CASPER: Carbon-Aware Scheduling and Provisioning for Distributed Web Services

מושגי ליבה

CASPER aims to minimize the carbon footprint of distributed web services while meeting Service Level Objectives through a multi-objective optimization approach.

תקציר

The paper introduces CASPER, a carbon-aware scheduling system for distributed web applications.
It addresses the need to reduce carbon emissions in cloud platforms by optimizing resource provisioning and request scheduling.
CASPER leverages spatial and temporal flexibility to align workload execution with low-carbon energy availability.
The system is evaluated using real-world application workloads and network traces, demonstrating significant reductions in carbon emissions without compromising performance.
Various policies are compared, showing trade-offs between latency constraints and carbon savings.
CASPER represents an innovative approach to sustainable computing practices.

סטטיסטיקה

Compared to baseline methods, CASPER demonstrates improvements of up to 70% with no latency performance degradation.
France has the lowest carbon intensity due to its reliance on nuclear power.
Cloud datacenters consume around three to five percent of electricity worldwide.

ציטוטים

"An example is a web application hosted across multiple cloud regions, each with varying carbon intensity based on their local electricity mix."
"Distributed load-balancing enables the exploitation of low-carbon energy through load migration across regions."

תובנות מפתח מזוקקות מ:

CASPER

by Abel Souza,S... ב- arxiv.org 03-25-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2403.14792.pdf

שאלות מעמיקות

How can CASPER's approach be applied to other types of workloads beyond web applications?

CASPER's approach can be extended to various types of workloads beyond web applications by adapting its carbon-aware scheduling and provisioning techniques. For example, batch processing workloads in data analytics or machine learning tasks could benefit from CASPER's optimization strategies. By considering the spatial and temporal flexibility of these workloads, CASPER could dynamically allocate resources based on the availability of low-carbon energy sources. Additionally, real-time streaming applications or IoT systems with varying processing demands could leverage CASPER to minimize their carbon footprint while meeting performance requirements.

What potential challenges or criticisms might arise from implementing a system like CASPER?

One potential challenge is the complexity of integrating CASPER into existing distributed systems or cloud platforms. Adapting current resource management frameworks to accommodate CASPER's multi-objective optimization model may require significant changes in infrastructure and operational processes. Moreover, there could be concerns about the overhead introduced by continuous monitoring of carbon intensity data and workload forecasting for efficient decision-making.
Criticism may arise regarding the trade-offs between carbon reduction and latency performance. Some stakeholders might prioritize immediate response times over environmental considerations, leading to resistance towards redirecting requests based on carbon intensity metrics. Additionally, ensuring accurate forecasts for both energy supply and workload demand is crucial for effective implementation; inaccuracies in these predictions could impact the system's efficiency.

How can the concept of sustainability in computing be extended beyond energy efficiency considerations?

Sustainability in computing can be broadened by incorporating additional environmental factors beyond just energy efficiency. This expansion includes reducing electronic waste through responsible recycling practices, promoting eco-friendly manufacturing processes for hardware components, and optimizing water usage in data centers' cooling systems.
Furthermore, focusing on social sustainability aspects such as diversity and inclusion within tech companies can contribute to a more sustainable industry overall. Encouraging ethical practices like fair labor conditions throughout the supply chain also plays a vital role in enhancing sustainability efforts within computing.
Moreover, addressing digital equity issues by bridging the digital divide through accessible technology solutions ensures that sustainability initiatives are inclusive and benefit all communities equally.