The DECODES (Datacenter Energy Consumption Optimisation by DNS EvaluationS) project was selected by the French National Research Agency, ANR, as part of a call for projects launched in late 2024.
The project’s goal is to optimise the energy consumption of data centres by analysing the role and impact of the domain name system (DNS). Led by Afnic, the research consortium will also be composed of the France-IX Internet exchange point and two prestigious French engineering schools within the Institut Polytechnique de Paris: Télécom Sud Paris and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées.
Over the next three years, the DECODES project will be tackling an as yet little documented aspect of the energy consumption of data centres in connection with the way in which the DNS operates. Because although the DNS represents just a small proportion of global Internet traffic, it is based on a series of servers spread across the world, the majority of which are hosted in data centres running continuously to ensure the Internet’s efficiency and resilience. The DECODES project will quantify this cumulative energy impact, identify the main consumption factors and pinpoint key optimisation drivers to reduce the energy footprint of data centres.
“This project is fully in keeping with Afnic’s aim of combining technical performance and environmental responsibility for the common good”, said Benoît Ampeau, Afnic’s Director of Partnerships and Innovation. “The impact of digital technology on the environment is growing, and it is up to us to help reduce the effects. Which is why we are taking concrete action to put forward solutions to guarantee a more energy-efficient and more sustainable Internet.”
About Afnic
Afnic is the acronym for Association Française pour le Nommage Internet en Coopération, the French Network Information Centre. The registry has been appointed by the French government to manage domain names under the .fr Top Level Domain. Afnic also manages the .re (Reunion Island), .pm (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon), .tf (French Southern and Antarctic Territories), .wf (Wallis and Futuna) and .yt (Mayotte) French Overseas TLDs.
In addition to managing French TLDs, Afnic’s role is part of a wider public interest mission, which is to contribute on a daily basis, thanks to the efforts of its teams and its members, to a secure and stable internet, open to innovation and in which the French internet community plays a leading role. As part of that mission, Afnic, a non-profit organization, has committed to devoting 11% of its Revenues from managing .fr Top Level Domain to actions of general interest, in particular by transferring €1.3 million each year to the Afnic Foundation for Digital Solidarity.
Afnic is also the back-end registry for the companies as well as local and regional authorities that have chosen to have their own TLD, such as .paris, .bzh, .alsace, .corsica, .mma, .ovh, .leclerc and .sncf.
Established in 1997 and based in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Afnic currently has nearly 90 employees.
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