Green Notes

IBM, Syracuse University (SU), and New York State have built a computer data center on the university’s campus that  incorporates advanced infrastructure and smarter computing technologies to make it one of the most energy-efficient data centers in the world. The data center is expected to use 50% less energy than a typical data center today making it one of the greenest computer centers in operation.

A key element of the design is an on-site electrical co-generation system that uses natural gas-fueled microturbine engines to generate all the electricity for the center and provide cooling for the computer servers. SU will manage and analyze the performance of the center, as well as research and develop new data center energy efficiency analysis and modeling tools. The data center operates completely off-grid.

In addition, a liquid cooling system has been created that will use double-effect absorption chillers to convert the exhaust heat from the microturbines into chilled water to cool the data center’s servers, with sufficient excess cooling to handle the needs of an adjacent building. Server racks  incorporate IBM’s Rear Door Heat eXchanger “cooling doors” that use chilled water to remove heat from each rack far more efficiently than conventional room-chilling methods. Sensors  monitor server temperatures and usage to tailor the amount of cooling delivered by each Rear Door Heat eXchanger–further improving efficiency.

The project includes the creation of a direct current (DC) power distribution system. In a typical data center, alternating current (AC) electricity is delivered by a central power plant through the local utility’s electric grid and then converted to DC to power the servers. This conversion process results in power loss. By directly generating DC power on-site, transmission and conversion losses are eliminated.

What makes the IBM-Syracuse University project different from many other similar ventures is the fact that special attention has been paid to greening the actual infrastructure of the data center itself, not just the computer hardware and software. Other design solutions that we recommend at Green Rack Solutions to update your data center’s basic design are:

• Managed airflow system to avoid hot spots, to assess cooling capacity required for IT equipment and to separate cool intake air from warm server exhaust air.
• Using energy saving cooling methods such as airside economizers and direct evaporative cooling.
• Larger but fewer variable speed motors to power air handlers for energy saving.
• Data center designs that eliminate need for raised floor which creates additional losses and leakages in the air handling system, thereby reducing the efficiency of the overall cooling systems.
• Designing by density zones. High-density applications represent 10 percent to 15 percent of a total data center usage. Medium-density apps account for another 20 percent. The rest is low-density. If you mix and match densities you save money on the build-out.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, data centers across the United States accounted for 1.5 percent of total US electricity demand in 2006 — equivalent to the annual electric consumption of the state of Florida — and have become one of the fastest growing users of energy. While the power consumed at these individual data centers may be small, the consumption in totality at EPA and other large organizations is significantly enormous. Even as much is written about greening data centers and as non-profit organizations like the Green Grid are striving to bring about a new improved way of approaching this data center energy crisis, there is not much initiative on the part of the data centers themselves. They are often found to be slack on basic essentials in measurement and tracking equipment.

A recent study by Gartner released in September found that as many as 48% of data centre managers have still not even considered the issue of energy management metrics. “Without metrics it is impossible to get accurate data, which is essential to evaluating basic costs, proportioning these costs to different users and setting policies for improvement.” , Gartner remarked of its findings. Gartner said that energy management both in terms of capacity and cost can only be effective through advanced monitoring, modeling and measuring techniques and processes. Further, it encouraged organizations not to rely on internal metrics, saying that evaluating server energy needs to be done in an open and transparent manner. Gartner went so on to note that in many companies the IT department neither sees nor pays the electric bill, and thereby lacks the incentive to save energy. The research firm recommends that data centre managers use sensors to monitor potential hotspots, develop a dashboard of data centre energy-efficient metrics, and improve the use of the existing infrastructure through consolidation and virtualization before building out or buying new/additional data centre floor space.

Gartner’s study is further substantiated by a report released by Aperture Research Institute in 2008 that states “that organizations are unable or unwilling to meet the expectations set by the introduction of green initiatives.74% refused to activate power saving features on devices if it would require a drop in performance. When it comes to procurement, energy efficiency and ease of disposal are the lowest priorities. 37% of data centers have no plans to measure energy efficiency, and 76% do not charge the business for the power used by the IT commissions. One reason is a lack of infrastructure for measuring power consumption.We concludes that data centers lack the tools and processes they need if the organization is to effectively balance its environmental impact and its business priorities.”

Redundant methods of monitoring power efficiency, lack of digital tracking capabilities and reluctance to open up to external consultation could be major impediments in the road to energy optimization. Please contact us at Green Rack Systems for discussing your current IT situation and a detailed analysis of how we could bring more productivity and value to your energy consumption.

It seems like the most simple logical solution to energy conservation-powering down servers not in use. After all not all servers are used all the time. For example servers that perform only a single predictable function such as for calculating the employee pay are used only on certain days in a month. Or those used for special testing or running backups and so on. It makes sense that they power themselves down when not in use just like in commonplace electronic gadgets.

The Alliance to Save Energy, Kelton Research and 1E, a software IT company, found through surveys of server managers and analysis of industry data that out of the world’s 44 million servers, roughly 4.7 million of them are idle and not doing necessary work.

“Contrary to popular belief, one of the largest causes of energy and IT operational waste in data centers are servers that are simply not being used. The savings from decommissioning non-productive servers cannot be ignored. Organisations need better information on server efficiency and more effective ongoing server energy management,” comments Sumir Karayi, CEO, 1E.

The key problem highlighted in the study is that over eight in ten (83%) of IT managers admit that they do not have an adequate grasp of server utilization . That is they have no idea which of the servers are actually in use and which are not at a given point of time. So to be on the safe side and avoid any unwanted interruptions while running applications, they supply power to all servers uniformly even those that are not working.

But not all IT managers approve of powering down servers. The old school of thought seems to be that servers should run 24/7 for fear of ruining the hardware and also of getting a bad rap sheet from clients. Others dread the difficulty of getting a server back to an operational state once it’s turned back on after powering down.

Ted Samson in infoworld interviewed several experts on this issue:

Infrastructure technologist at HP, said powering down servers is completely safe. “It’s not at all bad for the server. It’s something we do to electronic devices all the time. It can handle it from a hardware perspective,” said Baker.

But Brad McCredie, an IBM fellow for the Systems and Technology Group, wasn’t quite so sanguine. He explained that, technically speaking, powering off and on any kind of computer can have a detrimental effect over time.

“[Temperature cycling] is a well-established failure mechanism and a stress on components,” McCredie pointed out. “What it really comes down to is all these things — chips soldered on modules, soldered on boards and connectors — that expand and contract when they heat and cool…. When they all contract and expand at different rates, they can fail. That’s ultimately the bad thing with power cycling,” he said.

Mark Monroe, director of sustainable computing at Sun, suggested that machines can handle being shut down a finite number of times. Arguably, the number is large enough for regular power cycling over an extended period of time. “Most server vendors today say they’ll support a certain number of cycles of powering things on and off,” Monroe said. “I believe most of the server vendors would say [the number] is in the hundreds as opposed to the thousands.”

From the above survey it is safe to assume that for the most part , datacenters armed with the burden of reducing power costs are willing to at least take a look at this controversial method in moderation.

There have been a host of products in the market recently to tackle efficient power downs without mess-ups. IE launched its power management software for servers that use smart algorithms to figure out which servers are doing work and the energy they are using. According to IE its “NightWatchman Server Edition” can power down servers into a drowsy state, cutting their energy use by 12 percent. IBM has a product called Active Energy Manager that features advanced energy control options designed to boost performance per watt by slowing processor clock speed or even putting processors in “nap” mode when not in use. There are numerous others following the same trend including VMware that offers a functionality in VMware Infrastructure 3.5 called Distributed Power Management that powers servers on and off according to demand level.

Not all servers are automatic candidates for shutdowns however. Servers dedicated to specific scheduled computing that occurs only at certain times of the month or wanes at certain pinpointed times during the day are ideal targets for powering down. For more expert consultation on powering down processes and other methods of energy saves for your data center, contact us at GreenRack Sysems/408-2138144.

While the high tech world buzzes with non stop talk about virtualization and other power monitoring technologies to increase data center efficiency, improvement in basic storage can go a long way to green up your facility. On an average 10 to 40 percent of energy cost in data centers is used to run storage. Yes, managing storage can be expensive especially in a situation like data centers which struggles to cope with excess of data resulting from global initiatives, web commerce, rapidly enhanced computing expectations and security pressures. If businesses do not address their storage budget issues and reduce their data footprint, the problem is likely to blow out of proportion in this era of faster, more ever increasing computing. To keep up with this massive growth, organizations must look at smart storage capacity solutions.

SNIA, Storage Networking Industry Association is a non profit association made up of about 400 companies dedicated to knowledge exchange of end-to-end storage solutions and development of standards in information management products. Some of the energy efficient storage solutions that it recommends are thin provisioning, multi-use backup, virtual clones, de-duplication, compression, using RAID 5 or RAID 6 disk arrays instead of the higher-level standards and smarter coupling of technology and the actual needs.

Most industry experts recommend against indulging in highest grade equipment and to stick to what is actually required instead. Multi purpose, elaborate storage solutions not only cost more but most of the times you may not even be in need of them. So you might be powering them for doing things that you may not even need. So stick with RAID 5 if that’s all you will be using. While Solid State Disk translates to an enhanced performance level, it also costs an arm and a leg. So data that is not critical can be allocated to lower cost tiers and primary storage. Sometimes storage solutions come with automated management software to give information on how much of solid state disk you need to optimize your application. Virtualization of your storage also can go a long way in helping with storage consolidation by providing better storage distribution among servers and reducing hardware requirements. Vendors that provide server virtualization often offer tools to improve the management of storage as well.

The latest buzz in the storage world is data de-duplication also called single instance storage. It significantly reduces the amount of physical disk space needed for backup and other archival functions by configuring data processing and storage functions in a way that removes redundant files, bytes, or blocks of data. It thereby makes sure that only unique data is stored on disks and eliminates redundant files.

The other popular storage solution is thin provisioning which doles out on-demand shared storage to servers instead of allocating tens or hundreds of gigabytes in advance based on anticipated demand which may go unused while consuming a lot of energy. Provisioning helps in cost reduction as it costs less to provide power to one drive loaded to capacity than a number of them each storing a fraction of their capacity.

Please contact us at Green Rack Systems for updating your storage solutions and to reduce your energy bills in the bargain.

There is a huge initiative among companies like Google, IBM, Cisco and so many other smaller smart grid players to make the grid more modernized using cutting edge digital technology and tackle environmental issues, cost reduction and energy conservation. We employ integrated communications, sensing and measurement technologies, enhanced interfaces and control methods to optimize our electricity transmission.The common smart grid components incorporating network, wireless and IT technology consist of smart meters, data concentrators, system monitoring software, increase in transmission lines etc. They help oversee the precise location of electricity consumption and predict potential blackout areas. Consumers can also monitor more clearly where and how the electricity is being absorbed which will provide them with more leverage to effectively save on energy.

When President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion stimulus bill on Feb. 17 , 2009 , a large part of his strategy focuses on renewable alternative energy to gain energy independence but one of he largest investments, about $11 billion dollars has been dedicated to in smart grids.So it is no surprise that smart grids are being touted left, right and center by VCs and technocrats alike and promises to have a huge impact in the immediate direction of high tech and energy industry.

What does all this mean to data centers? Well according to CNetnews, this data overload due to smartgrid implementation will lead to increased demands on data center . The article cites the case of Duke Energy which has contracted with Cisco to build an “information architecture” to handle an anticipated flood of data from its smart-grid programs where it will be installing hundreds of thousands of smart meters in the next two years. Duke Chief Technology Officer anticipates that gathering data from sensors on cables, people’s appliances, and substations could add up to a millions of nodes on the network.

“Once utilities put in smart meters, their data processing and storage needs explode. Instead of sending a person to read meters once a month, information for billing or other applications can be sent back once a day, once an hour, or even every few minutes. If utilities are regulated to reduce peak time usage, their IT needs shoot up even higher. Demand response where a utility can turn down energy use at participating customer sites, requires utilities to poll information regularly from a potential large number of locations. “

Mark Weiner director of Data Center Solutions and a member of a Cisco smart-grid team is quoted in CNet news article:

“The requirements are for huge amounts of data to be involved when you have these more advanced pricing models where the goal is to mitigate power generation,” said Weiner. “The catcher’s mitt for that data is the data center.”

It is logical to conclude from the above that now more than ever there is an even more increased pressure to make your data center technology as energy efficient and cost effective as possible in anticipation of future requirements. For specialized software and hardware deployments that would help you in this effort, contact us at GreenRack Systems.

In datacenters, there is a tendency to overexert and do too much if that makes sense. After all we want to make sure that everything is working well and beyond to avoid problems during uptime. Over provisioning and over allocation often lead to overspending in terms of indulgence in excess power and hardware. Apart from virtualization, increasing storage efficiency and equipment efficiency, Power capping is a new technology that datacenters are looking into right now to address this issue. The concept is logical enough as the name suggests. Power capping sets a cap on the power a server can consume at a given time without always leaving allowances for “in case of maximum load or maximum utilization” and is uniformly applicable for all servers.

Servers come in all shapes, sizes and uses. There are many scenarios that determine their usage like customer requirements and nature of work. So they do not all run to full capacity at all times and some maybe even never as many datacenters choose to not deploy their entire arsenal at the same time. So why do we allocate all this power to them without discerning? Why do we set a standard uniform allocation irrespective of functionality? Also more times than not, the suggested power allocation referred to on hardware pieces are much more than is actually needed. Again everyone is trying to be on the safe side and being careful about not interfering with the performance level, but unwittingly wasting more resources in the bargain. That is why power capping makes a whole lot of sense. Without overstepping the power limit, it allows us to save on space and increase your server density by ascertaining that your servers do not use more than their allocated power at once.

Even though many IT managers are hesitant to experiment lest important applications get interrupted, power has proven to be such an expensive and environmentally unfriendly commodity that many datacenters have decided to take their chances on it .Companies like Intel, IBM, Dell and AMD have released power capping management software to facilitate the process. For example Intel’s Dynamic Power Node Manager Technology along with ancillary management software helps servers running on Xeon 5500 chips to vary platform power on a case by case basis without reducing the performance level through monitoring and assessing real-time data of a server platform. The ceiling on the platform power is thus adjusted to your optimal individual power budget . In case it figures that the budget cannot be met with without interfering with the performance, it will alert you on your choices. Intel also has developed a software addition to the Node Manager called Intel Datacenter Manager, designed to monitor and control power for a group of servers.

Baidu, China’s largest search company has reported success recently using Intel’s power-capping technology. In fact the companies released a study that stated that a datacenter using this technology could save up to 40 watts per system without performance impact translating into as much as 20 percent additional datacenter capacity within the same rack-level power envelope, and a potential rack-density improvement of 20 to 40 percent. Prior to investing in power capping technology, Baidu was leasing racks at a datacenter where the company sought to save money by cramming as many machines as possible into the fewest number of racks. Post Intel’s power capping tools, they were able to establish an optimal workload corresponding to maximum power reduction with least performance loss. Then they determined the approximate amount of power the servers needed to just idle. After narrowing down on the precise number of servers per rack , they successfully established a cap at the rack level bringing down the power consumption from 900W to 750W.

It is always better to understand the full implications of power capping before deciding if power capping technologies in full blast would be a viable option for your data center. A trial run before full scale operation is recommended to protect important applications. Please contact us at Green Rack Systems for further consultation.

Of course they do! While unfortunately smaller players in the business might not have a veritable choice in the matter, there certainly are certain location based factors that contribute towards a sustainable facility. Douglas Alger, Cisco’s IT Architect for Physical Infrastructure in his book on Data Center physical design, “Build the Best Data Center Facility for Your Business.” Some of the useful pointers that he has listed include:

· A location with a lower carbon emissions factor. You may get some info on it at http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy-and-you/how-clean.html .With the help of your zip code , Power Profiler will determine your power grid region, compare the fuel mix and air emissions of the electricity in your region to the national average and calculate the impacts of electricity use in your home or business.

· If your data center will be taking advantage of air cooling to save on energy bills, then obviously a location that tends to be colder year round would be a consideration. Other environmental factors might include amount of rain, if you are planning on using rain water for recycling.

· Regional building codes and property zoning are worth checking on to find out if your data center plans are feasible.

· Proximity to employees’ residences and their ease/mode of commute.

· The air quality. Air pollution could damage IT equipment

· Nearby sources of electromagnetic interference (also called radio frequency interference) such as telecommunication signal facilities and airports.

· Nearby sources of vibration such as railroads, major roads or construction.

· Political stability. Healthy laws and conditions for the smooth running of datacenter.

It goes without saying that one of the top considerations for Data Center locations remains power rates. In the United States, City level examinations tend to be more accurate than a State mean. In general it is advisable to always favor an area with regulated utility markets due to increased stability.

Datacenters seem to be imitating the fashion world at least when it comes to certain recent computing trends. Thin clients, a throw back to main frame computers of yesteryears has reemerged as an emphatic shift away from a PC based network. Thin clients offer server based computing consisting of a display only device that only display applications run on dedicated servers. Such centralized computing comes in response to increasingly complicated evolution of desktops that require constant upgrades, reconfigurations, maintenance, manpower and higher costs. We are also faced with more and more compatibility issues as hardware and software become more multifaceted. On the other hand, these display only terminals require no hard drive, no local software and no storage devices. With the use of powerful servers and simple terminals involving just screen display, keyboard and mouse , we save on cabling and cooling requirements. Less hardware means less stress on landfills and less ecologically damaging wastes like lead, plastics, metals and electronics.As the client merely serves as an access device to the server, it needs only enough power to render the display, the maintenance is minimal with a much longer life span. No upgrades and replacements are necessary as new hardware and software are released. Since all the applications and data are in one place, it allows for easy sharing by just plug and play. Centralized information on server accounts for a more secure storage of data. Thin clients also require lower deployment costs as they can be remotely configured, do not need to be set up individually and need less management costs as compared to PCs. Last but certainly not the least thin clients are quite economical as compared to standard PCs.

It all sounds great on paper. But are thin clients suitable for your particular need? Though thin clients have come a long way since their bare bone days, some still lack advanced graphical interfaces that we take for granted these days and could have problems running MS windows compatible applications. To assess the design and network of thin clients necessary for the cause of your data center, it is always best to enlist the service of professional consulting organization like Green Rack Systems to help with the deployment. Our team will first try to understand the datacenter’s particular needs along with the needs of each thin client user. We will take an inventory of printers and peripherals to assess the amount of storage that will be needed and of applications currently running on desktops for efficient conversion. Our consultants would then help you arrive at an exact number of servers required to support the thin clients. Next we would help anticipate any potential network and server problems in the transfer and finally synchronize the system for successful completion of the process. It should be kept in mind that not all desktops might be suited for a thin client transfer. For an on-site assessment of your facility for a thin client initiation and other green IT solutions, please contact our sales team at 408-213-8144/ sales@GreenRackSystems.com

Cloud computing is a kind of scalable service provided by distant vendor servers over the internet. The data storage and management tasks are assigned to a set of infrastructure, platform or software over a network or “cloud”. This type of computing certainly comes with inherent flaws such as a danger of becoming too vendor dependant , a shrinking on-site IT department, questionable security and reliability issues etc. Also cloud computing requires a lot of investment which has led many detractors to suggest that this type of computing service would lead to an unfair monopoly of the big players in the business. But cloud computing is still in a stage of technological infancy, so it is only a matter of time before these concerns are ironed out.

Cloud Computing provides datacenters with immense potential to save on energy, infrastructure and staffing issues. The advantages are numerous. Smaller scale datacenters can benefit from access to sophisticated super computers leading to increased competitiveness in the market. More moneyed ventures who have the means to invest in new infrastructure, on the other hand can offer their services to others increasing their potential and diversifying their line. Computational power and storage borrowed from a third party decreases the load in your data center thereby leading to less energy consumption on the home front. Also you pay for what you use and use resources on a need to basis. Services on the host side, run on shared infrastructure at high utilization as not all users will be accessing service at the same time. Therefore there is less computer idling and a lot more of energy saving. While some argue that cloud computing just shifts the energy consumption from the data centers to the hosts’ side , even with all the additional overhead costs and single computer power usage , there is considerable decrease in net power as you take other systems offline and pay a whole lot less for cooling. When we add virtualization and alternative energy sources like solar power to the midst, we really mean green business! Green rack systems provides a high tech solar powered co-location facility as an optional service for our clients. Those intent on keeping things in house but would also like to cut down on energy bills, should consider professional third party services like ours for secondary and non-critical applications while retaining main frame operations close to home. Cloud computing is also a great way to go for startups that cannot afford to maintain a professional standard data center. Please contact us at 408-213-8144/ sales@GreenRackSystems.com for an in-depth consultation on what option would suit your business model.

These unprecedented tough economic times have affected the best of businesses and data centers are no exceptions. Many of them have had to put a hasty stop to facility renovation and infrastructure improvement projects. In this crunching environment, co-location services are proving to be an effective, practical alternative especially for small businesses. It gives modest startups an opportunity to take advantage of state of the art technology while holding down capital expenses. For delving deeper into how our Solar Powered co-location service can save you a big chunk, contact us at sales@GreenRackSystems.com/1-408-727-7990 .

Another way of approaching the crippling economy is to conserve and maximize the resources that the data center already possesses. The consultants at Green Rack system provide complete facility assessment services to not only maintain what you have got but also prevent any future problems that could prove to be expensive. The minimum cost that might be incurred for maintenance would make a lot of sense when huge potential savings can be gained due to purchasing and installing new infrastructure equipment. Our team will lend an experienced eye to point out repairs and necessary component replacements that could trigger huge problems like clogged air filters that lead to decreased cooling efficiency, debris filled evaporator coils or test checking circuit boards for on-chip mal-functions.