Green IT Blog!!!

CIOs nowadays are facing a rather perplexing scenario; on one hand, computing requirements of the company are shooting through the roof and on the other hand, they need to also pinch the pennies by bringing down the ever-increasing operating costs. This modern challenge is really testing the CIO mettle.

Of the many solutions, good ol mainframe could possibly be an answer. With virtualization and consolidation being the key, mainframe could play an important role in greening the data center, asserts Jim Stallings, general manager (Enterprise Systems Division), IBM Systems & Technology Group, who looks after the System Z line. In a tte–tte with Dataquest, he speaks about the numerous challenges faced by enterprises and how they could be better managed. Excerpts

How relevant is the Green issue when it comes to data centers?
My role allows me to hop across the globe talking to our enterprise customers; the number one discussion these days is power, cooling, or energy consumption. Reducing the demand for energy and greening the data center is a part of that. CXOs are not much interested in the technology, but rather the economics of it. They want to know how much money do they spend on energy. Sometimes thats a difficult thing to figure out and once they find out, they are completely stumped. What they are most surprised about is the rate of growth, especially the future projections. These companies head honchos are looking for ways to cut the ever-growing running costs and also have a better ecological footprint. The big question becomes what can we do about it?

One solution is to use more energy efficient servers. What many of them have concluded is that they have to re-look at the way a data center is designed and run, where it is located, etc. There is a need for a new approach and I see that happening. The green movement, so as to say, is not about technology, rather economics.

How is System Z a part of that solution?
Gartner surveys show that over the past ten years, the number of servers going into the data centers is up 800%, power and cooling cost is up 400%, and system administrative cost is up 600%. So it isnt about acquiring the technology, it is managing it, cooling it, and conditioning the environment. This is where a mainframe scores, a System Z scores. There is a lot of discussion around consolidationcan I get large servers to replace Mini 100s, that will not only eliminate the cost of managing multiple servers but other factors like cooling, floor space, etc?

The mainframe represents cornerstone virtualization and has massive consolidation property. The current system (Z10) runs twice the speed of predecessor, has 70% more capacity, and can take 1,500 x86 boxes and swallow them down to one mainframe. So just think of the real estate and the floor space. It uses 85% less energy than these 1,500 x86 boxes, so customers can get an immediate benefit by going mainframe.

What are the biggest challenges faced in terms of greening the data center?
The CIO deals with this issue in multiple dimensions. First, there is the technology, waves of new platforms or applications that CIOs have to choose from. There are large pools of data. They need to embrace new innovation, simplify environment, sharing applications, and create dynamic environment in small stages.

How has been the response so far from India?
Very encouraging. We are doubling our sales on an annual basis, and some of the most respected Indian companies are our clients, like Satyam, HCL, TCS, Cognizant, etc.

(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)

Across the globe, LEED ratings have become synonymous with green buildings. Formulated in 2000, leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) rating system has gained immense credit across the world for promoting sustainable architectural techniques and the green building movement. The LEED rating was formulated by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) and has over 14,000 member organizations from every sector of the building industry.

LEED ratings have gained immense favor in India as well, with a growing number of LEED rated projects coming up. In fact, the ratings for Indian buildings have been modified to suit the ecological and environmental needs and requirements of the region. Tom Hicks, vice president, LEED ND and International, USGBC, has been at the very forefront of the movement and oversees the development and implementation of all LEED rating systems. In a detailed interview with Dataquest, Hicks talks about the evolution of the LEED ratings and the numerous benefits that come along with green buildings. Excerpts

How is the concept of ‘Green Building’ relevant to the issue of climate change? How can green architecture aid in the bigger fight for survival?
In the US, buildings account for 39% of carbon dioxide CO2 emissions per year, more than any other sector. While buildings are part of the problem, they are also part of the solution.  The LEED green building rating system is an immediate and measurable way to make an impact on climate change and is a tool for buildings to reduce their impact on the land while at the same time combat global climate change.

How did the idea of green building evolve and how has the movement grown over the years? If you could briefly talk about the way it has been aligned with the CDM of the Kyoto Protocol, namely earning of carbon credits?
The concept of green building has been around for years, but we realized that there was not a common definition for it. That’s where the LEED rating system came into the picture. USGBC was founded in 1993 to bring together professionals from every sector in the industry and to create a common definition for green. USGBC has grown by leaps and bounds since it launched the first version of LEED for new constructions in 2000. More than 11,000 buildings nationwide have registered with LEED, and nearly 1,400 have been certified as green. That number translates to about 7% of the commercial construction market, and with the growth we have been seeing; we expect the number to grow closer to 10% by mid 2008.

In addition to that, 500 homes were certified during the two-year LEED for homes pilot, which ended in January 2008 when the LEED for homes rating system officially launched. There are more than 11,400 homes that have registered for LEED for homes. Carbon reduction has always been a priority of the rating system, and in November 2006, USGBC unveiled its own climate commitment, requiring that all LEED projects reduce CO2 emissions by 50%. USGBC also offers certification rebates for all building that achieve a platinum LEED rating.

Talking about USGBC, can you briefly talk about the evolution of the LEED certification process and how it came into play?
USGBC has actively solicited feedback from architects, designers, and contractors who use LEED, and increasingly developers, financial institutions, and corporations have also allowed us to evolve the LEED system, making it as flexible and adaptive as possible but still retaining its technical rigor and its practicality.

The rating system undergoes a process of continuous improvement parallel with USGBC’s efforts of continuing to incorporate recent advances in science and technology. In 2009, we shall launch our LEED v3 that includes a continuous improvement process of LEED to create a more flexible and adaptive program, and will allow USGBC to respond seamlessly to the market’s evolving needs. Particular focus areas will include technical and scientific innovations that will improve building performance; the applicability of LEED to the marketplace, in order to speed market transformation. And the customer experience, to ensure that LEED is an effective tool for the people and the organizations using it.

There is a special certification in India known as LEED India; in what ways is it different from the global LEED certification? What are the local factors that have been incorporated in LEED India?
The Indian GBC has licensed LEED from the USGBC and has adapted the LEED for new construction rating system and the LEED for core and shell rating system for India. Some specific changes have been to site local and national standards when available such as the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (for endangered species) standard reference in sustainable sites credit 1, and to add credits such as the credit for water efficient in air-conditioning systems for water efficiency credit 2.

USGBC has partnered with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) for the formation of IGBC (Indian Green Building Council), are you looking at partnering with other organizations in India?
We actually didn’t partner with CII to start the Indian GBC. This movement began within India and once the founding group was formed they worked with the World GBC. The World GBC works to help groups in other countries form green building councils. We work closely with the Indian GBC and other GBCs to share best practices and to learn from each other.

Finally, since you are one of the leading and most recognized voices in the green building movement, how do you see the movement turning out in the next few years? What according to you would be the challenges and do you think we are equipped to face them?
At Greenbuild 2006, our annual conference and showcase for the latest green building products and technologies, I announced our ambitious goals for the industry: By 2010, there will be 100,000 LEED certified commercial buildings and 1 mn certified homes. By 2020, there will be 1 mn LEED certified commercial buildings and 10 mn certified homes.

I think the biggest obstacle that has come our way is education; in addition to pushing market leaders forward, we also have to raise the rest of the market up. There are still misconceptions about green building, which according to me is understandable.  It’s a new way of thinking and a new way of doing things, and change is scary to many people. But the alternativesitting back and doing everything the way we’ve always done it, for the sake of feeling safe is not an option.  USGBC’s primary role is to educate and inform the public about the social, economic, and environmental benefits of green building, and to provide the industry with the knowledge and tools it needs to realize these benefits.  In addition to LEED, we offer dozens of workshops, online courses, and reference guides.

(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest Magazine)

Almost everyone present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) held in Bali, late last year, was in a state of nervous excitement. The constant bickering and political deal-making had nearly extinguished the hope for a real and constructive roadmap. At the center of it all, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary, UNFCC was said to be close to crying when it seemed that the parties were not able to come to an agreement on the substance of future negotiations.

Bali was a very emotional moment for everyone at the conference. It was supposed to finish at 5 pm on Friday and at noon on Saturday… we were still not done and that was a very tense moment. People were wondering, including me, whether we would be able to reach agreement on the Bali roadmap before time ran out. I was tired and hadnt slept personally for the past two nights. But I am glad that we made it in the end, he recalls. And that was indeed a moment of triumph for the newly elected executive secretary of UNFCCC.

Recently, when you had visited India to attend the Sustainable Development Summit, you had stated that you wanted to find out how India wanted to combat climate change. Were you able to get the answer you had desired?
To a large extent yes, in the sense that I had some rather interesting conversations while I was last in India. I believe that India is working on a national climate change strategy, which the prime minister told me would be ready in June 2008. The intention of this strategy is to develop a sectoral focus on different sectors of the economy and different parts of the country. So that the myriad challenges (climate change) can be broken down in manageable pieces. India is also in the process of assessing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while at the same time searching for a way to forward itself in terms of cleaner development and in June of last year the Government of India had also commissioned a study from TERI on the possibility of introducing carbon tax to reduce emissions caused by the usage of fossil fuels. Last year, Indias president suggested also that 25% of the countrys power should come from renewable sources by 2030.

Lets start with the role played by developing countries in combating climate change. How can they match the needs for growth and poverty eradication with those of environmental concerns?
I guess this is a challenge that all of the developing world faces, on one hand there are clear overriding goals, economic growth and poverty eradication. But at the same time while they are experiencing the impacts of climate change, they are also confronted with issues of energy security, concerns over energy prices. In many countries, specially the ones that use coal on a large scale, there have been concerns over air quality as well. In all, there are really a number of drivers that are inspiring developing countries to engage on this issue, and I suppose, the overall challenge is, if you can achieve economic growth and eradicate poverty without making the same mistakes that many countries in the West have made.

Do you perceive the same change as China in India as well when you interact with government officials and corporate companies here, as India happens to be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world?
As a country, yes, India is the 5th largest emitter of green house gases but that is because of a specific border that was drawn many years ago and probably if Pakistan and Bangladesh would have still been part of the country then, India would be even higher on the ladder of emitters. Partly, it is a matter of how borders are drawn, and that I think is an injustice that is often rightly pointed to India as maybe the 5th largest emitter, but if you look at the per capita emissions, then India is one of the lowest in the world. But I also think that India is confronted in many interesting challenges, if I am not wrong, I think close to 400 mn people in India do not have access to electricity at all. That then poses the question, if part of your economic growth and poverty eradication challenge is to provide these people with access to modern energy sources, how are you going to do that. Are you going to do that by extending the electricity grid, relying more on coal as a base for power generation or are you going to rely more on decentralized networks, solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, etc. That is one example of the challenge that I think this country is facing.

You have ardently supported carbon trading, through the CDM, how would you rate its success thus far?
Carbon trading really has taken off in a big way, as the market was estimated last year to be of the value of around $60 bn and the clean development mechanism within that had a value last year of around $5 bn. So if you look at the pipeline of projects, then there are 316 Indian projects in the pipeline at the moment, which gives India the largest overall share of around 33% of all registered CDM projects. So thats a mechanism that has really taken off, and has dual benefits. On one hand it allows countries to achieve emission reductions quite cheaply while for the developing countries the benefit is that they receive injection of technology and allows them to change the direction of their economic growth.

You have also spoken actively about private investments: They will have to go where it has not gone before. Intelligent financial engineering will be the key. But considering the fluctuations in the carbon market and little uptake by consumers of low carbon footprint (high cost) products, what is going to drive these investments?
What you refer to is fast changing, if I look at the way petrol prices are rising in Europe then I sense that people are very conscious of what it costs them to fill up their tank and that is already influencing the choice that they make when buying a car and how much they drive. I also have a feeling that electricity prices are influencing the sort of appliances that people are purchasing and that the purchasing behavior is changing. We know that in order to provide the energy that is necessary to propel this change and an economic growth to take place, about $20 tn will be invested in the energy sector over the next 25 years and part of the climate change challenge is to ensure that the $20 tn is invested in clean technology rather than polluting ones.

What is your message to non-polluting industries like the IT services sector? How can they benefit or survive in the new world? What strategies should they employ?
These are the companies that by and large have a low carbon footprint if you compare them to energy intensive companies. So I think that the growth in the economy that is trying to constrain its carbon emissions in the IT sector is much better positioned than many energy intensive industries and if you have seen a recent UNEP report issued last week, that the market for new and clean technology is growing enormously and in that sense I think the IT industry is very well positioned to profit from many of the opportunities that are emerging.

(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)

It is quite ironical that India, the worlds fifth largest emitter of green house gases (GHG) is also the leading supplier of certified emission reductions (CERs). Experts estimate that Indian companies that have jumped in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) bandwagon could generate 500-600 mn CERs or nearly a quarter of a global traded total of 2.5 bn units by 2012. So it was but natural that some form of carbon trading should take place in India. And this is precisely where Indias leading commodity exchange market, MCX, comes into the picture.

Thanks to relaxation in trading norms, earlier this year MCX launched futures trading in carbon, making it the first such initiative in Asia. MCX entered into a strategic alliance with Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) in September 2005 to initiate carbon trading in India. In an interaction with Dataquest, Joseph Massey, DMD, MCX, demystifies different aspects of carbon trading and speaks of ways in which Indian companies could benefit from the situation.

What exactly is carbon trading?
The emission trading system (ETS) is a well-recognized approach to emission reductions. The ETS works on the cap-and-trade principle, where all signatory countries are allowed to trade their transferable allowances with other participating countries. For instance, in order to comply with the targets, Annexure I countries that are falling short of their target are likely to buy carbon permits either from other Annexure I countries with surplus allowances or with certified emissions reductions (CERs) generated through clean development mechanisms (CDMs) from the developing countries (non Annexure I).

Specifically, countries that have to incur high abatement costs with regard to reduction of GHG emissions would prefer to buy carbon permits rather than undertake more expensive abatement control measures to enable compliance with Kyoto Protocol. Countries that enjoy low abatement costs undertake measures to meet their Kyoto commitments and sell their excess emission allowances for a price.

How can a company trade CERs?
Typically, compliance countries would pass on the baton to the manufacturing industries/ public utilities, and these companies would have to plan their existing and future emission status. For example, in the European Union (EU-ETS), certain industrial abaters of CO2 have allocated the installation-specific tradable allowances (called as European Union Allowances (EUAs)), indicating the amount of CO2 or equivalent gases they can emit during each year. The companies that are falling short of their targets are thus enabled to buy allowances from those who have surplus EUAs as per the EU ETS scheme or buy CERs/ERUs for compliance purposes.

What is the profile of companies that trade CERs?
Basically companies that are engaged in CERs generation are from sectors like the energy sector, energy distribution , manufacturing, chemical industries, construction, transport, mining, metals production, solvent extraction, Waste handling, Agriculture, and Afforestation and Reforestation sectors, among others. Simpy speaking, all sectors which are potential holders of CERs can trade in CERs.

Are there any IT companies trading CERs?
Chennais Olympia Technology Park is one of the first commercial buildings in India to go in for carbon trading.

IT companies have potential for generation of CERs as energy is consumed in offering the services provided by them. Any savings in the energy is obviously expected to lead to savings in GHG emissions into the atmosphere, which can otherwise be converted into CERs, if this can be documented and submitted as a project to the CDM Board. The CDM Board looks into the merits of the project and its additionality before approving the same for potential CER generation after its implementation.

What is the opportunity for IT companies? How best can they make use of it?
A growing number of Indian firms, irrespective of their size and industry, are generating or are in the process of generating CERs and are reaping revenues through another stream called carbon trading. IT companies, by adopting energy efficient systems, have the potential to earn CERs. In fact, many Indian companies have been at the forefront of innovation and green field projects that might get rewarded for adopting ecofriendly practices leading to reduction in GHG emissions. However, to qualify for the carbon credit trade a company needs to get its project evaluated from the National CDM Authority. Once approved by the national authority, the CDM executive board of UNFCCC finally gives its nod before the implementation and subsequent generation of carbon credits begin.

What is the future of Carbon Trading in India?
There is a large scope for India in emission trading, it being one of the leading generators of CERs through clean development mechanism. The potential for generation and sales of CERs should be sustainably harnessed by the ecosystem participants like India, to effectively tap the opportunities in EU ETS, especially the post-Kyoto Protocol implementation phase (2008-2012).

While the question of India continuing to enjoy the benefits of its Non-Annexure I status is debatable, I am sure that markets are the way to go as far as the question of GHG abatement is concerned.

Will Carbon trading be valid till 2012?
As per the current agreement among signatories of Kyoto Protocol the Emission Trading System would be in vogue till 2012. However, negotiations are on to extend the validity of the protocol beyond 2012 which we are sure would be successful given the reality of the socio economic impacts of global warming on countries.

(Shashwat DC. Published in Dataquest)

A green data center refers to a repository for storage, management, and dissemination of data in which mechanical, lighting, electrical, and computer systems are designed for maximum energy efficiency. With increasing adoption of IT, consumption of energy is also increasing. Off late, the expenditure on energy has surpassed the cost spent on IT gears by a company. To address this issue, APC has been advocating changing the legacy approach of data center architecture. In an interview with Dataquest, Subodh Tagare, of APCMGE, talks about various aspects of green data centers. Excerpts.

Why this sudden hype for green data centers?
Green is the essence of adding value to customers in an attempt to tie it with an underlined bigger trend, which is the concern for environment and climate. There are talks of environment-friendly technologies, but adoption is based on two objectives: first, the positive impact on environment, and second, it should have some value for decision makers, especially the IT team, which impacts faster adoption process.

What is driving enterprises to go for green data centers?
Everyone recognizes that there are issues to be addressed in environment. Energy consumption is becoming the biggest issue in data centers. Till last year, the cost of IT was more than the cost of energy. Now the cost of energy is far greater than the cost of computing and networking gear. In a way, economy has ensured adoption of greener data centers.

Due to design elements of a data center, half of the energy consumed is wasted. Companies have to rethink the way they are designing data centers. This has led to customers thinking of adopting blade servers.

One of the major constraints for adoption of blade servers is cost. What will drive customers then?
It is expensive, therefore, it is preventing adoption at this point of time. Since 2003, we have been talking about changing the architecture of data centers. Now it is a given thing and customers are recognizing it. The first stage was compaction that started happening with chips and the second stage was physical consolidation of data centersIndia has gone through this phase. Now we see people talking about virtualization. It is after this stage that we see the takeoff of blade servers. This might take another two to three years.

How are vendors responding to green data centers?
Software people are looking at creating virtual servers. At chip layer, vendors are trying to deliver more processing capacity for each watt consumed. At the server layer, vendors have already developed, and adoption is taking place. The physical layer vendors, like us, are focusing on how the whole thing fits into the system. Instead of selling best-in-breed components, delivering the system to customers has become far more important. We are attempting to move away from components to system along with services.

Further, the legacy approach in designing data centers has to be changed. We have changed the monolithic UPS to modular UPS, which is scalable. This eliminates waste and consumes less energy. This also reduces the usage of lead. Ensuring modular data center also eliminates waste.

Has going green become a compelling factor?
Yes. It becomes a compelling factor as it reduces the cost on energy consumption. By going green, energy consumption can be reduced by 70%. Significant adoption has been witnessed in the last two years. It is far more important for us to keep reminding people about it.

(Dheeksha Rabindra. Published in Dataquest)

Vendors of all hues and colors have now started converting themselves to green. Sun Microsystems is no exception, with its green strategy hinging around its processor design. The company is stressing on going green in its products through adoption of Core-Multi Threading technology, thus increasing the performance-per-watt usage. Sridhar Vajapey, VP, technology, validation and test, speaks on Suns strategy on going green Excerpts.

What is Suns green products strategy from the product development/technology perspective?
Our green strategy starts from the processor design. Our Core-Multi Threading (CMT) methodology has shown that we can provide performance while maximizing performance/watt. Suns energy efficient UltraSPARC T2 CMT CPU has 64 threads and each thread consumes less than two watts of power. The performance/watt leadership also allows customers to minimize on space. Lower power actually causes CPUs to run cooler.

Suns roadmap for microprocessors/multi-core chips, as the industry is talking of Quad core while Sun is well on its way to 8-cores?
More than well on its way. We have released both first and second generation products, UltraSPARC T1 and T2, respectively, with 8-cores on a chip. UltraSPARC T1 CMT CPU was released in December 2005.
Yes, Sun SPARC has been leading the way in innovations for nearly two decades now. Our CMT strategy is yet another innovation that allows us to be able to tightly integrate 8-cores with each core having 8-threads. Our first generation CMT chip, UltraSPARC T1, had 8-cores and 4-threads per core (total of 32 threads).

In UltraSPARC T2, the 8-cores are connected by a high-speed crossbar capable of 180GB/s of read and 90GB/s of write to internal memories. Further, apart from the number of cores and threads, we have pulled in and integrated dual 10Gb Ethernet ports. This further enhances the performance in networking.

What is the USP of Suns Throughput Computing Strategy? How is it different from other technologies prevailing in the market?
The Web and applications are very thread-friendly. This is, therefore, more of a throughput problem than a single-thread problem. A single-thread design will actually have to brute-force various threads through a pipe while in a highly threaded environment they can indeed run in parallel. This is a difference between the two styles of implementation.

(R Jai Krishna. Published in Dataquest)