT is critical important for Profit, People and Planet..

There're three problems with Cisco's EnergyWise.

Firstly, EnergyWise is a security breach waiting to happen. Do you want your network to be powering down your call server, or contact center or security cameras? I think not.

Secondly, the EnergyWise announcement once again, goes against the principle that apps should run on IP networks not be slave to them. Do a search on 'energy management software' and you'll get 34 million hits. Continue Reading...

Hyperconnectivity includes all sorts of mobility modes and networking technologies.

I recently heard a BBC interview with Giovanni Pau of UCLA. He was discussing an innovative wireless mesh networking technology that he has deployed in a number of vehicles across the UCLA campus.

What he demonstrated was car-to-car video conferencing system, though perhaps this isn't the best example of how this technology could be used. The protocol that made this all happen across standard WiFi radios was what he called SWARM, a Swarming Protocol for vehicular Ad-Hoc Wireless Networks.

You might be aware that Nortel is partner in the MIT-initiated One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program, and in fact was a major contributor in the area of ad hoc wireless mesh networking. Continue Reading...

The Triple Bottom Line (3BL) captures an expanded spectrum of CXO criteria for measuring organizational success: Profit, People and Planet".

This comes from some UN work and is being adopted by governments around the world, perhaps even in your community.

It's both an accounting principle and a general philosophy.

40% reduction in energy consumption with Nortel Ethernet campus and data center solutions is a significant step towards the Triple Bottom Line.

Hyperconnectivity drives powering needs as everything and everyone gets connected and as server farms expand to meet the demand.

A to-be-published Nemertes survey report finds that 23% of US CIO have a green program. One element is of course improving energy efficiency of the underlying IT infrastructure.

One societal goal is to reduce energy demands, as we have done in our Ethernet switches (would you believe 40% less energy consumed compared to Cisco?).

Another societal goal is to expand the use of clean renewal energy sources.

Ocean waves are a major opportunity. Continue Reading...

Last summer in Rotterdam, six teams competed in a Formula 0 race, a new zero emission race series took place on a .5Km track. Each car was powered by a commercial fuel cell that produces electricity from hydrogen.

How does this relate to green networking?

We are certainly not about to introduce an Ethernet Switch powered by a fuel cell. But green is certainly top of mind in Nortel, expressed as developing solutions that allows our customers to stop paying the Cisco Energy Tax ... and get some virtual cars off the road.

Did you know that every time you buy a CAT6500 instead of ERS8600....
• It is like adding 3.9 cars on the road per year !!!
• CO2 emissions = Electricity of 2.8 homes per year !!!
• CO2 emissions = Energy use of 1.9 homes per year !!!
• CO2 emissions = 2,415 Gallons of gasoline consumed

This is huge... Continue Reading...