LONDON, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- With the increased size in datacentres, a direct repercussion on ordinary power consumption can easily be predicted*. Additionally unnecessary hardware upgrades means old plastic harmfully entering into the environment as waste. To counter this impact, IT administrators need to find sustainability solutions in both energy consumption and solid waste.

Large datacentres with multiple OS' running require hardware to support each platform. The more hardware deployed, the more power consumption is needed. Virtualisation is normally viewed as a hardware consolidation solution, but it also carries with it a significant green IT benefit. For consolidating three servers into one reduces your power consumption by a third. Virtualisation constitutes a major move towards reaching your sustainability targets.

Another source of energy waste is caused by file fragmentation. Some resort to Microsoft's built-in windows defragmenter; yet there could be no worse environmental polluting approach to solving this problem. The built-in struggles to keep the disks defragmented in a timely manner, which increases energy consumption. It further cannot perform a thorough defrag, which means the remaining fragments will keep the servers working overtime causing a further increase in power consumption.

In this case, a professional grade defragmenter will handle the job more efficiently by tackling fragmentation rapidly, as it occurs. This not only improves system performance, but also prevents fragmentation build-up from straining servers and soaking up excessive power consumption. As an added bonus, machine life is extended another few years resulting in less plastic waste entering the environment from premature hardware disposal. So when handling your fragmentation needs, be sure an automatic defragger is part of your sustainability equation.

Green IT is making some amazing progress towards a more ethically aware use of technology. By taking care of every detail, as small as virtualisation or automatic defragmentation, your company's sustainability plan will bring a much more positive impact on the environment.

* A recent study conducted by Banking Group Citi states that conventional datacentres consume an average 16,000 megawatt hours each year: the equivalent of powering 3,000 family homes for a year. More datacentres' storage means more I/O; and more I/O strains the system over the long run. As the consumption of power increases, so does the emission of carbon-footprints.

Max Clarke - email: mxclarke@googlemail.com