Going green could help get you out of the red. Within IT, “saving power” is a hot topic and really a multidimensional win for everyone – saving energy, money, and the ecology all in one shot!
Here are some ways of maximizing your green by using your IT Automation solution:
Automatic Computer Shutdowns
Decide on a good time to schedule the automatic shutdown of end-user computers. End-user machines (as opposed to servers or network gear) are likely to be unused during some portion of the day/night and weekends. When automatically shutting down those machines, instantiate policies that:
A) Automatically detect that the machine is idle and/or
B) Prompt the user nicely if this is an OK time to power down the machine
Clearly you don’t want to auto-down a machine that has open/unsaved files or a machine that the user is still currently using. I recommend tying together one of the policies above with the actual shutdown procedure. The nice thing about prompting the user before shutdown is that it not only reminds them to save changes; it allows them to defer the shutdown until they are done working for the night. This is an optimal approach as the machine will only be powered up while it is in actual use – no guessing required. As with KBOX, users have the option to defer (snooze) actions per various time intervals allowing them to balance “schedule interruptions” with their work schedule. Definitely include detailed info in your system tray or desktop messages about when the shutdown will occur exactly and that the users should save and close all windows in a timely manner. Always, provide extended “time outs” to your user shutdown messages allowing ample time for the user to over-ride the shutdown sequence.
Additionally, I really like including the monitor shutdown and/or screen saver actions directly within the above policy or script definition. Where possible, I would include actions to sleep connected USB devices or other peripherals. A bonus with KBOX scripts is that they can be executed even when the end-users computer is off of the corporate network - the auto-down scripts can even be scheduled differently for weekend days when the machine might be at the user home. This doesn’t necessarily save the corporate dollar but still maximizes the overall utility of power management.
If you really want to get fancy with KBOX Scripts, auto-down scripts could automatically verify if certain user processes are currently running prior to prompting the user for shutdown. In this way, if the user is away from their computer, you can still safely and gracefully shutdown the machine without worry for application data loss.
When to Wake-on-LAN
WOL is great facility that should be integrated into all systems management solutions. However, just because you have the ability to wake a machine automatically, doesn’t mean you should. For the machines that fall into the “end user” category as described above, I would recommend to only automatically wake those machines if one of the following conditions exist:
1) The target population of machines is scheduled to have software patches, updates, or new installations. In this case, schedule the maintenance to be performed “at boot” of the system so that long updates can be triggered from the moment the computer awakes allowing the computer to be ready for use by the time the user arrives.
2) The target population is scheduled to have a full lengthy security scan or other routine maintenance performed either for that specific day or as part of a daily routine. WOL will allow the user to bypass necessary but unproductive waits that could occur during long scans or maintenance activity.
3) The target population of machines is scheduled to undergo maintenance during a time period where no users will actually be in attendance. For example, services a computer pool on a Saturday morning when users will not be working nor available to power up the machines themselves.
I’m a believer that outside of these conditions, end users should normally just be allowed to power on their own computers at the beginning of their work day. I don’t think anyone will be (or should be) too shunned by having to wait a minute or two before gaining access to their desktop at the start of the day. The benefit is that only machines really in use that day will be powered up at all.
WOL nicely fits into the ongoing management and power savings of “server” machines. Everyone’s server environment is different, but with a flexible automation solution, you should be able to create a policy or script that mirrors your server and server application production environment with power savings activities.
Additionally, “guest machine pools” or “kiosk” machines are great candidates for automatic shutdown and wake. Depending on the corporate environment, these types of machines are rarely used during off business hours.
Other Resources
As an aside, ENERGY STAR, which is sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Energy, has developed some standards in this area and even supplies software that can facilitate energy management. Check out the energy savings calculator to see how the green translates to the real world affects.
And, thanks to all the KBOX users that deployed such energy savings measures well before it became popular!
The points you raised are worth following. Not just computers but extra lights, airconditioners, water coolers and lot more could be added to the list. Going green shouldn't be piecemeal. It's means going all the way.
Posted by: Registry Repair Software | January 10, 2008 at 11:43 PM
It is great to save some of your own cash and improving the environment as a side effect.
A link to your blog will soon appear on my blog.
Hope you will return the favor after checking it out.
Birney Summers
The Energy Boomer
bksummers@att.net
http://energybommer.typepad.com
Posted by: Birney Summers | April 26, 2007 at 02:42 PM