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Energy efficiency

HP helps you address your green IT needs through energy-efficient solutions for the data center and beyond – where better business outcomes equal better environmental outcomes. It starts with a proven track record of innovation, including energy-efficient products, solutions, and services for companies of all sizes.

Miercom, a leading independent test lab, recently tested HP ProCurve switches for energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Miercom uses a rigorous test methodology that measures the energy consumption of a switch. HP ProCurve switches achieving the Miercom Green certification included the Switch 8212zl, 5406zl, 3500yl, 6600, 2910, 2610 and 2510G.

ProCurve modular (chassis) switches

To make meaningful comparisons in switch energy use, the appropriate measure is how many watts it consumes for the throughput it delivers. Using this, a customer can compare products from two vendors to identify which product is more energy efficient.

ProCurve fixed-port switches

For deployments where fewer ports are required in a given location – common in smaller businesses, workgroups and branch offices – fixed-port switches may provide the ideal port density and flexibility. Miercom results for HP ProCurve fixed-port switches compared to other similar switches in the industry are shown below.

Energy-efficient solutions

Designing energy-efficient products is only the first step in enabling green networking. Remotely managing and controlling the power delivery to the endpoints in the network is equally important to reduce the energy consumption of facilities. HP ProCurve offers that through its management software:

• ProCurve Manager Plus (PCM+) - Enables remote PoE power management of end points in addition to enabling remote management of the network. Using PCM+, you can schedule shutting off idle PoE devices when they are not in use. For instance, a business can use PCM+ to shut down unused devices after working hours. Using this feature, customers can realize up to 73 percent in energy savings. For more details refer to this white paper and technical brief.

HP ProCurve solutions are standards based, which makes them easy to integrate into a multi-vendor network environment. Proprietary solutions often come at the expense of sustainability, new or difficult-to-management requirements, being locked into an inflexible single-vendor path, or unique or unforeseeable maintenance requirements. These can all be significant obstacles to meeting environmental goals.

Energy-efficient services

Though energy consumption is a concern in all network deployments, the problems are more acute in the data center. HP offers a portfolio of services to address these needs:

• Power and cooling analysis — Choose from standardized levels of assessments designed to help you improve efficiency now and anticipate your future power and cooling requirements.
• Energy efficiency analysis — Includes services to compare your energy usage with industry best practice, identify sources of inefficiency, recommend improvement measures and provide improvement cost/benefit estimates.
• Computational fluid dynamics analysis — Sophisticated tools and techniques analyze the thermal conditions in your data center to assess and adjust for improving cooling performance and energy consumption.
• Thermal zone mapping — HP’s technology makes it possible to view each air conditioner’s unique zone of influence and pinpoint areas that are not adequately covered, areas of redundant coverage, over-provisioned areas and areas best suited for high-density or mission-critical computing.
• Energy Efficiency Design Services – HP design solutions examine the facility infrastructure, balancing energy-efficiency issues with concerns such as reliability, scalability, maintainability, schedule and cost.
• More details can be found here

Your network should make it easy to evolve and conform to power-efficiency standards and technology improvements as they occur. ProCurve’s Adaptive Network portfolio includes energy-efficient products, solutions, and services, HP is well positioned to serve our customers to enable green IT.

Design for recycling and sustainability

Energy efficiency is only one of the aspects of Environmental sustainability. HP has recycled over 1 billion pounds of electronics worldwide and operates several recycling facilities. HP uses single plastic polymers, molded-in colors and finishes instead of paint. In addition, HP designs its products with outstanding reliability – increasing the life of products and reducing impact on landfills. Most HP ProCurve switches carry the ProCurve Lifetime Warranty*, which helps sustain your business as well as the environment. In addition, ProCurve’s modular solutions with removable components can easily be removed, upgraded or replaced.

Responsible sourcing

HP suppliers must have policies covering energy efficiency, hazardous materials, information and labeling, manufacturing, packaging, and product recycling. HP suppliers sign contracts committing them to the Electronic Industry Code of Conduct (EICC) and HP’s General Specification for the Environment (GSE), which restricts materials that can be used in HP products. HP works with suppliers through the Clean Cargo Group and Green Freight Group to enhance overall environmental performance of the transportation industry. HP has decreased reliance on air transportation services and increased use of ocean freight.

Smart packaging

HP implements efficient packaging and logistics to decrease cost, fuel consumption and impact on environment. ProCurve products are shipped in foam plastic pallets instead of wooden pallets. This minimizes consumption of wood, saves forests, and reduces the shipping weight by 80 percent. ProCurve uses its worldwide recycling facilities to reuse these pallets.

By taking a holistic approach to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, HP ProCurve is well positioned to meet your environmental – and business – goals.