To mitigate its negative environmental impact, Microsoft has introduced the concept of "green components" (GreenSKUs). This concept involves the reuse of decommissioned server components.

The GreenSKUs initiative is particularly relevant given the growing energy consumption in cloud computing, which currently accounts for approximately 3% of total global consumption and could reach 20% of carbon emissions by 2030. By employing the GreenSKUs approach, these emissions can be reduced by 8%.

To achieve its goal, Microsoft is collaborating with scientists from the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University. Together, they are developing methods for reusing server components, such as RAM modules and solid-state drives, which can function for longer than their standard lifespan of three to five years.

The selection system for used server components for reuse includes criteria based on performance and energy consumption levels. From a software perspective, suitable computing workloads are selected for these "secondary" servers to ensure they can operate effectively.

ORIENT news