Greener Computing

From the use of solar panels, daylighting and other green building techniques to a high-density, high-efficiency computing infrastructure, the company is putting its green IT expertise to work on the 35,000 square foot facility.

When Emerson Network Power's new global data center opens next summer, its owners plan to have it showcase the latest innovations both inside and out.

Is the entire notion of "green IT" an oxymoron?

Yes, but it doesn't have to be -- that's the advice from the newest report from Forrester Research, which aims to show that, at the most basic level, information technology is more brown than green. However, companies that map out a baseline green IT strategy from the outset can achieve significant progress and make their IT needs as environmentally friendly as possible.

Hosting company The Planet expects to save $140,000 a year with its company-wide "lights out" program aimed at reducing energy use.

The Planet estimates by conserving lighting and HVAC consumption at its Houston and Dallas facilities, it can save 1.4 million kilowatt hours a year.

From Hotmail to law firms, search engines to one office's print servers, companies of all types are finding their data storage needs on the rise. And with that rise in demand comes a rise in energy costs, especially when demand comes rarely or only during work hours.

Adaptec today has announced the first phase of its Green Power Initiative: a new, customizable RAID controller designed to keep drives from running at maximum capacity -- and using maximum energy -- except when needed.

What does Roger Federer's silky backhand have in common with greening your data center? More than you might think.

During the first round of the U.S. Open, I got a behind-the-scenes look at the IBM green infrastructure that powers the event. IBM uses its U.S. Open data centers as a kind of showcase for green IT, and the deployment holds out lessons for anyone who wants to green their own data center.

The wireless router, a small but nearly ubiquitous element of business and home networking, has been the focus of a series of green announcements in recent days.

The challenges faced in cooling petaflop-scale computing are similar in nature, if not in scope, to the problems faced with cooling today's data centers; and yesterday supercomputer manufacturer Cray announced the creation of a new way to solve those problems.

In 2010, the Western Climate Initiative will take effect, establishing a cap for greenhouse gas emissions and allowing companies and regions that reduce their emissions below a target level to realize some financial benefit from trading their unused allotments.

According to TrendPoint, a San Ramon, Calif.-based data center management firm, companies that follow a four point plan to reduce their facilities' energy usage could get out in front of WCI regulations as well as other areas of the world that currently have or are considering implementing climate laws.

In addition to using 1/16th the energy of traditional desktop computers, thin clients can require less maintenance and easier management for businesses of all sizes, according to a white paper released today.

"Think Thin to Go Green," the paper released by Salt Lake City-based I-O Corporation, shows how the use of thin clients can boost a company's green IT initiatives through energy savings and related emissions reductions, as well as using virtualized clients to further expand performance of the machines.

Green IT, according to the Gartner research firm, has just about reached the peak of its hype cycle, what Gartner calls the "Peak of Inflated Expectations." TechCrunch, in its blog post Where Are We In The Hype Cycle?, displays a chart of various technologies according to Gartner's judgment. In the cycle, each technology starts as a Technology Trigger, quickly jumps to its Peak of Inflated Expectations, declines through the Trough of Disillusionment, then gradually recovers through the Slope of Enlightenment, and the Plateau of Productivity.