Introduction xvii
In the techniques which we shall examine in detail hereafter, we
find SDN (Software-Defined Networking), whereby multiple
forwarding tables are defined, and only datacenters have sufficient
processing power to perform all the operations necessary to manage
these tables. One of the problems is determining the necessary size of
the datacenters, and where to build them. Very roughly, there are a
whole range of sizes, from absolutely enormous datacenters, with a
million servers, to femto-datacenters, with the equivalent of only a
few servers, and everything in between.
I.3. “Cloudification” of networks
The rise of this new generation of networks, based on datacenters,
has an impact on energy consumption in the world of ICT. This
consumption is estimated to account for between 3% and 5% of the
total carbon footprint, depending on which study we consult.
However, this proportion is increasing very quickly with the rapid
rollout of datacenters and antennas for mobile networks. By way of
example, a datacenter containing a million servers consumes
approximately 100 MW. A Cloud provider with ten such datacenters
would consume 1 GW, which is the equivalent of a sector in a nuclear
power plant. This total number of servers has already been achieved or
surpassed by ten well-known major companies. Similarly, the number
of 2G/3G/4G antennas in the world is already more than 10 million.
Given that, on average, consumption is 1500 W per antenna (2000 W
for 3G/4G antennas but significantly less for 2G antennas), this
represents around 15 GW worldwide.
Continuing in the same vein, the carbon footprint produced by
energy consumption in the world of ICT is projected to reach 20% by
2025. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to find solutions to offset this
rise. We shall come back to this in the last chapter of this book, but
there are solutions that already exist and are beginning to be used.
Virtualization represents a good solution, whereby multiple virtual
machines are hosted on a common physical machine, and a large
number of servers are placed in standby mode (low power) when not
in use. Processors also need to have the ability to drop to very low
speeds of operation whenever necessary. Indeed, the power
consumption is strongly proportional to processor speed. When the
www.it-ebooks.info
In the techniques which we shall examine in detail hereafter, we
find SDN (Software-Defined Networking), whereby multiple
forwarding tables are defined, and only datacenters have sufficient
processing power to perform all the operations necessary to manage
these tables. One of the problems is determining the necessary size of
the datacenters, and where to build them. Very roughly, there are a
whole range of sizes, from absolutely enormous datacenters, with a
million servers, to femto-datacenters, with the equivalent of only a
few servers, and everything in between.
I.3. “Cloudification” of networks
The rise of this new generation of networks, based on datacenters,
has an impact on energy consumption in the world of ICT. This
consumption is estimated to account for between 3% and 5% of the
total carbon footprint, depending on which study we consult.
However, this proportion is increasing very quickly with the rapid
rollout of datacenters and antennas for mobile networks. By way of
example, a datacenter containing a million servers consumes
approximately 100 MW. A Cloud provider with ten such datacenters
would consume 1 GW, which is the equivalent of a sector in a nuclear
power plant. This total number of servers has already been achieved or
surpassed by ten well-known major companies. Similarly, the number
of 2G/3G/4G antennas in the world is already more than 10 million.
Given that, on average, consumption is 1500 W per antenna (2000 W
for 3G/4G antennas but significantly less for 2G antennas), this
represents around 15 GW worldwide.
Continuing in the same vein, the carbon footprint produced by
energy consumption in the world of ICT is projected to reach 20% by
2025. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to find solutions to offset this
rise. We shall come back to this in the last chapter of this book, but
there are solutions that already exist and are beginning to be used.
Virtualization represents a good solution, whereby multiple virtual
machines are hosted on a common physical machine, and a large
number of servers are placed in standby mode (low power) when not
in use. Processors also need to have the ability to drop to very low
speeds of operation whenever necessary. Indeed, the power
consumption is strongly proportional to processor speed. When the
www.it-ebooks.info