INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ENERGY WASTAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20130317877A1
• Filed: 05/22/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infosys Limited
• Original Assignee: Infosys Limited
• Inventors: Vidyaranya, Vishwas
• Granted Patent: US 9,224,115 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.24
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06314 Calendaring for a resource

Abstract

Various technologies related to managing energy wastage management in the information technology (IT) domain are described. Implementation of the described features can lead to considerable energy savings for organizations having significant information technology hardware. Attendance information from various sources can be incorporated into the system. Power state information from a lightweight client running at nodes can also be incorporated. Wastage results can be generated and provided to encourage reduction of wastage. Enforcement of wastage policies can also be implemented. Monitoring can be done on an individual, department, or campus-wide level. Management can be accomplished in many cases without having to invest in specialized sensors or other costly infrastructure.

Claims

1. A method implemented at least in part by a computer, the method comprising:

receiving hardware node power state information comprising an indication of a time and power state for a hardware node;

receiving user attendance information comprising an indication of a time and attendance status for a user, wherein the user attendance information is batched with attendance information for other users; and

based on the hardware node power state information and the user attendance information, calculating an energy wastage metric for the user.

2. One or more computer-readable storage devices comprising computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

correlating the user with the hardware node; and

determining an amount of time when the hardware node was left on and the user was absent;

wherein calculating the energy wastage metric for the user comprises incorporating the amount of time when the hardware node was left on and the user was absent as wastage.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

displaying a visual depiction incorporating the energy wastage metric for the user.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

collecting ongoing attendance information for a plurality of users; and

batching the ongoing attendance information together.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving the user attendance information comprises receiving batched information for a plurality of users having entered or departed a facility over an observed time period.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the user attendance information data originates from an entryway swipe reader.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an opt-out indication from the hardware node;

and

responsive to receiving the opt-out indication, disregarding energy wastage for the hardware node.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

deferring transmission of the user attendance information until network conditions are light; and

responsive to determining that network conditions are light, transmitting the user attendance information.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein:

deferring is performed by a time-and-attendance system.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a manual entry of at least some of the user attendance information.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein:

indication of a time and power state for a hardware node originates from a program executing at the hardware node.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

responsive to determining that the hardware node power state information and the user attendance information indicate that the hardware node has been left on by an absent user for over a threshold amount of time, initiating shutdown of the hardware node.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising assigning a penalty, a credit, or a reward to the user based on the energy wastage metric.

15. A user interface displayed in a computing system, the user interface comprising:

a pane displaying a graphic depicting energy wastage; and

one or more graphical buttons, wherein the graphical buttons can be used to enable or disable energy wastage management of a hardware node.

16. The user interface of claim 15 wherein:

the pane comprises a bar chart, wherein the bar chart depicts energy units wasted as a function of time.

17. The user interface of claim 16 wherein:

the bar chart depicts energy units wasted by a single user.

18. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

memory;

a hardware node power state information collector configured to collect power states for hardware nodes;

an attendance information collector configured to collect attendance data for employees on a batched basis;

stored power state information;

stored attendance information;

stored energy wastage policy information; and

a wastage engine configured to accept the stored power state information and the stored attendance information and output wastage results based on periods during which the hardware nodes are powered on and the employees are absent.

19. One or more computer-readable storage devices comprising computer-executable instructions causing a computing device to perform a method comprising:

receiving a batch of employee attendance information for a plurality of employees, wherein the attendance information comprises at least one employee attendance record indicating an employee identifier, a timestamp, and an in-or-out indication, wherein an arrival time and a departure time of an employee for a particular day is indicated;

receiving hardware node power state information in the form of logs recorded by respective hardware nodes, wherein the hardware node power state information comprises at least one record indicating a user identifier, a timestamp, and a power on indication for a particular hardware node;

via correlation, identifying the arrival time of the employee and the departure time of the employee for the particular day and that the hardware node was left powered on when the employee was absent for a certain period of time, wherein the correlation comprises correlating the employee identifier with the user identifier; and

based on the certain period of time, calculating an amount of energy wasted for the employee.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 19 wherein the method further comprises:

displaying a graphical representation incorporating the amount of energy wasted.