Changing 30 lines of Linux code will reduce data center energy consumption by 30%, scientists have found

A small change in the Linux code, the operating systems based on which most data centers use, can reduce server energy consumption by up to 30%, say scientists at the University of Waterloo (Canada).

Image Source: Scott Graham / unsplash.com

Computer science professor Martin Karsten and Peter Cai, a graduate student in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo, discovered that data center processing of network packets was inefficient. They developed a small change to significantly improve this figure. “We didn’t add anything. We simply changed the order of what was done and when, and this helped greatly improve the use of CPU caches in the data center. It’s like changing the layout of a conveyor belt in a factory so that people don’t constantly run,” said Professor Karsten.

With the help of engineer Joe Damato of CDN provider Fastly, a 30-line piece of code was developed that optimizes the handling of network traffic in Linux and reduces data center power consumption for mission-critical operations by 30%. The code was included in the Linux 6.13 kernel.

«All of these big companies – Amazon, Google and Meta✴ – use Linux to varying degrees, but they are very picky about how they use it. If they decide to “enable” our method in their data centers, it could save gigawatt-hours of energy around the world. This could have a positive impact on almost every service request on the Internet,” added Professor Karsten.