Abstract
The information and communication technology (ICT) sector is continuously growing, mainly due to the fast penetration of ICT into many areas of business and society. Growth is particularly high in the area of technologies and applications for communication networks, which can be used, among others, to optimize systems and processes. The ubiquitous application of ICT opens new perspectives and emphasizes the importance of understanding the complex interactions between ICT and other sectors. Complex and interacting heterogeneous systems can only properly be addressed by a holistic framework. Thermodynamic theory, and, in particular, the second law of thermodynamics, is a universally applicable tool to analyze flows of energy. Communication systems and their processes can be seen, similar to many other natural processes and systems, as dissipative transformations that level differences in energy density between participating subsystems and their surroundings. This paper shows how to apply thermodynamics to analyze energy flows through communication networks. Application of the second law of thermodynamics in the context of the Carnot heat engine is emphasized. The use of exergy-based lifecycle analysis to assess the sustainability of ICT systems is shown on an example of a radio access network.
Highlights
In the last two decades, the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has been growing very fast
In order to assess the sustainability of ICT, one can evaluate the first-order effects that are sometimes referred to as direct effects, which relate to energy consumption and the carbon footprint of ICT hardware
Speaking, the amplification process in an erbium-doped fiber (EDF) requires external energy to be supplied in the form of the optical pump signal, and the work done on its surroundings is manifested by the increase in energy of the data signal
Summary
In the last two decades, the information and communication technology (ICT) sector has been growing very fast. Environmental impacts resulting from the change in production, transport and consumption processes, due to the application of ICT, are probably even more important. This effect is referred to as the second-order effect. A high-performance global network infrastructure that is optimized to efficiently support rapid development and broad use of applications and services for improved energy productivity can lead to very large indirect energy savings, i.e., the second order effects. This paper reviews recent research efforts in treating communication and information processing systems using thermodynamic approaches and tools. The section describes the general idea of applying the thermodynamic laws to analyze energy flow and entropy generation through communication and information processing systems.
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