Carbon Footprint on 9200 campus switches - Is there a greener model?

[Berlinetta355]

Hi Guys,

Basically, I'm working with a company over several sites that are swapping out their 2960s for 9200s. I'm looking at improving on the 9200 by suggesting devices that have a lower carbon footprint as the company I'm with have started an initiative to reduce it.

Can anyone recommend a 48 port device that has  the same network attributes but a lower power draw (or the capability to reduce during uptime) or maybe a switch that runs cooler and can reduce aircon requirements, made from greener or more recyclable materials etc. Basically, anything I can pitch that would reduce the carbon footprint and TCO over a 5 year (or more) period compared to a 9200.

Thanks in advance.

J.

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Would need to dig deeper into your question, but possibly not using PoE is more "green".  Why?  From Wiki "Critics of this approach argue that PoE is inherently less efficient than AC power due to the lower voltage, and this is made worse by the thin conductors of Ethernet."

An older Cisco paper on Network Energy Efficiency.

Again, would need to deeper research on Enterprise switches, like the 9200s, but Cisco has "green" considerations for other switches, like some of their SMB switches.  For example, Green Ethernet settings on a 300 series switch.

[Berlinetta355]

hanks for the excellent reply Joseph, I'll certainly take a look into PoE deletion options but also I'll continue with research on the Enterprise switches. Very much appreciated. John

[Leo Laohoo]

LTE networking (aka 5G cellular) is being marketed as the "next best thing" to office WiFi.  

There is no need to do switching because the LTE vendor will supply their own transmission cable.  

[Joseph W. Doherty]

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@Leo Laohoo wrote:

LTE networking (aka 5G cellular) is being marketed as the "next best thing" to office WiFi.  

There is no need to do switching because the LTE vendor will supply their own transmission cable.  

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Eh/huh/say-what?

[Leo Laohoo]

I am not drunk nor intoxicated in any way. 

Some companies, particularly mobile phone providers are marketing 5G cellular/mobile as the "next best thing" to office WiFi.  And one of the arguments is the lack of switches because all the provider will install is an amplifier and cable up antennas.  And because there is no switching involved, the number of cable runs is greatly reduced.  And because there is little switching (minimal to zero), there is no need to "cool" the comms room.  

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Ah, got it, I think.

You're suggesting considering mobile phone companies replacing all wired, and Wi-Fi, networks with their 5G technology?

Hmm, yup, no doubt mobile phone companies think this is a good idea.  I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just perhaps mobile phone companies might not be totally unbiased suggesting this.  That aside, it could dramatically decrease the energy impact at the site.  It's OVERALL energy impact might be more difficult to assess.

BTW, I use mobile 5G for my home (tower) PC's Internet connection.  About a year ago, after my cable modem data connection jumped in price, I switched.  Noticable reduction in throughput, more noticable reduction in cost, but lot of the cost delta was due to, with cable, only wanted Internet, with mobile, very small increase for my usual extra data usage.

Also BTW, didn't think you were drunk, etc., but did wonder if your reply was intended elsewhere.

[Leo Laohoo]

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@Joseph W. Doherty wrote:
You're suggesting considering mobile phone companies replacing all wired, and Wi-Fi, networks with their 5G technology?

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Yes.  This is correct.  

[Joseph W. Doherty]

Interesting.

Have you've try this yourself?

[Leo Laohoo]

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@Joseph W. Doherty wrote:

Interesting.

Have you've try this yourself?

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Our team's laptop already have a SIM in it (because we do go to a lot of sites).  We can do our job with it.  There is no question about inside our office because we have the mobile phone provider install mobile phone antennas inside our and some of our newly built office buildings.  

So, yes.  I/we have tried using the SIM only and it works.  

[Joseph W. Doherty]

"So, yes.  I/we have tried using the SIM only and it works."

Sorry, what I was really asking, was have you done this where a site is ONLY using mobile 5g for ALL its networking needs?

I don't doubt that it works, if fact, as I noted, I use it as home (actually, I'm using 5g mobile as I type this on my home PC).

I haven't bumped into this kind of recommendation, i.e. using it for ALL site networking, and for that, I would be a be leery of doing so, for multiple reasons, many depending on what are a site's redundancy and performance requirements.

However, I certainly could see it (initially) being used side-by-side with site WiFi, and perhaps, again depending on redundancy/performance requirements, first decreasing/eliminating the need for WiFi and, perhaps, eventually, even decreasing/eliminating the need for wire connections.

". . . (because we do go to a lot of sites)."

Since the OP is asking about "greener", BTW, when your team visits such sites, they only walk or bicycle, or use mass transit?  I.e. they never, ever, use a personal vehicle, especially one that uses any form of an internal combustion engine, right?  If not, I'm unsure an exclusively mobile 5g based network might be the ideal use case for all networking needs.  (Laugh - I'm not saying you're suggesting this, but just like with the introduction of WiFi, I suggest one carefully considers how such technology might impact your business.  In my experience, vendor's "always" have the ideal product for you.  Caveat Emptor!)

[Leo Laohoo]

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@Joseph W. Doherty wrote:
Sorry, what I was really asking, was have you done this where a site is ONLY using mobile 5g for ALL its networking needs?

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Yes and no.  Yes, we tested the LTE on our laptops at sites where the APs are not yet operational.  But this is just temporary.  Nowadays, all our sites will have wall-to-wall wireless and if, for unknown reasons, the network that site fails, some staff can revert to LTE for their LAN needs.  

Because LTE LAN concept is currently being marketed in Europe and in the US, in Australia this technology is not yet totally embraced by our major LTE provider.  Not all staff in our organization are given SIM (although all laptops have LTE modems).

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@Joseph W. Doherty wrote:
I don't doubt that it works, if fact, as I noted, I use it as home (actually, I'm using 5g mobile as I type this on my home PC).

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Do not compare the LTE coverage at home to a workplace.  Ever wondered why, in some places, LTE coverage outdoors is shocking but step into a mall and the LTE coverage is splendid?  New buildings have LTE antennas installed in workplaces and the amplifier is installed inside the main comms room.  Wherever we roam inside the building, LTE coverage is always there.

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@Joseph W. Doherty wrote:
when your team visits such sites, they only walk or bicycle, or use mass transit?

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We are transitioning to electric-, hybrid and/or hydrogen vehicles.  Because there is only one hydrogen filling station, everyone avoids taking out the hydrogen vehicles.  These vehicles, however, are only four seaters.  If we need to load network equipment in large quantities, we have two vans.  

Funny story:  Initially, fleet management wanted our BU to submit a "business case" to explain why we needed a van.  I used the concept that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and submitted a picture (and only the picture!) of an electric vehicle, with the back seat folded down, containing 4 x fully-loaded 4510R chassis, a dozen 3750X and other equipment.  We got a van the next week!