Framework for Energy Efficiency Management

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Introduction In reference to https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-stephan-green-use-cases/, analyzing use cases such as the "Incremental Application of the GREEN Framework" and "Consideration of other domains for obtention of end-to-end metrics", it reveals the critical need for a structured approach to transitioning network devices towards energy-efficient operations. The framework is essential for:

Standardization: Ensuring consistent practices across different devices and network segments to facilitate interoperability.
Efficient Energy Management: Providing guidelines to identify inefficiencies and implement improvements.
Scalability: Offering solutions that accommodate growing network demands and complexity.
Cost Reduction: Optimizing energy usage to lower operational costs and extend equipment lifecycles.
Competitiveness: Enabling organizations to maintain a competitive edge through enhanced sustainability.
Environmental Impact: Supporting broader sustainability initiatives by reducing carbon footprints.
Simplified Implementation: Streamlining the deployment of energy-efficient measures to minimize service disruptions.
Security: Protecting sensitive operations related to power states and consumption. This document defines an Energy Management framework for devices within, or connected to, communication networks, for the use cases described in https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-stephan-green-use-cases/. The devices, or the components of these devices (such as line cards, fans, and disks), can then be monitored and controlled. Monitoring includes measuring power, energy, demand, and attributes of power. Energy Control can be performed by setting a device's or component's state. The devices monitored by this framework can be either of the following:
- consumers of energy (such as routers and computer systems) and components of such devices (such as line cards, fans, and disks)
- producers of energy (like an uninterruptible power supply or renewable energy system) and their associated components (such as battery cells, inverters, or photovoltaic panels)

Terminology The following terms are defined in and EMAN Framework : Energy, Power, Energy Management, Energy Monitoring, Energy Control. The following terms are defined in EMAN Framework , and cut/paste here for completeness: Energy Management System (EnMS) An Energy Management System is a combination of hardware and software used to administer a network, with the primary purpose of Energy Management. Device A device is a piece of electrical or non-electrical equipment. Component A component is a part of electrical or non-electrical equipment (device). Meter (Energy Meter) A meter is a device intended to measure electrical energy by integrating power with respect to time. Power Inlet A power inlet (or simply "inlet") is an interface at which a device or component receives energy from another device or component. Power Outlet A power outlet (or simply "outlet") is an interface at which a device or component provides energy to another device or component. Power Interface A Power Interface is a power inlet, outlet, or both. Power State A Power State is a condition or mode of a device (or component) that broadly characterizes its capabilities, power, and responsiveness to input. Power State Set A Power State Set is a collection of Power States that comprises a named or logical control grouping.

Motivation

Impact on Energy Metrics The framework will significantly enhance the creation of energy metrics with actionable insights by:

Standardizing Metrics: Establishing consistent measurement protocols for energy consumption and efficiency.
Enhancing Data Collection: Facilitating comprehensive monitoring and data aggregation across devices.
Supporting Real-time Monitoring: Enabling dynamic tracking and immediate optimization of energy usage.
Integration Across Devices: Ensuring interoperability for network-wide data analysis.
Providing Actionable Insights: Translating raw data into meaningful information for decision-making.

Current Device Readiness While many modern networking devices have basic energy monitoring capabilities, these are often proprietary. The framework will define requirements to enhance these capabilities, enabling standardized metric production and meaningful data contributions for energy management goals.

Why Now? The decision to define the framework now, rather than later, is driven by:

Immediate Benefits: Start realizing cost savings, reduced carbon footprints, and improved efficiencies.
Rapid Technological Advancements: Aligning the framework with current technologies to prevent obsolescence.
Increasing Energy Demands: Mitigating the impact of growing energy consumption on costs and sustainability.
Regulatory Pressure: Preparing for compliance with existing and anticipated sustainability regulations.
Competitive Advantage: Positioning organizations as leaders in sustainability and innovation.
Foundational Work Ready: Building on the use cases and requirements established in Phase I.
Proactive Risk Management: Minimizing risks associated with energy costs and environmental factors.
Facilitate Future Innovations: Creating a platform for continuous improvements and adaptations.
Stakeholder Engagement: Ensuring diverse perspectives are reflected for broader adoption.

In conclusion, establishing the framework for energy efficiency management now is strategic and timely, leveraging the current momentum of use cases and requirements to drive meaningful progress in energy efficiency management. Delaying its development could result in missed opportunities for immediate benefits, increased costs, and challenges in adapting to future technological and regulatory landscapes.

Reference Model The framework introduces the concept of a Power Interface that is analogous to a network interface. A Power Interface is defined as an interconnection among devices where energy can be provided, received, or both. The most basic example of Energy Management is a single device reporting information about itself. In many cases, however, energy is not measured by the device itself but is measured upstream in the power distribution tree. For example, a Power Distribution Unit (PDU) may measure the energy it supplies to attached devices and report this to an Energy Management System. Therefore, devices often have relationships to other devices or components in the power network. An Energy Management System (EnMS) generally requires an understanding of the power topology (who provides power to whom), the Metering topology (who meters whom), and the potential Aggregation (who aggregates values of others). The relationships build on the Power Interface concept. The different relationships among devices and components, as specified in this document, include power source, Metering, and Aggregation Relationships. The framework does not cover non-electrical equipment, nor does it cover energy procurement and manufacturing.

GREEN Reference Model The main elements in the framework are as follows: (a),(d) Discovery and Inventory (b),(c) GREEN Metrics (b),(e) Monitor energy efficiency (f) Control Energy Saving The monitoring interface (e) obviously monitor more aspects than just power and energy, (for example traffic monitoring) but this is not covered in the framework. Note that this framework specificies logical blocks, however, the Energy Efficiency Management Function might be implemented inside the device or in the controller.

Typical Power Topologies The following reference model describes physical power topologies that exist in parallel with a communication topology. While many more topologies can be created with a combination of devices, the following are some basic ones that show how Energy Management topologies differ from Network Management topologies. Only the controller, devices and components, are depicted here, as the Network Domain Level remains identical. NOTE: "###" is used to denote a transfer of energy. "- >" is used to denote a transfer of information.

Basic Power Supply

Reference Model Example: Basic Power Supply

Single Power Supply with Multiple Devices

Reference Model Example: Single Power Supply with Multiple Devices

Multiple Power Supplies with Single Device

Reference Model Example: Multiple Power Supplies with Single Device

Conventions and Definitions The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

Security Considerations Resiliency is an implicit use case of energy efficiency management which comes with numerous security considerations : Controlling Power State and power supply of entities are considered highly sensitive actions, since they can significantly affect the operation of directly and indirectly connected devices. Therefore, all control actions must be sufficiently protected through authentication, authorization, and integrity protection mechanisms. Entities that are not sufficiently secure to operate directly on the public Internet do exist and can be a significant cause of risk, for example, if the remote control functions can be exercised on those devices from anywhere on the Internet. The monitoring of energy-related quantities of an entity as addressed can be used to derive more information than just the received and provided energy; therefore, monitored data requires protection. This protection includes authentication and authorization of entities requesting access to monitored data as well as confidentiality protection during transmission of monitored data. Privacy of stored data in an entity must be taken into account. Monitored data may be used as input to control, accounting, and other actions, so integrity of transmitted information and authentication of the origin may be needed.

IANA Considerations This document has no IANA actions.

Acknowledgments This framework takes into account concepts from the Energy MANagement (EMAN) Framework , authors by John Parello, Benoit Claise, Brad Schoening, and Juergen Quittek.

References

Normative References

Informative References

Appendix This appendix should be removed when the initial set of GREEN WG documents will be stable