Reducing cloud computing's carbon
emissions in the business world
Francine Bennett | Mastodon C
Who are Mastodon C?
• London-based startup
• Tools and services to make businesses' cloud
computing massively greener
• Corporate mission: to reduce global emissions
by 1%
'Public cloud' computing
Cloud computing is growing fast
Source: The Economist
Carbon emissions are growing fast
Year
Source: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Centre
"The world is locking itself into an
unsustainable energy future which would
have far-reaching consequences"
International Energy Agency, November 2011
IT is a big contributor to emissions
Source: McKinsey & Co
© 2006 Bruno & Lígia Rodrigues
Why target cloud computing?
• Usage is tripling year on year
• Major differences between cloud service
providers
• Work is mobile and switching costs are
low
Making it happen
The footprint of a cloud server
Power
source
PUE* of data
centre
* Power Usage Effectiveness
Power draw
of server
What is PUE?
Other energy
losses
4KW
goes in
2KW used by
servers
Power for
cooling,
security,
lighting, etc
Data centre
What is PUE?
Other energy
losses
4KW
goes in
2KW used by
servers
Power for
cooling,
security,
lighting, etc
Data centre
How much do power sources differ?
Grid emissions per kWh, by country
Source: Amee/Defra
The footprint of a cloud server
Power
source
PUE of data
centre
Power draw
of server
"While this sounds like an interesting
project, I'm afraid we don't make these sorts
of data points available."
"While this sounds like an interesting
project, I'm afraid we don't make these sorts
of data points available."
"OK, no problem. Is there any public industry
data which you regard as high quality, which
you would recommend if we're making
estimates? Also would be great to know if
[Company] has any green power or efficiency
initiatives which we should be aware of in
our modelling."
"While this sounds like an interesting
project, I'm afraid we don't make these sorts
of data points available."
"OK, no problem. Is there any public industry
data which you regard as high quality, which
you would recommend if we're making
estimates? Also would be great to know if
[Company] has any green power or efficiency
initiatives which we should be aware of in
our modelling."
"None that I'm aware of, but we continually
and relentlessly seek even more efficient
operations."
Determinants of
footprint
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
1.6
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
Utilisation
1.6
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
1.6
Utilisation
1.2
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
1.6
Utilisation
1.2
Local climate
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
1.6
Utilisation
1.2
Local climate
2.0
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
1.6
Utilisation
1.2
Local climate
2.0
Power source
Determinants of footprint
Multiplier effect
Physical design
1.6
Utilisation
1.2
Local climate
2.0
Power source
8.0
Determinants of footprint
The footprint of a cloud server
Power
source
PUE of data
centre
Power draw
of server
The footprint of a cloud server
Power
source
PUE of data
centre
Power draw
380W
The footprint of a cloud server
Power
source
PUE
1.5 + cooling
Power draw
380W
The footprint of a cloud server
Power
source
depends on
location
PUE
1.5 + cooling
Power draw
380W
picture of oregon here
© Wendell Ojai 2010
The footprint of a cloud server
The footprint of a cloud server
The footprint of a cloud server
The footprint of a cloud server
This is Bruce.
This is Bruce.
Bruce needs to make his cloud
computing greener.
Bruce's problems
•
•
•
•
•
Latency
Legal and data protection
Cost
FUD* and greenwash
Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
•
•
•
•
•
Latency
Legal and data protection
Cost
FUD* and greenwash
Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
•
•
•
•
•
Latency
Legal and data protection
Cost
FUD* and greenwash
Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
•
•
•
•
•
Latency
Legal and data protection
Cost
FUD* and greenwash
Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Isn't the cloud green already?
Cloud computation is more efficient than
using your own servers
Cloud computation is greener than using
your own servers
Isn't the cloud green already?
Cloud computation is more efficient than
using your own servers
Cloud computation is greener than using
your own servers
efficient
green
From Time inc
© ThinkGeoEnergy
Isn't the cloud green already?
Hardware efficiency is improving rapidly
Footprint will drop to insignificant levels
William Stanley Jevons
1835-1882
2012 Simeon Bennett
Isn't the cloud green already?
Hardware efficiency is improving rapidly
Footprint will drop to insignificant levels
Solving Bruce's problems
•
•
•
•
•
Latency
Legal and data protection
Cost
FUD* and greenwash
Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Per Year, Virginia (AWS East)
==
The footprint of a cloud server
Solving Bruce's problems
•
•
•
•
•
Latency
Legal and data protection
Cost
FUD* and greenwash
Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Wrap up and summary
Recap
• Cloud computing is growing; its footprint is big;
its footprint is a big part of global total emissions
• Cloud vendors are not willing to share data, but
we can make good estimates
• Power source is the most important factor
• There are some dangerous myths. In particular,
efficient doesn't mean green, and Jevons'
paradox can swallow future efficiency gains
• We can put this all together to make businesses'
cloud computing greener
IT is a big contributor to emissions
Source: McKinsey & Co
From Time inc
© ThinkGeoEnergy
1%
We're on a mission to reduce
global emissions by 1%
"Herds of intelligent roaming compute jobs,
migrating from datacentre to datacentre, in search
of cold iron." @mrchrisadams
Francine Bennett
www.mastodonc.com
@MastodonC
@fhr