Calculating and communicating level of carbon offsetting required to compensate for performing a computing task

• US 8,671,412 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2012
• Issued: 03/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PDI Merger S2 LLC
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Amsterdam, Jeffrey D., Hamilton, Rick A. II, O'Connell, Brian M., Pickover, Clifford A., Walker, Keith R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Puente, Emerson
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kamran, Mehran
• Application Number:
  US13/418,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20130247059A1
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 718/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5094 where the allocation takes into account power or heat criteria power management in computers in general G06F1/3203; thermal management in computers in general G06F1/206
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/84 Greenhouse gas [GHG] management systems

Abstract

During performance of a specified computing task data concerning resource consumption regarding that specified computing task is gathered and stored. Upon completion of the specified computing task, the amount of carbon offset required to compensate for resource consumption associated with performance of the completed specified computing task is calculated based upon stored or known resource consumption data. The calculated amount of carbon offset information may be transmitted to a carbon offset function provider, and a carbon offset function provider implements the specified amount of carbon offset based upon the calculated amounts communicated for the completed specified computing task.

Claims

1. A method for carbon offset computing, the method comprising:

determining via a processor a resource consumption amount associated with performing a specified computing task by a computational device in part by using the execution time required for the completion of that task within a data center; and

the processor calculating an amount of carbon offset required to compensate for the determined resource consumption amount that is associated with the performance of the specified computing task by the computational device as a function of stored resource consumption data by;

invoking a carbon offset level in response to a selection via an interface of the computational device prior to the performance of the processing task by the computational device;

querying a policy table containing a plurality of possible computational device resource considerations as a function of invoked carbon offset level;

displaying an available subset of the plurality of possible carbon offset levels to a user as a function of the querying of the policy table;

implementing at least one of the available subset possible carbon offset levels for the computational device to perform the specified processing task in response to a selection of the implemented at least one possible carbon offset levels; and

displaying a carbon offset function as a function of the at least one selected carbon offset level.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining an infrastructure percentage value by dividing an execute time required for the computational device to perform and complete the specified computing task within a data center infrastructure by a total execute time for all tasks on all of a plurality of data center energy-consuming devices within the data center;

determining a total of all energy costs of the data center as a total of energy use costs for each of a plurality of data center lighting, temperature control, backup and monitoring devices that consume energy within the data center; and

determining the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task by the computational device as a product of multiplying the determined infrastructure percentage value by the total of all energy costs of the data center.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting the calculated amount of carbon offset to a carbon offset function provider for implementing a carbon offset function based upon the calculated amount of carbon offset for the completed specified computing task.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of measuring a change in an internal temperature of the computational device performing the specified computing task during the performing of the task.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of determining a time of day and an external environmental temperature during which the specified computing task is being performed.

6. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of:

determining a geographic location where the specified computing task is being performed; and

determining at least one of a form of power generation provided at the geographic location, an excess power capacity at the geographic location, an external environmental temperature at the geographic location and a proximity of the geographic location to another computer network to which connection is required.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of measuring a level of power consumption required by the computational device to perform the specified computing task.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of determining how many pages of paper were printed during performance of the specified computing task.

9. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a physical computer-readable tangible storage device having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code comprising instructions which, when executed on a computer system processing unit, cause the computer system processing unit to;

determine a resource consumption amount associated with performing a

specified computing task by a computational device in part by using the execution time required for the completion of that task within a data center; and

calculate an amount of carbon offset required to compensate for the determined resource consumption amount associated with the performance of the specified computing task by the computational device as a function of stored resource consumption data by;

invoking a carbon offset level in response to a selection via an interface of the computational device prior to the performance of the processing task by the computational device;

querying a policy table containing a plurality of possible computational device resource considerations as a function of invoked carbon offset level;

displaying an available subset of the plurality of possible carbon offset levels to a user as a function of the querying of the policy table;

implementing at least one of the available subset possible carbon offset levels for the computational device to perform the specified processing task in response to a selection of the implemented at least one possible carbon offset levels; and

displaying a carbon offset function as a function of the at least one selected carbon offset level.

10. The article of manufacture of claim 9, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed on the computer system processing unit, further cause the computer system processing unit to:

determine an infrastructure percentage value by dividing an execute time required for the computational device to perform and complete the specified computing task within a data center infrastructure by a total execute time for all tasks on all of a plurality of data center energy-consuming devices within the data center;

determine a total of all energy costs of the data center as a total of energy use costs for each of a plurality of data center lighting, temperature control, backup and monitoring devices that consume energy within the data center; and

determine the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task by the computational device as a product of multiplying the determined infrastructure percentage value by the total of all energy costs of the data center.

11. The article of manufacture of claim 10, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed on the computer system processing unit, cause the computer system processing unit to transmit the calculated amount of carbon offset to a carbon offset function provider for implementing a carbon offset function based upon the calculated amount of carbon offset for the completed specified computing task.

12. The method of claim 10, the program code comprising instructions which, when executed on the computer system, cause the computer system to determine the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of measuring a change in an internal temperature of the computational device performing the specified computing task during the performing of the task.

13. A method for providing a service for carbon offsetting for a computational device performing specific computational tasks, the method comprising:

providing a processing unit that when executing program instructions stored on a tangible computer-readable storage device via a memory;

determines a resource consumption amount associated with performing a specified computing task by a computational device; and

calculates an amount of carbon offset required to compensate for the determined resource consumption amount associated with the performance of the specified computing task by the computational device as a function of stored resource consumption data by;

invoking a carbon offset level in response to a selection via an interface of the computational device prior to the performance of the processing task by the computational device;

querying a policy table containing a plurality of possible computational device resource considerations as a function of the invoked carbon offset level;

displaying an available subset of the plurality of possible carbon offset levels to a user as a function of the querying of the policy table;

implementing at least one of the available subset possible carbon offset levels for the computational device to perform the specified processing task n response to a selection of the implemented at least one possible carbon offset levels; and

displaying a carbon offset function as a function of the at least one selected carbon offset level.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the processing unit further:

determines an infrastructure percentage value by dividing an execute time required for the computational device to perform and complete the specified computing task within a data center infrastructure by a total execute time for all tasks on all of a plurality of data center energy-consuming devices within the data center;

determines a total of all energy costs of the data center as a total of energy use costs for each of a plurality of data center lighting, temperature control, backup and monitoring devices that consume energy within the data center; and

determines the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task by the computational device as a product of multiplying the determined infrastructure percentage value by the total of all energy costs of the data center.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the processing unit further transmits the calculated amount of carbon offset to a carbon offset function provider for implementing a carbon offset function based upon the calculated amount of carbon offset for the completed specified computing task.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the processing unit further determines the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of measuring a change in an internal temperature of the computational device performing the specified computing task during the performing of the task.

17. A system, comprising:

a processing unit;

a tangible computer-readable storage device in communication with the processing unit;

and

a memory in communication with the processing unit;

wherein the processing unit, when executing program instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device via the computer readable memory;

determines a resource consumption amount associated with performing a

specified computing task by a computational device in part by using the execution time required for the completion of that task within a data center; and

calculates an amount of carbon offset required to compensate for the determined resource consumption amount associated with the performance of the specified computing task by the computational device as a function of stored resource consumption data by;

invoking a carbon offset level in response to a selection via an interface of the computational device prior to the performance of the processing task by the computational device;

querying a policy table containing a plurality of possible computational device resource considerations as a function of invoked carbon offset level;

displaying an available subset of the plurality of possible carbon offset levels to a user as a function of the querying of the policy table;

implementing at least one of the available subset possible carbon offset levels for the computational device to perform the specified processing task in response to a selection of the implemented at least one possible carbon offset levels; and

displaying a carbon offset function as a function of the at least one selected carbon offset level.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the processing unit, when executing the program instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device via the computer readable memory, further:

determines an infrastructure percentage value by dividing an execute time required for the computational device to perform and complete the specified computing task within a data center infrastructure by a total execute time for all tasks on all of a plurality of data center energy-consuming devices within the data center;

determines a total of all energy costs of the data center as a total of energy use costs for each of a plurality of data center lighting, temperature control, backup and monitoring devices that consume energy within the data center; and

determines the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task by the computational device as a product of multiplying the determined infrastructure percentage value by the total of all energy costs of the data center.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the processing unit, when executing the program instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device via the computer readable memory, further transmits the calculated amount of carbon offset to a carbon offset function provider for implementing a carbon offset function based upon the calculated amount of carbon offset for the completed specified computing task.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the processing unit, when executing the program instructions stored on the tangible computer-readable storage device via the computer readable memory, further determines the resource consumption amount associated with the performing of the specified computing task as a function of measuring a change in an internal temperature of the computational device performing the specified computing task during the performing of the task.