Beyond Going Virtual by carol wilson

Views and Opinions on Green IT (Jun 9 2009) Cloud Computing , Grid Computing

1. 

   Last week, I talked about how today’s data centers can be located almost anywhere, through the power of virtualization. We are certainly seeing this trend play out in the news.
   

   Just this week, Apple ended weeks of speculation by announcing its plans to base a data center in North Carolina. That state, and many others, are competing for these projects, offering tax incentives and more, because of the jobs they bring to the region. While Apple is saying the new facility will mean about 50 jobs, North Carolina officials expect the Apple data center project to generate more than 3000 total jobs, including construction jobs to build the facility – not something to sneeze at in this economy.

   What’s good for economic development isn’t always what’s best for the environment, however. One part of the appeal of the North Carolina site is the available power grid, as well as the land, and the cost of both.

   Companies focused on green data centers need to use the power of virtualization to consider renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy or hydro power. Granted there are other factors – workforce availability, corporate tax structure, construction costs, etc. – that have to be considered and can tip the balance one way or the other.

   But the true power of virtualization to make the data center as environmentally friendly as possible can’t be realized until renewable energy methods are considered.  Given the power-hungry nature of data centers – even with advanced methods of heating and cooling efficiency – renewable energy should also be part of the economic equation as well. 

   
   

   About Carol Wilson:

   Carol Wilson is Editor-in-Chief of Telephony magazine and has been covering the telecommunications industry for the past 24 years. For the last two years, she has been focusing on efforts within the telecom and IT industries to go green.

    In addition to her work at Telephony, Wilson also was a founding editor of two magazines – Inter@ctive Week and The Net Economy – as well as a news and information Web site, Broadband Edge. Her 36-year journalism career includes daily newspaper and newsletter work covering higher education, business and politics and sports.  She is graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a B.A. in journalism. She has received publishing awards from the North Carolina Women’s Press Association, the Computer Press Association and the American Society of Business Press Editors. 

   
   

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