Little Miss Enviro Geek : Windows Vista

Some personal news...

biwirth — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:24:00 GMT

Hello Dear Blog Readers,

(hmmm....that kinda sounds like the beginning of one of those SPAM emails)

I wanted to let you all know I am moving on from Microsoft and shall no longer be blogging here. I'll be moving an archive of these posts to my website http://www.greenitstrategy.com and shall continue blogging there on Green IT.

So what will I be doing now?

Well, I have decided to take some time off, write a book and maybe look into starting my own business. Regardless, you can always catch me through my website and please do feel free to visit me there.

Thank you to everyone who contacted me with their Green IT questions over the past two years and gave me feedback. I really appreciate your support and good luck with your own Green IT initiatives.

Kind Regards,

Bianca AKA Little Miss Enviro Geek

Green IT: New Power & Unified Comms whitepapers

biwirth — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:10:00 GMT

There are a few new whitepapers on power savings & telework that have been released recently (some replacing older whitepapers and some brand new):

Reducing PC Power Consumption and Costs with Windows Vista - targeted at business and technical decision makers, this whitepaper replaces the old 'Windows Energy Conservation' whitepaper (2007). Its a nice succinct paper that gives a good overview of what exactly makes Windows Vista more energy efficient, provides data on Energy Star analysis and covers two specific customer examples and the savings they have made with Windows Vista.

IT Administrator's Guide to Using Windows Vista for Sustainable IT Success - more targeted at the IT Pro, this whitepaper covers a few of the bits from the above whitepaper, then extends out to cover 7 core recommendations including goal setting, education of users and hardware considerations.

Addressing the challenges facing the distributed, 21st Century Business Through Telework - this one is a Wainhouse Research report sponsored by Microsoft and was released in June 2008. Its about 20 pages and covers off the definition of telework, business issues & impacts related to telework, technologies and three different telework scenarios. Overall it has some good background statistics & info that can contribute to your internal business case for telework / telecommuting / remote working programs. In the technologies section they are generic but do have a Microsoft Technologies box outlining what can be used from our perspective - its not particularly specific but just wanted to make a note that OCS R2 was recently released (Feb 09) which provides enhanced telephony features if you are considering this technology. Check out the latest features of OCS R2 or this link for the detailed technical guides.

Telework and the US Federal Government: At the Tipping Point - and finally, for those readers of mine in the US, this whitepaper (by the same research group as the one above) takes a specific look at the US government related issues, impacts and case studies. Although parts of it are obviously very US-government-centric (and repeat elements of the previous whitepaper), it still makes a good reference for other global governments' teleworking strategy development.

HOW TO: Windows Vista Power Management Video

biwirth — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 23:42:00 GMT

Just a real quick one today: on my personal Green IT website, I have posted a short 1:16 minute video targeted more for end-users and general public, on how to configure their Windows Vista machine to Energy Star-recommended power settings.

I'd expect the IT Pro to set their's through group policies so I'll be posting up a video on this in the near future.

In the meantime if your small business, mum or grandma want to know how to do it, point them to this VIDEO.

New Microsoft Services for Green IT

biwirth — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:05:24 GMT

I had been speaking with a couple of the local Microsoft Consulting guys recently about their endeavours to setup services around Green IT, and then found globally we already offer a couple of services in this space:

Microsoft Architecture & Planning Services - focus on reducing costs, increasing IT control & management and reducing environmental impact through the development of a Sustainable Technology Roadmap, and assessment of server consolidation, desktop efficiency, business intelligence capability and unified communications. Check out the brochure HERE.
Sustainable IT Briefing - wherever there is a Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) there is a team who can run a one-day briefing workshop covering areas such as: how Windows technologies provide built-in energy efficiency, how to optimise resources using System Center & Virtualisation technologies, identification of opportunities to reduce carbon through unified communications, how BI can provide a platform for sustainability performance management, and how Software + Services can provide workload transference opportunities. The complete brochure is HERE.

If you are based in Australia, we don't have an MTC unfortunately however there are a couple of us here (including me) who can run a Green IT session for you as part of an Executive Briefing in our Sydney-based Executive Briefing Centre (EBC). If you are interested in this, contact your local Account Manager and ask them if you can setup an executive briefing with Green IT as one of the topics (there are lots of other topics we can cover in these types of sessions as well - we have a catalogue to choose from).

Also, a quickun' today: Microsoft Australia has recently launched their Environment site - check it out at www.microsoft.com/australia/environment.

2 real case studies for lower power consumption

biwirth — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 01:01:56 GMT

Case Study Number One:

It's a good video (but with slightly tacky music!) posted on Continental Airlines Windows Vista rollout using System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and their subsequent power savings - estimated at $2m by the time they are finished, across 18,000 PCs annually. A good chunk of dollarinos there.

Check out http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000002271

Case Study Number Two:

The next one is Medtronic who also deployed Windows Vista across 43,000 desktops: they estimate a saving of around $750k annually. Checkout http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=4000003027

So being a savvy reader you would have noticed there is a distinct cost saving different between case study number 1 & case study number 2 - why wouldn't 43,000 desktops achieve greater cost savings?

Although it doesn't say in the case studies, I believe the difference could be due the fact that Continental are using SCCM to shutdown & restart computers when they aren't used - Medtronic are only measuring the difference between Windows Xp -> Windows Vista: because in Windows Vista the Balanced power plan is configured as the default, it automatically has power savings over Windows XP.

Get the Facts on Green IT

biwirth — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:36:58 GMT

I thought while I was sitting here in my pyjamas eating breakfast this morning I'd post a little facts blog (yes I have no life - or rather my life is so full of stuff I don't have time to blog any other time - so in pyjamas it is). Below are the top 5 facts per topic area - this great list was recently put together by our E&S team in corp...

The Products:

1. Windows Vista: According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) customers can save about $50 each year for every desktop computer equipped with the new software. Used widely, new power management tools in the Vista operating system could shave $500 million off the nation's energy bill and eliminate 3 million tons of global warming pollution.

2. Windows Server 2008: 10% more efficient on the same workload than previous versions

3. Virtualization: Virtualization can reduce energy use by up to 90%

4. Unified Communications: According to Forrester, UC can reduce travel from 10-30%

5. MS Data Centers: current data centers are 50% more efficient than those built 3 years ago.

Microsoft themselves:

1. Commuting: With this expansion of the Connectors, estimates suggest that Microsoft will eliminate annually 6,730,020 employee car miles and 6,387,550 pounds (or 3,194 tons) of carbon emissions.

2. Microsoft reduced its waste by 50% by moving to compostables. Microsoft becomes first US corporate campus to achieve Green Restaurant Certification for its cafeterias

3. New Microsoft buildings consume greater than 20 percent less energy than existing traditional buildings

4. Through the Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher programs, Microsoft provides low-cost software licenses to help extend the life of over 500,000 computers per year

5. Microsoft is a board member of Climate Savers Computing Initiative along with World Wildlife Fund, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and other software and IT companies, is committed to reducing the IT industry's carbon footprint by over 50 million tons a year

Our Customers:

1. Volvo: "Volvo IT estimates that just the Microsoft collaboration products alone save enough travel to eliminate 900 tons of carbon-dioxide emissions per month, and use of those tools is gradually increasing.

2. Continental: saved $65/PC/Year or 2Milliion a year by deploying vista with System Center

3. City of Porto: the city saved 504 reams of paper (11 trees per year) by moving their paper based cabinet meetings online.

4. The City of Miami can "expect to save $80,000 in power costs in the first year, with that number increasing to $190,000 by year four. Not only will this save us money, but it also will enable the city to do its part to reduce the impact on the environment-with the resulting power savings equivalent to a 355-ton reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in the first year alone."

5. Kentucky Department of Education: Reduce its physical server holdings by 60 percent (approximately 120 servers); Reduce data center space by 50 percent ;Reduce power usage by 25 percent

The Market:

1. The overall market for green IT services will peak at $4.8 billion in 2013, according to a new Forrester report, The Dawn of Green IT Services. It's a $500 million market for 2008, InfoWorld reports, but Forrester expects that spending on green IT services among enterprise users will grow by 60 percent annually over the next five years.

2. Servers typically run at far below their capacity and on average only utilize 5 to 15 percent of the actual CPU capabilities

3. A recent PC Pro Labs study, showed that 25% leave their computers running all weekend and 65% running a screen saver rather than sleep.

4. Energy costs are expected to be over 50% of an IT budget for a typical data center

5. According to The Climate Group in their Smart 2020 report, transformation in the way people and businesses use technology could reduce annual man-made global emissions by 15% by 2020 and deliver energy efficiency savings to global businesses of over $800 billion.

For more information, go to www.microsoft.com/environment.

Q: how much better for the environment is it to put a computer into standby?

biwirth — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 01:18:07 GMT

A customer who is currently developing their Green IT policy asked me a similar question recently - and its a great question! So here was my response...

Energy Star compliant monitors need to meet 15 watts or less per hour in sleep/low power mode. They have some good stats on their website about how powering down or low power modes affect computing equipment:

Computers: A well-designed ENERGY STAR qualified computer will not lose its network connection, which could lead to a loss of data, while in the low-power or sleep mode. Most of the computers that are being manufactured today include a capability to sleep intelligently on a network.
Monitors: Only after the machine has been used 20 to 30 years will switching it on and off five times or more a day increase the frequency of faults in power transistors in the control and deflection parts.
Screen Savers: Despite common belief, a screen saver does not save energy. In fact, more often than not, a screen saver will not only draw power for the monitor but will also keep the CPU from shutting down.

So to do an example calculation: if you calculate 15 watts per hour across 1000 monitors = (0.015 kilowatts * 1000 monitors) = 15 kilowatts an hour. This is equivalent to 10 kilograms of carbon dioxide.

You can do the same calculations on the actual computer box - the Energy Star requirement is for consumption of <30 watts per hour in sleep mode. So for 1000 computers it is 20kg of CO2. Add them together & every hour 1000 computers with 1000 monitors are in low power/sleep mode, you are effectively emitting 30kg of carbon.

The equivalent of 30kg of carbon in every-day terms is approximately equal to using 15 litres of petrol in your car.

A few more resources:

This website is good for equivalency calculations: http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-resources/calculator.html
Next year (TBC) the Australian government will be introducing new standards which ALL computer/monitor manufacturers will be required to meet i.e. a set limits on how many watts a computer & monitor consumes in sleep mode. So while Energy Star is currently optional, the government will soon make it mandatory.
The Microsoft environment website has lots of general environmental solutions information: www.microsoft.com/environment
Energy Star has developed a Desired Configuration Management (DCM) Pack for System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to help you identify which computers comply with Energy Star requirements: http://www.microsoft.com/environment/campaign_energy_star.aspx. System Center also allows you to use Wake On LAN (WoL) capability to wake up sleeping computers so they can be patched.
This whitepaper helps you calculate energy savings using Windows Vista: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/powermgmt/VistaEnergyConserv.mspx#top

Verdiem releases power management tools for Windows XP & Vista

biwirth — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:55:00 GMT

For consumers, Verdiem announced Wednesday last week they were releasing a free tool for power management on Windows XP and Vista called "Edison". Although Windows Vista's power savings settings are on by default, Windows XP's settings aren't, so a tool like this helps configure these settings in an easy graphical interface for the home user. Additionally the tool allows for scheduling of power management and provides estimated savings reports, which is something not built in to either Vista or XP.

NYTimes have reported on the release, quoting Kevin Klustner from Verdium: "Household electricity bills could also be trimmed by $20 to $95 a year for each PC, depending on local power costs and the kind of PCs in use."

I installed the software on my home PC, which is running Windows Vista Ultimate. It was a 28mb download for version 1.0.3166.0 and it was a 'follow the bouncing balls' type install (easy). My firewall prompted me a couple of times advising the program wanted to access the Internet so gave it temporary access and then followed these steps to configure it:

Step 3 - Then wait for the activation link to be sent to your email address - click on the link and you'll be activated via the web.

So all up pretty easy to setup and targeted at non-IT consumers - I would definitely only recommend it for a home computer, not corporate computers. The free software can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/environment/campaign_Edison.aspx

For the enterprise, Verdiem has developed corporate power saving software called Surveyor, which can be used to configure things like graceful application shutdown and saving open documents, and configuring different power settings for different groups of people like laptop users. They have an associated plugin to System Center called Surveyor Wake Up for SMS which helps ease patching suspended computers, even without WoL functionality.

Green IT Video: Interview with Microsoft IT Manager Australia

biwirth — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:25:31 GMT

In May I interviewed Jonathan Lewis, Microsoft Field IT Manager in Australia on his views of Environmentally Sustainable IT and what Microsoft Australia is doing in this space.

LMEG interviews Jonathan Lewis, Field IT Manager, Microsoft Australia, May 2008

Comprehensive list of Vista Power Management resources...

biwirth — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:58:00 GMT

There is a tonne of information available on Vista power management, from whitepapers to videos to blog posts. I’ve tried to document a list of the best here:

· Optimising Windows Vista for power efficiency - this white paper details the various scenarios and configurations you can enable, including detailed INF configurations for building SOEs. Focuses a bit on system builders but any SOE specialist will find this valuable.

· Windows Vista Energy Conservation – a good broad overview of the features in Windows Vista that help conserve energy use. Includes some test figures for how much power a PC consumes and formulas for how you can calculate energy savings, and the subsequent impact on carbon emissions.

· Application Power Management Best Practices in Windows Vista – details application event management and best practices on how application developers on handling low power states and designing for extending battery life.

· ACPI / Power Management – Architecture and Driver support – a great website that lists a number of resources to help you better understand and develop on a Windows platform for greater energy efficiency.

· Power Management with Windows Vista Best Practices PowerPoint slides – a great 2 page slide deck from Microsoft IT that could be used to educate internal users at your organisation.

· Power Management in Windows Vista – a slide deck from WinHEC 2006 by Pat Stemen in the Windows Platform Architecture Group, outlining the goals of Vista power management, and providing an overview of reliable sleep transitions, modes, power configuration using powercfg, and broad best practices.

· Processor Power Management in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 – concepts, policies and tools to use for power management.

· Active State Power Management in Windows Vista – a brief whitepaper covering the effect of bus architecture on power consumption, as well as specifications.

· New Categories in Power Management – a 1 paragraph overview of the new Vista power management policies.

Plus there are some great blog entries out there providing advice in this space:

· Power Management in Windows Vista video - http://blogs.technet.com/tnspot/archive/2007/06/28/spotlight-video-on-demand-pat-stemen-power-management-in-windows-vista.aspx

· Vista Power Savings Case Study link - http://blogs.technet.com/james/archive/2008/04/28/vista-power-saving-stats.aspx

· Screencast: Vista Power Management - http://blogs.technet.com/chrisavis/archive/2007/06/19/screencast-vista-power-management-power-plans.aspx

· Vista Power Management using Group Policy (part 1 & 2) - http://blogs.technet.com/grouppolicy/archive/2006/08/30/452916.aspx and http://blogs.technet.com/grouppolicy/archive/2006/09/06/vista-has-the-power-part-two-of-two.aspx

· Windows Vista Virtual Labs links - http://blogs.technet.com/curiousgeorge/archive/2008/05/13/windows-vista-virtual-lab-improve-your-pc-s-power-management.aspx

· Writing a custom power management script - http://blogs.technet.com/fdcc/archive/2008/01/30/script-a-custom-power-management-policy.aspx

· What variations of sleep does my computer support - http://blogs.technet.com/brad_rutkowski/archive/2007/04/18/what-variations-of-sleep-does-my-computer-support-and-why-did-it-wake-up.aspx

· Managing Power with Group Policy - http://blogs.technet.com/askds/archive/2008/03/17/managing-power-with-group-policy-part-1-of-3.aspx

· Video – how much power does your PC consume? - http://edge.technet.com/Media/How-much-power-does-your-PC-consume/

· Power Management and CPU Frequency - http://blogs.msdn.com/richardt/archive/2007/07/11/vista-power-management-cpu-frequency.aspx