DEC 09

Data centers could probably use 1/10 the energy if computer manufacturers were required to display an energy label in stores (brick or online) as well as on a shopping cart invoice. We have them for cars and refrigerators, soon TVs, but not all the other electronics.

Most servers are >95% idle but still burn largely the same power as when busy. Computers can be designed to be powered down and/or use an ultra-low power coprocessor when mostly idle. Clouds make it easier to combine several 95% idle machines, but the machines are mostly provisioned to handle peak load over a year.

The reason high-power computers are required is the software is really inefficient. If the web pages end with .php or .asp and are dynamically generated (even worse use an SQL server), the site probably uses 10-100x more compute cycles than necessary.

Finally, if web pages were delivered with compression enabled, it would more than double the bandwidth and cut proportional power, both for the host server as well as network.

"Cloud" is the latest fashionable word this year. But a focus on hardware and software efficiency would be much more effective in cutting data center (and home computer) power.

The Joule Sort contest is an interesting project. I propose a Wiki Joule contest-- create a hardware/software combination that delivers the most pages/joule, using html data and an access log profile (over 24 hours) available to all from Wikipedia. Even modifications to the HTML should be allowed as long as the browser display is equivalent.

Well, nothing in the world is really simple. As a programmer I've argued against cloud computing for security reasons: data being maintained by people you know nothing about, traveling over many more wires than would be the case in a local data center. I've never won such an argument since the argument "Cheaper!" wins every time, but if the world goes in that direction think "Wikileaks" a thousand times over. If saving greenhouse gases were really important then all our buildings would be retrofitted with serious insulation.

I don't know if Pike Research is just trying to see who isn't paying attention (like you , Megan) but what do you think Cloud Computing is? It means that users use data center computers instead of there own.

The only way this makes sense is if internal data centers are less efficient than the massive data centers run by those selling cloud computing services (like amazon and google).

Cloud computing means the consumer is nickel and dimed continually. This is great for software companies and infrastructure owners but it is not in the interest of the consumer.

Lets not talk about data privacy and data ownership.

Geez don't write just to write. This article makes you look stupid which perhaps you are when you mislead readers in behind the scene details without doing your own research first.

Cloud computing as stated previously is web apps usually run from a data center. The advantage is for folks on the go that need access to data say for instances google docs.

Basically it is application software which is accessible online from a web browser without the need to install it on your local system. Example as stated plus Zoho writer, Photoshop online, and the Aviary suite of apps among others.

Unless the data center is geared toward energy efficiency and even then no it does not help in cutting back on energy. Next time don't be so gung ho to write about your passion do the opposite of what you are trying to do.

This site continually misleads its readers. I doubt that it is done deliberately, I think it is because the writers are essentially technically illiterate and unquestioning. I suspect that the audience is similarly technically illiterate, so it is kind of like the blind leading the lepers.