An overview of energy efficiency techniques in cluster computing systems

Two major constraints demand more consideration for energy efficiency in cluster computing: (a) operational costs, and (b) system reliability. Increasing energy efficiency in cluster systems will reduce energy consumption, excess heat, lower operational costs, and improve system reliability. Based on the energy-power relationship, and the fact that energy consumption can be reduced with strategic power management, we focus in this survey on the characteristic of two main power management technologies: (a) static power management (SPM) systems that utilize low-power components to save the energy, and (b) dynamic power management (DPM) systems that utilize software and power-scalable components to optimize the energy consumption. We present the current state of the art in both of the SPM and DPM techniques, citing representative examples. The survey is concluded with a brief discussion and some assumptions about the possible future directions that could be explored to improve the energy efficiency in cluster computing.