GW's Information Systems and Services Implements Sustainable Initiatives
Jun 10, 2009
WASHINGTON—The George Washington University's Information Systems and Services (ISS) department took another step to remain on the leading edge of higher education technology by implementing several sustainability initiatives that will decrease energy use, while increasing both quality of service and cost savings.
"ISS strives to be a leader in higher education information technology and a significant part of that role is ensuring that we act as responsible citizens of the world," said David Steinour, interim chief information officer, "Our plan to help reduce GW's carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency, through procuring and managing IT equipment in sustainable ways, will benefit all members of the GW community now, as well as future generations."
One of ISS' primary goals is to reduce energy use through virtualization and equipment upgrades. These strategies are industry best practices for sustainability. Virtualization is a technology that leverages hardware and software to allow multiple computer systems to run on a single server. Then by retiring this unused equipment, the department can significantly reduce energy usage, while improving the quality of service it provides.
ISS is now in the process of virtualizing the bulk of its servers in its data centers, with a goal of 80-percent virtualized to 20-percent non-virtualized. Application virtualization is also leveraged within ISS, allowing for the rapid deployment and central control of various software applications.
Currently, GW has deployed approximately 38 percent of the total server environment to virtual servers. This has avoided the potential use of more than 700,000 kilowatt-hours, which translates to taking 60 cars off the road.
ISS also has implemented two programs, Lifecycle Refresh and GWdocuments, to lower energy costs. Lifecycle Refresh allows for new energy-efficient servers and data center systems that have greater computing power to replace older systems. One new machine can replace three to four old machines with no loss in performance. By decommissioning older equipment and replacing them with fewer new ones, energy use will significantly decrease by an estimate of between 50 to 60 percent.
GWdocuments reduces the need for physical servers by consolidating administrative documents into a Documentum repository. The goal is to have all administrative documents in one central storage area, which lowers energy usage and makes information more accessible.
To reduce the use of paper, the 2008 Information Systems and Services Annual Report and all internal publications are printed in a limited quantity and made available for on-screen viewing. Through various student, faculty and staff publications, as well as stated University computing policy, ISS is also encouraging people to turn off and/or power down computing equipment when it is not in use. In addition, the department ensures that all equipment given to staff and faculty are already configured to minimize energy consumption.
GW is also in the process of launching a new data center, which will employ a number of energy efficient strategies. The data center is set to launch in early 2010.
GW's Information Systems and Services Division works with students, faculty, staff, and departments across the University to provide advanced technology. From Internet and phone connections in offices and residence halls to software that supports admissions, online registration and other aspects of day-to-day business, ISS keeps GW connected.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Tha Phi Stone - 202-994-6424 - tpstone@gwu.edu
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