Re: Greening of Streaming

Thanks Dom. This didn’t exactly answer my question but did give me a whole lot of other useful information. So content availability functions similarly to sending and receiving packets of data … except that the data stream is always turned on … and that’s how (whatever needs to know) knows when a call for transmission is made somewhere and then the website data sending begins. 

BTW is this upcoming event of interest to anyone on this list?

The Connect20 Summit
November 14-15, 2023 | Washington, D.C.
https://broadbandbreakfast.com/connect20-summit/
There’s free registration for streaming via Zoom 

Details:
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to connect the 20% of Americans who don’t subscribe to home broadband—and digital navigators are the key.
 Join Network:On, National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), and Broadband Breakfast in partnership with Comcast for a hybrid event focused on the policies and tools necessary to close the digital adoption gap for good.<snip>

Peace and blessings,

Kimi Wei
The Wei LLC | A proudly certified MWBE/SBE
LAN Business & Entrepreneurship Chair
kimi@thewei.com  @kimiwei   m 862-203-8814
facebook.com/thekimiwei




> On Nov 13, 2023, at 19:35, Dom Robinson <dom@id3as.co.uk> wrote:
> 
> 
> In line
> -- 
> Dom Robinsonwww.id3as.co.uk www.greeningofstreaming.org uk.linkedin.com/in/domrobinson
> Meet >> https://calendly.com/id3as 
>> On 14 Nov 2023, at 00:17, Kimi Wei <kimi@thewei.com> wrote:
>> 
>> I understand the concept behind this assertion but it seems bizarre to me. This is basically saying that content is being served even when there is no call for it. How can that be true?
> 
> its not far from Shannon / Information theory: Basically the way i simplify it for my mum is that to get a network link up you start sending zeros. (Its a bit more complex than ‘just zeros’ in reality) …Then when you have data you want to send you modulate the zeros to zeros and ones. 
> 
> Not sending zeros and ones doesnt stop the link. Energy is used all the time the link is up setting all the bits be they 1s or 0s.
> 
> Don’t get confused / conflate the server. That may be processing on its CPU/ NIC when the data is sent and not when the data is not being sent (which may result in a CPU based energy demand). One server compare to the hundreds of switches and routers involved is almost inconsequential - although should still be optimised.
> 
> But the network links are separate and  will be powered up ready to carry peak capacity (both bandwidth and energy) all the time. There is no elasticity in the networking.
> 
> Also worth noting is that In practice CDN caches are always run full. The only thing payload affects is how quickly content is expired. 
> 
> Dom
> 
>> 
>>> Also the core infrastructure is on 24/7 - this is an observation that many miss. A webpage user can attribute energy to their actions for microseconds. A video user for a few hours. But the actual energy being consumed in making the service available is being consumed 24/7 - when you add up all that availability it is usually much more than the time spent actually browsing / streaming by end users. But that availability-energy is rarely if at all every included in any research… 
>> 
>> I can think of a couple of ways to possibly reduce demand:
>> 
>> 1/  Cache more popular content on the periphery of the internet
>> 2/  Educate content producers about the environmental cost of producing gratuitous video content. A contact sent me a ’song’ today that consisted of pirated video footage from various entities, overlaid with text and singing. I could only think about the environmental impact of such needless and senseless use of video content, and I shared my thoughts with him. IMO we all need to do more of that. 
>> 3/  Convince the social platforms to condense their video streams more
>> 4/  Accustom the public to not always demanding the sharpest and most resource intensive images on their screens
>> 
>> I also think about the following:
>> 
>> Currently, I think maybe 2/3 of the US has broadband access, and a lot of effort and money is beginning to be pumped into bringing broadband to all households and businesses over the next five years, along with lessons in how to navigate and use the internet and its resources.
>> 
>> Many of the households lacking access are low-income, low education families which are more comfortable with video than written communication. How much will demand be impacted by those households suddenly coming on board in a wave of onboarding equivalent to tsunami proportions? I’ve also noticed that increasingly, low education family and friends are sending voice and video messages rather than messaging me by text – mostly through Whatsapp. How is this affecting utilization?
>> 
>> I’ve also noticed an increase in the number of zoom calls and meetings in which my contact participate, which in many cases have completely replaced audio calls and in-person meetings. What is the impact of this trend? 
>> 
>> Peace and blessings,
>> 
>> Kimi Wei
>> The Wei LLC | A proudly certified MWBE/SBE
>> LAN Business & Entrepreneurship Chair
>> kimi@thewei.com  @kimiwei   m 862-203-8814
>> facebook.com/thekimiwei
>>

Received on Tuesday, 14 November 2023 03:58:40 UTC