Environment Variables The Green Shift: Transitioning .NET Services Across Architectures
Dec 25, 2025
Sara Bergman, a software engineer at Microsoft and co-author of Building Green Software, dives into greener computing through the lens of .NET and CPU efficiency. She explains the benefits of transitioning from x64 to ARM-based platforms, highlighting cost and carbon savings. The discussion touches on the importance of modern runtime environments for ease of architectural shifts. They explore how DevOps practices can facilitate these changes and advocate for gradual migrations to optimize performance, security, and sustainability while leveraging AI for smoother upgrades.
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Why RISC Often Wins On Efficiency
- RISC (ARM) CPUs use simpler instructions and typically deliver better power efficiency than CISC (x64) CPUs.
- Transistor count, cache design, and instruction sets all influence energy use beyond just RISC vs CISC.
Real Company Wins After Moving To ARM
- Cloudflare switched from an x86 AMD chip to Ampere ARM and measured a 57% increase in requests per watt.
- Amadeus and Simons also reported real throughput and cost-per-performance improvements after moving to ARM.
Keep .NET Current For Portability
- Target modern .NET versions to gain cross-platform, cross-architecture support and performance improvements.
- Keep frameworks up to date to benefit from runtime optimizations and security fixes.
