Sustainable Cloud Computing Using Rust Language
Published: 2023-11-26 07:51:45

Sustainable Cloud Computing is an ecologically conscious and sustainable method to utilise cloud computing resources. Its main objective is to reduce the energy consumption by various cloud services and thereby the environmental effect of data centers.
Sustainable cloud computing benefits not only the environment but also organisations that rely on cloud services. By using environmentally friendly Platforms/Frameworks/Languages to build their services to run on cloud platforms, businesses can align their IT infrastructure with their sustainability goals and potentially reduce operational costs. It’s also an essential part of the broader effort to address the environmental impact of the IT industry and promote a more sustainable future.
Following are some of the Key principals of Sustainable Cloud Computing, where Rust can help achieve maximum benefits.

- Energy Efficiency
- Resource Management

**Rust Language**
Rust, a systems programming language developed at Mozilla by Graydon Hoare back in 2006. It was heavily influenced by the ideas from functional programming like immutability and algebraic data types etc. Though, Rust was mainly developed as a replacement of C++, but over the period of time it has acquired a convenience of high-level languages, which makes it possible to be used for the development of services that run on cloud platforms.
Following are some of the reasons for which Rust is increasingly being used in the context of sustainable cloud computing:

**Performance and Efficiency:** Rust is made to guarantee memory safety while offering low-level control over system resources. It is therefore a cost-effective option for developing services that run under cloud environment. Efficiency is a significant consideration in sustainable cloud computing since it may assist reduce energy consumption and optimize resource usage.

**Memory Safety:** Rust’s ownership and borrowing model of memory management can significantly help eliminate issues like null pointer dereferences and data races. The memory safety provided by Rust, enables developers to fearlessly write concurrent code that is both safe and efficient. As a result, there may be less need for resource-intensive error handling and debugging, leading to more stable and dependable cloud services.

**Energy Efficiency:** Rust’s emphasis on performance frequently results in code that uses less energy. Rust can contribute to lowering the overall energy usage of cloud services by decreasing the computational resources needed to complete activities. This is one of the most impending reasons for choosing Rust over other languages to develop services that run on Cloud Platforms.

**Reduce Resource Consumption:** Rust’s resource management features can assist developers in making the best use of CPU, memory, and other resources, therefore reducing the environmental impact.

**Scalability:** Rust’s architecture makes it ideal for creating scalable and highly concurrent systems, which are critical in cloud computing environments. Minimising the number of CPUs and amount of RAM needed can help significantly reduce the overall environmental impact of cloud computing.
Long-Term Maintainability: Long-term software system sustainability is a component of sustainable cloud computing. Because of its robust type system and emphasis on memory safety, Rust can facilitate the evolution and maintenance of services that run in a cloud environment over time, minimising the need for resource-intensive rewrites or replacements.
Open Source Ecosystem: Rust has a strong open-source community and ecosystem, which can foster the development of sustainable cloud computing solutions and encourage collaboration on eco-friendly initiatives.

In the [next part](https://dev.to/rustoncloud/performance-comparison-of-c-node-java-go-rust-5gbh) of we will look at the evidence of how Rust is better compared to other languages from the perspective of resource utilisation and efficiency.