Society is faced today with three main energy-related challenges: US dependence on foreign energy sources, world-wide dependence on non-renewable energy, and climate change induced at least in part by greenhouse-gas emissions. The computer industry also faces an energy crisis: the nation's data centers consume a gigantic amount of energy, which translates into large greenhouse gas footprints. This research explores the implications of these trends on data center design. In particular, the work considers how to optimize data center operation in the face of Kyoto-style cap-and-trade frameworks, related cap-and-pay frameworks, and unregulated scenarios where businesses optimize energy usage to save money or achieve carbon neutrality. In both cap-and-trade and cap-and-pay, caps are imposed on activities society wants to discourage. In large computer systems, excessive brown energy consumption is one activity to discourage. Through caps on brown energy, society can also promote renewable energy. Research challenges include: (i) balancing reductions in brown energy consumption against cost, performance and service-level agreement (SLA) impact, (ii) managing energy consumption in the context of variable electricity prices; and (iii) designing multiple system layers that effectively integrate and coordinate electricity and performance management, even in the face of highly volatile request distributions and electricity/carbon prices. This research has the potential for broad impact both on computer systems design, and more broadly on an increasingly carbon-conscious world.
