Just The Facts on Energy Efficient Ethernet from Nortel

One of our customers told us: “We have a strong focus on being environmentally friendly and helping to improve the world we live in. It is in our strategic objectives that, the environment and sustainability will be a key element of our business proposition."

Gartner estimates that companies in the U.S. spend as much as 10% of their total IT budgets on power and cooling. Most of the discussion on Green IT has been with respect to the data center, which Gartner estimates represents over 23% of global carbon dioxide emissions from ICT. But at 7%, the wiring closet should also be a target for improved energy efficiency.

But wait a second. Aren’t Ethernet switches all pretty much the same? Not according to independent lab tests by the Tolly Group. Tolly verified in their labs that Nortel Ethernet Switches are 70 to 125% more energy efficient than switches from Cisco and HP. This includes the cost of powering and cooling. "Which switches?" you ask. Check out the full report.

What does this mean for you? Either, for a given amount of power you will be able to support 70 to 125% more ports, or for a given number of ports you will require 41% to 56% less power, as well as a lower rated UPS if required. It doesn’t stop there. Less power means less heat, which can often mean the difference between using the wiring closets as they are, and the costs of upgrading wiring closets to forced air cooling or even air conditioning. If you want to understand the implications in your environment, talk to our field folks who have been equipped with an energy efficiency calculator.

What other steps can you take? As Amy Schurr reports, delayer and simplify your LAN, buy only what you need and buy energy efficient technology for your wiring closet.

How energy efficient are your wiring closets in ports/kWh?