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This project addresses the increasingly critical need to improve the energy
efficiency of the Internet by focusing on the primary and often neglected energy
consumer, edge devices. Unfortunately, due to limits of existing protocols and
architectures, networked desktop computers typically remain powered-up during
frequent and often lengthy periods of idleness. As network devices, they are
prevented from operating in an energy-efficient manner due to their need to
respond to network transactions of various types without warning. In this
project, we address network induced energy use for current and future
edge devices. We also address reducing the direct energy use of
high-speed links connecting these edge devices to the Internet.
Significant outcomes:
- The EPA
EPA Energy Star Program Requirements for Computers, Version 5.0, Draft 1
now states that "Computers must maintain full network connectivity while in Sleep
mode, according to a platform-independent industry standard." (page 13). Our
work has contributed to this specification by defining the possibilities for
network connectivity proxying to achieve network connectivity for sleeping
PCs.
- The UPnP Forum released standardized
service descriptions for
Low Power V1.0 in August 2007. This includes a UPnP proxy to which we
made contributions (see
here). Jakob Klama (student) is specifically listed as a contributor
on the UPnP Forum standard.
- The EPA
ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computers: Version 4.0, Draft now
states that "Computers shall reduce the speed of any active 1 Gb/s Ethernet
network links when transitioning to Sleep or Standby." (page 11). This follows
directly from our Ethernet Adaptive Link Rate (ALR) work described below.
- An IEEE 802.3
Energy Efficient Ethernet Study Group was established in November 2006 and is
now the IEEE 802.3az task force.
The task force is currently moving towards standardization with ideas that
originate from our early Ethernet Adaptive Link Rate (ALR) (see
slide 5).
The contacts for this project are
Ken Christensen at the
University of South Florida and
Alan D. George at the
University of Florida. A key collaborator
is Bruce Nordman at
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Bruce is the PI for the Energy
Efficient Digital Networks project at LBNL.
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