Date: 26-Nov-2009   URL: www.sun.com/aboutsun/environment/green/datacenter.jsp
Corporate Responsibility

Eco Responsibility

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Reducing Energy Consumption With Eco Responsible Datacenters

Sun's datacenters, like those of many large companies, account for a sizable portion of our real estate footprint and a significant share of our total energy usage. Datacenters typically have large numbers of servers located closely together, emitting large amounts of heat that need to be cooled with special equipment, thus requiring even more energy consumption.

Sun is moving toward "greening" our datacenters - in other words, making them smaller and more energy efficient so that they will emit less carbon and cost less. Our vision is to accomplish all of this without compromising capacity and security. We will publicly report on our efforts to reduce datacenter energy use and CO2 emissions.

Sun Blueprints: Energy Efficient Datacenters - The Role of Modularity in Datacenter Design
Sun Datacenter Strategy, Design and Build Services

Sun's Energy Efficient Datacenter Tour

By using best practices in datacenter design and hardware consolidation, Sun was able to cut our utility bill by over 60% and earn over $1M in rebates. See just how we did it in this interactive tour of the Santa Clara, CA facility.

See the Tour

More Case Studies from Sun Labs and Datacenters

Santa Clara, CA Datacenter
Blackwater, UK Datacener
Bangalore, India Datacenter

Quick, Simple Steps to Save Energy

Take these quick actions to save energy and money in your datacenter, and help the planet in just 30 days.

  1. Adjust the thermostat set point to 77°F per ASHRAE standards.
  2. Identify and turn off unused machines (typically 8-10% of machines)
  3. Use Sun Eco Assessment Service to fix air flow problems
  4. Enable power management features where available (PowerNow, SpeedStep)
  5. Refresh old servers; use trade-in and rebate programs to help pay
  6. Refresh disk technology (replace <70GB drives with >500GB)
  7. Move old data to tape (tape provides 20x-200x more TB/KW)

Find additional resources to saving energy and money in the datacenter

Learn more about Sun's Eco Innovation Initiative

Sun's Eco Innovation Initiative provides an open, clear and actionable approach to measurably improving datacenter economic and energy efficiency. Now, going green is the smart and safe way to drive higher profits, proving that what's good for business, is good for the planet. Visit the Sun Eco Innovation Resource Center

Solution Briefs

Read the solution briefs below to understand Sun's approach and best practices for building an energy efficient datacenter.

The Green Enterprise: Sun Microsystems

Join ZDNet correspondent Sumi Das as she learns more about the eco-technologies being invented at Sun Microsystems, such as energy-efficient datacenters, and the company's Open Work program, which allows employees to work from anywhere at anytime. She also talks to Vice President of Eco Responsibility Dave Douglas about the company's green strategies and how they are realizing cost savings from eco-practices.

Take a tour of Sun's energy-efficient datacenters

 
 
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