Virtual Infrastructure Sustainability Metrics and Power Wastage Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large distributed computing systems, such as data centers, consume significant amounts of electricity and generate substantial CO2 emissions, leading to sustainability concerns as they continue to grow in number and size, necessitating efficient energy management and emission reduction strategies.
Innovation Solution
Automated processes and systems determine sustainability metrics for virtual infrastructures by analyzing power usage and waste within distributed computing systems, providing graphical user interfaces to identify power wastage and recommend measures for reducing CO2 emissions and energy consumption, such as consolidating virtual objects and reclaiming idle resources.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data centers increase in number and size to provide more digital services, then service capacity is improved, but energy consumption and CO2 emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes operational parameters of virtual objects by dynamically adjusting their power states between active and idle modes based on workload demands, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining service capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables virtual objects to automatically manage their own power states through monitoring and control mechanisms, allowing them to transition to idle mode when not in use, thus reducing overall energy consumption without external intervention
2Productivity
If data centers increase in number and size to provide more digital services, then service capacity is improved, but CO2 emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes operational parameters of virtual objects by dynamically adjusting their power states between active and idle modes based on workload demands, thereby reducing CO2 emissions associated with energy consumption while maintaining service capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables virtual objects to automatically manage their own power states through monitoring and control mechanisms, allowing them to transition to idle mode when not in use, thus reducing CO2 emissions without external intervention
3Loss of energy
If virtual objects are consolidated to reduce power wastage, then energy efficiency is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple virtual objects onto shared physical infrastructure and consolidates their power management functions, reducing overall power wastage while using automated monitoring to manage the complexity of coordination between consolidated objects
4Loss of energy
If automated monitoring and control systems are implemented to manage power usage, then energy efficiency is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated self-monitoring and self-control mechanisms that enable virtual objects to autonomously track their power consumption and adjust their operational states, improving energy efficiency while minimizing the complexity burden through decentralized automation
Data Source
AI summary
Processes and systems determine sustainability of a virtual infrastructure of a distributed computing system. In one aspect, sustainability metrics are determined based on power usage by resources of the virtual infrastructure. Processes and systems also determine metrics that represent power wasted by idle virtual objects of the virtual infrastructure, reclaimable capacities of resources used by the virtual infrastructure, and one or more recommendations for reducing CO2 emissions and power wastage by the virtual infrastructure based on one or more of the sustainability metrics, the power wasted metrics, and the reclaimable capacity. Processes and systems display the sustainability metrics, power wasted metrics, and reclaimable capacity of the objects in a graphical user interface (“GUI”). The GUI displays alerts identifying objects wasting power and at least one recommendation for reducing CO2 emissions and power wastage. A user may execute one or more of the recommendations for reducing CO2 emissions and power wastage.