
How many computer servers does your firm have dedicated to one crucial database management system or other legacy application that needs its own operating system? And how much energy do those gluttons suck down a year -- not just in consumption, but in the power it takes to keep them cool and compensate for the extra heat they throw off?
Most companies have several, if not many such servers. And they and computer usage overall should be the first targets of any concerted effort to cut energy consumption for both financial and environmental reasons. Andrew Binstock, the technology editor of GreenerComputing, explains how reliable "virtualization" technology has finally evolved to a level of sophistication, reliability and speed that it will allow one server to act as several. "By moving these applications onto a single platform, IT sites save almost the entire energy consumption of the original server, the cooling costs of that server, and also gain greater manageability by having applications running on fewer physical machines," Binstock writes.
This is the first of a regular monthly "GreenTips" column aimed at helping businesses cope with all kinds of environmental issues -- for bottom-line, regulatory and customer relations reasons. It is being written by Greener World Media, publisher of GreenerComputing and other Web sites that offer businesses advice on going green.