ChannelWeb writes on Oracle 11G being a "green solution."
Mention "green solution" and databases aren't usually what jump to mind first. Yet Oracle (NSDQ:ORCL), the industry's market-share leading enterprise database vendor, has developed the latest 11g database as a more streamlined, greener product with new features, such as advanced data compression and Partition Advisor.
Though Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle officially launched 11g last summer, the Test Center opted to examine the database in light of news from archrival Microsoft that its SQL Server 2008 would be delayed by several months.
Ah, a way for Oracle to generate some news to compete against Microsoft's SQL Server 2008.
Where is the Green?
Test Center reviewers also took a look at the advanced data compression capabilities, and here's where the "green" comes in: Compression in 11g goes across all databases -- not just production -- which decreases the level of real estate needed in the data center. Compressing large volumes of data can significantly decrease the need for additional disk space.
In 11g, unstructured documents can be compressed with binary compression and structured documents are compressed by way of duplicate data values. There is less overhead with data compression because of an improved algorithm. Compression is up to four times greater than in previous versions.
Looking a little further at Oracle's web site turned up a Green Data Center article, part 1 and part 2.
A central plank of green IT is server consolidation. According to OnStor's statistics, fifty-five per cent of respondents stated that storage consolidation would be a central element of their green policy. While an even more upbeat Gartner survey found that 92% of respondents had a data centre consolidation planned for, in progress or completed.
Storage consolidation is really important, although equally essential to reducing energy consumption is ensuring companies have streamlined their applications and data. Duplicated data and applications is a major problem in many organizations and these cause a range of operational inefficiencies, including demand for more storage space. Most companies know that at the data and applications levels they are far from efficient, but the problem has been that the risk, cost and time to consolidate applications has put them off. Celona recently conducted a survey amongst telecoms executives and 59% said they'd been so discouraged by an application migration that they decided not to go ahead with it. The new-generation of migration technology overcomes these problems, making the long-awaited benefits of application consolidation a reality.
Many vendors have cottoned on to the fact that there is a sea change in the air, and this is not the oceanic smell of green altruism – there is a distinct whiff of hard business reality about it. "Environmental sentiment is all well and good, and it helps that environmental issues currently enjoy a high media profile, but few companies have the financial freedom to go green overnight" says Simon Sherrington. "They simply can't justify decommissioning equipment unless there is a clear cost benefit in terms of saved opex, or unless the kit is becoming obsolete anyway. That is why companies with comparatively high energy costs, and companies in markets with high rates of technology obsolescence, have been swifter out of the blocks than peers in other industry sectors."
