Results tagged “tips”

Unless you're Microsoft, Google or Facebook, chances are that you can't simply build a new data center when yours starts getting a little long in the tooth. So how do you cope with an older computing facility that wasn't exactly built with energy efficiency in mind?

You buy time, and perhaps avert a costly new build altogether, with these tips from ComputerWorld's Robert L. Mitchell. Here's a good one that's often overlooked among all the coverage devoted to the latest energy saving innovations:

...If you're running an older data center and don't know where to begin - or even if you think you do - hiring a consulting engineer could pay off.

A typical engagement doesn't have to be a big affair, with a professional engineer conducting a full blown computational fluid dynamics analysis of your entire data center. By applying best practices, a good consultant can cut energy consumption by one third to one half more in an older data center.

Good stuff!

Adding a hard drive to your Windows PC is an easy way to expand storage capacity if you find yourself running out of room for your files. But there are two problems with this approach.

First, it'll cost you money. There are bargain basement drives out there, but they're unlikely to be of the energy efficient variety. Which leads us to the second point, power savings. Installing another drive adds yet another component that you have to keep powered. And while heat-wise they pale in comparison to processors, they can contribute to your PC's thermal load making the fans work harder.

There is one super cheap option: delete files.

You're thinking, "Thank you, Captain Obvious!" What you may not have considered are the less obvious places to reclaim drive space, which can free up megabytes, if not gigabytes, of space.

Before you take a single step forward, an important reminder: backup your files!

Everyone needs a backup plan, no excuses. Things happen, no matter how well maintained your PC. There are tons of backup guides online and many external drives ship with software that makes it dead easy to make copies of your data. So, take this opportunity to backup (or ghost, even better) your PC and check the integrity of your backup files.

Got that? Good, then read on...

Wondering how to land one of those green jobs that are sprouting up all over? GreenerComputing has posted a great podcast with GreenJobs.com founder Peter Beadle.

It's a pretty insightful conversation and definitely worth a listen if you're in school (look for renewable energy coursework) or if you're changing your career trajectory (network, network, network).

Go, now!

Deploying efficiency-boosting technology is exciting. Managing it... Oftentimes, not so much. Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler dispense some "look before you leap" advice at Network World.

Server virtualization does, however, create some significant challenges. One of these challenges is that in a typical setting servers are connected by a switch and there is management functionality inside the switch that enables the IT organization to monitor the inter-switch traffic. However, once the server has been virtualized IT organizations typically loose visibility into the traffic that goes between VMs on a single physical server.

Basically, always consider the management aspect of a virtualization platform and determine if it offers the reporting and controls that you require. Actually, it's good advice for any new IT initiative.

U.S. Navy enlists virtualization to supercharge sprawling intranet - InfoWorld

The task of virtualizing NMCI's network fell to Hewlett-Packard's EDS subsidiary, which has managed the system for the Navy since 2001. EDS has thus far consolidated 2,000 of the Navy's 4,500 x86 servers down to 300, each hosting multiple EMC VMware ESX virtual machines. The servers are Dell PowerEdge R900 blades, designed to host multiple VMs. They boast 32GB of memory, six network connections, and six host bus adapters for storage traffic.

Go green: Energy-cutting apps for your PC - CNET

GreenPrint World and GreenPrint Premium

How many extra pages do you really need when you print that page from a Web site? And how many sheets of paper do you generally recycle after replicating that page? We all agree that it's much better for the environment if you can avoid inking up those unwanted extras in the first place. The free GreenPrint World and pro-level GreenPrint Home Premium can help (watch the video.)

Dell, HP and IBM Are Among 9 Meeting IDC Green Certification - eWeek

The research company recognized that thousands of companies were involved in various aspects of the collection, treatment and marketing of retired IT assets, but that the young ITAD (IT asset disposal) industry needed a set of standards--particularly as enterprises, looking for third parties to help them phase out old hardware, face government regulations, fear of data breaches and environmental concerns.

IDC decided to launch its own certification process and identified more than 50 variables--concerning areas of risk, the environment, cost, operation and outcome--that represent a checklist for best practices and help enterprises to navigate the ITAD industry.

How Green Is Apple: Cleaning the Supply Chain - PC World

The Ceres report acknowledged Apple's efforts to remove toxic chemicals from its products, but knocked the company for not releasing more details about its "carbon footprint," the amount of greenhouse gases that it generates in regular operations. The companies that scored higher in the study "choose to make public an overall emissions footprint for their operation," says research analyst Megan Good, one of the report's authors, "and Apple hasn't done that." In addition, Apple hadn't set up a specific executive committee or a task force to address climate issues, which many of those other companies have done.

Earth Day: 10 Steps For Greening an IT Department - PC World

1. Reduce the amount of data kept in online storage. Online disks spin around the clock, and they need to be cooled. Disks may be full of multiple data copies or ancient files that are rarely opened. Archive historical files to off-line media for storage in the data center.