Section4 - Operating systems: Making the system work
Contents
1. PAUL MOBBS A practical guide to sustainable IT Unit 4 Noni This unit is one of 12 sections to a A practical guide to sustainable IT a hands on guide to working with everyday technology in an environmentally conscious way The guide has been written by environmental activist and ICT expert Paul Mobbs and was commissioned by the Association for Progressive Comunications APC with the support of the International Development Research Centre IDRC To download the full text of the guide or any of the other units please visit greeningit apc org A practical guide to sustainable IT Author Paul Mobbs Copy editing Alan Finlay Layout proofreading Lori Nordstrom Publication production Karen Banks and Flavia Fascendini Graphic design Monocromo info monocromo com uy Phone 598 2 400 1685 Commissioned by the Association for Progressive Communications APC cr CNS CS a Conducted with support from the International Development Research Centre IDRC 26 IDRC CRDI Canada The views expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of APC or IDRC A practical guide to sustainable IT Published by the Association for Progressive Communications APC with support from the International Development Research Centre IDRC South Africa 2012 Creative Commons Attribution 3 0 Licence lt creativecommons org licenses by nc nd 3 0 gt Some rights reserved APC2. ration and the organisation of hardware e Secondly we can prolong the life of equip ment usually older equipment by giv ing it less intensive processing tasks which match the capabilities of the hard ware For small offices older machines can take on roles which support or extend the functions carried out by the machines people routinely use thereby extend ing the functions available to the user or freeing up capacity on their main machine to allow them to work more easily Finding opportunities to do this requires that we understand more about the different roles machines are able to perform and then match the available hardware to those roles Too often the creative IT world focuses on the use of a single often new or powerful desktop machine when if we were to think more openly about using a local network it is possible create some very helpful solutions using older equip ment For example routinely processing large video files or mastering video DVDs can tie up a system for long periods of time affecting the completion of other work on that system But if a second machine were set up with a remote desktop accessed over a network you could undertake these same operation without re stricting the capacity of the main workstation machine This also does away with the need for the second machine to have a keyboard or mon itor Likewise given that laptops use a lot less power than desktop machines an old
3. their operating systems could even produce my own coating if no one produced a flavour liked Also if find that the quality of the corn flake is not consistent enough can experiment and switch to another manufacturer s flake with out sacrificing the use of the particular chocolate flavour had grown to love When we unbundle products we allow a greater number of options as to how the collection of products can be config ured by the user It is this kind of real choice that branding or bundling stifles by managing the menu of consumer selections those involved dictate the market The fundamental difference between the proprietary versus the free open model of com puting can also be demonstrated using the corn flake analogy The FOSS movement would stress the ability to chose the flavour of the flake and the quality of the chocolate coating For example the GNU Linux operating system has many different flavours called distribu tions box 4 1 They are all roughly compatible and run the same standard set of programs even though they are made by different organisations You can even combine elements of the different flavours to make your own customised version of Linux and a number of Linux developers distri bution producers provide information and extra programs for free to help you do this To sum up the intellectual property issue and how it relates to software what defines the dif ference between t
4. However for most everyday office related tasks a lot of processing power isn t required and so enabling these features will have little effect on the speed of operation You can also enable similar power saving features to those used on laptops on most desktop systems in order to reduce their every day power consumption e For Windows XP to Windows 7 the standard power management system offers three modes High Performance Balanced and Power Saver If you re not editing large colour images or manipulating large databases and spreadsheets Power Saver mode will make little difference to the way the system ap pears to work and you can always switch back temporarily if you need to undertake more powerful data manipulation There are 17 Wikipedia PC power management en wikipedia org wiki PC_power_management Operating systems Making the system work 15 Box 4 4 Power management and the machine hardware Power management is an issue that developed alongside the growth in mobile equipment during the early 1990s especially laptops where prolonging battery life was an important consideration to the usability of the device As the technology has evolved it has become an important factor in managing the power consumed by desktop and server machines too New microprocessors particularly the multi core type can be configured to run at different speeds The amount of power the chip consumes is proportional to its op
5. centred on the needs of large data centre operators In this kind of environment saving a few mil liseconds here or there by changing the way the operating system is configured can make a big difference to the efficiency overall when multiplied by the millions of transactions a day that flow through a single large computer installation However equally significant sav ings in time and energy can be made for small office and individual computer users and multiplied by the millions of computer users 1 Wikipedia Operating system en wikipedia org wiki Operating system around the globe that potentially adds up to a very large amount of time and resources too If we include the human resource side of the system not just the hard ware the use of operating systems and configuring the features of the system to protect data is a critical resource issue as significant as energy consumption If data is lost it has to be recreated if files are corrupted and there is no effective system of backing up the work has to be done again Secure and resilient system design ensures that data loss is avoided and security is maintained and in this way we avoid the need to expend more time and energy recreating lost or damaged information In this section we re not going to examine the mechanics of how an individual operating system is installed There are more than enough books and guides already available on this subject as well as the op
6. for different applications Application Desktop processing Operating Support systems system System specification High power desktop Medium desktop Lightweight desktop Parallel processing Power server Download box Lightweight server Network support Educational recycling GNU Linux Windows Recent machine dual quad core 2GHz CPU 2 4GB RAM Good machine dual core 1 2GHz CPU 1 2GB RAM Fairly good single core 1GHz CPU 512MB 1GB RAM Old machine 800MHz 1GHz CPU 256 512MB RAM Older machine 500 800MHz CPU 128 256MB RAM Very old machine less than SOOMHz CPU 128MB RAM Challenge less than Pentium 3 500MHz and 128MB RAM GNU Linux system specs H heavy SuSE RedHat M medium Debian Fedora Mint Ubuntu L lightweight Damn Small Puppy Slackware Windows system specs 7 Win 7 V Vista X Win XP 2K Win 2000 08 Win Server 2008 03 Win Server 2003 98 Win ME 98 NT Win NT 95 Win 95 Note that Macintosh hardware hasn t been considered in the above list Different versions of MacOS are designed for different generations of Mac hardware and so the decision about which machine requires which version of MacOS is determined largely by the available hardware 10 A practical guide to sustainable IT do this but will take much longer to do so For these installations the latest versions of a
7. laptop is a much cheaper option to run 24 hours a day for file sharing or to configure as a server running a small local network rather than leaving a more power hungry machine running 24 7 4 2 2 Hardware specifications and practical applications Let s begin with hardware and the demands of different operating systems In table 3 1 we looked at the hardware specifications required by different operating systems In table 4 1 we look at this from a different perspective what applications can be achieved with a certain level of hardware Remember that the minimum requirements of different operating systems given in table 3 1 still apply For example to run a lightweight server on old hardware you would use a lightweight Linux distribution or Windows NT rather than the latest fully functional Linux or Microsoft server systems Table 4 1 lists a number of different appli cations for different classes of hardware Here s an explanation of what each one encompasses Desktops office related graphical and com munications tasks e High power desktop high end desktop work such as graphic design video editing and DVD mastering less powerful machines can 11 Wikipedia Remote desktop software en wikipedia org wiki Remote_desktop_software Operating systems Making the system work 9 Box 4 2 Hardware specs and potential system applications Matching the performance of hardware to potential appli cations is a ra
8. 201206 SU R EN DIGITAL 162 ISBN 978 92 95096 71 4 OPERATING SYSTEMS MAKING THE SYSTEM WORK A good computer system isn t simply bought or built it s designed Even when you buy a system commercially the process of defining the correct hardware specification and operating system components still applies The process begins with the construction of computer hard ware then installing the operating system and finally you decide what application programs to install how to protect data on the machine secure access to the system and devise back up systems for data to look after your information To a great extent the specification of the hardware affects which op erating system s can be installed on the machine Even so operating systems the collection of programs which run the hardware and pro vide programs and functions for users and networks are themselves very versatile and define what the system will provide for the user A single machine can have many different functions These can be very general such as in a work station for office or creative work or they can be highly specialised such as a file server which shares informa tion across a local network What determines the role of a system is the type of operating software used desktop server or a thin client terminal and how it is installed and configured Traditionally green IT has concentrated on power consumption and carbon emissions and has largely been
9. Control Panel In Windows XP you ll find the Power Options icon on the Performance and Maintenance menu in Vista the icon is on the System and Maintenance menu in Windows 7 it s on the Hardware and Sound menu The power options dialogue allows you to configure the power management features available with the hardware you are using On the Macintosh OSX you ll find the power man agement icon in the hardware section of the System Preferences menu With Linux based systems the APM ACPI service is usually enabled automatically but to function you must be using hardware which conforms to the APM ACPI stan dard This is a particular problem with certain brands of lap top and desktop hardware developed for use primarily with Windows As is usually the case when installing Linux you need to check the compatibility of the hardware before you start As GNU Linux has become a more popular operating system power management is no longer the obstacle that it was five or more years ago To be certain that all hardware functions are available check the information and reviews of motherboard peripherals and laptop systems at linux hardware net or www linux drivers org The power management controls of the operat ing system interface with the APM ACPI firmware in the machine s motherboard The motherboard will then control both the devices connected to the motherboard as well as sending signals to the monitor and any com patible USB devices Dep
10. Linux kernel was originally developed The success of GNU Linux has been driven by its li cence It enables programs to evolve in a way that serves the needs of computer users rather than the ambitions of the developers which gives it a significant advan tage over closed systems such as Windows where adaptation or extension is usually prohibited The fact that systems programs can be downloaded for free or bought at a low cost has implications for its users too You can install it on any number of computers without having to pay for extra licences you can copy the system for friends or colleagues to use if required you can take the system apart and modify it to suit your own needs and pass on those modifications to others If these same actions were carried out with the programs developed by closed software developers those involved would be liable for prosecution Linux is the kernel of the GNU Linux system the core program which runs the computer hardware and makes the memory disks and other components avail able for programs to use Within the whole GNU Linux system there are hundreds of other programs required to provide all its functions and the user friendly applica tions that provide for people s everyday needs Early on in the development of GNU Linux enthusiasts devel oped FTP sites containing all the files to install a Linux system Then shortly after that as the internet was slow when moving lar
11. ain tained to the memory It does not consume as much compared to running at full power but it s significantly more than if the machine is put into hibernation or shut down When configuring screen savers setting the sus pend period to a few minutes after the screen saver activates will save a lot of power The problem is that those who use their com puter as a high powered media player will object because their music will stop playing Consequently it s often less intrusive to leave the suspend option for ten minutes to half an hour after the screen saver activates A problem with suspend is when power is inter rupted or the laptop battery runs down Ona laptop the normal procedure is to transfer to hibernation mode or to execute a soft shut down On a desktop which has no battery back up a power cut or inadvertently turning off a machine in sleep mode can cause data loss from any open applications For this rea son of the two options hibernation is more secure 3 Hibernate this halts the machine backs up an image of the working machine on the hard drive and then powers down to an off state The difference between hibernation and sleep modes is the amount of time it takes to restart A machine in sleep mode will wake up after five or ten seconds of the wake button being pressed Restoring full operation from hibernation can take thirty seconds or more depending on the speed of your BIOS self check it is quicker than
12. an intellectual property system whose primary purpose is to restrict information flows in order to extract greater value from them To examine this idea in more detail lets con sider something that we do every day breakfast When we eat a modern consumer friendly pre prepared breakfast meal we eat brands we chew on other people s intellectual property At the same time the acceptance of the brand means that you leave it to others to decide the taste or texture of your breakfast It s difficult 6 Wikipedia Digital rights management en wikipedia org wiki Digital_rights_management Operating systems Making the system work 5 to customise the brand To make a branded commodity meet the needs of the individual user invalidates the generic standard that the purchase of a national or global brand implies Instead we are required to adhere to the stan dards the brand conveys and conform to the conditions that this entails The process of combining one product with another to create a distinctive brand identity is called product bundling For example Microsoft select what they believe you need to have on a computer or home entertainment console and in the process confer a certain amount of economic power not just on their own products but on the product or hardware providers that Microsoft retains an economic relationship with Likewise Sky s satellite TV system is based upon bundling different pay per view channels and
13. an obstructing it Find a role for the hardware you have and only buy new hardware when what you have can no longer perform the tasks you require reliably Old machines can be useful if you assign them a suitable role in the system Some roles require little processing power such as a printer server file server or running network services such as DHCP and email A new server will do all this and more but if you have a suitable old machine the ecolog ical option is to use that equipment until it can no longer reliably fulfil the role Always document the machine hardware and the system installation Knowing your hardware is essential to maintaining it and especially for dealing with faults and bugs when they crop up More importantly data secured behind password access controls and especially encrypted data can be lost if the password is forgotten Securely stored system documentation listing system and hardware configurations can avoid this Configure power management options to reduce consumption but avoid settings that are so obstructive that the user disables them Power management can make savings in energy use provided that it does not become so obstructive that the user disables it After a period of idleness switching to hibernation is more secure than sleep mode as it s less likely to create data loss in the event of a power failure the machine being switched off Give feedback on power management The best w
14. ay for a user to understand the load of their system is to get direct feedback on the desktop allow ing them to change their behaviour and not over tax their system 18 A practical guide to sustainable IT 4 4 3 Providing feedback on system load Finally for the user at their computer desktop there is very little indication as to the level of stress that their machine is experiencing at any point in time The machine can appear to slow for no apparent reason or the mouse can stop moving leading them to click buttons and press keys which will often exacerbate the problem The solution is to install a small power monitor application on the task bar of the desktop to give feedback This will show when the system load is reaching a problematic level More technical applications will also break down the display to show the overall system load processor s speed load network activity and hard drive activity By giving feedback you allow the user to moderate their demands on the system making it use less power and avoiding overloading the system to the point where applications crash or the system hangs There are free load monitors available for Windows systems and Linux desk tops usually come pre configured with applica tions such as system monitor Operating systems Making the system work 19 A practical guide to sustainable IT This practical guide to sustainable IT offers a detailed hands on introduction to
15. curity measures to control access to the system Set ting a short lock down period on a screen saver or the power management menu doesn t just save energy it makes the system more secure by preventing casual access 4 4 1 How power management functions Power management offers various options The primary one is giving the machine time limits to define what happens after it has been idle for a certain period There are five levels of power management which determine how much power the system consumes 1 Fully operational the machine is work ing normally Note that the level of normal power consumption can be also modified in various ways The hard drives can be powered down after a certain period of inactivity and the priority given to different parts of the op erating system The user applications can also be changed to manage the load on the operat ing system This is normally only implement 14 A practical guide to sustainable IT ed on laptop systems but there s no reason you cannot implement the same policies on a desktop machine The trade off for optimis ing power management is to lose some power for user applications which often means that users playing high power hungry video games will deliberately disable power management 2 Stand by sleep or suspend this is a low power standby mode in which the machine s operation is halted hard drives and the video display are powered down but power is m
16. download most Linux distros to try out For the latest news about Linux distributions avail able go to the DistroWatch site distrowatch com Operating systems Making the system work 7 In the final analysis in choosing which op erating system to use on the equipment you have the most important indicator must be that it satisfactorily does what you need to do Whether that is achieved using proprietary or free software must be part of the decision process that you undertake when you de sign the specification of the computer system The important issue is that you are aware that you have a choice between different operat ing systems that you do not have to accept sys tems as they are installed or provided and that those choices result in very different outcomes in terms of costs intellectual property restric tions and compatibility interoperability 4 2 OPERATING SYSTEMS AND OBJECTIVES perating systems are installed to fulfil a purpose although the system might be the same it is how the components of the system are selected and configured which give the sys tem the ability to carry out the tasks we require of it When it comes to defining the roles of different machines and selecting the software to fulfil those roles we see another distinction between proprietary and open source systems e With proprietary software there is a clear dis tinction between roles For example there is one system for W
17. e a number of machines adminis tered by different people If you store this data as a simple text file not on the machine it is related to in the event of a fault you will need this data it can be used as a working document adding information on system maintenance any faults which occur and any remedial action which was taken In this way it s possible to keep a log for the machine which makes system maintenance a far simpler procedure The table below outlines the types of data that is relevant to keep Whether you keep all of this depends It s useful to keep a note of the date installed and the identity of the person installing the system Operating system version Include details of any service pack upgrades Linux kernel ID Processor type Make model speed number of cores L1 L2 cache System memory Note the type speed amp no of modules not just the memory size Hard drives For each hard drive note the make model its capacity and an outline of the partitions on the drive and file systems used BIOS serial number Usually displayed on the BIOS splash screen useful to keep in case of theft or if the insurer or repair contractor asks for it BIOS key Which key to press to enter the BIOS configuration menu BIOS passwords Note the BIOS set up administrator and user passwords if used Motherboard Make and model as well as the serial number if you can find it Plug in ca
18. emory stick allows quick and easily access to the data you need to unlock the system or gives information to technical support staff so they can diagnose problems more easily Even if a machine is not in use if you have a log of its vital statistics it makes it easier to decide if it can be re installed and put into service or stripped for the required parts if another machine fails In addition to the hardware it s also impor tant to keep a log of operational data For ex ample the connection details passwords for broadband access access configuration details of email and internet services if they are run by a third party and even details of insurance or maintenance contracts covering any equip ment By having a secure central location for this critical information you will save much time and resources at a later date should there be a problem be that with the hardware or an im portant staff member meeting with an accident 4 4 POWER MANAGEMENT SETTINGS ollowing installation the operating sys tem is configured to optimise its func tions to meet the intended purpose s of the machine When configuring a new newly in stalled desktop system after configuring user accounts the next step is to configure power management box 4 4 Power management is important not just because of the power consumption issue When you configure power management you re also setting up features such as screen Savers These are basic se
19. ending upon the motherboard s BIOS settings it s possible that power management has been disabled or limited Although power management is often enabled by default you should check the con figuration of power management in BIOS and change as required if necessary identify the make model of the motherboard then search for and download the board s user manual to check power management options 16 A practical guide to sustainable IT also a number of third party power appli cations which allow you to refine these set tings and which manage the programs that run on the system to reduce the demands on the processor memory and hard drive e Most Linux distributions offer similar power management features to Windows As with the FOSS world in general there are also spe cialised projects which develop power man agement systems for use across the Linux community Many of the popular Linux dis tributions are now producing their own de tailed system documentation on implement ing power saving features policies in server and desktop machines and these guides are available free on the distribution website For the more technically minded there are also free programs which work across most distri butions to audit and improve power perfor mance The leading application is powertop which not only monitors how the system run ning programs consume energy it also sug gests ways of improving system configuration to reduce p
20. er ating systems own installation documentation Instead we re going to look at how operating systems are configured to provide certain func tions or services what useful functions we can make these systems perform and how we can maximise the benefit of IT equipment in cluding older equipment to get the most benefit from it and minimise the ecological impacts Even if you do not install the system on your machine by understanding the general principles of how they work you can improve your everyday understanding of how systems operate 4 1 THE DEBATE OVER FREE VERSUS PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE hen evaluating the potential uses of any computer hardware we first need to de cide which operating system to use For some this decision has already made on their behalf as the new systems people buy are usually pre installed For PC type machines bought from most commercial vendors that system will be a Microsoft Windows system Macintosh com puters have their own system that s specific to the hardware but for PC type machines there are also alternative free and open source soft ware FOSS operating systems which will ef ficiently meet the everyday needs of computer users To understand the difference between these two models of computing the proprietary software world and the world of FOSS you need to understand more about the objectives of each model 4 1 1 Intellectual property rights Intellectual property rights are t
21. er to form a more power ful cluster for specialist applications e g video animation scientific analysis Power server a dedicated server machine for a small office or to serve content to a busy network running a range of protocols data bases or even thin clients using older ma 12 Wikipedia Cluster computing en wikipedia org wiki Cluster_ computing 13 Wikipedia Thin client en wikipedia org wiki Thin_client forward incoming mail for users on the local network Network support if good quality it could perform some lightweight server functions although it may be difficult creating enough hard drive storage to make it worthwhile If using a system which required minimal hard ware it could be used to run the programs required to operate a local network and per haps act as a firewall gateway for a broad band internet connection Note that as well as installing a full operating system there are a number of stand alone installations which will provide dedicated secure network servic es Wi Fi access points and router firewalls They boot from CD DVD install largely auto matically and can be configured from menus rather than requiring the more expert skills 14 For example Smoothwall www smoothwall net En Garded Linux www engardelinux org or Zeroshell www zeroshell net Operating systems Making the system work 11 required to configure an operating system to perform these funct
22. erating speed and the supply voltage of the processor Varying the speed of the CPU from the operating system performs two roles It prevents excessive heat generation when the power of the chip is not required and more importantly it reduces power consumption so that the amount of energy the machine uses can be scaled to the demands on the system On laptops it s often used to deliberately extend the battery life of the machine at the expense of operating speed Depending on the age of your hardware there are two power management systems in use e The Advanced Power Management APM system was developed in 1992 Support for APM be gan with Windows 95 but was not included with Vista the Linux 2 6 kernel still supports APM in most distri butions Any hardware which only supports APM will not be able to function with Vista or Windows 7 unless you have a specific driver for those systems e The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface ACPI was developed in 1996 and has superseded APM in most PC hardware ACPI is more versatile and offers more options to configure power consumption by the processor display hard drives and peripheral devices ACPI has been supported since Windows 98 and is supported in most Linux distributions With Windows systems the power management soft ware for specific types of hardware must be loaded along with the other driver software during system installation Power management is configured from the
23. ge quantities of data they developed CDs with helpful installation programs which automated the process of installing and configuring the system for less experienced users Eventually these efforts created commercial or semi commercial organisations retailing their own version of a Linux system These different ver sions of GNU Linux became known as distributions or distros There are a whole range of Linux and Linux related systems available today Some are primarily desktop systems providing an equivalent range of creative and office based software that is commonly available with proprietary systems others focus on data servers and more technical computer science related applications while some have evolved into single purpose systems such as network routers firewalls and even digital vid eo recorders or media studios Other than the versions meant to be conventionally installed on computers sys tems are also configured as live media that boot direct from a CD DVD or memory stick into a working desktop system The issue when comparing Linux distributions isn t necessarily which is the best Usually a distribution represents a certain design philosophy that is optimised for certain applications rather than attempting to be the best distro There are many different Linux based systems to suit different needs and you need to find the distro that meets your expectations which is quite sim ple as you can freely
24. h the development of more intelligent systems manufacturers choose to lock up the functions of their products with digital rights management systems then society s use of these new tools will be restricted not to improve our experience of the technology or to protect fun damental civic rights but primarily to protect the economic interests of their manufacturers These new systems backed up by the pro tection of intellectual property law create other restrictions which generate a number of hidden costs to the computer user Once a user commits to a certain system standard for example the choice of using either a Macintosh Windows or Linux based PC the barriers that this creates can make it difficult to change after that deci sion is made Primarily there is a cost penalty either for changing the machine technology buy ing new operating software and licensing it or converting the media that you used with the old technological standard to the new Technological standards create a means whereby system de signers have control over the market for certain goods and services locking people into using their products in the future As we move towards a society where information systems are an ines capable part of everyone s lives we have to pose a very important question about the informa tion systems we create How do we square the development of a new networked society where information is intended to flow more freely with
25. hat potential solutions can be peer reviewed and implemented far faster than if small groups are working in isolation GNU Linux the first viable free computer operating system to be developed is a perfect example of the strength of this model of working The Linux system kernel was developed by Linus Tor valds during the early 1990s while he was a computer sci ence student in Finland The internet allowed him to share his ideas with software writers around the world which led him into organising a collective effort to develop an alterna tive Unix like operating system kernel for the PC Rather than a wholly proprietary system like Windows or a partial ly open system such as the Macintosh operating system Linux has been developed under a free licence allowing the code to be shared and modified by users The idea of free software was developed by Rich ard Stallman founder of the GNU Project The object of GNU was to support the development of free computer software by both professional and amateur program mers These programs were made freely available for others to use or adapt under the conditions of the GNU General Public License or GPL The Linux operating sys tem is the product of these two groups so it s often called GNU Linux to reflect the contribution of both Linus Torvalds in the development of the kernel and the GNU Project for the development of the licensing sys tem and the other programs with which the
26. having to power down and reboot but some users find the wait problematic Hibernation can sometimes cause problems if an error occurs when the hardware is powered down or the machine is switched off at the mains When the machine restarts instead of booting the operating system it copies the memory im age back from the hard drive and resumes operation from the point it was told to hi bernate Errors can cause the reboot to crash and the machine has to be reset and rebooted from scratch e 4 Soft shutdown telling the machine to shutdown powers down the system This means that the system is off but the power is still connected at the power supply hence soft shutdown as only the software has been stopped With soft shutdown you restart the machine by pressing the power button and then the system reboots from scratch e 5 Hard shutdown the human operator physically switches off the machine at the mains This disconnects all power so that the machine consumes nothing On laptop systems not only are the major components integrated into a single unit they are optimised to use as little power as pos sible but to do this you trade off some of the processing power available with desktop ma chines For demanding jobs the power saving limitations on laptops mean that jobs can take longer unless you deliberately turn off the power saving features on the laptop at least while its running on AC power
27. he proprietary and open models of the Information Society is The dif ference between what constitutes selection versus choice how this preserves our creativity and freedom of expression and communication and which systems software applications allow this without expensive lock ins to one particular company or service provider Distinguishing the full range of options you have to solve a particular design technological or communications problem and managing the legal or other implications of pursuing those solutions is the practical method by which you enact this freedom of choice There is of course no easy way to acquire these skills it s something you have to work at by learning more about the systems and technologies involved 8 Wikipedia European Union Microsoft competition case en wikipedia org wiki European_Union_Microsoft_compe tition_case 9 Wikipedia Linux distribution en wikipedia org wiki Linux_distribution 6 A practical guide to sustainable IT Box 4 1 Free software and the GNU Linux system The free and open source software FOSS movement began in the 1980s as a reaction against the increasingly closed world of computer software A large part of the computer industry grew out of academia where the idea that knowledge should be open is generally cherished being open for this community was not a novel con cept Sharing prevents the duplication of effort and en sures t
28. he guide has been developed on behalf of the Association for Progressive Communications APC with funding support from the International Development Research Centre www idrc ca It is part of a APC s GreeningIT initiative which looks to promote an environmental consciousness amongst civil society groups using ICTs and amongst the public generally Other publications and research reports completed as part of the GreeninglT initiative can be downloaded at greeningit apc org CZ NON APG 3 wc crDI
29. he line which demarcates the clash between the desire for freedom of use and access to data and the need to preserve economic power in the new informa tion age The options available when installing operating system software are wholly entwined with intellectual property issues and the choices we make will in turn affect how users are affected by the growing restrictions on in tellectual property Intellectual property rights are the issue which will more than any other political or technical obstruction define the economic and legal pressures governing how in formation systems and the internet will evolve in the near future Unlike the technology humans have developed over history the technology of the information society is not benign Devices can be made to be semi intelligent able to control the terms of how we use the operating system and or its stored N Wikipedia Free and open source software en wikipedia org wiki Free_and_open_source_software w Wikipedia Proprietary software en wikipedia org wiki Proprietary_software 4 Wikipedia Intellectual property en wikipedia org wiki Intellectual_property ea Wikipedia Information society en wikipedia org wiki Information_society information after we have bought them In this way society is becoming increasingly constrained by the technological standards that manufactur ers develop rather than the political decisions of policy makers And if wit
30. increasing ly telecommunications companies offer bundles containing land line broadband internet and mobile services as well as the ability to down load TV programmes or films 4 1 2 Free software the freedom to unbundle The problem with bundling is that it removes choice and the ability for people to experiment and extend their knowledge without having to undertake costly and sometimes difficult chang es to their systems Using the breakfast corn flake analogy if there was a separate sachet of chocolate powder it would be possible to choose the strength of the chocolate flavour on the corn flake can decide to add a tiny sprinkle or could pour on half the sachet over a single bowl Free software enables this choice to be made In contrast bundling restricts your ability to mix n match a computer system that suits your own needs Often you get the lowest common de nominator of computer system which may be too much for your budget or too little for your needs It gets more interesting when we start to selectively buy the elements that make up our breakfast If can unbundle the brand I can chose who sells me my chocolate coating if don t like person X s chocolate coating can buy person Y s this was the basis of the anti trust lawsuits against Microsoft specifically the way Microsoft incorporates software such as web browsers into 7 Wikipedia Product bundling en wikipedia org wiki Prod uct_bundling
31. indows desktop use and another system for Windows server machines You pur chase software to fulfil the role you require of it e With free software and to some extent the Ma cintosh OS because it is based on a Unix like sys tem the line is blurred It is not possible to enable a strict divide between what a desktop is and what a server is In practice as free software systems allow the installation of additional software more easily it is very easy to set up a desktop machine which can also act as a server on a local network for example running a web server to provide an intranet 4 2 1 Finding the best fit of machine to operating system Unlike the world of proprietary software where you have a limited choice of hardware to fit the power demands of the latest Windows or Apple iOS operating system with free software you have the option to design a system to fit the ap plication you need it for Older hardware which would be difficult or impossible to use with recent versions of Windows can be found new purposes have its working life extended using free software Even fairly new hardware can be configured in dif ferent ways to perform different functions in the process creating different levels of performance or security to match the needs of the user For example if you install a web server on a desktop machine then it is possible to carry out complex web design and then test the designs including script
32. ing and other functions with out a network connection to a dedicated server Additionally when using proprietary systems you re penalised for using more than one ma chine because of the need to license each instal lation With free software there s no such finan cial penalty additional installations are free In this way we can design machines inexpensively to serve specific purposes and undertake that task as securely and reliably as possible Using more than one machine and through this consuming more electrical power might not appear to be very green This ignores the embodied energy of the hardware If you can make equipment last for longer as such a large part of the overall impact is tied up in manufacturing the hardware you reduce the impacts overall Using an old machine can avoid the need to buy new more powerful equipment which saves money as well as energy and pollu tion For example an inexpensive way to back up a workstation computer without the time and expense of making lots of data discs or buy ing a new external hard drive is to take an old 10 Wikipedia Interoperability en wikipedia org wiki In teroperability 8 A practical guide to sustainable IT machine and install it as a data server to store copies of your important data This doesn t use a large amount of energy either because older equipment often consumes less power and in any case this type of system need only be turned on fo
33. ing at the list of potential uses for equipment above it might seem a rather com plex approach to design different machines to perform different jobs In practice to perform a task well with a computer the machine should be designed to serve its purpose as well and securely as possible For example a general purpose desk top machine could undertake all the roles listed in table 4 1 but to do so simultaneously would drain some of the CPU s power if it all took place on the same machine every extra program running on the system takes a little bit of power away from the important job you re doing at the time It s more efficient to design boxes for specific tasks optimising the hardware and software to provide both functionality and an efficient level of power consumption for the job concerned for exam ple server machines do not need a monitor Making a redundant computer into some thing useful doesn t require an expensive up grade of its components as outlined in unit 3 as is usually the case when installing a fully functional desktop system Again it s a matter of design and matching the minimum specifi cation of the job to the hardware available Of course there comes a point when a machine is beyond practical use usually when it can only run a lightweight text only operating system or you can t install enough hard disk storage or memory to provide a useful level of service Even then old machines can be useful for lea
34. ions Downcycling productive end of life uses for old machines e Educational reuse if the machine can still run a lightweight Windows or Linux system then it can still perform a useful function as a training platform to learn practice hard ware and operating system installation skills By dismantling re assembling and then in stalling the machine people get the skills confidence required to do the same types of operation on more expensive equipment but without making expensive mistakes if they do something wrong Any quality of machine can perform this purpose although because of the risk of damage to the machine it should be considered expendable e Scrap scrap doesn t necessarily mean throw the whole thing away Old boxes can be scavenged for their screws cables connec tors fans heat sinks and other reusable com ponents to be kept as spares for the repair of other machines Hard drives can be used with drive caddies to back up large amounts of data from other machines Unless they have no further use or have a poor picture quality one or two old monitors can be kept for use in emergencies if another monitor fails The only thing that must go for electronic waste dis posal and recycling as they have little value for reuse are the metal chassis of the desk top box plastic enclosures and motherboard electronic circuits 15 Wikipedia Downcycling en wikipedia org wiki Down cycling Look
35. ith the new file Operating systems Making the system work 13 4 3 PLANNING AND DOCUMENTING INSTALLATIONS hen installing systems planning is impor tant each user needs to access the re sources they require to work That might be on one machine or it might require configuring machines across the network for example allowing access to file servers or shared resources such as printers It helps to plan these details first so that you can organise how you will install any new machines or modify the configuration of others Where a group of people look after a small network keep ing written logs and procedures is essential so that everyone can co ordinate their efforts and not lose vital information about changes or modifications to machines or system settings Even when there is only a single machine in use there is still infor mation that is essential to its operation and main tenance such as the critical passwords for the machine and also the passwords to access and configure a broadband router or similar devices Each system that is installed should have its own log of critical and background data box 4 3 A system includes details of not just the machine but also any hardware that one or more machines are attached to While not es sential it s good practice If a machine should fail or if a critical password is forgotten by its user keeping a log securely stored on another machine or on a back up m
36. n operating system are used in order to have access to the latest software and hardware Medium desktop general purpose machine capable of most office type tasks communi cations and some graphic design editing It could run a Linux based web server for under taking web design work The latest operating systems would run slowly on these machines While using the latest system is not impossi ble it may be more productive to use slightly older software if that provided the required applications and hardware drivers Lightweight desktop for internet commu nications and simple word processing or it could act as a thin client connected to a more powerful machine over a network A problem when using Windows systems is that hardware drivers may no longer be avail able especially for printers Anti virus soft ware will also not be available and there may also be problems with network integration This makes free software preferable as these system have better hardware support use open network standards and malware isn t such an issue chines as the clients and the powerful ma chine as the terminal server Support systems machines to run networks and store data e Download box a dedicated machine to run 24 7 internet services such as file sharing or remote data file access for non profession al small scale applications this is most ef ficiently done using an old laptop due to its inherently low power co
37. nsumption Where peer to peer file sharing is used for infor mation distribution the machine could be installed with a standard desktop operating system For low volume web or FTP access or to run encrypted tunnels for remote access to the network a server system is a better op tion Lightweight server a simple server machine to support services across a network rather than a single user Like the power server class above powerful machines could be used as a terminal server service for a thin client network but many older machines might struggle to do that for more than one or two client terminals Instead older equip ment could be configured as a file server en crypted storage server for backing up desktop machines using FTP or a shared networked file system or a simple web server to run an intranet for a small office or a mail server to Data processing heavy duty data processing storage and network control e Parallel processing use as a second machine for processing tasks that interfere with your everyday work For example video file con version DVD mastering creating DVDs and any other tasks that runs for many hours or use a lot of power You could use a screen and keyboard but it s easier to access the box from your main machine using a remote desktop for graphical applications or secure shell for command line control As well as single machines many small machines can be connected togeth
38. ower consumption e MacOS also has its own built in power man agement modes and there are third party applications which can monitor and optimise the operation of the system 4 4 2 Advanced power management options For servers where you don t always have a per son on hand to press the power button start ing the machine can be a problem especially if there are hundreds of them For machines being used as servers there s an option called wake on LAN WOL If a data packet is sent to a ma chine in suspension or hibernation containing the card s unique address number some also require a security password the machine will restart provided you have a WOL compatible network card Later the machine can be remote 18 Bemowski Karen Windows IT Pro September 2010 Buyer s Guide Power Management Software for Win dows Workstations www windowsitpro com article buyers guide Power Management Software for Windows Workstations Buyers Guide Download the product table from www windowsitpro com content content 125800 101910 updated 125800 table xls 19 For example the Less Watts projects www lesswatts org 20 powertop www lesswatts org projects powertop ly put into suspension hibernation or it can suspend operations according to its own power management configuration until it is needed again Using WOL allows a single operator to have control over hundreds of server machines often using load monitoring program
39. programs available for Windows a number of which allow remote system access over a net work so that power setting can be configured to optimise power consumption for example Data Synergy s PowerMAN or 1E s NightWatch man and Verdiem produce a free application called Edison There are also proprietary ap plications for MacOS For Linux there are ap plications developed for large servers and as suggested there are also free programs such as powertop Operating systems Making the system work 17 Box 4 5 Operating systems check list Always match operating systems to hardware specifica tions A machine which doesn t have enough system resources to run its installed software will struggle and waste the user s time a system that is too powerful for the software installed upon it represents a waste of resources in effect the user is wasting the system s time What we should find by planning our needs and matching them to a machine specification is a balance between these two extremes Define a role for a machine and install a system that meets that role Operating systems work well when they perform a de fined purpose That could be a general purpose like a desktop machine or a specific purpose like a data server Sometimes you can combine both such as a desktop with a web server installed to allow web development In practice it s better to manage the load on machines in a way that optimises their role rather th
40. r an hour or two while the back up is taking place The first decision you need to make is What can do with this equipment This is a complex decision and has a direct relationship between what functions you need from the machine and what its internal electronics are capable of supporting see box 4 2 Breaking down our IT needs into a series of clear roles and specifica tions requires thought and planning to define what we really want In the corporate environ ment the aim is often to provide new infrastruc ture usually under contract because it repre sents the most economically efficient solution In contrast in smaller organisations and the voluntary sector there is the option of adapt ing existing hardware to work more flexibly us ing the skills of those who will use the system because that represents the least cost route to finding a solution to their needs As outlined in unit two one of the impor tant objectives of sustainable IT is to maximise the life of the equipment There are two ways of looking at this e Firstly we can maximise the use of a sin gle machine so that it is using as much of its processing capacity as possible for as much time as possible This is the objec tive for dedicated server machines and large data centre rack servers often because there s a cost penalty to hav ing unused machine capacity sitting idle Achieving this outcome requires attention to the minute details of system configu
41. rds peripherals Make and model and serial number IP configuration address Note whether the interface is configured with a static IP address or DHCP its gateway DNS addresses and its MAC address Administration Root password Critical password you should log this and keep it safe User accounts For each user account document user ID and any user specific configurations used with the account e g access permissions Boot loader password Linux A boot loader password prevents bypassing of the root password Hard drive encryption password Critical password if you use hard drive encryption log this Enabled network services upon the technical level of control you wish to have over the system Finally all this information is of course very sensi tive It s not the sort of data that you would print and pin to the wall For that reason the file should ideally be encrypted Keeping the information on an encrypted memory stick or hard disk is one option Another is to Note which services are enabled on the machine use a symmetric cipher so that it is not necessary to keep a public private key pair with the file In the event of someone needing to access that data they could read the file from the network and decrypt it to obtain the in formation they require If changes are made it s a simple matter to decrypt edit and re encrypt the file and then replace the copy kept for maintenance w
42. rn ing how to maintain or rebuild computers or installing operating systems These matters are examined further in unit 10 Reuse and reclama tion and unit 9 End of life and disposal 16 Wikipedia Lightweight Linux distribution en wikipedia org wiki Lightweight_Linux_distribution 12 A practical guide to sustainable IT Box 4 3 System documentation Even where one user looks after their own system re membering all the relevant information about the sys tem is very difficult Where a group of people look after a number of computer systems it s wholly impractical It s a good time saving and security practice to docu ment each system installation Begin with details such as the model of the computer and any relevant serial numbers this is the sort of data insurers the police or repair agencies may require Then there s the hardware profile itself e g knowing what type of memory modules used in case you need to replace them Finally there s the system specific information such as the type of system installed hard drive configuration and critical passwords If you buy a system pre installed then you should be able to pull together much of this information Date installed technician ID from the vendor s hardware specifications and the data provided by BIOS or the operating system By documenting this information and storing it se curely it simplifies the process of system maintenance especially where there ar
43. s to shut them down or wake them up in order to match demand while minimising power consumption For small system users it can also be config ured to wake up file servers or data process ing machines so that they don t use as much power when not required The standard power management menu allows you to configure time limits to put the machine into either sleep hibernation or soft shutdown depending upon how long it has been idle for or for laptops when the battery is running down You will also have the option to spin down the hard drives and shut down the display a certain time before entering suspend hibernation This reduces power consumption without the inconvenience of locking out the user while the system re initialises As noted above of the two options provided the hardware is fully ACPI compatible hibernate is the more secure state In most operating systems strict criteria for power management are not configured as a default they have to be set by the user or the system installer That is why configuring power management should always be one of the final steps in system installation configuration In addition it s also possible to get power optimi sation programs which monitor system usage and suggest ways of changing power settings and system timing signals to reduce power con sumption although these often need more advanced knowledge of the operating system in order to enable them There are various proprie tary
44. ther complex subject The more powerful the hardware the simpler it is to install an operating system The skill lies in being able to determine what is the lowest specification you require for a certain task so that you can maximise the lifetime of equipment and keep costs down Installing systems on older equipment with restricted memory and disk space can be more of a challenge espe cially if it requires the use of a text command line interface which requires more details knowledge of the operating system rather than a graphical interface where the options are usually presented as simple menus If you only want a desktop machine you need a com puter with a desktop level specification Even then there s Table 4 1 a considerable difference between simple typing word processing applications and the type of power required to edit large colour images or process video files When considering the more creative use of computers such as backing up or networking support you can use a far wider range of equipment to solve a particular problem Table 4 1 lists various grades of hardware and the types of application that it can perform Note that the demarcation between what is possible and what is practical isn t as clear cut as shown in the table what matters is that the machine can run the tasks that you design it to perform at the speed reliability that you re quire of the system The use and reuse of computer hardware
45. thinking about sustainable computing holistically starting with the choices you make when buying technology the software and peripherals you use through to how you store and work with information manage your security save power and maintain and dispose of your old hardware Suggestions and advice for policy makers are also included along with some practical tips for internet service providers Written by IT expert and environmentalist Paul Mobbs the purpose of the guideis to encourage ICT for development ICTD practitioners to begin using technology in an environmentally sound way But its usefulness extends beyond this to everyday consumers of technology whether in the home or office environment We can all play our part and the practice of sustainable computing will go a long way in helping to tackle the environmental crisis facing our planet This is also more than just a how to guide Mobbs brings his specific perspective to the topic of sustainable IT and the practical lessons learned here suggest a bigger picture of how we as humans need to live and interact in order to secure our future The guide is divided into 12 sections or units with each unit building thematically on the ones that have come before They can be read consecutively or separately The unit approach allows the sections to be updated over time extracted for use as resource guides in workshops or shared easily with colleagues and friends T
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