On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention
The energy required to supply data centers today is estimated to be around 1% of the global demand of electricity, with the cloud computing paradigm being the main driver of computing demand. Leading cloud providers are already making efforts to reduce energy expenditure of their data cen...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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IEEE
2022-01-01
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Series: | IEEE Access |
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Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9733927/ |
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author | Borja Martinez Xavier Vilajosana |
author_facet | Borja Martinez Xavier Vilajosana |
author_sort | Borja Martinez |
collection | DOAJ |
description | The energy required to supply data centers today is estimated to be around 1% of the global demand of electricity, with the cloud computing paradigm being the main driver of computing demand. Leading cloud providers are already making efforts to reduce energy expenditure of their data centers. However, the role that online platform operators and end-users can play towards a more sustainable cloud is still unclear. In this article, we raise the question whether making end users aware of their impact on cloud energy expenditure leads to more efficient use of the platforms. Focusing on non-retail platforms, we have run an A/B test in the Virtual Campus of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), one of the biggest online universities worldwide. In this intervention, we show the test group real-time information about the energy consumption of the platform, as well as tips on how to reduce it. Alongside, we monitor user behavior in terms of session duration and volume of traffic generated. Our results reveal that users who received this information did not change their behavior significantly. This result encourages us to find alternative ways to reduce the energy impact associated with the platform without the active participation of the end user, such as a more intelligent session management in conjunction with auto-scaling tools. |
first_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:45:24Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-fcfa02fa29af4f4db687663fff6cf3bb |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2169-3536 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-12-14T18:45:24Z |
publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
publisher | IEEE |
record_format | Article |
series | IEEE Access |
spelling | doaj.art-fcfa02fa29af4f4db687663fff6cf3bb2022-12-21T22:51:24ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362022-01-0110291942920610.1109/ACCESS.2022.31592429733927On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral InterventionBorja Martinez0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8996-9058Xavier Vilajosana1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3020-427XIN3, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, SpainIN3, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, SpainThe energy required to supply data centers today is estimated to be around 1% of the global demand of electricity, with the cloud computing paradigm being the main driver of computing demand. Leading cloud providers are already making efforts to reduce energy expenditure of their data centers. However, the role that online platform operators and end-users can play towards a more sustainable cloud is still unclear. In this article, we raise the question whether making end users aware of their impact on cloud energy expenditure leads to more efficient use of the platforms. Focusing on non-retail platforms, we have run an A/B test in the Virtual Campus of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), one of the biggest online universities worldwide. In this intervention, we show the test group real-time information about the energy consumption of the platform, as well as tips on how to reduce it. Alongside, we monitor user behavior in terms of session duration and volume of traffic generated. Our results reveal that users who received this information did not change their behavior significantly. This result encourages us to find alternative ways to reduce the energy impact associated with the platform without the active participation of the end user, such as a more intelligent session management in conjunction with auto-scaling tools.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9733927/Cloud sustainabilityenvironmental impactvirtual platformcloud platform |
spellingShingle | Borja Martinez Xavier Vilajosana On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention IEEE Access Cloud sustainability environmental impact virtual platform cloud platform |
title | On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention |
title_full | On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention |
title_fullStr | On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention |
title_full_unstemmed | On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention |
title_short | On the Sustainability of Virtual Platforms: A Behavioral Intervention |
title_sort | on the sustainability of virtual platforms a behavioral intervention |
topic | Cloud sustainability environmental impact virtual platform cloud platform |
url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9733927/ |
work_keys_str_mv | AT borjamartinez onthesustainabilityofvirtualplatformsabehavioralintervention AT xaviervilajosana onthesustainabilityofvirtualplatformsabehavioralintervention |