Windows Server 2008 Uses 10% Less Energy, Microsoft Says

Microsoft has published a whitepaper showing that the new Windows Server 2008 uses 10% less energy than its predecessor, released in 2003."Microsoft Windows Server 2008 has been designed with energy efficiency in mind, to provide customers with ready and convenient access to a number of new power-saving features," according to the report.
Energy-efficiency upgrades include updated support for administrating processor power-management functions across multiple servers and new virtualization technology to consolidate servers onto fewer machines.
"If multiple virtual servers can run on a single physical machine without consuming significantly more power than a standalone server, that means you can add virtual servers at essentially no power cost," the report notes.
Microsoft's tests show that Windows Server 2008 uses 2.3% less power when idle and 6.8% less when active compared to the 2003 version. The energy cost savings are minimal - about $30 a year for a 20-server configuration - but the benefits can add up over time, especially in larger server environments, Microsoft says.
Microsoft has been talking up the energy benefits of Windows Server 2008 since it was released in March, even publishing a best practices guide for IT managers to coincide with the launch
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