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| The aim of this section of the Low Carbon ICT wiki is to provide information that helps IT managers and end-users to minimise the electricity consumption by PCs and laptops when they are not doing useful work. Desktop computers are left on to: * Allow ICT manager to install software patches * Save the time required to start up a computer from off * Allow remote backup services to access computers * Allow end-users to have remote access to their computer (e.g. to retrieve files) * To run email filtering processes * To run 'keep-alive' processes e.g. using SSH clients Unfortunately, since these events are typically short-lived, keeping computers on for these reasons means that they are still likely to consume large amounts of electricity without doing useful work. It is possible to provide a tools to for end-users and ICT managers to reduce this wasted energy. However, the provision of new tools will need to be accompanied by people adopting more energy efficient ways of working.[[TableOfContents([2])]] |
'''This page is under construction!''' |
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| = Overview = | A single desktop computer will consume approximately £75 of electricity per year if it is left on all the time. If a computer is put into a low power state when it is not being used this cost is likely to fall to £15 per year (insert reference).This figure extrapolated to the estimated 720 000 computers in UK Universities equates to an annual saving of around £40 million. There are a wide range of assumptions in these headline figures so each organisation is advised to gather information about usage patterns, computer power consumption and electricity prices. Switching computers into low power states when they are not needed is more difficult than turning off a light bulb or television. People familiar with the way insitutional computers are used will recognise at least some of the following scenarios: * Users may need to be asked to leave their computer on for at least one day a week so that a central backup service can make a copy of files overnight * Computers may need to be left on all the time in case there is the need to install software updates or security patches * Users leave their computer of all the time so that they can use it remotely to for instance retrieve a file while at a conference * Computers are left on so that people do not have to wait for it to start up or boot * Desktop computers are used as a web server or file store * Desktop computer is used to keep another computer on ("keep alives") * Computer is used to constantly filter emails so that email folders are organised when accessing an inbox via the web * Spare computing capacity is used by computer modelling projects e.g. SETI, climateprediction.net and GRID experiments in general * Standby (S3) and hibernate (S4) power saving modes cannot be implemented reliably It is possible to implement a range of technical initiatives that can be used to allow computers to move into low power states more often. Organisations may also decide that some practices should be discouraged. [[TableOfContents([2])]] |
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| = Support = == Local power management == * Automatically putting a computer into S3, S4 or S5 power states * Issues * when in standby computers cannot easily be switched off automatically * computers don't wake from S3 or S4 reliably * don't want to interrupt services that may be running in background === Enable end-users to configure power management === === Distribute power management setting centrally === == Remote power management == === Switching computers on remotely === ==== Wake-on-LAN ==== * Introductory text * ["lcict:wol"] ==== VPro ==== * http://www.intel.com/technology/vpro/index.htm === Switching computers off remotely === 1. How to turn computer off remotely = More efficient working practices = create matrix of: (1) practice/ activity description (2) measure of how much energy will be saved (3) who the practice is relevant to * switching monitor off will prevent it turning on when accessing computer remotely |
== Enabling users to wake computers up remotely == It is possible to provide the ability for IT managers and end-users to wake computers that they own using another computer. By providing a facility to turn computers on remotely, it becomes possible to ask people to turn their computers to low power states more often. For instance, many organisations will ask their staff to leave their computers on so that the a backup service can access the hard drive and create a copy of files. If computers can be woken up by the backup service then users can switch them off without disrupting this essential activity. This same logic applies to other services that may need access to a computer more regularly e.g. services that install software updates, anti-virus checking and so on. |
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| * implement power management * |
=== Case study: University of Oxford === [http://wiki.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg-public/lcict%3Awol_oxford_university The University of Oxford wake-on-LAN infrastructure] enables IT officers, end-users and managers of 3rd-party services to wake computers remotely. == Configuring computers to move into low power states automatically == |
This page is under construction!
A single desktop computer will consume approximately £75 of electricity per year if it is left on all the time. If a computer is put into a low power state when it is not being used this cost is likely to fall to £15 per year (insert reference).This figure extrapolated to the estimated 720 000 computers in UK Universities equates to an annual saving of around £40 million. There are a wide range of assumptions in these headline figures so each organisation is advised to gather information about usage patterns, computer power consumption and electricity prices.
Switching computers into low power states when they are not needed is more difficult than turning off a light bulb or television. People familiar with the way insitutional computers are used will recognise at least some of the following scenarios:
- Users may need to be asked to leave their computer on for at least one day a week so that a central backup service can make a copy of files overnight
- Computers may need to be left on all the time in case there is the need to install software updates or security patches
- Users leave their computer of all the time so that they can use it remotely to for instance retrieve a file while at a conference
- Computers are left on so that people do not have to wait for it to start up or boot
- Desktop computers are used as a web server or file store
- Desktop computer is used to keep another computer on ("keep alives")
- Computer is used to constantly filter emails so that email folders are organised when accessing an inbox via the web
- Spare computing capacity is used by computer modelling projects e.g. SETI, climateprediction.net and GRID experiments in general
- Standby (S3) and hibernate (S4) power saving modes cannot be implemented reliably
It is possible to implement a range of technical initiatives that can be used to allow computers to move into low power states more often. Organisations may also decide that some practices should be discouraged.
Tools and techniques
Enabling users to wake computers up remotely
It is possible to provide the ability for IT managers and end-users to wake computers that they own using another computer. By providing a facility to turn computers on remotely, it becomes possible to ask people to turn their computers to low power states more often. For instance, many organisations will ask their staff to leave their computers on so that the a backup service can access the hard drive and create a copy of files. If computers can be woken up by the backup service then users can switch them off without disrupting this essential activity. This same logic applies to other services that may need access to a computer more regularly e.g. services that install software updates, anti-virus checking and so on.
Case study: University of Oxford
[http://wiki.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ltg-public/lcict%3Awol_oxford_university The University of Oxford wake-on-LAN infrastructure] enables IT officers, end-users and managers of 3rd-party services to wake computers remotely.