Who are Mastodon C?
• London-based startup• Tools and services to make businesses' cloud
computing massively greener• Corporate mission: to reduce global emissions
by 1%
"The world is locking itself into an unsustainable energy future which would have far-reaching consequences"
International Energy Agency, November 2011
Why target cloud computing?
• Usage is tripling year on year
• Major differences between cloud service providers
• Work is mobile and switching costs are low
The footprint of a cloud server
Power draw of server
PUE* of data centre
Power source
* Power Usage Effectiveness
What is PUE?
2KW used by servers
Power for cooling, security,
lighting, etc
Data centre
4KW goes in
Other energy losses
What is PUE?
2KW used by servers
Power for cooling, security,
lighting, etc
Data centre
4KW goes in
Other energy losses
"While this sounds like an interesting project, I'm afraid we don't make these sorts of data points available."
"While this sounds like an interesting project, I'm afraid we don't make these sorts of data points available."
"OK, no problem. Is there any public industry data which you regard as high quality, which you would recommend if we're making estimates? Also would be great to know if [Company] has any green power or efficiency initiatives which we should be aware of in our modelling."
"While this sounds like an interesting project, I'm afraid we don't make these sorts of data points available."
"OK, no problem. Is there any public industry data which you regard as high quality, which you would recommend if we're making estimates? Also would be great to know if [Company] has any green power or efficiency initiatives which we should be aware of in our modelling."
"None that I'm aware of, but we continually and relentlessly seek even more efficient operations."
Determinants of footprintMultiplier effect
Physical design 1.6
Utilisation 1.2
Local climate 2.0
Power source
Determinants of footprintMultiplier effect
Physical design 1.6
Utilisation 1.2
Local climate 2.0
Power source 8.0
Bruce's problems
• Latency• Legal and data protection• Cost • FUD* and greenwash• Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
• Latency• Legal and data protection• Cost • FUD* and greenwash• Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
• Latency• Legal and data protection• Cost • FUD* and greenwash• Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
• Latency• Legal and data protection• Cost • FUD* and greenwash• Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Isn't the cloud green already?
Cloud computation is more efficient than using your own servers
Cloud computation is greener than using your own servers
Isn't the cloud green already?
Cloud computation is more efficient than using your own servers
Cloud computation is greener than using your own servers
Isn't the cloud green already?
Hardware efficiency is improving rapidly
Footprint will drop to insignificant levels
Isn't the cloud green already?
Hardware efficiency is improving rapidly
Footprint will drop to insignificant levels
Solving Bruce's problems
• Latency• Legal and data protection• Cost • FUD* and greenwash• Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Solving Bruce's problems
• Latency• Legal and data protection• Cost • FUD* and greenwash• Lack of data
*Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
Recap
• Cloud computing is growing; its footprint is big; its footprint is a big part of global total emissions
• Cloud vendors are not willing to share data, but we can make good estimates
• Power source is the most important factor• There are some dangerous myths. In particular,
efficient doesn't mean green, and Jevons' paradox can swallow future efficiency gains
• We can put this all together to make businesses' cloud computing greener