Green IT Toolkit

Story: Researchers devise energy-aware internet routing

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Enery efficiency needs to take everything into account

Of course, in principle this is a good idea but it's also important that, when calculating energy efficiency, everything is taken into account. Otherwise, it's like holding up the Toyota Prius as a model of efficiency, ignoring the especially noxious substances that go into its batteries, which need to be mined and shipped halfway across the world, twice, then disposed of halfway through the car's lifetime. It all takes energy.

Similarly, datacentres are huge consumers of electricity and there's lots more that can be done to reduce it. But they're also reducing consumption elsewhere, such as in the form of virtual desktops, and outsourced servers and services. In a data centre, fewer people can manage more computers, which also reduces costs and energy usage - fewer journeys to work, for example.

Not much difference in the global scheme of things? Maybe - maybe not. But has anyone done the calculations?

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