D-Link has expanded its green IT approach into its Xtreme N router series.
Marketing director, Maurice Famularo, said the Wi-Fi routers feature the vendor’s ‘Green Ethernet’ technology, which is soon to be renamed ‘D-Link Green’.
“It can switch on and off ports that are static or not being used, saving power on the use of switching ports. It can detect how long your UTP cable is and optimise the power for that particular length, because a 100 metre cable will require more power than a 20 metre cable,” Famularo said.
“And the wireless products use what is called a scheduler, which you can setup in certain ways to turn the wireless signals on and off. So when you’re not transmitting anything wirelessly the transmitter will go into standby mode.”
Now shipping and incorporating the green technology are the Xtreme N Gigabit Router (DIR-555), the DGL-4500 Xtreme N router (DGL-4500) and a simultaneous dual band Draft 802.11n wireless router, the Xtreme N Duo Media Router (DIR-855).
According to the vendor, under the most favourable conditions with no wired links active and Wi-Fi turned off, users can achieve the following power savings compared to conventional D-Link routers without the new green features: DIR-655, up to 32 per cent; DGL-4500, up to 31 per cent; and DIR-855, up to 41 per cent.
Famularo said the green functionality in the routers is part of a company-wide green computing initiative that covers the entire lifecycle of its products.
“We’ve also got the power adaptors which are Energy Star approved and comply to the MEPS standard which will come into effect next year. We have the efficient functionality of the products, and the product itself is manufactured with ROHS [Restriction of Hazardous Substances] standards so they are easily disposable and recyclable,” he said.
“We also have a recycling program where for all products sent back to us, 98 per cent of the product can be recycled.”
Famularo added many of D-Link’s products are now being manufactured with Energy Star certification in mind, and existing products such as power packs are being transitioned to more green friendly, certified products.
“The plan is that over a period of time we will transition whatever we can over to this sort of thing,” he said. “We have a very large portfolio of products that are green enabled ranging from switches to wireless products. And on top of that is our internal standards and policies on saving energy.”
However, Famularo said it can be a slow process for a vendor to push green initiatives down through its suppliers and their subsequent supplier base.
“Our suppliers have their own suppliers, and this ecosystem can become very complicated. We can be manufacturing a very environmentally friendly product but if it gets delivered by a courier using a twenty year old truck burning fossil fuels like you wouldn’t believe, the offset can be terrible,” he said. “But it is slowly having an affect, I believe.”
