Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is SURVEYOR?
SURVEYOR is a software program that measures, manages, and reduces the energy consumption of networked PCs. It is a management tool that centralizes control of the power settings of your network's PCs and adds dynamic new functionality to traditional power management.
More technically, SURVEYOR is a client-server application that runs as a service on Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista client machines and as an application on Windows 95, 98, and ME client machines. Full technical specifications are available from our website or call us to talk through your query.
2. Is PC energy consumption going up or down?
Despite the introduction of low-power processors and more efficient LCD monitors, computer networks are the fastest-growing consumers of plug load energy in most organizations. With more memory, more drives, and more capabilities being included in PCs today, as well as a continuing increase in the numbers of PCs, total energy consumption continues to rise.
3. How much of a PC's energy can SURVEYOR save?
SURVEYOR typically saves 100 to 300 kWh per year per PC and monitor. The average annual savings among SURVEYOR customers is 200 kWh per PC with monitor.
4. Do these energy savings have an impact on cooling loads?
The relationship between PC activity and demand on cooling systems will vary by season and level of use, but according to research by ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers) an energy manager can assume that each computer will displace 25% to 50% of its "nameplate" value into the facility as additional cooling load.
5. What energy consumption and cost reports does SURVEYOR provide me with?
SURVEYOR can provide detailed reports on kWh consumption for every PC and for your entire network. Reports also show the cost of PC and network-wide energy consumption based on your actual energy rate, as well as energy consumption before and after the adoption of new power management policies.
6. How are the savings and energy reports accessed?
SURVEYOR includes a separate software tool that collects data from a central data store. This tool can be provided to one or many energy managers within an organization, and is independent of SURVEYOR's primary control console.
7. What is the typical payback period with SURVEYOR?
Most organizations realize a full payback within 18 months, although in areas with higher-than-average energy rates the payback can be much faster.
8. Are Mac and Linux clients supported?
At this time SURVEYOR supports only Windows PCs.
9. What are the product's memory and bandwidth requirements?
Minimum 1.3Ghz processor with 256MB RAM and 5GB free hard disk space. Full technical specifications for the client, server, and network are available from our website or call us to talk through your query.
10. What does SURVEYOR do to power management schemes?
SURVEYOR establishes time-regulated power schemes and then invisibly switches between these schemes, so PCs are put into low power states when users are away from their PCs during work hours, or turned off during non-work hours.
11. Does SURVEYOR turn PCs off automatically? Or on?
Using SURVEYOR, you can schedule pre-set shutdown times for PCs while still protecting open applications and giving users the ability to override or delay the shutdown request. If your PCs and NIC cards are wake-on-LAN compliant, SURVEYOR can bring your PCs to full power from sleep mode.
12. How many clients can each SURVEYOR server support?
Up to 50,000 clients. In addition, SURVEYOR's pricing schedule is based only on clients controlled-there is no charge for the server component and any number of servers may be used to appropriately manage the client PC population.
13. How are the clients installed?
SURVEYOR supports a number of client deployment options, including login scripts, "push" tools such as SMS, LANDesk, and ZENWorks, and installation from a network share. In 95% of the environments we encounter, SURVEYOR is deployed remotely without physically touching the client PCs.
14. Can PC users change their power settings?
Your SURVEYOR administrator, you can lock users out of PC power settings completely, or allow them to change their settings once a day. In the latter case, the administrator-selected power settings are reinstated each evening.
15. Can I use SURVEYOR to manage anti-virus updates, backups, and new software installs?
Yes. SURVEYOR allows you to establish "time windows" when PCs are left at full power and are ready to receive updates, distributions, and packages; the PCs can then be set to log off or restart when the time window expires. In addition, an administrator can wake up PCs on the fly by pinging standby clients, push a software update, and then return the PCs to their default power management schemes.
16. What does SURVEYOR give me that active directory controls or group policy objects don't give me?
SURVEYOR adds three key capabilities to your network that you can't get elsewhere: create power management "groups" that coordinate the power needs of similar clients, operating systems, or users; implement dynamic "switching" power schemes that make PCs energy efficient without impacting user productivity; and detailed measurement and reporting on per-PC and network-wide energy consumption.
17. Who determines the best power settings for my PCs?
You do. But SURVEYOR's detailed energy measurement and reporting gives you the data you need to make the best choices, and the SmartProfile feature lets you define power management policies for your PCs that balance user productivity and energy-efficient best practices.
18. How much ongoing maintenance time does SURVEYOR require?
Once you've completed your evaluation and built a profile of network energy usage, SURVEYOR becomes a "set and forget" management tool, requiring minimal oversight. Click here for detailed IT FAQ (PDF).
19. Does IPEM provide evaluation software?
Yes, IPEM offers a comprehensive Energy Audit that measures the energy consumption of a representative group of PCs in your environment and provides a detailed forecast of the potential energy and cost savings available with SURVEYOR.
