Research Networking goes green with GreenStar

12 December 2011 | First published in Connect

Cutting carbon dioxide emissions is a key goal for all industries and ICT is no different. When it comes to networking one of the major uses of energy is in datacentres and network nodes, normally powered by electricity generated from unsustainable fossil fuels.  Consequently moving applications to run on nodes powered by greener renewable energy sources would dramatically reduce emissions. Proving the viability of this concept in the research networking sphere is at the heart of the GreenStar Network (GSN) project. 

Originally developed in conjunction with the Canadian NREN CANARIE, as of October 31st, the European elements of GSN have now been reorganised into an independent, self-contained network of nodes powered by renewable energy sources. The network is currently made up of four nodes. Two in Ireland, run by HEAnet, use electricity generated by solar and wind power; one in Iceland, belonging to NORDUNET, uses a combination of geothermal and hydro sources; while the fourth in Spain, operated by i2CAT and connected by RedIRIS, also uses solar power. All of these are connected through GÉANT, using GÉANT Plus dedicated links to deliver guaranteed bandwidth. 

Powering nodes with renewable energy is only part of the solution. Therefore ensuring that these ‘green nodes’ are always being used to their full available capacity is the key aim of the GSN model. It uses a combination of sophisticated middleware (from the Mantychore project) and virtualisation technology to monitor and control resources in order to match these requirements  with user needs. This way the maximum number of users across Europe are able to use resources powered by green energy, reducing both their individual carbon footprints and the overall emissions impact of research networking. GÉANT Plus is integral to the project, transmitting this monitoring and control data in real-time and allowing the GSN to provide a guaranteed service to users of the network.

This new phase of Mantychore / GSN is scheduled to run until 2013, with the aim of proving the concept ahead of potential adoption on a wider scale across Europe. Not only will this lower the carbon impact of research networking but will provide a testbed for new techniques that can then be rolled out across commercial networks to deliver green benefits for all.

For more information, see: 
GreenStar Network