In computing, a server is a piece of computer hardware or software that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called "clients". This architecture is called the client–server model. Servers can provide various functionalities, often called "services", such as sharing data or resources among multiple clients, or performing computation for a client. A single server can serve multiple clients, and a single client can use multiple servers. A client process may run on the same device or may connect over a network to a server on a different device. Typical servers are database servers, file servers, mail servers, print servers, web servers, game servers, and application servers.
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Integral to the growth of Silicon Valley, Cisco develops, manufactures and sells networking hardware, software, telecommunications equipment and other high-technology services and products. Through its numerous acquired subsidiaries, such as OpenDNS, Webex, Jabber and Jasper, Cisco specializes in specific tech markets, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), domain security and energy management. On January 25, 2021, Cisco reincorporated in Delaware.
An energy management system (EMS) is a system of computer-aided tools used by operators of electric utility grids to monitor, control, and optimize the performance of the generation or transmission system. Also, it can be used in small scale systems like microgrids. As electric vehicle (EV) charging becomes more popular smaller residential devices that manage when a EV can charge based on the total load vs total capacity of an electrical service are becoming popular. One example of these is made by Black Box Innovations and there is an in-depth description of how they work on their website.
Green computing, green IT, or ICT sustainability, is the study and practice of environmentally sustainable computing or IT.
Scientific Atlanta, Inc. was a Georgia, United States-based manufacturer of cable television, telecommunications, and broadband equipment. Scientific Atlanta was founded in 1951 by a group of engineers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and was purchased by Cisco Systems in 2005 for $6.9 billion after Cisco received antitrust clearance for the purchase. The Cisco acquisition of Scientific Atlanta was ranked in the top 10 of largest technology acquisitions in history and was Cisco's largest acquisition to date. Prior to the purchase, Scientific Atlanta had been a Fortune 500 company and was one of the top 25 largest corporations in Georgia.
Demand response is a change in the power consumption of an electric utility customer to better match the demand for power with the supply. Until recently electric energy could not be easily stored, so utilities have traditionally matched demand and supply by throttling the production rate of their power plants, taking generating units on or off line, or importing power from other utilities. There are limits to what can be achieved on the supply side, because some generating units can take a long time to come up to full power, some units may be very expensive to operate, and demand can at times be greater than the capacity of all the available power plants put together. Demand response seeks to adjust the demand for power instead of adjusting the supply.
A smart meter is an electronic device that records information such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor. Smart meters communicate the information to the consumer for greater clarity of consumption behavior, and electricity suppliers for system monitoring and customer billing. Smart meters typically record energy near real-time, and report regularly, short intervals throughout the day. Smart meters enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it enables two-way communication between the meter and the supplier. Communications from the meter to the network may be wireless, or via fixed wired connections such as power line carrier (PLC). Wireless communication options in common use include cellular communications, Wi-Fi, wireless ad hoc networks over Wi-Fi, wireless mesh networks, low power long-range wireless (LoRa), Wize ZigBee, and Wi-SUN.
Faronics Corporation is a privately held software company with offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Pleasanton, California, United States, Singapore and Bracknell, UK. Faronics develops computer software for multi-user IT environments.
A virtual power plant (VPP) is a cloud-based distributed power plant that aggregates the capacities of heterogeneous distributed energy resources (DER) for the purposes of enhancing power generation, as well as trading or selling power on the electricity market. Examples of virtual power plants exist in the United States, Europe, and Australia.
A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operation and energy measures including:
GridPoint is a smart building technology leader with a mission focused on enabling the world’s transition to an efficient and sustainable future through smart, grid-connected buildings. Its hardware-enabled subscription offerings bridge the gap between commercial businesses, utilities, and technology partners to support grid modernization and bring outdated energy infrastructure to the 21st century. Powered by the best data, GridPont's platform is designed to identify best-fit energy strategies, reduce waste, and make buildings smarter through controls, automation, and machine learning.
Itron is an American technology company that offers products and services on energy and water resource management. Its headquarters is in Liberty Lake, Washington, United States. Its products are related to smart grid, smart gas and smart water that measure and analyze electricity, gas and water consumption. Its products include electricity, gas, water and thermal energy measurement devices and control technology; communications systems; software; as well as managed and consulting services. Itron has over 8,000 customers in more than 100 countries.
Google PowerMeter was a software project of Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, to help consumers track their home electricity usage. The development of the software was part of an effort by Google to invest in renewable energy, electricity grid upgrades, and other measures that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was launched on October 5, 2009 and ended on September 16, 2011.
IT energy management or Green IT is the analysis and management of energy demand within the Information Technology department in any organization. IT energy demand accounts for approximately 2% of global CO2 emissions, approximately the same level as aviation, and represents over 10% of all the global energy consumption. IT can account for 25% of a modern office building’s energy cost.
TechOperators is an early stage venture capital firm focused on cybersecurity and B2B software. It is based in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., and was founded in 2008.
The smart grids in South Korea constitute a platform that is re-imagining electricity grids, equipping it with technology that allows more capability, particularly in addressing the demands of the 21st century and the future. This process follows a modular approach to grid construction and focuses on the development of the IT-enabling of its electric power generation system. The country views the smart grids, along with the so-called "new energy industries", as an emergent pillar of the Korean economy.
Verdiem was a software corporation based in Seattle, Washington. Verdiem is offered by Avolin. The company was backed by venture capital. Verdiem produces the Surveyor 6 enterprise-class PC power management software. Verdiem Surveyor enables customers to centrally control and reduce the energy used by PCs, Macs, and network devices running Cisco EnergyWise without impacting end users. Nearly 700 corporations, government agencies and universities have deployed Surveyor on over 2 million devices.
In computer networking, Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances, or simply Cisco ASA, is Cisco's line of network security devices introduced in May 2005, that succeeded three existing lines of popular Cisco products:
Target Partners is a European venture capital fund claiming ca. €300 million under management. It is located in Munich and founded in 1999. The general partners are Waldemar Jantz, Kurt Müller, Berthold von Freyberg, and Michael Münnix.
Energy storage as a service (ESaaS) allows a facility to benefit from the advantages of an energy storage system by entering into a service agreement without purchasing the system. Energy storage systems provide a range of services to generate revenue, create savings, and improve electricity resiliency. The operation of the ESaaS system is a unique combination of an advanced battery storage system, an energy management system, and a service contract which can deliver value to a business by providing reliable power more economically.
