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IEEE Seeks For Ethernet To 'Go Green'

Posted by Zonk on from the stop-packet-waste-now dept.

alphadogg submitted a piece at the NetworkWorld site about the IEEE's efforts to introduce energy efficiency to Ethernet use. The group's Energy Efficient Ethernet group is looking into methods by which standards can be tweaked to encourage power savings. Current plans include ways to make computers 'choosier' about what level of bandwidth they're using. Idle systems would only run at 10Mbps, while email might draw 100Mbs, and scale up to 1000Mbps for large downloads and streaming video. The group is planning to discuss changes to the Ethernet link and higher layers. No restrictions are planned for device manufacturers, although the article suggests some companies might try to use energy efficiency as a competitive advantage. The EEE group estimates some $450 million a year could be saved via the use of energy efficient Ethernet technology.

8 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Saving energy now by jbeaupre · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seems they are saving energy by throttling bandwidth for the article. Any manage to read it?

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  2. Acronym confusion? by MECC · · Score: 5, Funny

    Once Apple adds the ability to negotiate EEE in Macs, they'll call it iEEE.

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  3. I have an idea by Salsaman · · Score: 5, Funny

    Use more zeros and fewer ones.

  4. Power over Ethernet Could Help by Kadin2048 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the easiest ways that the Ethernet people could encourage energy efficiency would be by promoting greater use of Power Over Ethernet. By moving networked devices away from each having an individual wall wart, which are typically inefficient (as well as inconvenient), PoE lets you concentrate the AC to DC conversion in one place, for greater efficiency. As long as you don't have terribly long cable runs, I think there would be a significant net savings overall.

    The number of networked devices people are going to have in their homes is only going to grow. I think a big segment could be in "Micro NAS" devices, basically single HD boxes that plug in to a home network and add storage that's accessible from any computer in the home. They're smaller and cheaper than RAIDed NAS solutions, but more convenient for people who have multiple computers than a FireWire or USB2.0 hard drive. And then you have routers, WiFi APs, network cameras, set-top-boxes for playing back video and audio, etc. All of those light-draw devices could be powered over the network connection instead of each having a wall wart.

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    1. Re:Power over Ethernet Could Help by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Running power over tiny 24 gauge wires is very inefficient too. Try again.

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    2. Re:Power over Ethernet Could Help by Shakrai · · Score: 5, Informative

      (DC doesn't travel well, that's why wall power is AC remember)

      This is a very common misconception. Low voltages don't travel well because you need more current (i.e: amps) to carry the same amount of power and this requires bigger wires. The main reason your wall power is AC is because it's easier and cheaper to build transformers for AC that convert high voltages (for distribution) into low voltages (for usage).

      DC is actually used in electrical distribution. It's known as HVDC and it's actually more efficient then AC because it doesn't have to contend with capacitance issues.

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  5. Well Duh!! by eclectro · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Another suggestion - Stop all the spamming. There must be a coal-powered powerplant's worth of electricity right there.

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  6. Patch cables are now easier than ever! by PainBreak · · Score: 5, Funny

    So a straight-through is: Green white / Green / Green white / Green / Green white / Green / Green white / Green Sweet. Crossovers then would be: Green white / Green / Green white / Green white / Green / Green / Green / Green white So much easier to remember! Thanks, IEEE!