Danish researchers have developed a new algorithm that could permanently reduce the resource consumption of the world’s computer servers. Computer servers are as taxing on the climate as global air traffic combined. Therefore the green transition in the IT sector is required on an urgent basis. Researchers expect that the major IT companies would deploy the algorithm immediately. One of the analogies of the uncontrolled use of the Internet is its adverse effect on the environment due to the huge power consumption by the computer servers. The current CO2 emissions of data centers are as high as global air traffic combined, and emissions are expected to double within a few years. Just a few years ago, Professor Mikkel Torup and a group of researchers developed an algorithm to partially solve this problem by developing an innovative technology that optimizes the workflow of a computer server. His work saved energy and resources. So much so that Google and Vimeo enthusiastically implemented the algorithm in their system, and Vimeo, an online video platform, reported that the algorithm reduces bandwidth usage by eight times.
Now Torup and two other researchers at UCPH have thus perfected the already intelligent algorithm that solves a fundamental problem in computer systems which is the fact that while some servers become overloaded, the others have the capacity left. “We have found an algorithm that could eliminate one of the main causes of server overloading once and for all,” said Torup, professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen. Torup and his colleagues have developed the algorithm together. “Our original algorithm was better than the way the rest of the industry do things, but this updated version is many times better and reduces resource usage to a great extent,” he further added.
