Network Energy Utilization Reporting and Benchmarking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025274364-A1
Application number	US-202418590852-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 28, 2024
Priority date	Feb 28, 2024
Publication date	Aug 28, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

Described herein are devices, systems, methods, and processes for benchmarking sustainability in information technology (IT) infrastructure. A data collection module may gather sustainability-related telemetry metrics from various sources, such as, but not limited to, network elements, internet of things (IoT) endpoints, and/or building management systems. A computation module can establish sustainability benchmarks based on the collected metrics and one or more network sustainability indexes. The telemetry metrics may include power usage per device, per device component, per device family, and/or per network. The telemetry metrics can also encompass power saved due to switching devices to the power saving mode or due to device configuration. The system may normalize the benchmark to eliminate bias towards smaller networks. An output module can provide visibility to users on their sustainability journey and may suggest actionable insights for improvement if the network or device is underperforming compared to its peers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A network device, comprising:
a processor; at least one network interface controller configured to provide access to a network; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises a sustainability logic that is configured to:
collect network telemetry data from the network;
generate one or more sustainability benchmarks based on the network telemetry data;
compare the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks to one or more thresholds; and
determine one or more suggested actionable items in response to at least one of the one or more sustainability benchmarks being less than a corresponding threshold.

2 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sustainability benchmarks are associated with at least one of one or more devices of the network, a part of the network, or the network.

3 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the network telemetry data comprises power usage data or power saving data.

4 . The network device of claim 3 , wherein the power usage data is associated with at least one of each of one or more first devices, each of one or more device components, each of one or more device families, or the network.

5 . The network device of claim 3 , wherein the power usage data corresponds to a period of time.

6 . The network device of claim 3 , wherein the power saving data is associated with a power saving mode or one or more device configurations.

7 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sustainability benchmarks are generated based further on a network sustainability index.

8 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks comprise at least one of one or more device benchmarks, one or more internal network-wide benchmarks, or one or more external network-wide benchmarks.

9 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein each of the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks comprises a baseline or a trend.

10 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein each of the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks comprises a power consumption or a carbon footprint.

11 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the sustainability logic is further configured to determine, for the network, a metric indicative of an average energy consumption per unit of delivered traffic, and a sustainability benchmark associated with the network is generated based at least part on the metric.

12 . The network device of claim 11 , wherein the sustainability logic is further configured to periodically update the metric for the network.

13 . The network device of claim 12 , wherein the metric is updated for the network approximately hourly.

14 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the sustainability logic is further configured to periodically update the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks.

15 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the determined one or more suggested actionable items includes upgrading software of a device of the network.

16 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the determined one or more suggested actionable items includes upgrading hardware of a device of the network.

17 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the determined one or more suggested actionable items includes adjusting a device configuration of a device of the network.

18 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the sustainability logic is further configured to cause the determined one or more suggested actionable items to be displayed to a user.

19 . A network device, comprising:
a processor; at least one network interface controller configured to provide access to a network; and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory comprises a sustainability logic that is configured to:
collect network telemetry data from the network;
generate one or more sustainability benchmarks based on the network telemetry data;
compare the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks to one or more thresholds;
determine one or more suggested actionable items in response to at least one of the one or more sustainability benchmarks being less than a corresponding threshold; and
cause the determined one or more suggested actionable items to be displayed to a user.

20 . A method for managing sustainability of a network, comprising:
collecting network telemetry data from the network; generating one or more sustainability benchmarks associated with at least one of one or more devices of the network, a part of the network, or the network based on the network telemetry data; comparing the generated one or more sustainability benchmarks to one or more thresholds; and determining one or more suggested actionable items in response to at least one of the one or more sustainability benchmarks being less than a corresponding threshold.

Assignees

• Cisco Tech Inc

Inventors

• Rayes Ammar
• Salam Samer M
• Venkatraman Balaji

Classifications

• H04L41/22

  comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI] · CPC title

• H04L43/16

  Threshold monitoring · CPC title

• H04L43/0817

  by checking functioning · CPC title

• H04L43/06

  Generation of reports · CPC title

• H04L43/08 Primary

  Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters · CPC title