The results are in for the Build for Better Code Challenge, highlighting two standout solutions that effectively combine automation or AI with sustainability. In this challenge, we asked you, the Cisco DevNet community, to use automation and AI to address pressing environmental issues, demonstrating the significant role technology can play in enhancing our ecological footprint. And we were blown away by the community participation.

Congratulations to GreenOps Tracker and Green Monitoring! These standout entries not only exemplify the ingenuity and practical impact of integrating automation and AI with sustainability efforts but also demonstrate how targeted solutions can significantly enhance environmental sustainability. As we explore the innovative technologies each project employs to address specific environmental challenges, it’s clear that our developer community possesses tremendous potential to drive meaningful change. To further optimize these winning solutions, each team will receive mentorship from Jason Davis, Distinguished Engineer at Cisco. This mentorship will focus on advancing AI integration within their projects, reinforcing Cisco’s commitment to leading the conversation on AI-driven sustainability.

Take a Look: Build for Better Winners

GreenOps Tracker: Automating Sustainability in Server Operations

GreenOps Tracker innovates server management by optimizing resource usage, thereby minimizing energy consumption and reducing CO2 emissions. Developed to empower server administrators with real-time data, GreenOps Tracker utilizes Performance Co-Pilot (PCP) and Ansible Event-Driven technologies to monitor Linux servers, automatically adjusting their configurations based on real-time events. This system not only reduces operational costs but also supports environmental sustainability goals by ensuring that servers operate with optimal resources, avoiding unnecessary energy use.

The core of GreenOps Tracker’s functionality lies in its ability to dynamically respond to changes in server performance metrics such as CPU usage, memory load, and system temperature. By integrating PCP for monitoring and using webhooks to trigger Ansible playbooks, the system provides a proactive management tool that adjusts resources without human intervention. This automatic adjustment is crucial for maintaining efficiency in data centers where even minor improvements can lead to significant reductions in power consumption and carbon footprints. The future prospects for GreenOps Tracker include expanding its metric support and integrating with Grafana to provide even more comprehensive energy consumption insights, promising further advances in sustainable IT management.

Explore GreenOps Tracker on Code Exchange >

Green Monitoring: Tracking Sustainability in Real-Time

Green Monitoring is a sustainable solution engineered by a team at Cisco that uses an open-source technology stack to monitor the energy and CO2-equivalent emissions of network and data center devices. It targets a range of equipment including IOS-XR and NX-OS devices, Meraki switches, UCS servers, ACI APIC nodes, and third-party PDUs from Eaton and Raritan. This tool not only tracks energy consumption and carbon footprints but also correlates these metrics with traffic, bandwidth, and costs, offering enterprises crucial insights for optimizing sustainability.

The backbone of Green Monitoring comprises gRPC streaming telemetry, Telegraf data processing, InfluxDB for data storage, and Grafana for visualization. This setup facilitates real-time monitoring and historical analysis, empowering users with actionable data to enhance their infrastructure’s energy efficiency. The solution’s extensive use of open-source technologies lowers barriers to entry and supports Cisco’s developer community in adapting and expanding the project to other sustainability metrics or customized use-cases.

Explore Green Monitoring on code exchange >

Next Steps: Leveraging Cisco AI for Sustainability

As you draw inspiration from the Build for Better Code Challenge winners, continue your exploration of AI’s role in sustainability with Cisco’s tools and resources.

• Visit the Cisco DevNet AI Resource Hub to access learning labs, sample code, and videos on predictive and generative AI. These resources are designed to help you develop effective, sustainable solutions using AI technology.
• Missed Developer Sustainability Week? No problem. You can watch the recordings of our webinar and workshop to gain insights into optimizing resources and enhancing system efficiencies for sustainability.
• Explore our blog on AI programming languages to discover which programming languages are best suited for various AI tasks.
• Stay engaged and expand your network. Join the DevNet Webex community, where you can connect with peers, share your projects, and find new collaboration opportunities.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this inaugural DevNet code challenge! We look forward to future challenges.