Green dedicated server hosting?

[NewbieGreen]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a dedicated server- nothing Google sized, but big enough that I need my own box.

However, I've recently made a pledge to myself to be as eco-friendly as I reasonably can, and I know dedicated servers take up a lot of power. Does anyone know of any energy efficient/green hosting? Hopefully something that's as wallet-friendly as it is eco-friendly, too.

Thanks!

[~ServerPoint~]

I recommend you specify your requriments for the dedicated server. Knowing them and also budget you are ready to spend for the dedicated server you will be able find that quicker

[Kron]

Green hosting is available from glowhost.com, this company provides it on lovely conditions.
Prices are not high and their support is skillful.

[action98]

i recomended hostgator

[damien_ls]

Generally speaking, a VPS can potentially provide a "greener" hosting environment than a dedicated server - the whole virtualisation trend is build from a foundation of getting better resource utilisation from the high powered servers now available as "commodity hardware".

To put this in context, our VPS nodes use around 2-3x the power consumption of one of our dedicated server customers, yet there can be 10+ VPS's on one of these nodes running some quite intensive sites.

It's also worth mentioning that power supplies run more efficiently under load, and therefore buying an overpowered dedicated server for your own use and having that PSU idling a lot is definitely not the greenest solution! A VPS on the other hand is generally quite scalable (i.e. meaning that you don't have to buy something much larger than your current needs, as you can easily scale to a larger version at a moment's notice when required), and your provider will of course manage their nodes (physical servers running VPS's) such that they're not under-utilised.

Of course the balancing act is ensuring that they're not over-utilised, which is why you should only buy VPS services from a provider with plenty of experience who knows what they're doing etc. - it's easy to degrade service by overloading nodes, but there are enough high quality providers around who know how to manage their servers properly to avoid that happening!

Disclaimer: We sell VPS and dedicated servers. Whilst I'm clearly an advocate for VPS's, I do of course recognise that they don't fit every scenario: just curious if the OP has fully explored this option to establish its viability for their project?

[NewbieGreen]

Thanks for the replies, everyone!

Based on the info above (thanks especially!) I've decided to go with a VPS from GNAX (I'm sorry I didn't go with your company after you helped me out - they just had a better deal and a great reputation)

[CapsLOCK]

Think you may try dedis from hostingsource.com, rackspace.com and glowhost.com, these companies have provided their dedicated servers on web master friendly conditions.
Prices on their servers are not high.
Think they will meet all your needs.

[Vera6]

In Germany almost every hoster uses "green-power" fpr their hosting solutions. I don't know where you live but maybe you can use it too?
hoster-toaster.de/root-server/
Vera

[SyfonicHosting]

Originally Posted by action98

i recomended hostgator

Do you always recommend them with an affiliate link

[MJMWeb]

Originally Posted by NewbieGreen

Hi all,

I'm looking for a dedicated server- nothing Google sized, but big enough that I need my own box.

However, I've recently made a pledge to myself to be as eco-friendly as I reasonably can, and I know dedicated servers take up a lot of power. Does anyone know of any energy efficient/green hosting? Hopefully something that's as wallet-friendly as it is eco-friendly, too.

Thanks!

Please remember that "green" hosting is 99% of the time nothing but a ploy to lure a new target client base for companies. In fact the term green in the hosting industry is used when something as simple as the server is getting power to a green source such as a windmill or solar. sounds great but is also used for hosts that have solar/wind hooked into the power grid but not necessarily powering the network directly.

Your best bet to go green is looking at hardware. better/newer servers are more energy efficient and most data centers run somewhat older servers. implimenting newer servers is costly but would need less of them to accomplish the same service levels as more older servers. get the concept?

[SyfonicHosting]

Originally Posted by NewbieGreen

nothing Google sized, but big enough that I need my own box

Also, just to let you know, last time I checked Google was not using high-end or green servers. They were using thousands of low-end servers to power their company websites.

[.Andy]

Originally Posted by damien_ls

Generally speaking, a VPS can potentially provide a "greener" hosting environment than a dedicated server - the whole virtualisation trend is build from a foundation of getting better resource utilisation from the high powered servers now available as "commodity hardware".

To put this in context, our VPS nodes use around 2-3x the power consumption of one of our dedicated server customers, yet there can be 10+ VPS's on one of these nodes running some quite intensive sites.

It's also worth mentioning that power supplies run more efficiently under load, and therefore buying an overpowered dedicated server for your own use and having that PSU idling a lot is definitely not the greenest solution! A VPS on the other hand is generally quite scalable (i.e. meaning that you don't have to buy something much larger than your current needs, as you can easily scale to a larger version at a moment's notice when required), and your provider will of course manage their nodes (physical servers running VPS's) such that they're not under-utilised.

Of course the balancing act is ensuring that they're not over-utilised, which is why you should only buy VPS services from a provider with plenty of experience who knows what they're doing etc. - it's easy to degrade service by overloading nodes, but there are enough high quality providers around who know how to manage their servers properly to avoid that happening!

Disclaimer: We sell VPS and dedicated servers. Whilst I'm clearly an advocate for VPS's, I do of course recognise that they don't fit every scenario: just curious if the OP has fully explored this option to establish its viability for their project?

I absoultly agree. VPS are much better bet although some scripts still require more resources and I'd look at www.co2stats.com so you can pay for carbon offsets (the same godaddy uses) and choose any host you like (proably the one with the best support/price combination)

I'm looking at partnering with them my friend has said nothing but good things about them.

[SyfonicHosting]

Originally Posted by .Andy

I absoultly agree. VPS are much better bet although some scripts still require more resources and I'd look at www.co2stats.com so you can pay for carbon offsets (the same godaddy uses) and choose any host you like (proably the one with the best support/price combination)

I'm looking at partnering with them my friend has said nothing but good things about them.

I have never seen that website, thanks for sharing it Andy.

[SiberForum]

Why are you looking for the green web hosting? Beware Grean in the most cases is the marketing label and that is not the prove that web hosting solution would be cheaper or something like that

[SyfonicHosting]

Originally Posted by SiberForum

Why are you looking for the green web hosting? Beware Grean in the most cases is the marketing label and that is not the prove that web hosting solution would be cheaper or something like that

Also, most people who claim to have "green hosting" are just doing it as a marketing gimmick. Do your research on a company before assuming they are "green" just because their website says they are...

[rumsfo]

I agree with the statement about green hosting. That is being said for the marketing goals.
Not sure that will improve the service quality somehow

[SyfonicHosting]

Here is an explanation by one green hosting company:

Green Ethics

Most of us would agree that there is a GROWING need TO LIVE a more sustainable life, from reducing carbon emissions, to increasing energy efficiency, it seems everyone has taken up on the idea. Companies of all shapes and sizes are making attempts to reduce their carbon foot print, whether it’s reusing recycled materials or planting new trees in the Amazon it seems the world has gone carbon crazy...

Super Green Hosting has been committed to the environment since the beginning, we were one of the first green webhosting providers out there and we continue to strive TO PROVIDE THE GREENEST SERVICE AVAILABLE in the green web hosting market.

Very few people realize the true impact the web hosting industry has on the environment, the average server produces the same emissions as a 15 mpg SUV let alone the data centre where the server is located which consumes on average as much electricity as 30,000 households.

Let’s put it another way… your website is hosted on a server which on average produces around 12½ Tonnes of CO2 each year, that is a huge amount of CO2!

Each year your PC produces half a tonNe, your car produces 5 TONNES, AND your home produces 6½ TONNES – THIS MEANS on average EACH PERSON IS responsible for 12 tonNes of the CO2 that is produced each year! THAT is a huge amount of CO2 AND SHOWS WHY we are so insistent in our beliefs IN GREEN HOSTING.

Green Hosting

As a Super Green customer, your website will be hosted on one of our super reliable “Green” Dell servers. These servers produce 20% less CO2 than the average server, for the other 80% we are INVOLVED in a tree planting project which aims to neutralize our (and your) affects on the environment.

Super Green Hosting is a carbon neutral project meaning your website will not have any effect on the environment. If you want to go a step further and reverse the affects of global warming your kind generosity is welcomed by our special green addons that will allow you to plant more trees, purchase green energy certificates for your website and much much more. Super Green Hosting provides users with Green badges for to display on your website and show you really care about the impact your website has on the environment.

[PhotonVPS-Jim]

You can just get an Atom dedicated server, but these machines aren't very powerful.

[rumsfo]

Originally Posted by PhotonVPS-Jim

You can just get an Atom dedicated server, but these machines aren't very powerful.

as well as solar or green powered ones. If there are no sunny days I assume those hosts will use traditional power supplies