Computing and Information Technology Services
CITS is committed to providing the best in technology and information services, while minimizing the environmental impact of our operations, and providing efficiency tools to the campus community.
In the Public Computer Labs
CITS has implemented a print release system for printing in the public computer labs. This has reduced paper waste dramatically, and raised students' awareness of their paper use. We also use remanufactured toner cartridges in all our lab and office locations, and return all toner cartridges for reuse and recycling.
CITS runs automatic software updates on lab computers weekly. These updates are performed overnight so they will not impact the lab availability or the performance of the campus network. The lab computers are now configured to shut off after the update process is complete. This saves approximately 5 hours of energy use each week for over three hundred computer systems.
In the Data Center
The UMass Dartmouth Data Center houses the servers that host the campus e-mail, web presence, authentication services and a number of other critical services. CITS is working to consolidate and reduce the number of servers, which in turn reduces energy use directly and indirectly through reduced cooling requirements.
Recent developments in server technology have provided the tools of server virtualization. This allows the work of performing server tasks to be distributed across a group of physical servers. Enabling a few servers to share multiple functions further reduces the need for dedicated equipment and reduces energy requirements.
Across the Campus
CITS is working in conjunction with the purchasing department to discourage the purchase of individual inkjet printers in favor of workgroup laser printers and multifunction scanner-printer-copiers. The most significant savings from these multifunction devices comes from their ability to scan to PDF. Faculty can scan any document to a PDF file and send it to their students electronically. This eliminates a great deal of wasted paper.
We also encourage the campus community to turn off their computers when not in use. Remember that screen savers don't save electricity, and if you plan to step away from your desk for even a few minutes you should put your computer to sleep.
