Last month we installed a new server. While this new hardware is great news for us nerds, some may see it as running slightly counter to our green commitment. Our preference is to optimize all our equipment to extend the useful life of the hardware. But now it really was time for a new server.
In order to alleviate our somewhat mixed feelings about this new addition to our array of hardware, we chose to travel by electric car to the data center 
in order to install the equipment. Since it was launched in Amsterdam some months ago, an electric Smart car sharing scheme has become very popular among several employees of Greenhost. The driving range of an electric Smart car proved to be more than adequate for a return trip to Haarlem
The server, which just about fit in the trunk, is an IBM X3550 M3 server with 144GB memory and 8 CPU cores. These types of machine
are used for our virtualization layer and form the basic building blocks of our network. The machines are fitted with an in-memory file system for the virtualization software, thereby doing away with the need for hard disks (and yielding additional energy savings). The virtual machines (with SAN or NAS storage) that will run on this hardware will eventually be responsible for hosting websites, databases or e-mail.
We opted for IBM systems due to their low energy usage and the minimal amount of heavy metals and other toxic substances in their hardware. Additionally, IBM is a class A brand and supplies ultra-reliable hardware.
For more information on Greenhost and their environmental thoughts and vision please visit their website or contact their sales department!
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