Optimize Energy Consumption by Shutting Down Unused Ports
This topic describes how to optimize energy consumption by identifying and shutting down unused ports on network devices.
Network devices are typically provisioned with a large number of ports to ensure scalability and redundancy. However, many of these ports remain unused for extended periods but still continue to consume baseline power.
The Device Port Power Optimization recommendation identifies ports that show no signs of operational use and are safe to disable. By shutting down these ports, you can reduce the device’s baseline energy consumption, lower operational costs, and improve overall data center sustainability.
A port is included in the Device Port Power Optimization recommendation when:
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It is administratively enabled (admin-state up) but has no active link (link-state down).
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A transceiver is inserted but the port does not carry any traffic.
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The operational state is up but the port shows no Tx/Rx activity.
The Device Port Power Optimization recommendation provides actionable guidance, such as the list of unused ports, benefits and risks associated with the optimization action, and the relevant configlet-based actions to safely disable ports and reduce idle power consumption.
The recommendation service executes once per day. Each execution uses historical per-port traffic telemetry and the configuration data available at the time of execution. The Recommendation tab displays the most recently generated results for the device.
Changes to port states, traffic patterns, or threshold configurations that occur outside the current execution window are reflected in recommendations after the next execution cycle.
Use the Per-Port Peak / Off-Peak Traffic Patterns heatmap on the Device-Level Energy dashboard to view traffic patterns for all ports.
The Recommendation tab will appear empty, if no safe or meaningful recommendations or power saving actions were identified based on the latest device telemetry.
To view unused ports and review the recommended actions:
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Navigate to the Recommendation tab and expand the Device Port Power
Optimization recommendation card to view all ports identified as unused and safe to
disable and review the suggested actions for each port.
Figure 1 shows a sample Device Port Power Optimization recommendation card.
Figure 1: Recommendation Card
The recommendation card includes the following fields:
Table 1: Field Description Field Description Recommendation Type A short, high-level description of the recommendation.
Indicates the type of recommendation and the number of ports identified for applying the suggestion.
For example, Device Port Power Optimization (3 Ports).
Device Port Port identified as unused and eligible for shutdown.
Use the drop-down selector to select a port and view its specific recommendation.
Description Summary of why the port is identified as unused and why the action is recommended, referencing energy and traffic data points.
Actions Provides step-by-step guidance and relevant configlet-based actions required to disable the port without impacting the network traffic. Note:You must use the configlets in Apstra Data Center Director to apply configuration changes to the device. For more information on configlets, see Configlets in the Apstra Data Center Director User Guide.
Benefits Displays quantified advantages, such as estimated power and cost savings and reduced GHG emissions. Risks Highlight caveats such as potential dependencies, safety checks, and guardrails to consider before applying the suggested changes. Timestamp Indicates when the recommendation was generated and how long it is valid.
Note: Recommendations are refreshed daily based on the latest device telemetry.