No doubt your organization is looking to green computing, not just to be socially responsible, but to save money. There's a lot of talk about the data center, but don't overlook the network itself and your wiring closets. An enterprise network has a big impact on your company's total environmental footprint, according to a new report from Gartner.

“Unlike client computing, where significant footprint reduction can arise from simply turning off devices when they are not in use, the network needs to be ‘always on’ regardless of its utilization,” said Neil Rickard, research vice-president Gartner. “As organizations can’t turn their network off to reduce their environmental footprint, they must take simple steps to reduce it.” The research company defines environmental footprint as the combination of the energy consumed by the equipment, the environmental impact of its production and the impact of its disposal.

To make your network more environmentally-friendly, Gartner suggests the following steps:

* Buy only what you need. Don’t let vendors pressure you into buying gear you don’t need or spending the remainder of an IT budget.

* Reduce the number of layers and devices. Certain network design practices can over-layer devices and create performance bottlenecks. Consolidate gear and replace with multi-functional devices and fewer pieces of hardware.

* Factor in power consumption when choosing products. Seek power efficiency in both new gear and in replacing legacy equipment. Gartner forecasts the evolution of energy-efficient network technologies such as “Energy Efficient Ethernet.”

Amy Schurr is the former managing features editor of Network World.