personal 20 and counting

TITLE: AUTHOR: TYPE: PUBLICATION: PUBLICATION DATE

Complex event processing: still on the launch pad: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 8-16-07

Semantic Web: Stuck in neutral: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 6-19-07

Appliance wars begin: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-19-07

Compliance platforms emerging, maturing: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 3-06-07

Network Worlds Best Products 2007 James Kobielus on Celequest’s Lava On Demand: James Kobielus: Product Review: Network World: 2-26-07

Business intelligence gets collaborative: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 1-11-07

Spreadsheet governance is a must: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-09-06

Guide to SOA governance: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-16-06

Real-time needs drive data retooling: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 9-18-06

Collaboration key to distributed data oversight: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-24-06

SOA governance: Preventing rogue services: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 6-26-06

Master data management is key to compliance: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 6-5-06

DRM will prevail, like it or not : James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-17-06

Network World Category Breaker: U3 Smart Drive: James Kobielus: Product Review: Network World: 2-27-06

SOA Platform Vendors Will Own ESB Market: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-13-06

Clients Virtualize Beyond Recognition: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-28-05

The ABCs of SOA: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

The ROI of SOA: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

Three Steps to SOA Nirvana : James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

Fuzzy Math: SOA Surveys Come Up With Mixed Results: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

The SOA Tool Kit: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

SOA Standards Remain a Work in Progress: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

Vendors Step Up to the SOA Plate: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

Web Services Standards Need To Mature Before SOA Can Really Take Off: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-10-05

Cisco’s AON: A Me-Too Strategy: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-3-05

Identity Theft Threatens Federation: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 8-8-05

Microsoft’s Ill-Conceived Identity Plan: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-30-05

The New Old Enriched Browser: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-25-05

FUD Muddies Platform Wars: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-28-05

Network World Category Breaker: Virsa Access Enforcer: James Kobielus: Product Review: Network World: 2-28-05

Taming the XML Beast: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 1-10-05

New Buzzword, Same Old Mess: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-1-04

SOA and the Death of Platforms: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 9-6-04

Empire-Building Not Needed: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-12-04

Grid Not Ready for Prime Time: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-24-04

Federations are Key to Internet Security: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-29-04

Our Federated ID Future: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 3-22-04

Adding a Jolt to PKI-Based Messaging: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 2-23-04

New Specs Enrich Identity Federation: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-2-04

Microsoft Shifts from .NET, Web Focus: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-24-04

Shakeout Looms in Web Services Management: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 9-29-03

Prioritized Policy Routing Needed: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 8-4-03

Microsoft Foe: Commoditization: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 6-9-03

Server-Side SSL Boosts Security: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-14-03

Web Services Need Traffic Management: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-24-03

Whitelisting Could Be Spam Remedy: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 12-9-02

Shielding E-mail from Spam Blasters: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 11-11-02

Exchange’s Uneasy Dominance: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-14-02

Microsoft Supports SAML, Sort Of: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 8-12-02

SAML Promises Web Services Security: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 7-1-02

Federation Key to Web Services: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-29-02

No Seal of Approval for Spam: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-4-02

SMS Pushes Paging to Extinction: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 1-7-02

Roaming Depends on Directories: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-12-01

A Better Way to Perform Customer Care: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 11-12-01

SIMPLE, But More Complex: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-8-01

Microsoft’s FUD-Filled .NET Strategy Confuses Customers: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 8-13-01

Open Letter to President Bush: Telecom to Defend Against Future 9/11 Attacks: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 9-13-01

P2P Fat Clients Are Wrong for Internet Collaboration: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 6-25-01

Simplification, Not XML, is the Key to PKI Success: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-7-01

E-Business Registries Face Deployment Roadblocks: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-19-01

FCC Adds to Instant Messaging Standards Mess: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-5-01

Universal Secure Messaging Will Rely on Outsourcers: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-27-00

Wares Extraordinaire: In the Security Realm: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 11-13-00

B2B is Ideal Testbed for XML Digital Signatures: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-2-00

Is Wireless Data for the Enterprise Ready for Prime Time? No: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-24-00

Mobile Clients Vulnerable to Virus, Spam Attacks: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-3-00

SOAP Won't Clean Middleware's Messy Reality: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-22-00

WAP Will Dominate and Complicate E-Commerce: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-27-00

EDI and Workflow Converge in E-Business Tools: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-7-00

Self-Destructing E-Mail: Pragmatic or Paranoid?: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-29-99

In The Directory Domain: Quick Look: The Call: "Novell's DirXML Metadirectory Software": James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 11-15-99

Instant Messaging’s Dual Role May Play Well in Enterprise: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-11-99

Buzz Issue (“Columnist Call” quotes inserted at four points in special issue): James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 9-27-99

XML Contributing to Loosely Coupled Distributed Computing Model: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 9-6-99

What Microsoft is Doing Right and Wrong with BizTalk: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-12-99

Microsoft, Nextel Need to Rethink Wireless Portal Strategy: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 6-7-99

Events Calendars: An Appetizing Alternative to Spam: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-12-99

Antispam Effort Smacks of Cyber-McCarthyism: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-8-99

Old Guard Must Adapt to New-Age Messaging: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 1-11-99

Lotus Strategy May Be Kiss of Death for Novell: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 9-14-98

Web Application Development Tools: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 6-29-98

Mail-Based Push Standard Could Harm Nets: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 6-22-98

Write Once, Run Anywhere: An Impractical Ideal: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-11-98

Netscape's Code Giveaway Won't Kill Microsoft: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-23-98

XML Cooks Up No-Fuss E-Commerce: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-22-98

Why Windows is Dissolving Into Open Standards: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 12-22-97

A Protocol for Clogged Intranet Arteries: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-6-97

Coming to Grips with Intranet Security: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 8-18-97

Netscape is an Enterprise Groupware Contender: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 8-18-97

A Web of Distrust Would Expose 'Net Outlaws: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-26-97

Extranets: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 4-14-97

Stemming the Push Software Flood: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-14-97

Tunneling Is Key to Secure Extranets: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 3-3-97

Keep a Tight Rein on Off-Line Browsers: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 1-20-97

Shaping Your Outsourcing Plan: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 11-11-96

A Dose of Reality Before You Jump on the Web-Based Management Bandwagon: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-7-96

Network Authentication Products: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 9-9-96

Flurry for Overlapping Calendaring Specs Is Badly in Need of Consolidation: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-29-96

The Push for Wireless Web Access Must Come From Users: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 7-8-96

Market Forces Alone Can't Govern the Brave New World of Telecom: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 5-20-96

On-Line Services Will Mutate To Survive In The Age Of The World Wide Web: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 4-22-96

Supercarrier Concept is Long On Hype And Short On Relevance To User Needs: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 2-5-96

Should You Limit Employee Access To Non-Work-Related Information On The Internet?: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 1-29-96

Browsers Are Coming On Strong As The Preferred Application Launching Point: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-27-95

Preparing For a New Order--When Dirt Cheap Wireless Options Take Over Local Loop: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-13-95

The Rhythm of Work: A Buyer's Guide to Workflow Tools: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 10-16-95

Above the Cloud: Views and Reviews on Telecommunications and Distributed Computing: James Kobielus: Web Home Page: Network World: 09-29-95

Workflow Standards Developers Need New Rules in an Age of Electronic Commerce: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 09-11-95

Integration Applications Give You Management the United Way: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 08-07-95

Standards, Floodwalls Will Be Key to Making Internet Packet Video Viable: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 06-26-95

Availability Will Give Cellular Digital Packet Data a Leg Up on its Wireless Data Rivals: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 05-15-95

Drawing a Bead on Desktop Conferencing: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 05-08-95

Squelch Suspicion, Cultivate Trust and Keep Projects on Track: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 05-01-95

Using Value-Added Networks for Electronic Trade is Better Than Webbing it Alone: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 03-20-95

Innovative Collaborative Computing Environment Strategy Makes Novell Leader of Groupware Pack: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 01-30-95

'95 Forecast: Hot Spots to Watch: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 12-26-94

Firewalls Aren't Foolproof Cure for Internet Security Woes: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 12-12-94

Prospects are Golden for Wireless Data Services: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 11-7-94

Interactive Television Needs Fine-Tuning to Succeed: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-17-94

Scheduling Standards are Key to Groupware Strategies: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 08-29-94

Government Should Deregulate Crypto Technologies Market: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 06-27-94

Servers on Steroids: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 06-27-94

Global Wireless Networks: Nice Concept But Limited Need: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 05-02-94

Avoiding the High-Tech Sweatshop Syndrome: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-25-94

Portable Document Format: An Aid to Document Swapping: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 04-11-94

The Ultimate Directory: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 04-04-94

New Directions in X.500 Directories: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 04-04-94

Network Help Desk: Software Distribution Tools: James Kobielus: Advice: Network World: 03-07-94

Look Before Leaping Into Internet Electronic Commerce: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 02-28-94

Electronic Software Distribution Tools Let Users Control the Flow: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 01-10-94

Network Managers Should Prepare for Electronic Software Licensing Today: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 01-10-94

Microsoft Will Spread the World on Electronic Software Distribution, But Novell Will Dominate the Market: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-29-93

Directory Synchronization Too Vital to Leave to Vendors: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-25-93

Personal Digital Assistants Are Nothing Without Communications: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 09-13-93

The Time is Ripe to Pick Groupware: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 08-09-93

End-To-End Support Will Require Changes: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 06-21-93

Teleconferencing Must Fit Corporate Hierarchy: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-12-93

Despite Voice Messaging Value, Vendors Missing Big Picture: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 02-15-93

Software Distribution Tools: James Kobielus: Buyer's Guide: Network World: 01-11-93

Consultants Have Much to Offer If Used Wisely: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-23-92

Communications Technology Makes Government for the People: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-12-92

Avoid Chaos With Document Management and Retrieval System: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 08-17-92

Developing a Communications Learning Strategy: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 07-13-92

The Rise of Document Management: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 06-22-92

E-Mail Addressing Should be More User-Friendly: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 06-15-92

Facing the Challenge of Optimizing Net Applications: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 05-18-92

Net Managers Must Design Customized Voice Applications: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-20-92

Network Managers Must Take User Training Seriously: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 03-09-92

Overcoming Net Managers' Fear of Chargeback Systems: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 02-17-92

EC's New Privacy Proposals Could Hobble Global Nets: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 01-27-92

Privacy Issues Loom as Global Net Hurdle: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 01-20-92

How Net Managers Can Get More From Videoconferencing: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 01-13-92

Users Should Act Now to Clean Up Wiring Mess: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 12-09-91

The Challenges of Mobile Terminals: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-18-91

Building a Network Software Distribution Architecture: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-21-91

Recommendations for Managing the Help Desk: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 09-23-91

Planned Super Networks Foreshadow 21st Century: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 08-26-91

The Vision of a National Research Net Needs Rethinking: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 08-19-91

On the Net Managers' Role as Guardian of Privacy: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 07-01-91

The Need for Smart Filters in Information Networks: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 06-10-91

Overseeing the Many Domains of Private Net Management: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-22-91

Groupware: In Search of a New Metaphor: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 03-25-91

Virtual Reality May Transform Future Multimedia Interfaces: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 02-25-91

How To Remake Networks In The User's Image: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 12-10-90

Transforming LANs Into Virtual Supercomputers: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 12-03-90

Too Much Technology Can Lead To Electronic Alienation: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-29-90

Facing the Challenge of Keeping Up With Technology: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-01-90

Communications Has Made Us An Interrupt-Driven Society: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 09-10-90

Keeping Watch For Signs of Gridlock In The Heavens: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 08-27-90

Global Net Managers Must Take On Multiple Roles: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 08-13-90

Multimedia Arrives On The Networked Desktop: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 08-06-90

The Server Of A Thousand Faces Reigns Supreme: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 07-02-90

Today's Users Need Time-Crunching Technologies: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 06-18-90

LAN DBMS Software: A Platform For The Future: James Kobielus: Buyers Guide: Network World: 06-04-90

On Networks With Both Brains and Brawn: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 05-14-90

X.400 As Basis For Multimedia Messaging: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-30-90

Network Security: Short-Circuiting the High-Tech Butterfly Effect: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-16-90

Demystifying the Myth of Integration: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 04-02-90

A LAN On Wheels: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 03-26-90

Wading Through The Maze of User Interfaces: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 03-12-90

The Threefold Path to Cost Management: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 02-05-90

Teamwork, Not Computers, Is Key To Success: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 01-15-90

Debunking the Myth of Unlimited Bandwidth: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-27-89

Remote Procedure Call Tools Pave Way for Cooperative Processing: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 11-20-89

Return On Investment: Bring User Expectations Down To Earth: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 11-13-89

Create Today's Virtual Office By Remote Control: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-02-89

Network Computing: Inching Up The Evolutionary Ladder: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 07-31-89

User Mobility Is The Challenge of The Future: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 07-03-89

Groupware: An Environment For Collaboration: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 05-15-89

Smart Cards: To Navigate Networks, Users Should Do As The Romans Did: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 03-20-89

Superswitches Will Offer Surprising Versatility: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 03-13-89

Departments Debate LAN Management Dominion: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 10-24-88

Information Technology Saves The World--Or Does It?: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 10-17-88

Electronic Funds Transfer and Point-Of-Sale Networks Merge In Retail Industry: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 08-29-88

Measuring Business Value of Information Technologies: From Mysticism To Management: James Kobielus: Feature: Network World: 06-20-88

Financial Networks: Debit-Card Dilemma: James Kobielus: Column: Network World: 09-28-87

herenow Green and Virgin Virtualization Territories

All:

Just last week, I floated by Dana G. and the others the possibility of discussing how SOA and virtualization can contribute to the “greening” of data centers, computing, IT, and modern business/life in general. We didn’t get around to it on this latest podcast, but Dana assures me we’ll get to it in one of the upcoming sessions. So here now I’m preparing my thoughts—both philosophical and practical--for that eventual day.

Everything’s going “green” these days, or so it seems. The term “green” has become a catch-all for ecological, technological, and cultural correctness in all things having to do with stewardship of earth’s natural resources. In many ways, the universal alarm over global warming has heightened anxiety over the fragility of our survival prospects. It has focused us all on the sustainability—or lack thereof--of the human race’s seemingly infinite demands on this all-too-finite planet. How can we possibly sustain our growing species’ increasingly gluttonous “way of life” when we’re inexorably depleting and degrading our God-granted natural resources? Are we expecting that somehow we can pick up, terra-form, and migrate to another planet before our time here runs out?

Dwelling now on the current historical moment in our culture, one thing that bothers me is how we’re elevating a hyper-vague color word—“green”—as some sort of vision or ideal. What is this “green” thing (objective, adjective, verb, herb) anyway? What exactly does it mean to “green” our data centers, or our buildings, or communities, or our ways of doing business? Is there some clear, consistent set of “green” principles—some new set of ten commandments (though fewer would be easier to recall)—upon which we can build a new, sustainable, scalable, carbon-neutral, non-polluting, ecologically sound (and thoroughly IT-infused, of course) global civilization going forward?

Please notice that I worked the words “sustain,” “sustainable,” and “sustainability” into the past two paragraphs. If “green” means anything, it refers to the vision of a self-sustaining and scalable human footprint on this our only home planet, based on wise stewardship of this orb’s finite resources, encompassing all of the atmospheric, hydrological, biological, territorial, mineral, and fossil factors of our continued existence. Clearly, the “green” movement’s primary preoccupation is with our finite energy resources—specifically, fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and natural gas—and with the need to conserve whatever reserves of these remain while expanding exploitation of renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, biomass, nuclear fusion, etc. Yes, we’re also concerned with making sure there’s enough fresh air, clean water, nutritious food, and spiritual sustenance to power six-and-counting billion individuals going forward, but it’s our skyrocketing energy demands that are freaking us all out—and, of course, melting the polar ice caps.

That’s where green IT comes into the picture. Without access to scalable, sustainable, and cost-efficient sources of electrical power everywhere, the entire IT scaffolding of modern human existence will just simply collapse. And, until such time as we can power the majority of our civilization’s needs from cheap renewable energy sources, we’ll all need to conserve Earth’s finite fossil fuels to the maximum extent feasible. Where green data centers are concerned, the primary requirement is on making them more energy-efficient, not just in powering the servers, storage devices, routers, and other IT components, but also in running the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, fire suppression, and other climate-control systems that sustain all the IT in an artificially stable indoor environment. Google, by some estimates, pays around $1 billion annually for electricity to run the 450,000 servers in its 25 data centers—and it’s just one of zillions of IT-based enterprises that can’t operate for one minute without a clean, reliable flow of servile electrons flowing off a ubiquitous public power grid. What happens when that precious juice stops flowing, or just becomes exorbitantly expensive?

If you’re paying attention to the IT industry news these days, you’ll see that energy-efficient data centers are all the rage. Just a few discussions I’ve come across in my recent reading:

On greening of chips, processors, servers, storage, and other subsystems in data centers

“The question of how to reduce power drain while beefing up processing capacity has proven to be a conundrum that keeps many IT executives awake at night. So it's no wonder technology vendors devote big money to reducing the data center power drain.

“Intel and AMD are investing millions in their latest efforts to offer microprocessors that deliver more processing capabilities while consuming less power—Intel with its research into new (as yet unnamed) input/output technology that could support up to 10 processors on a single chip, and AMD with its soon-to-be released Barcelona chip. IBM's billion-dollar "Project Big Green" initiative, intended to make computing more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, includes a five-step program for companies looking to cut power use in the data center. And a team at Hewlett-Packard Labs last year introduced "dynamic smart cooling" technology that links smart air conditioning systems to a network of sensors measuring temperatures entering and leaving servers, in theory delivering cooling only when and where it's needed. "Cooling beyond needed levels is a waste of energy," says HP Fellow Chandrakant Patel, who heads up the effort. "We can reduce power consumption by 25 to 45 percent."

“Meanwhile, Schwartz and his executive team at Sun—which last fall introduced Project Blackbox, a self-contained, shippable data center—have established power consumption as a major area of engineering focus. In a blog entry posted last September, CTO Greg Papadopoulos made it clear that processing power is no longer the most important consideration in equipping data centers. "Just about every customer I speak with today has some sort of physical computing issue: They are … maxed out on space, cooling capacity or power needs—and frequently all three," Papadopoulos wrote. "My guess is that we'll look back at today's 'modern' systems to be about as efficient and ecologically responsible as we would now view the first coal-fired steam locomotives."

Tony Kontzer, “The Evolving Data Center,” CIO Insight, July 10, 2007 (http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1540,2157156,00.asp?kc=COQFTEMNL071207EOAD)

On greening of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and other climate-control systems in data centers

“A data center is anywhere between 100- and 200-times more energy intensive than a home or an office on a per-square foot basis. … So the environmental impact of data centers by far is dominated by energy use. So when people say they use recycled materials in the data center, I actually laugh. It's not the point in the data center. The point is the energy. There is a U.S. Green Building Council which has developed "LEED," which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It's a green building rating system consisting of a whole series of points. You get points for saving water; if you lower energy use, you get points. Then if you get enough it can be a certified building. There are certified silver, gold and platinum levels. So if you take the data center and use the LEED rating system and use that to say, "Okay, I have a green data center," again, that's just the wrong way to look at it. Most people in the data center business do this. Green data centers use less energy, that’s what it is all about. The energy use of the data center, from an IT perspective, is the key.

”We have servers that are so small and dense and it is very difficult to provide enough cooling to the rack. Data centers want the latest generation of servers but can't use them because there is not enough electrical power and not enough cooling. So IT people say, "Oh my, the power consumption of servers is up so dramatically and there are so many in the data center that energy is the bottleneck." The wonderful thing is that if we lower energy consumption, we can put in a lot more servers, lower out energy billing and, oh yes, we can claim that we have a green data center. So there's kind of a triple win: capacity, dollar savings and green benefit. Everybody is thinking green data centers and green computing from different angles. The key is if computer suppliers get onboard or are left behind. If the devices use so much power, they are not going to sell. There's a competitiveness thing that has to happen here.

”Let's talk about energy from the dollars perspective. I was at a conference recently of people from larger manufacturers. What they are saying is that now if we take net present value of a server's electrical and cooling energy over the three-year life of the device and compare it to the purchase price of the server they are almost equal. If trends continue on energy … there will be a point in the near future where energy costs more than the server costs. That’s a really big deal. In the past, IT people purchased whatever had good performance … So they would select the best performing service and the best price. Now suddenly IT guys have issues about the energy levels of the facility and the infrastructure in it. They have got to take that all into consideration.

”The data center space in collation facilities and construction thinks dollars per square foot. In collocation facilities, companies lease a cage. … All the pricing is based on square feet. ... Actually, the paradigm needs to change. It should be charging for power, not for square footage. That's what data centers are about, providing power and cooling in a reliable way. Some of the more sophisticated people in the data center space understand that we need to charge for power, not just for square footage. In the future, the dynamic won't be so much on compaction, but now there is compaction pressure…..

”There are two ways to attack energy problems. Both need to be used. The first and most important is the IT equipment itself. There is a need to lower energy use of the equipment. The other is on the building side.

”The core of the issue is that IT equipment is energy intensive. We need to focus on that. There is not one technology that solves the problem. There are a lot of steps to be taken. For example, there are power supplies, and the processor types. One good step is to use dual-core, quad-core and multiple-core processors. On a performance basis, they have lower power consumption. As an example — not to focus on Sun — but the Sun T1000 and T2000 servers use eight-core processors that are quite energy-efficient. Power performance is very good.

”IT equipment uses half the power. The UPS power and cooling is the other half. We need to address that and get it down to the point where three-quarters of the power goes to IT equipment and one-quarter to the facility.

”The vast majority of the building's energy goes to cooling. We are working on a wide variety of technologies to reduce cooling dramatically. Two major strategies fit into the category of economizer cooling. If it's hot inside the building and cold outside, let's open the windows. The way you implement the concept is to get air handlers that can filter, humidify and use that air. Even in places that are hot and have a humid climate there are a lot of times the data center can do this, such as in the winter and nighttime. In New York State, they use outside air in cooling. In the hot summer months, it is not applicable. In winter and spring, it is very applicable. Google is setting up its servers in Oregon. Two of the reasons are that energy is cheap and it's cold. The other way is a strategy called waterside free cooling, or waterside economizer. It involves a cooling tower with a chiller. If it is a cold day, you turn off the chiller and use the cooling tower to make the cold water directly usable in cooling the coils.”

Peter Rumsey, “The Greening of the Data Center,” IT BusinessEdge, September 11, 2007, http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=33446&sr=1

On greening of vendor pitches for their data warehousing and other data center products (note: ample marketing hypewords stripped out of excerpt)

“Sybase IQ Powers World's Largest Green Data Warehouse Including Unstructured Data….

“The significant benchmarks were achieved in large part due to the … compression capability of Sybase IQ, a[n] analytics server not only for compression but also for query performance and [fast] load performance. ….The world's largest data warehouse depends on Sybase IQ's … compression capability to store one petabyte of raw data including unstructured data …. using only 160 terabytes of storage. This … savings in storage achieves a 90 percent reduction in CO2 emissions. Organizations using this architecture will be able to scale their data warehouses well beyond today's requirements at substantially lower storage costs, lower cooling requirements and lower energy costs than alternatives.”

 September 7, 2007, http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/09-07-2007/0004658504&EDATE=FRI+Sep+07+2007,+09:00+AM

On the greening of offices by centralizing more of their IT infrastructure into data centers

“The IT industry is in danger of becoming an unnecessary apologist for environmental woes caused by the equipment it sells. While there is certainly room for improvement in the way IT procurement and infrastructure is managed, this must not be overshadowed by the more positive aspects that good use of IT can make to the overall greening of businesses. However, manufacturers and resellers of IT products and services need to get better at putting this message across.

“A lot of the bad press focuses on data centres and, indeed, these should be the starting point for any initiative to green the use of IT by businesses. The way in which the buildings, energy supply, cooling equipment, hardware and software associated with data centres can be adapted to improve energy efficiency are well recorded. But a point that is often missed is that these carbon economies can all be made because the data centre is a well structured and manageable environment.

“For many businesses the majority of energy consumed by IT will not be in the data centres, but in the numerous business locations it is there to serve. The office remains IT’s wild frontier, a jumble of PC, printers, monitors, branch servers, telephones and numerous other devices all in an uncontrolled environment. Moving more of this kit into the data centres and reducing the “office-IT factor” will give business more control over the energy consumed by IT.

“Of course a lot of kit needs to stay near the point of use, such as monitors, printers and telephones. Here standards and remote management can help. But moving branch servers into data centres, introducing thin-client computing where practical and serving remote users with web-enabled applications all have a part to play in reducing the “office-IT factor”. This is not just about the physical relocation of kit but also about the transfer of processing power out of the office and the reduction of network traffic by keeping the heavy lifting between “clients” and “servers” with the data centre.”

Bob Tarzey, “IT shouldn't cop all the blame for wrecking the environment,” IT Director, September 14, 2007, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/10/green_it_industry/

What this sample of my recent reading shows is that the “green” revolution is permeating today’s IT world from top to bottom. Much of this push is driven by enterprise needs to reduce out-of-control electricity bills in the operation of data centers. But note that, in this discussion, some are looking at the larger IT picture, in terms of the overall energy costs of the end-to-end distributed computing infrastructure—encompassing both the “lights-out” data centers and the “lights always-on” offices where most business people work. How can businesses formulate a “greening” strategy that considers the total resource budget—i.e., energy, machines, material, real estate etc--consumed by their IT infrastructure?

In this broader perspective, SOA contributes to the greening of the enterprise by enabling greater application reuse across the organization, hence greater consolidation of computing resources into (hopefully) ever fewer servers running in fewer but more energy efficient data centers, which themselves are (hopefully) reusing the underlying hardware resources more efficiently through the magic of virtualization.

So, SOA and virtualization are green-friendly IT approaches, if executed properly. However, for SOA architects to consider the green consequences of their approaches, they’ll have to do something that’s against their professional grain: tightly couple the application layer to the underlying physical layer. In other words, they’ll have to consider the energy, material, collocation, and other physical/deployment considerations inherent in their SOA-based composition, orchestration, and allocation of distributed services across the intra- and inter-organizational computing fabrics.

In the SOA design time, they’ll need to factor “green-ness” into the architectural equation, alongside capacity, performance, scalability, availability, security, and other “physical envelope” considerations.

Feasible?

Jim