7 ways to a Greener Cloud!

Based on a recent report released by Forrester Research at the end of June 2011, Cloud computing should help the earth to become a more greener place to live...

Forrester says..."Cloud-based server, storage, and network infrastructure — also called infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) — will inherently deliver green IT benefits: lower energy costs, carbon emissions, and electronic waste (e-waste). Not only does the self-service and pay-as-you-go nature of cloud encourage your users and applications teams to consume only what they need, but the IT infrastructure that is consumed is run in a highly shared, virtualized, and utilized manner that drives IT efficiencies. For IT infrastructure and operations (I&O) professionals implementing or considering IaaS, don't overlook its green IT benefits, especially as energy and carbon prices rise and data center power and cooling limits are reached. This report explains why IaaS is greener than a traditional environment and identifies key steps that I&O professionals can take to maximize their energy, carbon, and e-waste efficiencies."

Here are the seven ways that Forrester lists out on how an IT professional can make his or her cloud computing even greener — regardless of whether or not the approach is public or private:

1. Make sure the data center is using power generated by renewable energy sources or that it uses “free cooling” methods. As an example, Forrester cites the Microsoft data center in Quincy, Wash, which uses hydroelectricity. As you pick your cloud provider, ask the question: Does the data center is uses take advantage of solar, wind or other sources. Can it rely on free air cooling at least part of the year?
2. Look for modular data center approaches. That means the cloud service provider — or your own organization, if we’re talking private cloud — is using an “as you go” approach to designing and building out the facility. Infrastructure should be brought on and provisioned as necessary, in order to keep utilization rates high. Forrester also suggests looking for a provider that has invested in a green certification, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) designation that was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.
3. Get yourself more energy-efficient power and cooling systems. There has been a lot written about the need to make computer hardware more energy-efficient. Now, it’s time to extend that mentality to uninterruptible power supplies, power distribution units, air-side economizers and the like.
4. Think converged. Forrester suggest that blade architectures that converge server, storage and network architectures into a single rack aren’t just easier to manage, they are far more energy-efficient.
5. Virtualize and automate. Sure, pretty much every company has done SOME virtualization work. But how much is green enough? Forrester suggests that 76 percent to 100 percent of a company’s total server footprint should be virtualized in order to deliver significant green IT benefits.
6. Measure and manage. Energy information should be coupled with management automation that consumption can be optimized. So, for example, certain energy-intense workloads could be moved (if appropriate) from daytime to night in order to take advantage of better prices per kilowatt hour. Likewise, an organization could affect its carbon footprint position, but centering the most intense It workloads in data centers that are more energy-efficient.
7. Set goals and strive for them. You can’t really improve your green IT strategy unless you have one. And you can’t make it better, unless you focus on specific goals. There are three primary areas in which a green IT strategy can be “greener”: procurement (as in, buying the most energy-efficient technologies), operations (taking advantage of software and automation tools to provide the best experience) and end-of-life (which means ensuring that technologies are disposed of properly according to emerging electronic-waste policy standards).

I think that Forrester's ideas and suggestions should be taken as guidelines by organizations trying to move to the cloud to ensure that they are contributing & doing their bit for our environment.

Also posted on BMC Communities blog