ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD REDUCTION SYSTEM AND ENVIRONMENTAL LOAD REDUCTION METHOD

Abstract

To enable a user desiring to contribute to reduction of environmental loads to examine a switch to a configuration with lower environmental loads.SOLUTION: An environmental load reducing system includes: a detection unit 5211 which compares configuration information associated with an operating system with configuration information associated with a different operating system of a different user, to detect a difference between system components of the systems; a comparison unit 5212 which compares a result of calculating CO2 emissions emitted when the operating system operates for a certain period of time with a result of calculating CO2 emissions emitted when the different operating system operates for the certain period of time; and a presentation unit 5213 which presents the different system component as a low-environmental load component according to the system component difference, on the basis of a result of the comparison.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an environmental load reducing system and an environmental load reducing method. [Background technology]

[0002] Due to the recent increase in environmental awareness, the idea of ​​carbon neutrality has become widespread, and efforts to reduce the environmental load during system operation are attracting attention. One such effort is a technology that presents the carbon dioxide emissions of the system that the user is running to the user (for example, see Patent Document 1).

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which "measurement items related to the converted amount of carbon dioxide generated in equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing are measured, the measurement results are calculated with a carbon dioxide generation conversion coefficient corresponding to each measurement item, the sum of the calculation results is found as the amount of carbon dioxide generated per unit of equipment, and this is displayed on a display means to present to the user." [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2001-332463 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the amount of carbon dioxide generated is simply displayed to the user. Therefore, although the user can know the amount of carbon dioxide emission, knowing only the amount of carbon dioxide emission does not allow the user to grasp the total amount of carbon dioxide emission in the life cycle of the system in operation, or to grasp the existence of a configuration with less carbon dioxide emission, even if the performance is not significantly different from that of the system in operation. As a result, users who wish to contribute to reducing the environmental load cannot consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load (i.e., a configuration with less carbon dioxide emission).

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an environmental load reduction system and an environmental load reduction method that enable users who wish to contribute more to reducing the environmental load to consider changing to a configuration that has a lower environmental load. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the environmental load reduction system of the present invention comprises a detection unit that compares configuration information of a running system operated by a user with configuration information of other running systems of other users and detects differences in system components, a comparison unit that compares a calculation result of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the running system is operated for a certain period of time with a calculation result of the amount of carbon dioxide emissions when the other running systems are operated for the same certain period of time, and a presentation unit that presents different system components as low environmental load components based on the differences in the system components based on the comparison result of the comparison unit.

[0008] Another environmental load reduction system of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes a grouping unit that groups system components that can be installed in a running system operated by a user using each individual performance value, a comparison unit that compares the carbon dioxide emission of the system components installed in the running system with the carbon dioxide emission of system components in the same group, and a presentation unit that presents low environmental load components to the user, and when a system component with a lower carbon dioxide emission than a system component installed in the running system is present among the system components in the same group, the presentation unit presents the system component to the user as a low environmental load component.

[0009] In addition, the environmental load reduction method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems executes the following processes: a step of comparing configuration information of a running system operated by a user with configuration information of another running system operated by another user to detect differences in system components; a step of comparing the calculation result of the carbon dioxide emission when the running system is operated for a certain period of time with the calculation result of the carbon dioxide emission when the other running system is operated for the same certain period of time; and a step of presenting the different system components as low environmental load components based on the differences in the system components according to the comparison result. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, a user who wishes to contribute to reducing the environmental load can consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load.

[0011] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the mode for carrying out the invention (hereinafter, referred to as an embodiment). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of an environmental load reducing system according to the present invention; [Diagram 2]1 is an explanatory diagram of operation information and CO2 emission amount information by system-installable part. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of grouping of system components that can be installed in a system in operation. [Figure 4] 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic example of a system configuration of an environmental load reducing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a management server in a customer system operation information management section. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a diagram showing a schematic flow of a processing procedure for presenting a change to a low environmental load component executed in the management server of the customer system operation information management section. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change presentation to low environmental load components executed in a management server of a customer system operation information management unit. [Figure 8] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a management server in a device information management unit. FIG. [Figure 9] 11 is a diagram showing a schematic flow of a processing procedure for presenting a change to a low environmental load component executed in a management server of a device information management unit; FIG. [Figure 10] 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a change presentation to a low environmental load component executed in a management server of a device information management unit. FIG. [Figure 11] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of a customer operation system. [Figure 12] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an operation terminal at a customer site. FIG. [Figure 13] 1 is a flowchart (part 1) showing an example of a processing procedure of an environmental load reducing method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 4 is a flowchart (part 2) showing an example of a processing procedure of the environmental load reducing method according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic system configuration of an environmental load reducing system according to a modified example of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functions or configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0014] <Outline of the environmental load reduction system of the present invention> Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overview of the environmental load reduction system of the present invention. The environmental load reduction system of the present invention is configured to take two approaches so that users who wish to contribute to environmental load reduction can consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load (i.e., a configuration with less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions).

[0015] (First method) The environmental load reduction system 1 of the present invention first compares configuration information of an operating system 3 operated by a user 2 with configuration information of another operating system (not shown) of another user, and detects differences in the system components of both systems. The configuration information of the other operating system of the other user to be compared can be obtained from the database 5 by collecting and storing in advance, as operation information, configuration information of the other operating system having a performance value similar to that of the operating system via a path 4. With regard to the performance value, "similar" is assumed to be, for example, ±10% of the performance value of the operating system 3.

[0016] Here, "configuration information" refers to information about the system components that make up the system (operating system / other operating systems). Moreover, "operation information" refers to information about power consumption, performance values, and the like. Operation information also includes information (configuration information) about the components that make up the system. An example of operation information is shown in Figure 2A. In this example, the operation information includes, for each system ID, the total CO2 emissions (kg / year), average performance value [IOPS / h], maximum performance value [IOPS], installed drives, drive performance [IOPS / h], drive performance group, installed memory, memory performance [ It includes information such as memory usage [GB / s], memory performance group, installed CPU, CPU performance [MIPS], and CPU performance group.

[0017] After detecting differences in system components, the calculation result of the CO2 emissions when the operating system 3 is operated for a certain period of time is compared with the calculation result of the CO2 emissions of the other operating systems when they are operated for the same certain period of time. Information on the CO2 emissions for each part (e.g., drive) that can be installed in the system is shown in FIG. 2B. This information on the CO2 emissions for each installable part includes information on the CO2 emissions per day during operation, the CO2 emissions during manufacturing, the CO2 emissions after one year of operation, the CO2 emissions at disposal, and the CO2 emissions over the life cycle for each installable part.

[0018] By comparing the calculation results of the CO2 emissions when the operating system 3 is operated for a certain period of time with the calculation results of the CO2 emissions when other operating systems are operated for the same certain period of time, it is possible to determine which system has lower CO2 emissions, the operating system 3 or the other operating system.

[0019] In the above-mentioned comparison process, if the calculated CO2 emissions of the other operating system are lower than that of the operating system 3, based on the differences in the system components between the operating system 3 and the other operating system, the system components of the other operating system that differ from the operating system 3 are presented to the user 2 as low environmental load components 6 (path 7).

[0020] By presenting the low environmental load component 6, the user 2 who is the target of environmental load reduction can be encouraged to change the system components to the low environmental load component 6. This allows users who wish to contribute more to reducing the environmental load to consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load. Specifically, the user 2 who receives the presentation of the change to the low environmental load component 6 can change the operating system 3 to a configuration with less CO2 emissions by purchasing the presented low environmental load component 6 and replacing the system components. This can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption.

[0021] Here, by setting the performance values ​​of other operating systems of other users to be compared to the performance values ​​of the operating system at approximately the same level, system components of the other operating systems having performance values ​​closer to the operating system 3 can be presented to user 2 as low environmental load components 6.

[0022] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned comparison process, if the comparison result shows that the calculation result of the CO2 emission of the active system 3 is less than that of the other active systems, it is not necessary to consider changing the configuration of the active system 3 to one with a lower environmental load. In this case, however, it is possible to encourage other users to change the system components of the other active systems.

[0023] Specifically, if the calculation result of the CO2 emission of the operating system 3 is less than that of the other operating systems, the system components of the operating system that are different from the other operating systems can be presented to other users as low environmental load components 6. By presenting these low environmental load components 6, it is possible to encourage other users to change the system components of the other operating systems. As a result, not only the user 2 targeted for environmental load reduction, but also other users other than the targeted users for environmental load reduction can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption.

[0024] (Second method) In the above-mentioned first method, low environmental load components 6 are presented to the user based on the results of comparison with configuration information of other operating systems operating at other user sites that are not the target for environmental load reduction. In contrast, in the second method, system components that can be installed in the operating system are grouped using their individual performance values, and based on a comparison of CO2 emissions of system components belonging to the same group, system components that emit less CO2 than the system components installed in the operating system 3 are presented to the user as low environmental load components 6.

[0025] Specifically, system component information is retrieved from carbon footprint 8 provided by the component manufacturer, and system components that can be installed in the operating system are grouped using their respective individual performance values ​​and stored in database 9. Then, the CO2 emissions of the system components installed in the operating system 3 are compared with the CO2 emissions of system components in the same group, and system components that emit less CO2 than the system components installed in the operating system 3 are extracted as low environmental load components 6.

[0026] Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of grouping of system components that can be installed in an operating system. Fig. 3A shows a list of groups by components (e.g., drives) that can be installed in an operating system. Fig. 3B shows a list of drives (individual performance: up to 1000 [IOPS / h]) belonging to the Drive-A group, and Fig. 3C shows a list of drives (individual performance: 1000 to 1500 [IOPS / h]) belonging to the Drive-B group.

[0027] In the process of comparing the CO2 emissions of the system components mounted in the operating system 3 with the CO2 emissions of the system components in the same group, it is possible to determine whether or not there are system components in the same group that have less CO2 emissions than the system components mounted in the operating system 3. If there are no system components that have less CO2 emissions than the system components mounted in the operating system 3, there is no need to consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load.

[0028] If there is a system component in the same group that has a lower CO2 emission than the system component installed in the operating system 3, that system component is presented to the user 2 as a low environmental load component 6. By presenting this low environmental load component 6, the user 2 can be encouraged to change the system components. This allows users who wish to contribute more to reducing the environmental load to consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load.

[0029] The user 2 who is presented with the low environmental load component 6 can purchase the system component presented as the low environmental load component 6 and replace the system component determined to have a high CO2 emission, thereby changing to a configuration with less CO2 emission. This contributes to reducing CO2 emission and power consumption.

[0030] In the second method, the system components that can be installed in a running system are grouped using their respective individual performance values ​​for the following reason. Generally, system components with relatively superior individual performance values ​​are more expensive than system components with relatively inferior individual performance values. Therefore, if grouping is not performed using individual performance values, there may be cases where expensive system components are presented as low environmental load components 6. In other words, by performing grouping using individual performance values, system components with similar performance values ​​and in a similar price range to the running system 3 can be presented to the user as low environmental load components 6.

[0031] <Environmental Load Reduction System According to an Embodiment of the Present Invention> [System configuration example] FIG. 4 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the system configuration of an environmental load reducing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] An environmental load reducing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a customer site 20 installed on-premise (at a data center) via a network 30. In addition to the customer site 20, customer sites 40_1 to 40_n of other users are connected to the network 30. The customer sites 40_1 to 40_n of other users have other operating systems 41_1 to 41_n. Hereinafter, the other operating systems 41_1 to 41_n may be collectively referred to as other operating systems 41.

[0033] The environmental load reduction system 10 is configured to have, as a base, a customer system operation information management unit 50 and a device information management unit 60. The customer site 20 is equipped with an operation terminal 21, an operating system 22, and a LAN (Local Area Network) 23. When the customer site 20 is the target site for environmental load reduction, the operating system 22 is an operating system that is operated by a user. Examples of the operating system 22 include storage, servers, etc.

[0034] In the environmental load reduction system 10, the customer system operation information management unit 50 includes an operation terminal 51, a management server 52, and a LAN 53. This customer system operation information management unit 50 executes the process of the first method described above, that is, a process of presenting the different system components to a user as low environmental load components based on the differences in system components between the operating system of the customer site 20 and the other operating systems 41 of the other customer sites 40_1 to 40_n.

[0035] The device information management unit 60 includes an operation terminal 61, a management server 62, and a LAN 63. This device information management unit 60 executes the process of the second method described above, that is, grouping system components that can be installed in an operating system, and if there is a system component in the same group that has a lower CO2 emission than a system component installed in the operating system, presenting the system component to the user as a low environmental load component.

[0036] [Regarding the management server in the Customer System Operation Information Management Department] (Example of management server configuration) FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 52 in the customer system operation information management unit 50. As shown in FIG.

[0037] The management server 52 in the customer system operation information management unit 50 is made up of a control unit 521 , a memory unit 522 , an information storage unit 523 , and a communication unit 524 .

[0038] Although not shown, the control unit 521 has a configuration including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The CPU reads out a program corresponding to the processing contents from the ROM, loads it into the RAM, and performs centralized control of the operation of the management server 52 in cooperation with the loaded program.

[0039] The memory unit 522 has a configuration information processing program 5221, a system performance information processing program 5222, and an electric power usage / CO2 emission processing program 5223. The information storage unit 523 has a configuration information database (DB) 5231, a system performance information database 5232, an electric power usage information database 5233, a CO2 emission database 5234, and a location information database 5235.

[0040] In the memory unit 522, the configuration information processing program 5221 is a program for importing information on parts (system components) constituting a client operating system (an operating system 22 operated by a user) or another user's other operating system 41. The configuration information processing program 5221 stores information on the system components imported from the client operating system in a configuration information database 5231 of the information storage unit 523.

[0041] The system performance information processing program 5222 is a program for acquiring information on performance values ​​from a client operating system. The system performance information processing program 5222 stores the information on performance values ​​acquired from the client operating system in a system performance information database 5232 of the information storage unit 523.

[0042] The power usage / CO2 emission processing program 5223 is a program for acquiring information on the amount of power usage and CO2 emission from the customer operation system. The power usage / CO2 emission processing program 5223 stores the amount of power usage acquired from the customer operation system in a power usage information database 5233, and stores information on the amount of CO2 emission in a CO2 emission database 5234.

[0043] In the information storage unit 523, the location information database 5235 pre-stores location information of customer sites, in the example of Figure 2, information on the installation location of the customer site 20 that is the target of environmental load reduction, and information on the installation locations of other customer sites 40_1 to 40_n that are not the target of environmental load reduction.

[0044] In the management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50 configured as described above, the control unit 521 has functions corresponding to the detection unit, comparison unit, and presentation unit described in the claims, namely, a detection unit 5211, a comparison unit 5212, and a presentation unit 5213.

[0045] In the control unit 521, the detection unit 5211 performs a process of comparing the configuration information of the active system stored in the configuration information database 5231 with the configuration information of the other active system stored in the configuration information database 5231, and detecting differences between the system components of both systems. Regarding the configuration information of the other active system 41 to be compared, the configuration information of the other active system 41 having a performance value similar to the performance value of the active system (for example, ±10%) can be acquired from the configuration information database 5231.

[0046] The comparison unit 5212 performs a process of comparing the calculation result of the CO2 emission amount when the operating system is operated for a certain period of time with the calculation result of the CO2 emission amount when the other operating system 41 is operated for the same certain period of time, based on information such as the CO2 emission amount stored in the CO2 emission database 5234. This comparison process by the comparison unit 5212 can determine which system, the operating system 22 or the other operating system 41, has the smaller CO2 emission amount.

[0047] The presentation unit 5213 performs processing to present the different system components as low environmental load components based on the comparison result by the comparison unit 5212 and the difference between the system components detected by the detection unit 5211. Specifically, when the calculation result of the CO2 emission of the other operating system 41 is less than that of the operating system 22, the control unit 521 transmits the system components of the other operating system 41 that are different from the operating system as low environmental load components from the communication unit 524 via the LAN 53 to the customer site 20 (see FIG. 4) and presents them to the user.

[0048] By presenting these low environmental load components, users who wish to reduce their environmental load can be encouraged to change their system components. This allows users who wish to contribute more to reducing the environmental load to consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load. Specifically, by receiving the presentation of low environmental load components and adopting a system configuration with a low environmental load, users can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption.

[0049] (Example of a process for suggesting changes to low environmental impact components) Next, an example of a processing procedure for suggesting a change to low environmental load components in the management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50 will be described.

[0050] The process for suggesting changes to low environmental load components exemplified here is the process of the first method described above, that is, a process for comparing the performance of the operating system 22 with similar systems in the other operating systems 41 (41_1 to 41_n) based on the operation information and suggesting changes to the system components, and is executed under the control of the control unit 521 in the management server 52. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic flow of a process procedure for suggesting changes to low environmental load components executed in the management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50.

[0051] The control unit 521 first inputs the amount of CO2 emissions per hour when a system component mounted in the currently operating system 22 is being used, based on the amount of heat generated by that system component, into the CO2 emission database 5234. The control unit 521 further inputs the amount of CO2 emissions over the life cycle of components that can be mounted in the currently operating system 22, based on the carbon footprint 8 for the system component, into the CO2 emission database 5234.

[0052] Next, the control unit 521 adds up the CO2 emissions of the system components constituting the operating system 22, and obtains the total value of the CO2 emissions if the system operates for a certain period of time (e.g., one year) in the future. In addition, the control unit 521 selects a configuration with a performance value similar to that of the operating system 22 (e.g., throughput of ±10%) from among the operation information (operation information of other devices) collected from other operating systems 41 operating at other users' sites, and compares the configuration of the selected other operating system 41 with the configuration of the operating system 22.

[0053] Next, the control unit 521 compares the calculation result of the amount of CO2 emissions when the operating system 22 is operated for a certain period of time with the calculation result of the amount of CO2 emissions when the other operating system 41 is operated for the same certain period of time. Then, the control unit 521 detects differences in the system components between the operating system 22 and the other operating system 41 from the comparison result of the calculation results of the amount of CO2 emissions, presents the different system components to the user as low environmental load components, and encourages the user to change (replace) the system components.

[0054] In Figure 6, (a) is the operation information of the operating system 22 (average I / O volume: 28,000 [IOPS / h], maximum I / O volume: 35,000 [IOPS / day]), and (b) is the operation information of another operating system 41 (average I / O volume: 29,500 [IOPS / h], maximum I / O volume: 38,500 [IOPS / day]).

[0055] In the operating system 22, if the system configuration is not changed and the system operates for one year, the amount of CO2 emissions is 3562.67 kg. In the other operating system 41, if the system configuration is not changed and the system operates for one year, the amount of CO2 emissions is 2938.50 kg.

[0056] In this way, in the process for presenting a change to low environmental load components in the management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50, differences in the system components are presented based on the results of a comparison between the CO2 emissions of the operating system 22 and the CO2 emissions of the other operating systems 41, and the different system components are presented to the user as low environmental load components. In this example, the user is presented with a suggestion to change the system component C of the operating system 22 to the system component D of the other operating system 41. This change (replacement) of the system components can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption in the operating system 22.

[0057] (Example of changing to low environmental impact components) Next, an example of a proposal for changes to low environmental load components in the case of the above-mentioned first method, which is executed in the management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50, will be described. Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of an example of a proposal for changes to low environmental load components, which is executed in the management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50.

[0058] The first technique is a process of comparing the performance of the operating system 22 with systems similar to the operating system 22 in other operating systems 41 (41_1 to 41_n) based on operation information, and proposing changes to system components based on the results of the performance comparison.

[0059] The management server 52 of the customer system operation information management unit 50 using this first method performs a performance comparison based on operation information, and performs a process of presenting, together with a message, the currently operating configuration for each system component, a forecast of future CO2 emissions, and a proposal for a CO2 emission reduction configuration for each system component.

[0060] Here, a drive, a DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module), and a CPU are exemplified as system components mounted in the operating system 22. In this case, the CO2 emissions during continued operation are assumed to be 7475 (g / year) for a drive with part name SSD-abc, 420 (g / year) for a DIMM with part name DIMM-12, and 225 (g / year) for a CPU with part name C-xyz.

[0061] In comparison, the CO2 emissions of other operating systems used for comparison when continued to operate are 6650 (g / year) for a drive with part name SSD-ghi, 420 (g / year) for a DIMM with part name DIMM-12, and 129 (g / year) for a CPU with part name C-185.

[0062] Based on the results of this performance comparison, we propose to users that "By changing your current drive to "SSD-ghi" and CPU to "C-185", you can reduce the CO2 emissions of the entire system by "921(g) per year", and further increase the average performance to "1500 (IOPS / h)" and the maximum performance to "3500 (IOPS / day)."

[0063] A user who receives such a proposal can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption in the operating system 22 by replacing the system components installed in the operating system 22, such as SSD-abc drives with SSD-ghi drives and C-xyz CPUs with C-185 CPUs.

[0064] [Regarding the management server in the Customer System Operation Information Management Department] (Example of management server configuration) FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server 62 in the device information management unit 60. As shown in FIG.

[0065] The management server 62 in the device information management unit 60 is made up of a control unit 621 , a memory unit 622 , an information storage unit 623 , and a communication unit 624 .

[0066] Although not shown, the control unit 621 has a configuration including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The CPU reads out a program corresponding to the processing contents from the ROM, loads it into the RAM, and performs centralized control of the operation of the management server 62 in cooperation with the loaded program.

[0067] The memory unit 622 has a configuration including a constituent device information processing program 6221, a device performance information processing program 6222, and a device CO2 emission amount processing program 6223. The information storage unit 623 has a configuration including a constituent device information database 6231, a device performance information database 6232, and a CO2 emission amount database 6233.

[0068] In the memory unit 622, a constituent device information processing program 6221 is a program for acquiring information on system constituent parts installed in an operating system from carbon footprints provided by component manufacturers. The constituent device information processing program 6221 stores the information on the system constituent parts acquired from the carbon footprints in a constituent device information database 6231 in the information storage unit 623.

[0069] The device performance information processing program 6222 is a program for acquiring information on the performance values ​​of system components mounted on an operating system. The device performance information processing program 6222 stores the information on the performance values ​​of the system components acquired from the operating system in a device performance information database 6232 of the information storage unit 623.

[0070] The device CO2 emission processing program 6223 is a program for acquiring information indicating the amount of CO2 emission of the system components mounted on the operating system. The device CO2 emission processing program 6223 stores the information on the CO2 emission of the system components acquired from the operating system in the CO2 emission database 6233 of the information storage unit 623.

[0071] In the management server 62 in the device information management unit 60 having the above-mentioned configuration, the control unit 621 has functions corresponding to the grouping unit, comparison unit, and presentation unit described in the claims, i.e., a grouping unit 6211, a comparison unit 6212, and a presentation unit 6213.

[0072] In the control unit 621, the grouping unit 6211 retrieves information on system components from the carbon footprint provided by the component manufacturer, and stores the information in a device performance information database 6232 in the information storage unit 623. Then, the grouping unit 6211 groups the system components that can be installed in the operating system using the respective unit performance values.

[0073] The comparison unit 6212 compares the CO2 emissions of the system components installed in the operating system with the CO2 emissions of the system components in the same group, based on the information stored in the CO2 emission database 6233. This comparison process by the comparison unit 6212 can determine whether or not there is a system component in the same group that has a lower CO2 emission than the system components installed in the operating system.

[0074] In the comparison process by the comparison unit 6212, if there is a system component in the same group that has less CO2 emissions than a system component installed in the operating system, the presentation unit 6213 transmits that system component as a low environmental load component from the communication unit 624 via the LAN 63 to the customer site 20 (see Figure 4) and presents it to the user.

[0075] By presenting these low environmental load components, users who wish to reduce their environmental load can be encouraged to change their system components. This allows users who wish to contribute more to reducing the environmental load to consider changing to a configuration with a lower environmental load. Specifically, by receiving the presentation of low environmental load components and adopting a system configuration with a low environmental load, users can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption.

[0076] (Example of a process for suggesting changes to low environmental impact components) Next, an example of a processing procedure for suggesting a change to low environmental load components in the management server 62 of the device information management unit 60 will be described.

[0077] The process for suggesting a change to low environmental load components exemplified here is the process of the second method described above, that is, the process of grouping system components that can be installed in a running system using their individual performance values, and presenting low environmental load components 6 to the user based on a comparison of the CO2 emissions of system components belonging to the same group. Figure 9 is a diagram showing a typical flow of a process procedure for suggesting a change to low environmental load components executed in the management server 62 of the device information management unit 60.

[0078] First, the control unit 621 inputs into the CO2 emission database 6233 the amount of CO2 emission per hour when the system component installed in the currently operating system 22 is being used, based on the heat generation amount of the system component.

[0079] Next, the control unit 621 groups the system components (e.g., drives) that can be installed in the operating system 22 using their individual performance values, and inputs into the CO2 emission database 6233 the total amount of CO2 emissions when each system component is operated for a certain period of time in the future (e.g., one year).

[0080] Next, the control unit 621 Operation The calculation result of the CO2 emission of the system component of the operating system 22 when the system component is installed in the operating system 22 is compared with the calculation result of the CO2 emission of the system component in the same group as the system component. If the system component in the same group has a system component with a lower CO2 emission than the system component installed in the operating system 22, the system component is presented to the user as a low environmental load component, and the user is prompted to change (replace) the system component.

[0081] 9, (a) shows a drive list of the first group, for example, a group with an individual performance value of less than 1000 [IOPS], and (b) shows a drive list of a group with an individual performance value of 1000 to 1500 [IOPS]. Here, as an example, from the performance value of the operating system 22, for example, the drive list (a) of the group with an individual performance value of less than 1000 [IOPS] is selected. Then, the CO2 emissions of the system components used by the user are compared, the differences are presented to the user, and a change to low environmental load components is presented.

[0082] In this way, in the process for presenting a change to low environmental load components in the management server 62 of the device information management unit 60, a comparison is made based on the performance differences of the system components of the operating system 22, and system components with low CO2 emissions are presented to the user as low environmental load components. This change (replacement) of the system components can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption in the operating system 22.

[0083] (Example of changing to low environmental impact components) Next, an example of the proposal of changes to low environmental load components in the case of the above-mentioned second method executed in the management server 62 of the device information management unit 60 will be described. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the proposal of changes to low environmental load components executed in the management server 62 of the device information management unit 60.

[0084] The second method is to group system components that can be installed in the operating system 22 using their individual performance values. Then, based on a comparison of the CO2 emissions of system components belonging to the same group, the process recommends to the user, as low-environmental-load components, system components that have lower CO2 emissions than system components installed in the operating system.

[0085] In the management server 62 of the device information management unit 60 using this second method, the performance values ​​of each of the system components installed in the operating system 22 are acquired, and the performance information of the system components is used to calculate the CO2 emissions of the system components. The management server 62 then performs processing to present the operating configuration and CO2 emissions, the recommended configuration, and the CO2 emissions and reduction amounts after the configuration is changed, together with a suggested message.

[0086] Here, a drive, a DIMM, and a CPU are shown as examples of system components installed in the operating system 22. In this case, the CO2 emissions during continuous operation are assumed to be 3750 (g / year) for 24 SSD-mno drives, 420 (g / year) for 12 DIMM-12 DIMMs, and 460 (g / year) for 8 C-390 CPUs.

[0087] In contrast, the CO2 emissions from the proposed CO2 emission reduction configuration when continuously operated are assumed to be 6650 (g / year) for 22 SSD-ghi drives, 420 (g / year) for 12 DIMM-12 DIMMs, and 398 (g / year) for 8 C-790 CPUs.

[0088] Based on the results of this performance comparison, the following message is presented to the user: "By changing your current drive to the "SSD-ghi" and your CPU to the "C-780", you can reduce the CO2 emissions of the entire system by 921(g) per year. Furthermore, you can reduce the number of drives installed by two."

[0089] A user who receives such a proposal can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption in the operating system 22 by replacing the SSD-mno drives with SSD-ghi drives, reducing the number of system components installed in the operating system 22 to 22, and by replacing the C-390 CPU with a C-790 CPU.

[0090] [Example of customer operating system configuration] 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the active system 22. The active system 22 is made up of a storage 71 and, for example, two servers (hosts) 72 and 73.

[0091] The storage 71 is composed of a control unit 711 , a memory unit 712 , an information storage unit 713 , and a communication unit 714 .

[0092] Although not shown, the control unit 711 has a configuration including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. The CPU reads out a program corresponding to the processing contents from the ROM, loads it into the RAM, and performs centralized control of the operation of the storage 71 in cooperation with the loaded program.

[0093] The memory unit 712 has a configuration in which it has a power measurement program 7121 and a performance information monitoring program 7122. The information storage unit 713 has a configuration in which it has a power usage information database 7131, a performance information database 7132, and a configuration information database 7133.

[0094] In the memory unit 712, a power measurement program 7121 is a program for measuring the amount of power used by the storage 71. The power measurement program 7121 stores the measured amount of power used by the storage 71 in a power usage information database 7131 of the information storage unit 713.

[0095] The performance information monitoring program 7122 is a program for monitoring performance information of the system components that make up the storage 71, and stores the performance information in a performance information database 7132. The configuration information database 7133 stores configuration information of the system components that make up the storage 71.

[0096] The server 72 is composed of a control unit 721, a memory unit 722, an information storage unit 723, and a communication unit 724. Like the server 72, the server 73 is composed of a control unit 731, a memory unit 732, an information storage unit 733, and a communication unit 734.

[0097] As described above, a user who operates an operational system 22 having a storage 71 and, for example, two servers 72 and 73, replaces system components with low environmental load components by receiving a change recommendation to low environmental load components from the environmental load reduction system 10 including the customer system operation information management unit 50 and the device information management unit 60. The devices to be replaced in this case include not only the system components constituting the storage 71, but also the two servers 72 and 73.

[0098] [Example of operation terminal configuration] Next, examples of configurations of the operation terminal 21 at the customer site 20, the operation terminal 51 at the customer system operation information management unit 50, and the operation terminal 61 at the device information management unit 60 will be described. Here, the configuration of the operation terminal 21 at the customer site 20 will be described as an example.

[0099] 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the operation terminal 21 at the customer site 20. The operation terminal 21 at the customer site 20 is composed of a control unit 211, an information storage unit 212, an operation unit 213, a display unit 214, and a communication unit 215. The configuration of this operation terminal 21 is basically the same as that of the operation terminal 51 in the customer system operation information management unit 50 and the operation terminal 61 in the device information management unit 60.

[0100] However, in the case of the operation terminal 21 at the customer site 20, the environmental load reduction system 10 presents a suggestion of a change to low environmental load components by display output by the display unit 214. As an example, when the above-mentioned first method is adopted, the suggestion content and message as shown in Fig. 7 are displayed and output by the display unit 214, and when the above-mentioned second method is adopted, the suggestion content and message as shown in Fig. 10 are displayed and output by the display unit 214.

[0101] Here, the environmental load reduction system 10 presents a change to low environmental load components by display output from the display unit 214, but the presentation of the change to low environmental load components by the environmental load reduction system 10 is not limited to the display output from the display unit 214. For example, the environmental load reduction system 10 may present a change to low environmental load components by print output from a printing device such as a printer.

[0102] <Environmental Load Reducing Method According to an Embodiment of the Present Invention> Next, the processing procedure of the environmental load reducing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 13 and 14. Figure 13 is a flowchart (part 1) showing an example of the processing procedure of the environmental load reducing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 14 is a flowchart (part 2) showing an example of the processing procedure of the environmental load reducing method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0103] A series of processes of the environmental load reducing method according to an embodiment of the present invention is executed under the control of the control unit 521 of the management server 52 in the customer system operation information management unit 50 and the control unit 621 of the management server 62 in the device information management unit 60.

[0104] The control unit 521 of the management server 52 in the customer system operation information management unit 50 collects system configuration information from the operating system 22 and stores it in a database (DB) (step S101), and then collects system configuration information from other operating systems 41 of other users and stores it in the database (step S102).

[0105] Next, the control unit 521 acquires the performance catalog values ​​of the system components and stores them in the database (step S103), and then groups the system components according to the performance catalog values ​​of the components (step S104). Note that, for the sake of convenience, "system components" are abbreviated to "components" in Figs. 13 and 14.

[0106] Next, the control unit 521 obtains carbon footprint information provided by the parts manufacturer and stores it in a database (step S105), and then extracts other operating systems whose system throughput is within ±10%, for example, from the operation information (step S106).

[0107] Next, the control unit 521 performs a configuration comparison between the active system 22 and the other active systems 41 (41_1 to 41_n) extracted in step S106 (step S107). In this configuration comparison process, if the configuration of the active system 22 matches the configuration of the other active systems 41 extracted in step S106 (Yes in S107), the control unit 521 adds up the CO2 emissions of the system components of the active system 22 (step S108). The total CO2 emissions here is designated as A.

[0108] Next, the control unit 521 sums up the CO2 emissions of the system components of the other operating systems 41 (step S109). The sum of the CO2 emissions here is set to B. Then, the control unit 521 compares the configuration difference between the operating system 22 and the other operating systems 41, and the sum A of the CO2 emissions of the system components of the operating system 22 with the sum B of the CO2 emissions of the system components of the other operating systems 41 (step S110).

[0109] Next, the control unit 521 determines whether the total value A of the CO2 emissions of the system components of the operating system 22 is greater than the total value B of the CO2 emissions of the system components of the other operating systems 41 (step S111).

[0110] In the comparison process of step S111, if the sum A is greater than the sum B (Yes in S111), the control unit 521 presents the configuration difference and the CO2 emissions to the user of the operating system 22 (step S112), and then recommends a change to the system configuration to the user of the operating system 22 (step S113), and then terminates the series of processes.

[0111] In the comparison process of step S111, if the sum A is less than or equal to the sum B (No in S111), the control unit 521 performs processing without recommending a system configuration change to the user of the operating system 22 (step S114), and then terminates the series of processes.

[0112] In this case, when the total value A is equal to or less than the total value B (No in S111), in step S114, the system configuration change is not recommended to the user of the operating system 22, but the configuration difference and the CO2 emission amount may be presented to the user of the other operating system 41, and the system configuration change may be recommended to the user. This allows the other users to contribute to reducing the CO2 emission amount and the power consumption.

[0113] In the comparison process of step S107, if the configuration of the operating system 22 does not match the configuration of the other operating system 41 extracted in step S106 (No in S107), the subsequent processing is executed under the control of the control unit 621 of the management server 62 in the device information management unit 60.

[0114] If the configuration of the operating system 22 does not match the configuration of the other operating system 41 extracted in step S106 (No in S107), the control unit 621 compares the CO2 emissions of each system component grouped in step S104 (step S115), and then enters a loop to perform a comparison for each system component.

[0115] In the loop of comparison for each system component, the control unit 621 checks the CO2 emissions of the system components of the operating system 22 (step S116). The CO2 emissions of the system components of the operating system 22 at this time are set to C. Next, the control unit 621 checks the CO2 emissions of the system components in the group registered in the database (step S117). The CO2 emissions of the system components in the group at this time are set to D.

[0116] Next, the control unit 621 compares the CO2 emissions C of the system components of the operating system 22 with the CO2 emissions D of the system components in the group (step S118), and then determines whether the CO2 emissions C are greater than the CO2 emissions D (step S119).

[0117] In this judgment process, if the CO2 emission amount C is greater than the CO2 emission amount D (Yes in S119), the control unit 621 presents the configuration difference and the CO2 emission amount to the user of the operating system 22 (step S120), then recommends a change to the system configuration to the user of the operating system 22 (step S121), and ends the loop of performing comparison for each system component.

[0118] Then, the control unit 621 finishes the recommendation for all system components (step S122), and thereafter ends the series of processes. Also, in the determination process of step S119, if the CO2 emission amount C is equal to or less than the CO2 emission amount D (No in S119), the control unit 621 performs a process of not recommending a system configuration change to the user of the operating system 22 (step S123), and thereafter ends the series of processes.

[0119] According to the series of processes of the environmental load reduction method according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible to encourage users of the operating system 22 to change their system components to components with lower environmental load. This allows users who wish to contribute more to reducing the environmental load to consider changing to a configuration with lower environmental load. Specifically, a user who is presented with a suggestion to change the system components can contribute to reducing CO2 emissions and power consumption by replacing the system components with components with lower environmental load.

[0120] <Modification> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various other applications and modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention as described in the claims. For example, the above-described embodiment describes the system configuration in detail and specifically in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and is not necessarily limited to a system having all of the described configurations. In addition, it is also possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of this embodiment with other configurations.

[0121] For example, in the above-described embodiment, a system configuration in which the customer site 20 including the operating system 22 is installed on-premise has been exemplified as the environmental load reduction system 10, but the present invention is not limited to installing the customer site 20 on-premise. For example, as shown in Fig. 15, a system configuration in which the customer site 20 including the operating system 22 is installed in the cloud 100 is also possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0122] 1...environmental load reduction system, 2...user, 3,22...operating system, 5,9...database, 6...low environmental load component, 10...environmental load reduction system according to an embodiment of the present invention, 20...customer site, 21,51,61...operation terminal, 52,62...management server, 23,53,63...LAN, 30...network, 40_1 to 40_n...other customer sites, 41 (41_1 to 41_n)...other operating systems, 50...customer system operation information management unit, 60...device information, management server unit, 100...cloud, 5211...detection unit, 5212,6212...comparison unit, 5213,6213...presentation unit, 6211...grouping unit

Claims

1. a detection unit that compares configuration information of a system currently being operated by a user with configuration information of other systems currently being operated by other users, and detects differences in system components; A comparison unit that compares a calculation result of the amount of carbon dioxide emission when the operating system is operated for a certain period of time with a calculation result of the amount of carbon dioxide emission when the other operating system is operated for the certain period of time; a presentation unit that presents the different system components as low environmental load components based on the comparison result of the comparison unit and based on the differences between the system components; An environmental load reduction system.

2. The other operating system is a system having a performance value similar to that of the operating system. The environmental load reducing system according to claim 1 .

3. When the calculation result of the carbon dioxide emission of the other operating system is smaller than that of the operating system, the presentation unit presents to the user system components of the other operating system that are different from the operating system as the low environmental load components. The environmental load reducing system according to claim 2 .

4. When the calculation result of the carbon dioxide emission of the operating system is smaller than that of the other operating systems, the presentation unit presents to the other users system components of the operating system that are different from the other operating systems as the low environmental load components. The environmental load reducing system according to claim 2 .

5. a grouping unit that groups system components that can be installed in a system currently being operated by a user using the respective unit performance values; A comparison unit that compares the carbon dioxide emission of a system component installed in the operating system with the carbon dioxide emission of a system component in the same group; a presentation unit that presents low environmental load components to the user; Equipped with When a system component having a lower carbon dioxide emission than a system component mounted on the operating system is present among the system components in the same group, the presentation unit presents the system component to the user as the low environmental load component. Environmental impact reduction system.

6. A step of comparing configuration information of a system currently being operated by a user with configuration information of other currently being operated systems of other users to detect differences in system components; A step of comparing a calculation result of the amount of carbon dioxide emission when the operating system is operated for a certain period of time with a calculation result of the amount of carbon dioxide emission when the other operating system is operated for the certain period of time; presenting the different system components as low environmental load components based on the differences between the system components according to the comparison result; A method for reducing environmental impact by carrying out each of the above processes.

Images