Will Cisco do something like this for routers and switches?

jsicuran66 · ‎09-30-2007

AMILABS news release

AMILABS Develops the Industry?s First Truly Green Server.

Wantagh, New York, October 1st, 2007

Applied Methodologies, Inc.(AMI) research division AMILABS, is pleased to introduce the industry?s first truly green server. Dubbed the ThermoGreen Server?, it is a server that can not only comply to current energy efficient green standards but also generates energy in the process. AMILABS is currently developing other ThermoGreen Systems? such as a ThermoGreen Router? and ThermoGreen Switch?.

An example application of this technology would be to turn your data center into a small power generating utility. While your data center assets continue to work in their respective manner they are also co-generating energy with no impact to their operating condition. The energy generated from a data center?s servers or other ThermoGreen Systems? can be used to offset data center power consumption costs and contribute to global green initiatives.

Each individual ThermoGreen Server? can recursively use the energy it generates to reduce its own draw of power supplied from the local utility. Equally the ThermoGreen Server? can distribute the energy generated from multiple ThermoGreen Servers? onto a power distribution network to scale the energy generated as a whole for other uses.

A ThermoGreen Server? can comprise of any type of computing platform and form factor from any manufacture. Older servers can be converted to a ThermoGreen Server? to generate energy while still being employed. OEMs can build new servers as ThermoGreen Servers?. ThermoGreen Servers? utilizing 80 Plus type power supplies and low idle wattage main board based systems can assist in reducing power consumption costs even further.

A ThermoGreen Server? or system is environmentally sound, RoHS and Energy Star 4.0 compliant.

Energy can be generated from one or more ThermoGreen Systems? thus turning your data center assets into a small power generating utility.

For more information about AMI?s ThermoGreen Server? and other research information please go to www.amilabs.com/thermo.htm

AMI strongly believes that the United States is still the leader in technology and science innovation.

About Applied Methodologies, Inc(AMI).

AMI is a leading technology consultation and research firm located in Wantagh, NY. AMI has been providing consulting services to corporate enterprises since 1995.

AMILABS is the research and development arm of Applied Methodologies, Inc. AMILABS is also an online data communications and general Computer Science laboratory that is available for students and professionals to study various networking and computer industry technologies remotely.

Additional information about AMI is available at www.amilabs.com

scottmac · ‎09-30-2007

Nice goal, but perpetual motion devices pretty much scream "scam"

In the good old days, DynoMotors were used to generate higher power needed for large tube systems (my mom's 1932 Hammond organ has a / some dynos in it)

Sun Microsystems has made some really interesting strides in low-power server chips, and many / most / all of the microcontroller producers (certainly Microchip & Atmel) are making some extremely low-power processors ... but making power while using power and turning your data center into a mini power plant is (IMO), at best, "marketing" (aka, lying to the extreme level).

Give it a few years.

Good Luck

Scott

paul.matthews · ‎09-30-2007

Generally I'm with Scott.

The only thing I can think of is using the heat generated to generate electricty, but that isn't going to generate much.

Putting things like generators on fans and drives will increase the power needed to drive them, a "wind generator" on the vent only means more energy needed to drive the fan to cool the device. Thexception being if the device ventilation is all convection cooled, which will probably increase size...

Snake Oil.

Paul.

jsicuran66 · ‎10-03-2007

Fellas, as a long time Cisco certified professional I was just curious if they were going to do something like this. This is no scam or marketing lie. It does work. We have a few prototypes and can scale the energy generated to power other loads. We are working in a niche science that does lend itself to today?s computing devices in terms of power consumption. I could not outline exactly how we do this due to the patent process but if you follow some of the links it is somewhat self explanatory. And yes efficiencies have increased. So to obtain usable energy levels you can optimize and scale per device and for many devices. This is not "snake oil", just the work of a semi retired Cisco consultant.

paul.matthews · ‎10-03-2007

Until you can demonstrate and explain it is indeed snake oil.

Joseph W. Doherty · ‎10-03-2007

If this is based on the Peltier?Seebeck effect, or thermoelectric effect, yes I can see it would generate electricity. I assume patent has only been applied for, otherwise what you're doing would be public, but protected, information.

Overall, it would be better to design the hardware to use less energy then trying to recover it from waste heat.

jsicuran66 · ‎10-04-2007

Seebeck effect, optimized for maximum figure of merit, Seebeck coefficient(Thermal EMF) and Carnot efficiency. Plus, scaled with multiple components to increase amount of power that can be generated. Unique to each system of course and yes while systems are being designed to use less energy and have a lower TDP(thermal design point) per heat source, you will always have joule heating and power dissipated. It works, and I do have a demonstrable prototype but only for certain audiences. We are in the patent process now and may deploy a few units when optimized at some clients. There were a tremendous amount of engineering challenges involved but it is a very interesting and fun endeavor to be involved in, much different than upgrading a core and optimizing routing protocols;)

Regards?