Carbon-Aware Global Routing in Path-Aware Networks

The growing energy consumption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has raised concerns about its environmental impact. However, the carbon footprint of data transmission over the Internet has so far received relatively modest attention. This carbon footprint can be reduced by sending traffic over carbon-efficient inter-domain paths. However, challenges in estimating and disseminating carbon intensity of inter-domain paths have prevented carbon-aware path selection from becoming a reality. In this paper, we take advantage of path-aware network architectures to overcome these challenges. In particular, we design CIRo, a system for forecasting the carbon intensity of inter-domain paths and disseminating them across the Internet. We implement a proof of concept for CIRo on the codebase of the SCION path-aware Internet architecture and test it on the SCIONLab global research testbed. Further, through large-scale simulations, we demonstrate the potential of CIRo for reducing the carbon footprint of endpoints and end domains: With CIRo, half of domain pairs can reduce the carbon intensity of their inter-domain traffic by at least 47%, and 87% of end domains can reduce their carbon footprint of Internet use by at least 50%.