Spirit of the times

Networking vendor D-Link has launched a range of energy-saving desktop switches and plans to extend this Green Ethernet range to managed switches soon.

If you thought only servers and storage could claim to be on the green side of things, think again. Vendors are increasingly working on turning switches and other elements of Ethernet connectivity into a distinct shade of jade.

Networking vendor D-Link has been one of the first to take the plunge and recently announced the launch of a set of desktop switches under the umbrella branding of Green Ethernet.

 

"D-Link's Green Ethernet implements special power-saving features that detect link status and cable length and adjust power usage accordingly. If there is no cable link or link partners turn off, Green Ethernet will put that port in a sleep mode, reducing power used for that port and saving energy. Green Ethernet detects Ethernet cable length and adjusts power usage to save energy. This way, a port connected to a 20 metre cable only uses as much power as it needs, instead of using full power, which is only needed for 100 metre cables," says Michael Rafael Cruz, head of the technical department at D-Link Middle East.

According to the firm, if PCs connected to the switch are turned off, D-Link's Green Ethernet can save up to 86% power used for each system. If cable length is less than 20 metres, D-Link's Green Ethernet can save up to 9.3% power used for each system.

In a standard workday scenario where PCs are used for 10 hours a day and powered off 14 hours a day, and connected to the switch using 20 metre cables, D-Link's Green Ethernet can save up to 44% power used for each system.

"These switches are primarily aimed at home users and small-office-home-office (SoHO) users. There is a huge untapped market in this area as far as energy saving goes and we believe that being the first to announce green switches for this area, we will be able to convince the market to move in the right direction," states Nicole Maria Meier, marketing manager for D-Link in the region.

The firm is also planning on encompassing within Green Ethernet technology larger, managed switches and enterprise solutions in the near future.

Though it remains the first to launch green technology in the region, the vendor is likely to face stiff competition from the likes of Alcatel-Lucent in the near future.

In its recent Enterprise Forum 2008, conducted in Paris, several spokespeople of the telecom major, which is turning its guns on the enterprise sector, talked at length of green, power-conserving switches as part of its offering for large companies.

The switches are part of the set of products that the company offers under the overarching term of the 'dynamic enterprise.'

If these two vendors are anything to go by, the Middle East is likely to see a lot more green switches in the next few years.