TCS Innovation Labs–Infrastructure

Lab Head: Anand Sivasubramaniam

Our research is based on the central theme of envisioning and implementing Green Services for IT Infrastructure and developing deployable IT technologies for real-time, fine-grained management of energy and carbon for IT and non-IT infrastructure. 

The lab’s activities seek to reign in the ever-expanding carbon footprint of the IT industry and answer to the urgent need for developing green data centers. The lab explores numerous numbers of techniques such as virtualization, optimal management of power consumption and cooling techniques and intends to implement a constant stream of innovative solutions that could help organizations achieve their Green IT as well as Corporate Social Responsibility objectives. 

With the advent and acceptance of carbon credits, an important facet of green business is the ability to faithfully translate all conservation-driven activities (eco-actions) into quantifiable and tradable components (carbon credits). Carbon credits, while enhancing the reputation and brand value of a company, can also contribute to the company’s bottom line. The lab is currently working on the development of tools, practices and processes for carbon credit accounting and management. 

Smart electricity grid enables efficient and optimal operation of electrical infrastructure with the help of Information Technology solutions (IT solutions). It includes an intelligent monitoring system that enables analytics and real time decisions.  These aspects cover both supply and demand side optimization. 

Architecting the water network and defining “quality” of water appropriately in terms of chemical, mechanical properties are critical for an efficient water delivery network. The lab begins with a brief synopsis of the basics of water distribution networks.

Research  Areas

We research into the following distinct areas:

Greening of IT

The lab’s research in this area is directed at developing solutions that assist in accurate measurement, analysis, and improvement of power consumption patterns of data centres.

IT for Greening

The lab’s research in this area is to develop deployable technologies for real-time, fine-grained management of energy and carbon in IT buildings.

Solutions and Tools

Greening IT

Power InSight: A tool to get real time, fine grained, integrated view of power consumption in a data center. Analysis engine for trend analysis, prediction of future power requirements, what-if scenarios. Policy engine to identify power conservation opportunities and implement them.

IT for Greening

ECView: An IT tool for managing the carbon footprint of buildings. Dash-boarding with ”role-based views”. Filling the gaps in metered data by synthesizing them through proprietary mathematical models and facility asset specifications (Going beyond ’meters’). Analysis of  carbon footprint at three different levels, viz. resource, activity, and business process.