D ATA CENTRES
Understanding data centre power efficiency Measuring data centre PUE By Ian Dixon, VP Data Centre Operations at Colt
Today’s modern business has transformed to run on its data, with every activity depending on it; from research and development, to manufacturing and accounts. The data centre needs to be able
Ian Dixon explains how data centre efficiency is now a board level issue…
to store the data and secure it, whilst providing instant access on a constant basis. In order to keep up with the growing demands from businesses, it needs to offer scalability, flexibility to deal with emerging technologies and rising energy costs, all whilst trying to run in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Traditional data centres were
planned around a 10 to 15 year life cycle, however it’s almost impossible to balance long term planning, ever- changing business requirements and technology innovation. With business and technology
constantly changing even the greatest technology engaged business case cannot predict the longer term. Trying to plan anything beyond two years is a challenge, so ‘guesstimating’ computing requirements fifteen years in advance is nigh on impossible. The data centre in particular has
moved forward dramatically in the past ten years in terms of what is considered to be best practice. Previously, each data centre was built differently and operators had their tools and processes to run them.
However, today there is a whole host
of information available about how data centres should be run, how to improve efficiency and the best tools to use to improve and automate processes. Nevertheless, there still remains no single defined set of best practice standards. Typical of a developing industry,
the data centre sector is notorious for deploying measurements which seemed good at the time but moved out of fashion as the real issues surfaced. When the cost of energy rose, the
power of the data centre became a key factor for measurement, along with an increased focus on energy efficiency and the social responsibilities associated with running large data centre estates. This caused the operational
management team right up to the board level to prioritise improving efficiencies as a way to make measurable differences as well as an impact to the company’s bottom line.
The PUE rating Measuring Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) is one of those measurements and has become the de facto standard for measuring energy efficiency, environmental impact, and cost of running a modern data centre. As efficiency became synonymous to every data centre conversation, PUE
became the metric of choice – the smaller the better. At Colt, we were well aware of
the benefits of reducing power consumption and a couple of years ago we decided to regulate our approach to improving efficiency. We worked out a standard set of
guidelines for our operations crew to systematically ensure that from simple to more complex solutions, we were maximising efficiency in every data centre we have. As a result we reduced our annual
power bill by more than €4 million. With that in mind we strive to help
others benefit from improving their PUE, which is why we have compiled a list of 12 steps to improve PUE.
12 steps Measure - in order to assess any efficiency improvement, you need to be in a position to benchmark your existing energy usage against a comparable timeframe. Starting to measure, record and track power use on a regular basis is the first step to a more efficient data centre.
Regulate airflow – prevent hot and cold mixing - The need to regulate temperature can be one of the most draining processes on energy supply, and have a substantial effect on PUE. A data centre is essentially a structure that manages the flow of cold air in, and extracts hot air. With servers pumping hot air out and cold air in, if not managed correctly mixing will occur, so controlling airflow and limiting mixing; and the various steps to do so should be a priority.
Align hot and cold aisles - ideally, all servers within the racks and rows should face the same direction. These rows can then be arranged into hot and cold aisles with the front of the servers facing one way and the back the other; to allow for cool air aisles to be created blowing colder air to the front of the servers, and hot air aisles for the hot air to flow from the back.
Empty space = wasted heat 22 NETCOMMS europe Volume IV Issue 3 2014
Reduce airflow leaks - install blanking plates to fill the gaps where
www.netcommseurope.com
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