A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo discovered how to reduce energy use at data centers by up to 30%. Since computing uses an estimated 5% of global energy each day, the impact of this method could be enormous, reported Tech Xplore.
The internet routes most traffic through data centers running on Linux software. Information arrives in "packets" at what Waterloo computer science professor Martin Karsten calls "the data center's frontend, kind of like a receptionist at a front desk, figures out where to send those packets."
The current process wastes energy through inefficient sorting. But Karsten and graduate student Peter Cai found a simple solution: "We didn't add anything. We just rearranged what is done when, which leads to a much better usage of the data center's CPU caches. It's kind of like rearranging the pipeline at a manufacturing plant, so that you don't have people running around all the time," Karsten said.
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Working with Joe Damato, an engineer at Fastly, they wrote about 30 lines of code to fix the issue. Linux recently added this solution to its newest software update. Major companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta can now use it.
The timing couldn't be better. Computing power needs keep rising, especially with artificial intelligence improving so quickly. But if companies activate this protocol, Karsten noted "it could save gigawatt hours of energy worldwide. Almost every single service request that happens on the internet could be positively affected by this."
"We all have a part to play in building a greener future," Karsten continued. The research team published its findings in an academic journal, showing how small tweaks can benefit people and the planet.
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This kind of smart innovation makes preserving resources easier for everyone. By improving the efficiency of the internet's backbone, we can keep our digital world running while reducing energy use and costs.
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