Going Dark: A Software “Light Switch” for Internet Servers

Abstract

To fight global warming, carbon emissions must urgently be reduced. In this paper, we look at opportunities to do so by diminishing the operational energy usage of an important always-on element of the Internet: server systems. Our measurements from a server host indicate that there is probably not much to be gained by making a significant software change - but, depending on the system, a simple, easily overlooked configuration update may make a difference at no performance cost. This difference is small per server (in the order of an LED light bulb). Given the multitude of permanently operational servers in the world, it may however be significant at scale.