Welcome to the ISS Green ICT site - ISS have produced a Green Information & Communications Technology (ICT) policy to help reduce energy consumption, improve efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint associated with ICT operations.

Introduction

The policy for PC use on campus aims to reduce total carbon emissions through the better use of ICT for University processes. This targeted investment in ICT can be used to reduce the overall carbon footprint of the University.

These procedures provide guidance for staff and students on reducing the energy use of PC’s including when PC’s can be powered down and use of automatic powerdowns for peripherals.

Review of Objectives for 2011/12

• Co-Location: Continue to promote use of Co-Location facility amongst faculties and departments and complete the move of another four departments to the Co-Location room by October 2012.

  Outcome: Physics GridPP cluster (Faraday basement), SCC Virtualisation Cluster, SCC Mail and Web servers have moved to ISS Data Centres. STORi HPC will be located in Co-Lo when it arrives. Large amounts of storage have been removed from LEC and servers virtualised.

• Application Virtualisation: Deploy Application Virtualisation for students by October 2012 in order to reduce dependence on PC Labs, thereby reducing the number of public/faculty/Dept. PCs required.

  Outcome: Mandate for revised Application Virtualisation project approved in June 2012. Project started with first phase deliverables to be complete by Summer 2013.

• PC Power Management: Deploy tools to allow staff to better manage power usage of their PCs. Trial in LEC (Dec 2011) and release to campus by May 2012.

  Outcome: Worked with 'Current' Research Project Team to deploy small trial to staff PCs (around 20). Wider roll-out planned for 12/13.

• Power Monitoring: Deploy remote power monitoring tools to major datacentres and report usage trends (April 2012).

  Outcome:ISS meters are now hooked up to eSight. Need to define reports to start tracking trends. Work has also been completed to monitor the datacentre PDUs (see http://lancs-pdu.lancs.ac.uk) which will allow ISS to monitor power to individual racks in the HEC and Systems datacentre rooms.

Proposed Objectives for 2012/13

• Co-Location: Complete decant from SCC/InfoLab datacentre room by the end of 2012. Hold reviews with LEC and Engineering to understand opportunities for Co-Location and implement.
• Application Virtualisation: Deploy Application Virtualisation for first phase of PC labs by October 2013. Demonstrate benefits and gain funding approval for phase 2 of project.
• PC Power Management: Deploy tools to allow staff to better manage power usage of their PCs. Include ISS power management utility as part of ISS Managed Build, and make the utility available for download to non-ISS managed PCs. Continue to work with Current project to understand and realise the benefits.
• Power Monitoring: Define reports from both eSight and ISS PDU monitoring software to understand consumption trends over time.
• Printing Service procurement: Work with Facilities to procure a consolidated print service for the institution with deployment targeted by October 2013.

Progress Report September 2012

• Co-Location:

  SCC Virtualisation cluster has now moved to ISS Co-Lo room.
  Work on-going to virtualise SCC mail and web services, and move backups to ISS.
  Preparations are complete to accept the STORi HPC into the Co-Lo room when it arrives (procurement being managed by Maths and Stats).

• Student Application Virtualisation:Trial deployments in Pendle and Engineering. Evaluations to take place throughout the Michaelmas term. Results from these deployments will inform a decision on the technology to be used for a wider roll-out starting in the New Year.
• Power Management:Planning is underway to include PC power monitoring as part of the ISS Managed Build for new PCs, and make the utility available for installation on non-managed PCs.
• Power Monitoring:No progress since the last report.
• Lecture Capture:11 Lecture Theatres equipped with some level of capture and around 15 'early adopter' members of staff signed up. Demonstrations and focus groups are being arranged within each faculty. Volunteers and specific modules for the pilot during Michaelmas term are being identified.
• Printing Service: Establishing project board. Meetings being setup to establish requirements.
• Pre-arrivals:93% of UGs received their Lancaster IT account details before they arrived and have been able to use IT services. This has removed the use of paper distribution of IT account details during Registration.

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Green links:

• Lancaster University energy and carbon management.
• The Carbon Trust.
• Green Lancaster.
• A lecture given to the ICT Open User Forum by Mike Berners-Lee.

  Green ICT News - for ISS Green ICT News Updates.

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