Ford Jellymoulds Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 (edited) When a corporation as large as Ford decides to do something as simple as shutting down its computers at night, the savings can be astronomical. In the case of Ford, powering down computers can save the company $1.2 million each year. The new program called PC Power Management, utilizes energy saving settings provided by Microsoft Windows. The energy settings will be used on company laptops and desktops to reduce energy waste. A managed shutdown will occur each night and during the weekend period. Additionally, computers will be awake to receive updates during pre-selected non-business hours, freeing up time previously used for updates throughout the working day. According to Ford, an estimated 60 percent of the company's computers remained on after business hours resulting in wasted energy. The new managed shutdown will eliminate waste to the tune of over a million dollars in savings for the company and reduce its carbon footprint by an estimated 16,000-25,000 metric tons per year. Continue after the jump to read the company's full release. LINK Edited March 28, 2010 by Ford Jellymoulds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Why are/were all the computers left on in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justins Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Some people just like not having to wait for their PC to reboot in the morning, I suppose. Once read an article advocating for IT depts to set all office PCs to go into standby after 15 minutes so this didn't happen, seems Ford is sort of going down the same path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Why are/were all the computers left on in the first place? Because turning the mainboard(Motherbard) on and off can degrade the longevity of the servers. The green stuff that you see on the motherboard is called a PCB and its purpose is to provide insulation for the circuitry and once you leave it on for prolonged periods of time the heat softens the insulation when the computer is on and when turned off, it cools the insulation which hardens again. Do this consecutively and the motherboard could warp or distort causing a short circuit somewhere. This is why you leave your PC on 24/7 with no harm done. (Computer Science Major) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Additionally, computers will be awake to receive updates during pre-selected non-business hours, freeing up time previously used for updates throughout the working day. Interesting. The computers in my building have their automatic updates turned off and must be updated manually with the proper account permissions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted March 28, 2010 Share Posted March 28, 2010 Because turning the mainboard(Motherbard) on and off can degrade the longevity of the servers. The green stuff that you see on the motherboard is called a PCB and its purpose is to provide insulation for the circuitry and once you leave it on for prolonged periods of time the heat softens the insulation when the computer is on and when turned off, it cools the insulation which hardens again. Do this consecutively and the motherboard could warp or distort causing a short circuit somewhere. This is why you leave your PC on 24/7 with no harm done. (Computer Science Major) What year did you graduate? That hasn't been an issue in decades. Just put your computer to sleep. Instant wake-up, huge power savings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Some people just like not having to wait for their PC to reboot in the morning, I suppose. Once read an article advocating for IT depts to set all office PCs to go into standby after 15 minutes so this didn't happen, seems Ford is sort of going down the same path. That's why people leave them on where I work. It takes around 15-20 minutes to boot up due to all the additional security and such they've added onto Windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Why are/were all the computers left on in the first place? IT told people to leave them on so they could push downloads at night. Plus old school folks felt that powering up and down was hard on the equipment, but who cares ! It is almost all leased and covered by warranty. Although desktop PC may take as long a 4-5 to be repaired. Interestingly enough, Ford still does not have a plan to back up desktop PCs ! Luckily they have a contract with someone to recover crashed hard drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 (edited) Just put your computer to sleep. Instant wake-up, huge power savings. Exactly! That's what I do...sometimes hibernate...it takes a bit longer to wake up, but it comes back just where you left it and uses ZERO power as opposed to a small amount of power for a sleeping PC. Interestingly enough, Ford still does not have a plan to back up desktop PCs ! Luckily they have a contract with someone to recover crashed hard drives. There should be no need. All files should be stored on the (backed up) server network drives. So if a PC crashes, just ghost it and be done wtih it. Backing up desktop PCs is a waste of resources and money. Edited March 29, 2010 by fordmantpw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVT_MAN Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Interestingly enough, Ford still does not have a plan to back up desktop PCs ! Luckily they have a contract with someone to recover crashed hard drives. If employees store and access their files from a server or a NAS, it probably doesn't even matter that they don't have a plan to back up PCs. Then again, even if you have those things in place, there will always be someone who will store all their files on their desktop ... so then you still need this I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 If employees store and access their files from a server or a NAS, it probably doesn't even matter that they don't have a plan to back up PCs. Then again, even if you have those things in place, there will always be someone who will store all their files on their desktop ... so then you still need this I suppose. In our managed environment, C: drives are mostly locked out and the "My Documents" actually maps to a server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 In our managed environment, C: drives are mostly locked out and the "My Documents" actually maps to a server. Yep, that's how it should be. I actually do that with my machines here at home for a couple reasons. The server is backed up, and I can easily access all files from any machine (I have a couple laptops, several virtual machines, a couple desktops, my wife has a laptop, etc.). This keeps me from having to back up the machines, and my wife doesn't lose the 1000's of pictures she has taken over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Yep, that's how it should be. I actually do that with my machines here at home for a couple reasons. The server is backed up, and I can easily access all files from any machine (I have a couple laptops, several virtual machines, a couple desktops, my wife has a laptop, etc.). This keeps me from having to back up the machines, and my wife doesn't lose the 1000's of pictures she has taken over the years. Speaking of backing up home computers, we're mulling over using Carbonite to backup our machines. Has anyone used them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 (edited) Speaking of backing up home computers, we're mulling over using Carbonite to backup our machines. Has anyone used them? Yep. Two coworkers of mine use it (we are software consultants, so we know a little about IT ), and one of them refers all of his smaller clients that he works with on the side to Carbonite. I had a trial of it, but decided to handle the backups myself (my wife is paranoid about all of our stuff being "out on the net" even if it is encrypted). I would highly recommend it! Also, if you have a central server like I mentioned a couple posts up, you can map drives to the server, and just install Carbonite on the server (this can be any machine--- XP/Vista/Win 7/Win Server/etc.). This will save you subscription fees to Carbonite as it is $55/machine. Edited March 29, 2010 by fordmantpw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Yep. Two coworkers of mine use it (we are software consultants, so we know a little about IT ), and one of them refers all of his smaller clients that he works with on the side to Carbonite. I had a trial of it, but decided to handle the backups myself (my wife is paranoid about all of our stuff being "out on the net" even if it is encrypted). I would highly recommend it! Also, if you have a central server like I mentioned a couple posts up, you can map drives to the server, and just install Carbonite on the server (this can be any machine--- XP/Vista/Win 7/Win Server/etc.). This will save you subscription fees to Carbonite as it is $55/machine. Well, I have 3 machines to backup and at $165 per year for all three, it's hard to justify spending money on a server (even a used one). I can pay for many years of backups for the cost of a server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordmantpw Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Well, I have 3 machines to backup and at $165 per year for all three, it's hard to justify spending money on a server (even a used one). I can pay for many years of backups for the cost of a server. Ahh, but you can use one of your existing machines as a server (or just buy a cheap desktop...doesn't take much in the way of processing power...just a decent sized hard drive). Just pick a desktop (assuming one of your machines is a desktop) to leave on 24/7, create a few folders, map drives from the other machines, and install Carbonite on the one desktop you picked to leave on. Easy...but I'm a cheapy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomServo92 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Ahh, but you can use one of your existing machines as a server (or just buy a cheap desktop...doesn't take much in the way of processing power...just a decent sized hard drive). Just pick a desktop (assuming one of your machines is a desktop) to leave on 24/7, create a few folders, map drives from the other machines, and install Carbonite on the one desktop you picked to leave on. Easy...but I'm a cheapy! I have an extra desktop but I'd have to purchase additional disk space to accommodate everyone's files that need to be backed up. Also, I'd need at least 2 Carbonite licenses as one of our machines will not be on the same LAN as the rest of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itguy09 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Would be good IF those features in Windows actually worked as designed. I've been in IT for over 15 years now and Windows' power management has never worked right. For remote backup, I use CrashPlan. Cheap, reliable, and works on many platforms: PC, Mac, Linux, Solaris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 As much as I hate Microsoft I've been using Windows Home Server successfully for 2 years. Only cost me $140 plus an old desktop PC (no recurring costs). Haven't had to touch the server at all in 2 years - not even to reboot or upgrade software. It uses a thin client on each PC and gives you overall status on each one and access to the backup console from any PC. You can retrieve and view a backup as a mapped network drive to recover files individually or you boot from a recovery CD to rebuild a failed disk drive from scratch on a new drive. It also serves as a media server (is that redundant?) and gives you shared folders for all PCs, public and private. I really believe they bought this from another company - the GUI doesn't have that MS look and feel, plus it actually works (did I mention I hate MS?). But I'm sold. How does Carbonite work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 (edited) There should be no need. All files should be stored on the (backed up) server network drives. So if a PC crashes, just ghost it and be done wtih it. Backing up desktop PCs is a waste of resources and money. WOW ! What a concept !! Every user in the company came up with the same solution 10 years ago !!! Except that Ford never bought servers with adequate disk space to provide either back up space or space for a server based My Documents ! IT answer was/is "It is not in the budget !" Mission critical data should be stored in the corporate "repositories" (at ridiculous charges). These repositories are design for "static" documents. The net results is nothing has happened and the ned user is responsible for any "lost" data. One area that Mullaly really needs to "deep dive" is IT. What they "charge" other departments is ridiculous. I was told that it would take $2M and 1 year to investigate and develop a plan to replace some applications on "legacy" servers. Edited March 29, 2010 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weiweishen Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Why are/were all the computers left on in the first place? A lot of Ford employees have to work at home during the late night. They have to have their computer on so that they can remotely log into their computer at office Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 What year did you graduate? That hasn't been an issue in decades. Just put your computer to sleep. Instant wake-up, huge power savings. As long as we use thermal insulation it will always be an issue. Turning your computer on and off effects longevity... Making it hibernate still uses energy. Boot times aren't an issue with todays server class SSD and RAM drives. Do you old farts even know what an SSD is? BTW i'm currently in college...but I'm not working on my major at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GT-Keith Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Also, many corporations outsource their files to a different company anyway(Which leave their servers on 24/7) so there isn't likely to be a disruption in services. These things are designed to run 24/7/365. The only downtime is when they switch over to new parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Also, many corporations outsource their files to a different company anyway(Which leave their servers on 24/7) so there isn't likely to be a disruption in services. These things are designed to run 24/7/365. The only downtime is when they switch over to new parts. How do you outsource "files"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fusioneh Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Do you old farts even know what an SSD is? This old fart (62) works with them all the time (Solid State Drive). I've been in the field for almost 20 years and still ticking. The biggest issue I see with this kind of stuff is that the logins (thanks to Microsoft) have gotten so long that people will do anything (including staying logged in) to avoid the long wait at the start of a session. SCCM has done its share to add to the wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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