When you get beyond Green IT basics, such as virtualization, it's tough to find solid, reliable, truly useful information. Microsoft, though, recently devoted an entire issue of its IT publication The Architecture Journal to Green IT, and it's a must-have for anyone interested in the topic.

Issue 18 of The Architecture Journal is available here. It focuses as much on practice as it does on theory. For example, there's an excellent overarching must-read article on "Environmentally Sustainable Infrastructure Design" that offers advice on how to build green considerations directly into every aspect of infrastructure design. Notably, it includes monitoring, making "greenness" an ongoing concern, rather than a one-shot design.

Also useful are case studies, such as one about a Microsoft SQL Server conoslidation that show astounding savings in power and cooling costs as well as recycling costs. Another must-read is a piece about cooling savings at the Genome research project. The project uses a wireless sensor network to gather heat distribution data, and then optimizes datacenter design and server provisioning based on what it finds.

There's more as well, such as an article detailing best virtualization practices. If you're serious at all about Green IT, you'll want to get this journal. Considering that it's free, there's no reason not to read it.