April 6, 2016 at 09:39A few words about the ecology of cloud computing
Like any other technology company, Cloud4Y is aware of the negative impact of any technology on nature. In Russia, there are no widely known, and most importantly, effective, initiatives to protect the environment, so today we will talk about a Western approach to the question of how the cloud and any other information technologies affect the environment and what to do with all this.
An environmentally friendly approach to ICT (information and communication technologies) is a global imperative that must be implemented without fail. All technology companies, including cloud service providers, must take this into account in their work and in improving their products.
Modern cloud providers have no other choice but to rethink their ways of changing and interacting with existing systems, as well as methods for developing new infrastructure approaches in the event that ICTs continue to be in the service of the digital world community. In the near future, we are immeasurably more energy-efficient achievements in almost every aspect of ICT. These are bold statements, but they are based on studies proving harsh realities.
Global CO2 emissions from all information and communications companies account for 2% of the total. This is about 830 metric tons of CO2, which is comparable to carbon emissions from the aviation industry, which is universally inclined for its “contribution” to environmental pollution. According to forecasts, the share of emissions of information and communication enterprises will double by 2020, that is, in just 4 years.
The global consumption of Internet services, which are based on the activities of information and communication companies, will grow by 30% -40% annually. If the forecasts are true, then within 10 years the volume of Internet traffic will increase by 30 times (given the complex calculation formula, within 20 years its volume will increase by 1000 times ). If nothing is done, then only within 10 years the enterprises of the information and communication industry will begin to consume about 60% of global energy resources - an excessive burden for the environment.
When optimizing the energy efficiency of ICTs by a factor of 1000 over a 20-year period, then no change in energy consumption and harmful emissions can occur.
The cloud has both advantages and disadvantages in improving the environmental friendliness of information and communication technologies. It is known that the cloud is able to provide a specific pool of resources for customers at a much lower cost than when the infrastructure is independently filled with hardware and software. This means removing the load from computing resources and resources for storing information in favor of remote places, such as cloud storage (like the well-known DropBox). Such remote data centers today are highly stable and, taking into account existing best practices, can use renewable energy sources.
The cloud business is good because it reduces energy costs, and large cloud service providers understand the challenges of cloud development and the impact of this development on CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the fact that cloud computing is performed by remote data centers tends to significantly affect the energy efficiency of the cloud. The affordable cloud computing both in terms of deployment speed and in terms of cost is pushing more and more organizations to use them, exacerbating environmental concerns.
There are two ways in which cloud technologies interact and the green approach to ICT.
The first is to make sure that all cloud ICTs are as energy efficient as possible, from the smallest sensors to entire data centers.
The second is to use cloud services and ICTs together to create energy-efficient technologies, systems and processes for consumer needs and industry verticals. When using the first method, the entire “backbone” is reengineered to obtain greater energy efficiency. New paradigms to achieve this include software-configured networks or network virtualization, which can separate the control plane and the data plane.
The Cloud in action also requires cyber-physical solutions. Managing energy-efficient virtual machines (VMs), energy-efficient containers as a service (containers as a service (CaaS), scaling energy-efficient networks, and even managing infrastructure using renewable energy sources - all this is now focused on the cybernetic sphere and is acting in its favor. Knowledge of the physical world is also crucial. For example, continuous monitoring of the thermal state of data centers and making heat-dependent decisions for virtual machines and CaaS are mandatory. Although researchers are studying this problem, we need standard protocols and interfaces for sustainable and environmentally friendly cloud networks.
From the point of view of users, the deployment of the "cloud" will improve the environment. For example, people who work on shared documents tend to use messaging and file sharing via e-mail, proudly noticing that they are not using paper. A greener cloud approach involves using online collaboration tools instead of local computers, which are known to emit up to 40% of the global greenhouse gas volume.
This transition is the responsibility of SaaS (software as a service) providers, who must thus modify the design of cloud software in order to encourage as many end users as possible to migrate to the cloud. At the same time, when using the platform as a service (PaaS), the cloud remains as if isolated, inhibiting the development of CaaS. When choosing the second method, we can use the computing power and large amounts of data available in the cloud to develop the most energy-efficient technologies, systems and processes to protect the environment. An example is the production and distribution of market models for energy capacities that have the greatest negative impact on the “carbon balance” in the atmosphere. Intelligent network is a step in this direction,
The dual needs that we examined led to the creation in January 2015 of the Environmental Standard for ICT by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ( IEEE Green ICT Initiative), whose mission includes a complete rethinking of the design, creation and use of ICT. The initiative works with 16 diverse IEEE communities that cover topics such as cloud computing, the Internet of things, big data, smart cities and smart networks, and with leading research institutions around the world. Everyone can join this initiative.
A new multidisciplinary approach, coordinated by the IEEE Environmental Standard, should create various types of cooperation, such as the cooperation of IT specialists with professors in chemistry and biomolecular sciences.
Such an example of collaboration has already spawned the creation of recyclable, paper-based portable sensors that do not consume energy and can also track changes in their environment. Interacting on the basis of mobile communications, they can replace the familiar environmental sensors used for cloud computing.
Today we are working on energy savings in the process of collecting data using cloud technologies and in the process of multidirectional communications required by the “cloud”. Medium-term goals include finding energy resources for every step in the cloud. In the longer term, it’s worth moving towards creating devices without a battery for the cloud and the need for any kind of power supply, as well as, possibly, redesigning the data center structure in principle. In a way, the future of our digital society depends on the effectiveness of all these efforts to achieve the productive work of the cloud and ICT as a whole
An environmentally friendly approach to ICT (information and communication technologies) is a global imperative that must be implemented without fail. All technology companies, including cloud service providers, must take this into account in their work and in improving their products.
Modern cloud providers have no other choice but to rethink their ways of changing and interacting with existing systems, as well as methods for developing new infrastructure approaches in the event that ICTs continue to be in the service of the digital world community. In the near future, we are immeasurably more energy-efficient achievements in almost every aspect of ICT. These are bold statements, but they are based on studies proving harsh realities.
Root of evil
Global CO2 emissions from all information and communications companies account for 2% of the total. This is about 830 metric tons of CO2, which is comparable to carbon emissions from the aviation industry, which is universally inclined for its “contribution” to environmental pollution. According to forecasts, the share of emissions of information and communication enterprises will double by 2020, that is, in just 4 years.
The global consumption of Internet services, which are based on the activities of information and communication companies, will grow by 30% -40% annually. If the forecasts are true, then within 10 years the volume of Internet traffic will increase by 30 times (given the complex calculation formula, within 20 years its volume will increase by 1000 times ). If nothing is done, then only within 10 years the enterprises of the information and communication industry will begin to consume about 60% of global energy resources - an excessive burden for the environment.
When optimizing the energy efficiency of ICTs by a factor of 1000 over a 20-year period, then no change in energy consumption and harmful emissions can occur.
Cloud or cloud?
The cloud has both advantages and disadvantages in improving the environmental friendliness of information and communication technologies. It is known that the cloud is able to provide a specific pool of resources for customers at a much lower cost than when the infrastructure is independently filled with hardware and software. This means removing the load from computing resources and resources for storing information in favor of remote places, such as cloud storage (like the well-known DropBox). Such remote data centers today are highly stable and, taking into account existing best practices, can use renewable energy sources.
The cloud business is good because it reduces energy costs, and large cloud service providers understand the challenges of cloud development and the impact of this development on CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the fact that cloud computing is performed by remote data centers tends to significantly affect the energy efficiency of the cloud. The affordable cloud computing both in terms of deployment speed and in terms of cost is pushing more and more organizations to use them, exacerbating environmental concerns.
What to do?
There are two ways in which cloud technologies interact and the green approach to ICT.
The first is to make sure that all cloud ICTs are as energy efficient as possible, from the smallest sensors to entire data centers.
The second is to use cloud services and ICTs together to create energy-efficient technologies, systems and processes for consumer needs and industry verticals. When using the first method, the entire “backbone” is reengineered to obtain greater energy efficiency. New paradigms to achieve this include software-configured networks or network virtualization, which can separate the control plane and the data plane.
The Cloud in action also requires cyber-physical solutions. Managing energy-efficient virtual machines (VMs), energy-efficient containers as a service (containers as a service (CaaS), scaling energy-efficient networks, and even managing infrastructure using renewable energy sources - all this is now focused on the cybernetic sphere and is acting in its favor. Knowledge of the physical world is also crucial. For example, continuous monitoring of the thermal state of data centers and making heat-dependent decisions for virtual machines and CaaS are mandatory. Although researchers are studying this problem, we need standard protocols and interfaces for sustainable and environmentally friendly cloud networks.
From the point of view of users, the deployment of the "cloud" will improve the environment. For example, people who work on shared documents tend to use messaging and file sharing via e-mail, proudly noticing that they are not using paper. A greener cloud approach involves using online collaboration tools instead of local computers, which are known to emit up to 40% of the global greenhouse gas volume.
Ongoing initiatives
This transition is the responsibility of SaaS (software as a service) providers, who must thus modify the design of cloud software in order to encourage as many end users as possible to migrate to the cloud. At the same time, when using the platform as a service (PaaS), the cloud remains as if isolated, inhibiting the development of CaaS. When choosing the second method, we can use the computing power and large amounts of data available in the cloud to develop the most energy-efficient technologies, systems and processes to protect the environment. An example is the production and distribution of market models for energy capacities that have the greatest negative impact on the “carbon balance” in the atmosphere. Intelligent network is a step in this direction,
The dual needs that we examined led to the creation in January 2015 of the Environmental Standard for ICT by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ( IEEE Green ICT Initiative), whose mission includes a complete rethinking of the design, creation and use of ICT. The initiative works with 16 diverse IEEE communities that cover topics such as cloud computing, the Internet of things, big data, smart cities and smart networks, and with leading research institutions around the world. Everyone can join this initiative.
Multifaceted world
A new multidisciplinary approach, coordinated by the IEEE Environmental Standard, should create various types of cooperation, such as the cooperation of IT specialists with professors in chemistry and biomolecular sciences.
Such an example of collaboration has already spawned the creation of recyclable, paper-based portable sensors that do not consume energy and can also track changes in their environment. Interacting on the basis of mobile communications, they can replace the familiar environmental sensors used for cloud computing.
Future strategies
Today we are working on energy savings in the process of collecting data using cloud technologies and in the process of multidirectional communications required by the “cloud”. Medium-term goals include finding energy resources for every step in the cloud. In the longer term, it’s worth moving towards creating devices without a battery for the cloud and the need for any kind of power supply, as well as, possibly, redesigning the data center structure in principle. In a way, the future of our digital society depends on the effectiveness of all these efforts to achieve the productive work of the cloud and ICT as a whole