In a recent assignment, I discovered that implementing UC and IPT could require 8 to 14 servers and associated storage depending on the vendors involved. On May 10, the EPA announced Energy Star specifications for data center servers. A second announcement will be forthcoming this year that focuses on storage systems. This is important since the data center has become a major consumer of electrical power.
IDC predicted by the end of 2009, that the energy bill will be the second biggest expense for IT after salaries. The cost of electrical energy has risen by about 11% from January 2008 to January 2009 according the US Department of Energy. In 2007, the prediction was only for a 3% increase. The increases in the future will probably be similar to that which occurred in 2008.
The new server Energy Star standard is a good start. The standard focuses on the operation of the server during its idle state. My own server utilization observations for IPT and UC are that these servers are not very busy. Many operate at 5% or less utilization, therefore the idle server state is a reasonable approximation of the server power consumption.
What is frustrating is that almost none of the IPT and UC software can be virtualized; virtualization is a very common capability for the rest of IT software. This means that there will be considerable wasted power running multiple nearly idle servers. I hope the IPT and UC software providers will change this situation in the near future, otherwise IPT and UC will become major power hungry applications servers.
When it comes to Energy Star, the Tier 1 Specifications relate to servers with one to four processor sockets. The Tier 2 specification will cover servers with more than four processor sockets. The Tier 2 specification is expected about October 2010. The specification includes:
* A matrix for the efficiency of power supplies * Power consumption limits; 65 watts for a single socket and a maximum of 300 watts for a four socket server. * A power and performance data sheet must be provided for server or class of servers operating under different processing loads.
The server equipment should use less power than existing models. There should be energy management software to produce further power reduction. Servers must have real-time processor and power utilization reporting and air temperature monitoring.
Note that servers may be delivered with a hard drive that was installed by the VAR, not the manufacturer. In this case, the server may meet the Energy Star specification but the hard drive may not. A hard drive installed by the manufacturer must meet the Energy Star specifications. So a mixed system of components may not be a true Energy Star server.
The U.S. Department of Energy has developed a set of tools to help data center management at any organization reduce their energy costs. The goal of this effort is reduce energy consumption 10% by 2011. The software tools and other resources are available at www.eere.energy.gov/datacenters. There is also a fact sheet, "DC Pro Software Tool Suite."
Organizations can use the DC Pro software tool suite to identify and evaluate energy efficiency opportunities in data centers The suite includes a profiling tool and a set of system assessment tools to perform energy assessments on specific areas of a data center:
DC Pro Profiling Tool Version 1.0 Data center managers can quickly diagnose how energy is being used by their data centers and how they might save energy and money with this online software tool. DC Pro is to be used as a first step to identify potential savings and to reduce environmental emissions associated with data center energy production and use. Using DC Pro and information about the data center, a profile can be completed in about an hour. The tool provides an overview of energy use, savings potential and a list of specific actions you can take to realize savings.
DC Pro Assessment Tools These tools can be used to conduct a more accurate assessment of energy efficiency opportunities for each major data center system. The tool offers FAQs, a checklist of data to collect and a tutorial to help the user to get started. The tools include:
* Air Management Tool --Get air management recommendations --Locate potential air flow reduction and increased temperature opportunities --Estimate the percentage energy reduction for fans and chillers
* Electrical Systems Assessment Tool --Assess the efficiency of UPS, transformers and power distribution units --Savings are estimated based on typical practices
DC Pro Assessment Tools These tools can be used to conduct a more accurate assessment of energy efficiency opportunities for each major data center system. The tool offers FAQs, a checklist of data to collect and a tutorial to help the user to get started. The tools include:
* Air Management Tool --Get air management recommendations --Locate potential air flow reduction and increased temperature opportunities --Estimate the percentage energy reduction for fans and chillers
* Electrical Systems Assessment Tool --Assess the efficiency of UPS, transformers and power distribution units --Savings are estimated based on typical practices
The tool inputs are:
* General description * Utility bill information * System information such as IT, cooling, power and onsite generation
The tool produces: * Overall picture of the energy use and its corresponding efficiency * An end-use breakout * Potential areas for improving energy efficiency * The potential for energy use reduction
The continuing price increases for electrical power should be a wake up call to data center managers. Besides buying more energy efficient technology, there are many ways to reduce the energy bill now.
