Does Green Software need Open Hardware? - Hosted by Open Compute Project

The panel discusses the concept of green software and its potential benefits for data centers and the environment.

• Green software involves controlling the full stack of data centers, including cooling systems, power mix, and network stack.
• Kubernetes operators can help reduce energy consumption by shutting down unnecessary processes and using purpose-built hardware.
• Efforts to promote sustainability in software development should be pushed to employers and presented in a way that highlights potential cost savings.
• The Open Compute Project (OCP) can serve as a self-validating platform for verifying claims about energy efficiency in hardware design.
• The panelists have experience working with OCP and implementing green software practices in their respective companies.

The panelists discuss the potential benefits of green software for data centers and the environment, emphasizing the importance of controlling the full stack of data centers to reduce energy consumption. They also highlight the role of Kubernetes operators in shutting down unnecessary processes and using purpose-built hardware. The panelists suggest that efforts to promote sustainability in software development should be pushed to employers and presented in a way that highlights potential cost savings. They also note the potential for the Open Compute Project (OCP) to serve as a self-validating platform for verifying claims about energy efficiency in hardware design. Overall, the panelists have experience working with OCP and implementing green software practices in their respective companies.

By 2040 the communications technology sector it is expected to account for 14% of the world’scarbon footprint — up from about 1.5% in 2007, and in 2019, researchers at the University ofCambridge estimated that the energy needed to maintain the Bitcoin network surpassed that ofthe entire nation of Switzerland. Clearly this cannot continue and software needs to beevaluated by judging its performance on its energy efficiency as much as on traditionalparameters. On top of the software itself, is the IT infrastructure and data center facilities thatcan make a huge difference on the ecological impact of software workloads. This panel will lookat best practices and new technology directions that can change the current and dangerousecological impact curve implied by the digitization of society.