Skip Links

Network World

  • Social Web 
  • Email 
  • Close

Linux captures the “green” flag, beats Windows 2008 power saving measures
// How we did it
//
Greener pastures for Web server farms?
// Virtualization thwarts green OS initiatives
// NOC infrastructure may thwart green OS ideals

Virtualization thwarts green OS initiatives

By Tom Henderson, Network World Lab Alliance , Network World , 06/09/2008
  • Share/Email
  • Comment
  • Print

There are certain popular system architectures that transcend the operating system and will turn your efforts to build a green network operating system brown, figuratively speaking.

Hypervisors, the underlying technology used to permit consolidation of software servers into virtual machines, uniformly push CPU pedals to the floor and never, ever let up.

Hypervisors thwart CPU green initiatives (especially ones where the operating system plays a role in conserving overall energy consumption by throttling back the CPU during low activity periods) because they subscribe to the get-the-best-performance-per-watt-used school of thought.

The hypervisors we tested from VMware (ESX 3.X), XenSource Xen, and Microsoft's Virtual Server (not Hyper-V, which isn't yet released) all prohibit the ability for the CPU/chipsets to reduce speed or go into 'green mode' as long as there's a virtual machine guest running atop the hypervisor — regardless of operating system flavor.

Hypervisors allocate system resources as specified by administrative constraints imposed on VM guest operating systems and applications. The action of actively monitoring and allocating specified resources generates a lot of work for the CPU. Hypervisor system clock ticks, resource controls, combined with host VM guest operating system ticks, simply prevent CPUs from resting, and therefore saving power.

The argument in favor of hypervisors as an energy-saving measure is that you can run multiple guest operating systems and their applications on a single hardware platform when they had previously been housed on mutliple, aged servers.

< Return to main story: Linux captures the “green" flag, beats Windows 2008 power saving measures >

  • Share/Email
  • Comment
  • Print
Partner Content

Explore the Ultrium Edge

The powerful tape technology can address data security with tape encryption as well as long term data protection.

Find out more

Disk and Tape Square Off

Discover what disk and tape really cost -- and which solution provides lower total cost of ownership and optimizes energy use for your organization

Download the White Paper

Don't Fall For The Myths

The Clipper Group explores the truth behind the myths of tape, digging into the misconceptions in the disk vs. tape debate.

Download the White Paper

Will You Add Tape Too?

Over two thirds of disk-only users look to add tape back into storage infrastructure according to recent survey.

Download Survey Information

Comments (5)
Login
Forgot your account info?

I dont think soBy Anonymous on October 2, 2008, 1:21 pmI dont have a profound knowledge in virtualization but i guess the vital things which is needed for a virtualized OS is CPU, RAM and Diskspace. So here the author...

Reply | Read entire comment

VM & Power savingsBy David123456 on June 11, 2008, 5:18 pmI agree. Very little thought was put into this article. Looks like something written quickly and added as filler. David

Reply | Read entire comment

Absolutely Wrong !!!! How can this be published ???By bigaldover on June 11, 2008, 11:22 amHow could such rubish be published. By this authors math, our orginization is better to have 25 idling servers than one server running at 25-30 %. I can't believe...

Reply | Read entire comment

The opposite is trueBy Anonymous on June 10, 2008, 11:30 pmIn fact virtualization is a big driver of energy savings in the data center. PG&E, my local utility in Silicon Valley, offers significant financial inncentives for...

Reply | Read entire comment

Nothing related to virtualization itselfBy Anonymous on June 10, 2008, 4:56 amJust checked VMWare Player, throttling (aka SpeedStep) works as expected. I don't see what this has to do with virtualization per se, it is just some OS' (hypervisors)...

Reply | Read entire comment

View all comments

Add comment
Anonymous comments subject to approval. Register here for member benefits.
Have a NetworkWorld account? Log in here. Register now for a free account.

Videos

rssRss Feed

Whitepapers

Stock Spam: A Classic Scam

Ever since there have been stocks and shares there have been so called "pump 'n' dump" scams. This...

Spyware: Know Your Enemy

Like Macavity, the fictional feline in T. S. Eliot's well-known poem, spyware may be considered to...

The Online Shadow Economy: A Billion Dollar Market For Malware Authors

Malware, meaning computer viruses, trojans and spyware, is about money. The teenagers who wrote...

Webcasts

SQL Server Consolidation: Insights from customers, analysts & HP

Microsoft SQL Server has enjoyed phenomenal success as a database server. Its relatively low cost,...

Minimizing the Risk of Information Security Breaches: Best Practices for SOA Governance and Compliance - Live October 21

Today's enterprises face more information security risks and vulnerabilities than ever before....

Migrating to Windows Vista: Necessity and Opportunity

The Vista era of Windows is here. Yet most organizations will retain Windows XP alongside new Vista...

Special Reports

Mapping a Successful Virtualization Course

Managing a newly virtualized environment can be tricky. Effectively deploy this technology with the...

Data Center Decisions

Data Center Decisions Made Easier. Learn about the latest tech trends that impact your data center...

Closing the Loop: Extending Wireless LAN Security to Wireless Printers

Enterprises cannot overlook wireless printers when assessing network security. The print jobs and...

Get instant email notification when white papers, webcasts, executive guides are added to our library. Stay informed and up-to-date with the latest on IT Technologies with Network World's Resource Alerts.
Network World,to go. Wherever you are. Breaking news delivered to your mobile device. Select the hottest topics in networking and start receiving Network World on your mobile device today.