Green IT: February 2008 Archives
Many of us in Wharton Computing were hauling cartloads of old (and potentially busted) equipment, everything from CRT monitors and keyboards, to UPSs and old 1U pizza-box servers, as part of an equipment "recycling" effort.
It got me thinking about our technology purchases and how things have changed, and wanted to just put some ideas "out there".
Buy small. Buy only what you need. Buy a ultra-small form-factor desktop computer, instead of a full-blown mini-tower that you'll never upgrade. Buy a laptop instead of that SFF desktop! Buy a Blade server instead of a 2U or 1U server. Virtualize your new server, instead of buying a new one!
Bug your vendors (Dell? IBM? Lenovo? Microsoft?), and insist they think about the materials footprint of everything they sell. Ask them about what they are doing about the end-of-life of their products, basically, how are they cleaning up after themselves.
For me, I'll continue to use a laptop as my primary computer. I'll use the two Dell monitors sitting on my desk until they are completely unusable. I'll recycle as much as possible, and drive others to do the same.
We filled a 15-foot truck with all kinds of equipment that we are hoping will be reused or recycled. Let's make it a point that the next time we have an equipment recycling day, they can send a 15-foot truck, and it'll leave half-empty.
What can we do between now and then to make sure that happens? Hit the comments with your ideas!
*** Special thanks to Sharon S. for working to put this all together, and to all of you out there who hauled, dragged, and yes, literally dropped (off) all this equipment.
Ages ago, I threw down a challenge of sorts, asking people to measure their desktop setup's energy footprint using a handy dandy Kill-A-Watt (external link) monitor.
Bev C. set the bar extremely high...(or low in this case), reporting a 65W total utilization for her setup:
She rocks and wins the "sustainability" prize. Pictured, she's got a: reusable shopping bag from Wegmans, an "I <3 VMware" bumper sticker, and a pen made mostly of cardboard (that I re-used from VMWorld 2007).
Congrats, Bev! You are a Model Sustainable IT Citizen!
I like to visit Dell's website and "thumb" through their online catalog of desktops, laptops, and servers, because, well, it's FUN! ****
But also because it helps me stay on-top of what the "state-of-the-art" is for those products, and maintain that operational vocabulary of various vendors' product roadmaps.
Yesterday, I was configuring a new Dell M600 series Blade, their 10G blades that I mentioned in a previous post, and I came across a dizzying list of processor choices:
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5405, 2x6MB Cache, 2.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5410, 2x6MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB - Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5420, 2x6MB Cache, 2.5GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5430, 2x6MB Cache, 2.66GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5440, 2x6MB Cache, 2.83GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5450, 2x6MB Cache, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ X5460, 2x6MB Cache, 3.16GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5310, 2x4MB Cache, 1.6GHz, 1066MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ L5335, 2x4MB Cache, 2.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Quad Core IntelŽ XeonŽ E5345, 2x4MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB
- Dual Core IntelŽ XeonŽ 5130; 4MB Cache, 2.0GHz, 1333MHZ FSB
- Dual Core IntelŽ XeonŽ 5148LV, 4MB Cache, 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB
Arguably, the CPU has the largest power footprint of any other component in a server. When your power envelope is as emaciated as it has to be in an ultra-dense blade-chassis, then every last watt has to be accounted for. And, generally speaking, heat-output is directly proportional to power-draw, you have to take into consideration the cooling of those hot components (and not new hotness, either).
Can you make the informed decision on which processor above has the smallest power-draw? Does X mean "extreme", a qualifier that Intel is fond of for their desktop processor line? Does L mean "low-voltage"? But then what about "LV"?
How about from this list of AMD processors available in the M605 blade?
- Dual Core AMD Opteron 2214HE, 2.2GHz, 2X1MB Cache,1Ghz HyperTransport
- Dual Core AMD Opteron 2216, 2.4GHz, 2X1MB Cache, 1Ghz HyperTransport
- Dual Core AMD Opteron 2218, 2.6GHz, 2X1MB Cache, 1Ghz HyperTransport
- Dual Core AMD Opteron 2218HE, 2.6GHz, 2X1MB Cache,1Ghz HyperTransport
- Dual Core AMD Opteron 2222; 3.0GHz,2X1MB Cache,1Ghz HyperTransport
A shorter list (AMD's latest server-class processors haven't hit the mainstream yet), but certainly no less difficult to decipher. Is "HE", high-efficiency?
I had to dig into Intel's and AMD's web\sites to find out for myself. I was right that "X" does mean eXtremely high power-draw; 120W for the X5460. And HE probably means "high-efficiency", since the 2218HE only consumes 65W.
The winner in my book? Intel's L5335, an awesome 2.33GHz with quad-cores, and only 50W!
Dell? If you're listening out there, put a Watt-rating next to each processor choice, gosh darnit! I shouldn't have to go to the processor manufacturer's website to figure out the power draw per socket.
Intel? AMD? Sell your Greenliness! Just call it the Greeneon and get that over with.
**** I'm not ashamed to admit it. Dell's 10G Blade chassis makes my heart flutter whenever I see it. It is beautiful and angular! It is the new hotness!
