Server Online reported on June 9 that in most cases, one of the main challenges of adopting green data center technology is that the cost of power is not part of the IT budget, thereby reducing the motivation for IT departments to make "green" decisions. In fact, the cost of green equipment is higher, which is conducive to the bottom line of the facilities department, not the bottom line of the IT department.
If energy saving is an enterprise-wide plan, seek an internal budget motivation for purchasing IT equipment that can meet the target efficiency level. If no such motivation is found, it is necessary to look for business reasons based on long-term savings and lower current energy costs.
Achieving a green data center: energy is not necessary
When seeking business justification for adopting current green technologies, IT and facilities departments must work together to define the current state and identify future opportunities. The focus is on energy and cooling. Although other environmental programs such as recycling are still important, the hard cost savings and rapid return on investment in energy-saving investments will make these programs the center of attention.
Due to server consolidation and blade server applications, increased energy costs and increasing data center heat density mean that companies are paying attention to IT's power bills, even if the IT department does not pay attention. According to a ZiffDavis survey, 29% of the respondents said that data center power consumption and cooling issues have already attracted the attention of management, and they are used as a way to reduce operating costs. Considering that most predictions indicate that power and cooling costs account for about 20% of data center costs, this is not surprising. Moreover, the average energy demand of a data center is 10 to 30 times that of an office area of ​​the same area.
Six energy-saving strategies: opportunity and cost
According to IBM, the average power consumption of high-density server racks is 30 kilowatts. This means that the annual electricity and cooling costs of each server rack are between 35,000 and 60,000 US dollars. To reduce this cost and find business reasons for implementing a green data center, the following energy-saving strategies can be considered:
1. Improve airflow management and cooling capacity. Due to increasing power density and heat dissipated by newer equipment, the energy costs of cooling and air conditioning have exceeded the cost of power consumption of the server itself. According to recent statistics from the American Power Conversion Corporation, cooling costs account for approximately 50% of the total energy bill in the data center. Therefore, optimizing data center cooling is the most valuable green plan in the first place.
Opportunity: The International Uptime Institute (UptimeInstitute) found that 60% of the cold air used for data center cooling was wasted due to inappropriate airflow. Similarly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG & E) said that poor airflow management can reduce the cooling capacity of the air conditioning equipment in the computer room by more than 50%.
Cost: Proper air distribution and data center airflow management are very important for effective cooling. However, based on current costs and piping systems, this is an expensive adventure. Key considerations include the cost of purchasing new equipment and sensors, relocating existing equipment, isolating hot / cold airflow, sealing rack channels, effective airflow transmission from floors and ceilings, and plumbing and server shutdown time.
2. Switch to liquid cooling. With liquid cooling, the waste heat is converted to liquid (water) that is very close to the source. Therefore, liquid cooling is more efficient than traditional air cooling. In air cooling, the residual heat is released into the surrounding air and enters the entire room to be cooled.
Opportunity: A study by the Rocky Mountain Research Center shows that liquid cooling can reduce energy costs by 30% to 50% compared to standard air-cooled computer room air conditioning equipment.
ISR claims that its SprayCool liquid cooling system is about 35% more energy efficient than traditional cooling systems.
Cost: Many manufacturers provide liquid cooling systems, but this is not cheap. For example, ISR's SprayCoolM-Series series products are set at approximately US $ 25,500 per rack and support up to 36 1U servers. Egenera's CoolFrame liquid cooling system for Bladeframe servers adds $ 300 to $ 400 per blade server.
3. Seeking discounts from utility companies. When people look for business reasons for upgrading to more energy-efficient servers, one of the saving factors in the ROI calculation should be discounts. In order to reduce new investment in power generation, American public companies are developing incentive plans to reduce power consumption in energy-intensive data centers.
Opportunity: California-based PG & E will provide discounts for Sun Microsystems ’energy-efficient SunFireT1000 and T2000 servers (700-1000 USD per server) and discounts for IT departments participating in server consolidation and virtualization. Avista, a subsidiary of Northwest Pacific Utilities, offers discounts (up to $ 3,600 per rack) to companies that install ISR ’s SprayCool liquid-cooled servers.
Cost: Management often sees discounts as a "spend money to save money" method. If current equipment is working well, it is very difficult to use discounts as a reason. However, you have to consider discounts for new purchases and replacement of servers.
4. Seek a more efficient power supply. According to the US Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the average power consumption of the server rack is 20 kilowatts, and the annual electricity cost is 17,000 US dollars, excluding air conditioning (plus the number of air conditioners will double).
Opportunity: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory claims that switching to energy-saving power supplies can save $ 3,000 per rack per year, and can increase the number of servers in a server rack by 20%. PG & E has the same forecast, saying that energy-saving power supplies save $ 2,700 to $ 6,500 per server rack per year.
Cost: Power supplies are generally not sold and installed as a separate product, but newer servers with more energy-efficient configurations are $ 100 to $ 200 more expensive than standard server models.
5. Study to obtain "free" cooling through energy-saving devices. Airside economizers can bring outside cold air when weather conditions permit, thereby reducing the burden on air conditioning. Similarly, water-side economizers provide cold water from a water tower on the roof to a data center that uses cold water air conditioning.
Opportunity: According to PG & E, according to external conditions, an energy-saving device can reduce the cooling cost of the data center by more than 60%.
Cost: The cost of each economizer is tens of thousands of dollars, and the installation cost needs thousands of dollars.
6. Change to DC power supply. 11% of the power consumption in the data center is related to power conversion.
Opportunity: According to Berkeley National Laboratory, by converting AC equipment to DC equipment, companies can save 10% to 20% of power.
Cost: Although the operating cost of a DC server is cheap, the purchase price of such a server is not cheap (despite the lack of internal power supply). For example, the initial cost of a DC uninterruptible power supply system can save 20% to 40% compared to an AC power system. Enterprises must consider the cost of shutdown time to make this conversion.
Suggest:
1. Strengthen the communication between IT and facilities.
Most IT departments may not even know the annual energy expenditure of the data center. To understand energy use and cost-saving opportunities, IT departments must collaborate with facilities departments. This collaboration also helps facilities departments better plan for future power, space, and cooling needs.
2. Track and manage energy consumption. The business rationale for green technology relies on establishing a baseline for energy consumption, showing how IT investments can reduce this cost. Since power costs are generally aggregated into "general and administrative" expenses or facility costs, tracking these indicators requires physical measurement of the data center or establishment of a proportional allocation standard based on equipment footprint. Energy management products can provide energy usage information and allow IT administrators to control energy usage based on demand.
For example, a measure used by the International Uptime Association to check the energy efficiency of data centers is to measure the ratio between the total energy load provided to the data center and the energy actually consumed by important IT loads. Energy that is not used by important workloads is considered energy expenditure and does not add any value.
3. Seek a greener reason. Each green data center plan requires a separate business justification and a return on investment for energy saving based on the plan. Even if "green" is not a hot topic for companies, the plan recommendations should be true based on their ability to reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and maximize the use of resources. In many cases, green decision-making does not mean that all purchase new products. Existing infrastructure investments and planned infrastructure investments can be used to purchase more efficient equipment.
4. Balance uptime and cost. The current energy cost of a system that maintains full redundancy can easily reach or exceed the cost of simply doubling the hardware. Even if the IT department does not intend to implement a policy of refunding to the business department, providing an energy consumption cost allocation scheme in the service catalog and suggestions to the business department leaders helps express such information: high availability is related to "energy burden" . Relentlessly prioritizing applications and services and providing redundancy only where it is really needed can significantly save energy.
A "green" data center is energy-saving, cost-saving and environmentally responsible. Investing in green data center technologies and processes can save companies thousands of dollars each year. Work closely with corporate business department leaders to define the value of implementing green data centers and find business justifications for new investments.
Macaron Silicone Baking Mat,Silicone Rolling Baking Mat,Baking Pastry Mat,Silicone Baking Mats
Changshu Xinneng Silicone Products Co., Ltd. , https://www.xnsilicone.com