Access network energy efficient dynamic power scaling

Energy consumption of the internet is high, and increases as the internet expands. It is estimated that the global CO₂ emissions due to ICT equipment is 2% worldwide and is expected to double to 4% by 2020 due to the massive growth of internet enabled technology. Hence energy savings in the ICT sector has been gaining considerable attention. Although energy consumption has been rising, the data networks in the access networks remain under-utilized. Hence there is opportunity for energy savings by scaling the power consumption based on the utilization of the available infrastructure. This paper proposes an approach that should improve energy efficiency of ICT systems in access networks. Pre-computed and coordinated implementation of a low power or sleep mode can lead to considerable energy savings. The power consumed by a network interface is lower when compared to the fully active state; however it needs to be profitable enough to offset the spike of energy drawn during the transition from low power to high power states. Simulation studies presented in this paper demonstrate the feasibility of dynamic power scaling and an improvement in effective energy savings.