New cloud computing algorithms to improve computing, says expert

New cloud computing algorithms to improve computing, says expert

An IT expert has outlined the way in which new cloud computing algorithms could help to make computing networks more ecologically friendly and more efficient.

University of Sydney's resident IT expert and director of High Performance Computing and Networking at the university's Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, Professor Albert Zomaya, said that high-performance computing networks could also be made far cheaper to run.

Professor Zomaya believes that new algorithms are needed as computing as a whole needs to become more energy efficient. He will speak at the upcoming Australian Data Centre Strategy Summit, to be held next week, in order to share his beliefs about ecologically friendly computing practices with others.

Cloud computing has been named as one of the enablers for computing systems to become more ecologically friendly as it allows for 'energy-aware resource management allocation for large-scale distributed systems,' Professor Zomaya said in a University of Sydney press release.

“Cloud computing is converging technology. It's on-demand computing, self-organising. It is perhaps the most efficient method of using our computing energy resources,” Professor Zomaya went on to say.

Server consolidation with virtualisation is another tool that can be utilised to ensure computing becomes more energy efficient. However, despite concepts such as cloud computing enabling more efficient and cost-effective computing, such things do use up energy during operation and cooling. "These systems bring a range of heterogeneous resources that should be able to function continuously and autonomously, but they can expend a lot of energy in operation and cooling. The new algorithm will help with that.

"At the moment we are concerned about the costs of energy bills, system acquisition and maintenance. We want reliability and scalability, but simultaneously we need to be investigating how to reduce the carbon emission rate and e-waste of our complex networks," Professor Zomaya added.

Businesses looking to move services into the cloud, should evaluate the performance of their existing network and consider setting up a leased line or MPLS network.