Data Center : The Power of Green

With the rise in demand for greater capacity and innovative data center
solutions, the need to design higher energy efficient data centers is gaining
momentum. And in order to further optimize data center efficiency, a solution
based on advanced technologies and strategies is required, wherein all aspects
are designed for maximum energy efficiency and minimum environmental impact.

Until recently, the environmental impact of data centers was largely ignored.
But today, as energy experts estimate data centers to be monstrous sources of
power consumption, the need to device higher power management features within a
data center infrastructure is increasing. Approximately half of the energy used
in a data center goes to IT loads, while the other half goes to network critical
physical infrastructure equipments including power equipments. It is therefore
essential to reduce the electrical consumption of data centers through flexible
and scalable design of IT architecture.

Almost 50% of power in a data center is consumed for non-productive purposes.
Hence, it is important to control data center infrastructure to obtain best
result without misuse of energy. Normally, power usage efficiency (PUE) and data
center infrastructure efficiency (DCIE) are the key parameters for measuring the
efficiency of a data center. In order to create a more accurate measurement
standard, vendors like Emerson, APC, or HCL are coming up with new and
innovative metrics like compute unit per second per watt (CUPSPW), or ECBC Part
IIa standard for energy efficient or green data centers.

Various initiatives are also taken today at the infrastructure design level
itself. Floor designing is considered to be the stepping stone towards creating
an energy efficient data center. Concepts like raised flooring, perforated
flooring, hot and cold aisle cooling are increasingly getting popular. For
cooling, electronically communicated fans are being widely used nowadays, as
they can adjust their speeds based on the heat that is being drawn within the
rack, there by, saving substantial amount of power. Also, increased perforation
ratio in rack designing is another best practice today, as it allows higher heat
dissipation and better cooling.

Apart from designing effective cooling system, technology improvisation in
server and storage solutions is an important aspect towards creating a green
data center. Storage consolidation can substantially reduce a lot of power
consumption as it lowers the number of storage devices used in a data center.
Thin provisioning, virtual provisioning, de-duplication, or usage of efficient
storage mediums like tape libraries and high-performance network attached
storage (NAS) systems are gaining popularity, as these methods require less
storage capacity while allowing the users better utility.

According to IDC estimates, un-utilized server capacity equates to
approximately $140 bn, or more than 20 mn servers. Also, the fact that at 4
tonnes of CO2 emitted annually per server, these un-utilized servers produce a
total of more than 80 mn tonnes of CO2 per year. Apart from efficient blade
servers that help in creating high-density data center architecture, and thereby
significantly reducing energy consumption, virtualization of servers is also
gaining traction. This is mainly because it enhances data center efficiency by
at least 70-80%. In addition to lower energy consumption and manpower costs,
virtualization and consolidation also provide high level of security, enhanced
disaster recovery, and enhanced regulatory compliance. When servers are
virtualized, the strategy of using the highest performance server is generally
the best approach to minimize overall power consumption.

While concepts such as virtualization and consolidation took time to become
popular, increased awareness among users and vendors regarding the benefits of
energy efficient or green data centers is driving the trend faster. Green, with
its cost advantages and environment-friendliness, is no longer being looked upon
as a gimmick. However, there is certainly scope for improvement, and the
formation of Green Grid Alliance and LEED certifications for data center
architecture will go a long way towards achieving it.

Piyali Guha

piyalig@cybermedia.co.in