Web Hosting’s Green Movement

By Dennis McCafferty

There’s a shift going on in the hosting world, toward eco-friendly business - as a community of industry associations, government organizations and other would-be policy makers work to define “green” hosting

It may not be easy being green – but it could be worth the effort.

That’s the picture painted by recent activity in the hosting industry: Environmental policy advocates and government leaders are working with industry executives to explore virtualization and other practices as ways of reducing dependence on the energy-sapping equipment now fueling data centers.

In New York, one hosting company is using hybrid vehicles to transport servers, among other efforts.

And in San Antonio, Rackspace, another host, isn’t only turning to virtualization as a way to reduce consumption – it’s launching a comprehensive, company-to-customer series of green initiatives, including supporting wind turbine farms in the US.

“Why are we doing this?” says John Engates, CTO of Rackspace. “Because the environment right now is in a very dangerous state. Internet and data-center infrastructure are growing at a very fast pace, and we’re going to ruin the planet if we don’t do anything about it. As a large data-center operator, our customers expect us to take the initiative to do the right thing. But there are self-serving reasons as well. We save on energy costs and equipment costs to our customers by doing this, and that puts us in a better financial situation.”

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Tags: AMD, blade server, cooling, data center, Dell, EPA, government, HP, IBM, Intel, LimeLeap, Logicworks, Rackable Systems, Rackspace, renewable energy, solar, SprayCool, Sun Microsystems, TerraPass, The Green Grid, virtualization, VMware

Building the Green Data Center

By Wayne Epperson

There are a few reasons for building green, and fortunately for the environment, the business bottom line runs pretty parallel to the interests of the environment – cutting back on cooling and energy consumption means dollars saved

Environmentally conscious is a preferred business standard these days. And there is a wealth of data – appealing to both the sympathetic and the business-minded – making the case for companies to go green. In most businesses, however, the bottom line for green energy initiatives is the same as ever – reducing costs and improving earnings.

Fortunately for the environment, the bottom line for business runs pretty parallel to the bottom line for the planet in the hosting business, where power-hungry data centers account for a sizable chunk of operating expenses. If those operators can lower electricity consumption and costs while increasing efficiency – voila, they’ve joined the green revolution.

The best way for a hosting provider to go green would be to build their data center from the ground up with efficiency first on the list of directives. But if the data center already exists, it doesn’t make fiscal sense to tear it down, just to build a green one. In practical terms, there are a number of steps hosts can take to retrofit their existing operations to simultaneously reduce both their carbon footprint and operating expenses.

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Tags: AFCOM, AISO, cooling, data center, EPA, renewable energy, solar, The Planet, trade show, Uptime Institute, virtualization

Carbon Offsets, What are they Good For?

By Esther M. Bauer

Some hosting companies looking to add an environmentally friendly element to their businesses are looking at carbon offset credits, a practice that raises its own questions

Global warming has made going green a symbol for saving the planet and, by default, a marketing mantra with an increasing impact on web hosting. Businesses that factor anti-global warming practices into their corporate culture want green websites, too, and prefer environmentally responsible hosting providers.

The end-user quest for green has led to increased business for Affordable Internet Services online, a rare case of a hosting provider so green it doesn’t emit any carbon into the atmosphere. Its data center was designed from the ground up to be earth friendly and sun powered via its own solar panels.

But, since few providers have the proper infrastructure or location to retrofit their dirty-powered data centers as solar- or wind-powered, many seek to leave a carbon neutral footprint.

Emissions they cannot eliminate through energy-saving measures, they seek to offset by buying so-called “carbon offsets,” including green tags or renewable energy certificates.

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Tags: 3Degrees, AISO, carbon offsets, data center, IDC, NaviSite, renewable energy, solar, ThinkHost