Energy-Aware Admission Control for Wired Networks

Overprovisioning and redundancy has contributed towards better survivability and performance in networks, but has led to inefficient use of energy. Proposals for energy aware networks of the near future aim to reduce the energy consumption by switching off or putting to sleep individual network devices. Here we propose a mechanism that is taking this concept once step further through the use of admission control. Admission control has been traditionally used in wired networks to control traffic congestion and guarantee quality of service. We propose a two-fold approach. First, an admission control mechanism delays the users that are projected to be the most energy demanding, and whose acceptance would require the turning on of devices. At the same time, an auto-hibernation mechanism regulates the rate at which machines are turned off due to inactivity. Collectively, the two mechanisms contribute towards energy saving by monitoring both at the level of entry in the network and at the level of active operation.