Ilisys carbon-neutral data centre

Ilisys is an Australian business web company, hosting over 20,000 Australian businesses and resellers with web, email and ecommerce applications. They developed their own software and network infrastructure for their data centre, which has been operating since 2000. Their value-add to clients includes hourly backups, instant data restores and a 'Power Cluster' to deliver faster dynamic content processing, response times and downloads.

Ilisys signed up to use 100% 'Natural Power' from energy retailer Synergy to power its Perth-based data centre and headquarters. Natural Power is energy generated from renewable sources that can be replaced or can't be depleted, such as solar and wind. It is government accredited under the GreenPower program for electricity suppliers, where utilities are governed by stringent environmental and reporting standards for renewable energy products that produce no greenhouse gases.

"Natural Power costs us an extra three cents per kWh of energy we consume," explains Ilisys product development director Matt Mulligan. "So for the 200,000 KWh we currently consume each year, we incur some extra cost, but it's a small price to pay to ensure our business is carbon neutral.

"We use Natural Power because Australia is the highest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases amongst developed nations. It's increasingly likely that we will be held collectively accountable for our growing greenhouse debt, so it makes sense for us to minimise our impact on the environment. By choosing Natural Power now, Ilisys is already reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

But that's just part of their green initiative. Mulligan adds: "Even though we use renewable energy, Ilisys is still responsible for 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. Our staff commute 25,000 km annually and fly another 56,000 km. We recycle what we can and donate our old computers, but some waste is inevitable. To offset these emissions, Ilisys plants trees through Carbon Neutral. Trees act as a carbon sink and trap CO2 until they start to die."

The data centre is all about efficiency. The 'Power Cluster' balances load, so static content never waits in a queue behind dynamic content, so that dynamic pages are processed more efficiently. Each machine in the cluster powers a 'fast' server and a 'fat' server simultaneously. The fast server is optimised for high-speed delivery of static content and delegates dynamic content processing to the fat server. Servers also automatically compress appropriate outbound http traffic. For example, a 100 kB text file could be delivered within only 3 kB of data, resulting in faster downloads from clients' web sites.

In 2003, Ilisys 'right-sized' its data centre for optimal performance by changing to a cluster server configuration, enabling better management of its service delivery to clients while minimising consumption of resources, including energy.

"But increases in data centre efficiency consumes more energy," warns Mulligan. "Five years ago, servers consumed 2-4 kW per rack, but current generation servers consume 10-15 kW per rack due to higher processing densities. A Google study predicts that by 2012, servers will potentially consume up to 170 kW per rack. A Dell study indicates global computing currently consumes 187 billion kWh each year, so it will be a huge problem for the environment if we don't take steps now to minimise carbon emissions.

"The IT industry looks to the electrical industry to present innovative ideas to keep energy consumption as low as possible. We look for suppliers and contractors who take the lead in reducing carbon emissions, like coming up with ideas on how to automatically shut off hundreds of PCs in offices at the end of each day, or to notify users of a power-down cycle to allow them time to save data.

"As IT users, we should all be doing our part to reduce carbon emissions. Companies shouldn't feel that it's an onerous program to take on board. It's not that hard. We're happy if our competitors did the same thing as us — it's good for the environment if everyone switched to green energy.

"Ilisys will continue to find more ways of reducing energy consumption. As we become more popular and increase our client base, so does our energy consumption, so it's imperative we constantly challenge ourselves to improve. Maybe it's time for ISPs to take the lead."