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Conference object . 2025
License: CC BY
Data sources: HAL-Rennes 1
ACM SIGEnergy Energy Informatics Review
Article . 2025 . Peer-reviewed
Data sources: Crossref
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Carbon Topography Representation: Improving Impacts of Data Center Lifecycle

Authors: Weppe, Olivier; Bekri, David; Marty, Thibaut; Guibert, Loïc; Aubet, Louise; Prévotet, Jean-Christophe; Pelcat, Maxime; +1 Authors

Carbon Topography Representation: Improving Impacts of Data Center Lifecycle

Abstract

The globally growing data centers energy consumption and their carbon emissions pose significant environmental challenges. In this context, discerning server fabrication and operational energy contribution to data center carbon footprint is key to identifying effective mitigation strategies. This study partitions server carbon footprints into a) fabrication (embodied carbon), b) static operational power, and c) dynamic operational power, and proposes a novel 2D representation for analyzing data centers carbon impacts. This representation highlights the contributions of these three a-c factors, for any server load and any carbon intensity of electricity. To showcase our methodology and representation, we conducted experimental power measurements on four diverse servers under various load conditions, and combined them with Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methods for their embodied carbon. Our results show that operational energy generally dominates the total footprint. Indeed, high static power consumption, due to poor energy proportionality in current hardware, is a major carbon emission factor, especially at low loads. We conclude that optimization efforts should follow this sequence: 1) improve server utilization, 2) prioritize low-carbon electricity, 3) maximize server lifetime. Hence, fabrication impact is primarily relevant only when servers are powered by low-carbon electricity. Our representation shows that reducing static power waste through future hardware with better energy proportionality is a priority to design and operate sustainable data centers.

Keywords

CCS Concepts:, • General and reference → Metrics, • Computing methodologies → Artificial intelligence Energy, Throughput computing, Reference works, • Information systems → Web services, ICT carbon footprint, CCS Concepts: Hardware → Interconnect power issues • Information systems → Web services • General and reference → Metrics Experimentation Reference works • Computing methodologies → Artificial intelligence Energy, [INFO] Computer Science [cs], Hardware → Interconnect power issues, Experimentation, [SPI.TRON] Engineering Sciences [physics]/Electronics

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
Green