Much Green ICT focuses on computers: servers in the data center and desktops in the office. Don't forget that disk-based data storage, which can cost an organization $25/GB/month, also offers opportunities. Here's a look at the progress manufacturers and users have been making in recent years to manage data storage's energy consumption.

As early as 2008, sophisticated users already where aware of the power consumption of disk drives and thinking about how much performance is really necessary for an application. "Spinning disks consume energy both directly and indirectly. They require energy to spin and generate energy in the form of heat, which then requires cooling systems that consume more energy. So the more spinning disks you have, the more energy you consume. But not all disks consume the same amount of energy. Fast, high-performance disks consume a lot more energy than their slower counterparts." [1] Marriott International Inc, for example, archives "data that's infrequently accessed onto slower-speed spindles. [VP Wendell] Fox says a disk drive that spins at 7,200 rpm consumes eight times more power than a disk spinning at 3,700 rpm. [IDC analyst Chris] Ingle says Marriott's approach reflects what many other companies are starting to do." [2]

Storage virtualization can reduce the amount of storage required. A useful PTS Data Center Solutions case study reported that the company's data center successfully used storage virtualization to recover "stranded storage". By significantly increasing data storage utilization, PTS was able to reduce physical storage 21%.

IBM's 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report noted, "Two new storage systems…deliver 88 percent and 85 percent more storage capacity per watt of power consumed than their predecessor models."

Being mindful of toxins in manufacturing and disposal when assessing storage gear lifecycles is another opportunity. Seagate, for example, moved in 2009 to offer drives that no longer use chlorine- and bromine-based chemistry.

Fred Moore of Horison Information Strategies urges consideration of tape-based data storage. "…over 65% of the world’s digital data is optimally suited for tier 3 storage. Tier 3 applications are rapidly growing storage requirements at nearly 60% compounded annually and it is this tier that will derive the most benefit from future tape developments and new architectures…tape is the greenest storage technology and typically uses about one-fifth of the electricity that disk does." Media folks already recognize that digital tape represents the most cost-effective "offline" storage medium for video. (More about tape storage in professional video production.)

The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) has released its SNIA Emerald™ Power Efficiency Measurement Specification “We are providing end–users and the industry at–large with a means to test, measure and evaluate storage system power usage and efficiency at a time when datacenter energy usage is projected to increase by 19% in 2012…The SNIA Emerald Program website will provide the industry with the resources needed to learn about, evaluate, test and submit storage system power usage and efficiency test results…"

The folks at Apple accessories supplier Other World Computing (OWC) called our attention to a number of lower-power storage options they offer, including drives featuring Hitachi CoolSpin, Seagate Barracuda Green, and Western Digital IntelliSeek (variable spin) technologies. The company also reports it has kept six tonnes of polyethylene out of the waste stream by shipping drives in recycled and recyclable packaging. OWC's campus is LEED Platinum certified and 100% wind-powered.

Another post and several comments about energy and storage.

Computerworld reports that the IT department at financial firm State Street "deployed compression and deduplication technologies to reduce storage use by 40% to 50%."

[1] SearchStorage.com
[2] Computerworld