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Interactive Session: Technology: Computing Goes Green Case Study Questions 1.

What business and social problems does data center power consumption cause Excessive power consumption uses vast amount of electricity that must be generated through hydroelectric plants or coal-fired power plants. While hydroelectric generation plants are less stressful on the environment than coalfired, nevertheless, they do pull resources from more useful purposes. Coal-fired power plants generate huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which some scientists and politicians claim is a major cause of global warming. Social implications of increased power consumption point to global warming. !. What solutions are available "or these problems Which are the most environment#"riendly Some of the solutions to cut power consumption discussed in the case study are a good beginning. uilding data centers that ta!e advantage of hydroelectric power generation rather than coal-fired power plants" renewable energy projects" alternative energy" employee telecommuting" thin client computers, software that automatically turns computers off" more efficient chips. #erhaps the most environment-friendly solutions are those that control the hardware and software, thereby controlling the problem at its source. $irtuali%ation holds great promise as a way to reduce power re&uirements by reducing the number of servers re&uired to run applications. $. What are the business bene"its and costs o" these solutions Even though it may cost a business up-front money to install hardware and software that reduces power re&uirements, it will save a business a lot of money in the long run by reducing the amount it pays for electricity to run the e&uipment and cool it at the same time. usinesses that reduce their power needs help the environment and can promote themselves as environment-friendly.

%. Should all "irms move toward green computing Why or why not 'll firms should ma!e some effort to reduce their power re&uirements and promote green computing. (rom a business standpoint it ma!es sense to reduce costs, both short term and long term. &IS In 'ction (er"orm an Internet search on the phrase )green computing* and then answer the "ollowing +uestions. 1. ,ow would you de"ine green computing )reen computing is a way to reduce the impact on the environment and reduce resources consumption that may be detrimental to the environment by using more efficient hardware and better software. *Still, +, execs would be wise to !eep an eye on more than the economics of energy-efficient computing. Energy consumption has gotten so huge - ..S. data centers consume as much power in a year as is generated by five power plants that policy ma!ers are ta!ing notice and considering more regulation. ' group of government and industry leaders is trying to set a clear standard for what constitutes a /green/ computer, a mar! that +, execs might find themselves held to. )lobal warming concerns could spar! a public opinion swing - either a bac!lash against big data centers or a #0 win for companies that can paint themselves green. +, vendors are piling on, ma!ing energy efficiency central to their sales pitches and touting eco-friendly policies such as /carbon-neutral computing./ 1ne under-the-radar example of what2s changing is a long acronym you2ll start hearing more3 E#E',, or the Electronic #roduct Environmental 'ssessment ,ool. E#E', was created through an +nstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers council because companies and government agencies wanted to put green criteria in +, re&uests for proposals. E#E', got a huge boost on 4an. 56 when #resident ush signed an executive order re&uiring that 789 of electronic products procured by federal agencies meet E#E', standards, as long there2s a standard for that product.: ;+nformation Wee!, What Every ,ech #ro Should <now 'bout 2)reen Computing2, =arianne <olbasu! =c)ee, =arch >?, 5??@A !. Who are some o" the leaders o" the green computing movement Which corporations are leading the way Which environmental organi-ations are playing an important role Some of the major corporations leading the green computing initiative are the same major players in other computing venues3 + =, B#, and Cell. 1ther major corporations who are going green as a way to save money on power consumption include most Wall Street firms ;since they use a tremendous amount of power in their data centersA, ban!s li!e Wells (argo, and 'ma%on.com.

*+, management isn2t the first place you would start loo!ing for environmental activists. ut in 5??D, the people in charge of buying and deploying computer technology found the concept of green computing extra compelling. 'nalysts say the main reason is cost, energy and space savings" if it2s also good for the environment, that2s icing on the ca!e. /Even if a customer is not loo!ing at +, purchasing from an environmental-impact perspective, things li!e power management and energy efficiency are now a ,C1 Etotal cost of ownershipF and infrastructure issue,/ 4ohn (rey, manager of corporate environmental strategies at B#, told internetnews.com. ,he way things are going, )artner predicts that by 5??G, 8? percent of current datacenters will have insufficient power and cooling capacity to meet the demands of high-density e&uipment. /With the advent of high-density computer e&uipment such as blade servers, many datacenters have maxed out their power and cooling capacity,/ said =ichael '. ell, research vice president for )artner. /+t2s now possible to pac! rac!s with e&uipment re&uiring H?,??? watts per rac! or more in a connected load. ,his compares to only 5,??? to H,??? watts per rac! a few years ago./ 'nd energy costs are rising. B# engineering research estimates that for every dollar spent on information technology, a company can expect to spend the same or more to power and cool it. 's companies add more performance, they can expect those costs to continue rising. ;+nternetnews.com, )reener Systems an .nstoppable ,rend, Cavid Ieedle, Cecember 5@, 5??DA 1rgani%ations that are playing a major role in green computing include the Environmental #rotection 'gency and +nstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ;see article in the answer to &uestion >.A $. What are the latest trends in green computing What .ind o" impact are they having ' few trends in green computing include purchasing green des!tops J those built to reduce power needs" more efficient server computers" increase the use of virtuali%ation as a way to reduce the number of servers needed in data centers. 5??@ saw the beginning of the green computing movement so itKs a bit early to determine the overall impact all the initiatives are having. =uch of the impetus behind the Lgreen computingK movement is not necessarily to save the environment, although it will certainly help reduce the impact on the environment. 0ather, many companies are see!ing ways to reduce power costs" going green is a way to do that. %. What can individuals do to contribute to the green computing movement Is the movement worthwhile +ndividuals can contribute to the green computing movement by purchasing computers that have Energy Star ratings, turning off e&uipment they arenKt using, recycling computer e&uipment, and supporting companies that are going green.

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