ServerTech Blog - Information for the Data Center Equipment Manager

Recent study show companies aim to go green

A recent study by data center operator Digital Realty Trust, scheduled to be released next month, claims that more than half of large companies are developing plans to get green. 

About 55% of data center have developed strategies to address concerns regarding power and cooling in their data center which is attributed to a large percentage of power consumption on a global basis.

This surge in focusing on the data center will undoubtedly impace companies bottom line in a positive manner.  To read the whole article, click here.

Sun to announce data center efficiencies

Sun joins the likes of IBM and HP in demostrating their personal benefits from going green.  They have consolidated data center facilities in Santa Clara, as well as in Surrey, U.K. and Bangalore, India. Previously the data centers occupied 267,000 square feet, and now take up only 133,000 square feet of space.

For more information, or to read the article in it's entirety click here.

Fujitsu and Fuel Cell Technology

As a compliment to the recent posts regarding new and improving Data Center technologies, check out the economical and environmental advantages that Fujitsu is enjoying by implementing fuel cell technology at its Data Center in the Sunnyvale campus.

New chip cooling technology possibilities

The accelerating demands on power consumption and thus cooling abilities has no end in sight. The issue is severe enough to have generated concern by the EPA and the Uptime Institute warns that demands will only increase.

So, new engineering is vital for making data centers function more efficiently!  That being said, there is a great article on recent research at Purdue University regarding chip cooling technology that could dramatically increase chip cooling.

Enjoy!!!

Virtualization – Who’s got the technology and what are the benefits

Last week virtualization heat Wall Street hard and heavy with the IPO for VMW. The stock made a 76% gain on the first day.

There’s a great article on Network World which highlights different virtualization companies and their capabilities.

Also, with all the hype you gotta know there are going to be downfalls.  Check out this article on the pros and cons of virtualization.

Data Center Consolidation and Virtualization

The concerns over power and cooling in the data center are nothing new for the IT industry.  There have been many articles written on how to address power in the data center for existing structures as well as addressing these concerns for new projects. 

Data center locations are now meticulously addressed prior to their construction in terms of sourcing locations that can provide sufficient and budget friendly power supplies.  Facility layouts address power and cooling concern, elevated floors and other thorough details for the purpose of saving power and minimizing costs.  The big guys are even showing how to go green by utilitizing technology in their own data centers.

The Uptime Institute and EPA have addressed concerns over the economic implications of an increasing power demand for Data Centers “in 2005, total data center electricity consumption in the U.S., including servers, cooling and auxiliary equipment, was approximately 45 billion kWh, resulting in total utility bills amounting to $2.7 billion, with total data center power and electricity consumption for the world estimated to cost $7.2 billion annually” (“Study Reveals Scope of Annual U.S. Data Center Energy Consumption: 45 Billion kWh, Costing Nearly 3 Billion Dollars”. Industry News February 19, 2007 http://www.powerpulse.net/story.php?storyID=16697).  In 2005, the Total U.S. electricity generation was 4,054,688 gigawatt-hours (GWh).

Throughout the industry the story is the same.  Data Centers need to be revitalized.  Call it going green, addressing the operational budget…whatever the case may be the industry cannot move forward as is, it has to change. 

The establishment of the Green Grid was a step in the right direction as well as the growing abilities in virtualization.  Last week, VMW entered the NYSE at $52 per share.  The possibilities and future of virtualization are just beginning, providing the ability for

Data Center consolidation on many different aspects such as facilities space, costs, and maintenance this is undoubtedly just the beginning of a new wave in Data Centers.

Data Center Downtime

The most recent version of the Data Center Journal for July-August 2007 has an interesting read on cost estimations for downtime across various industries.

Understanding the cost implications of down time is crucial for any company.  In particular, it's an important step in evaluating a current data center and moving towards a data center that is more energy efficient as well as maintaining high operational effectiveness.

Tier 1

Tier 1 research is a good resource for technology vendors for your data center.

HP ready for the A New Era in Data Center

What will happen with Data Centers in the near future?  The theme is being addressed in what many refer to as a holistic approach for data center construction and revitalization.  Universities, government divisions and large coorporations are all realizing the importance of understanding and addressing their data center. 

Both in terms of revamping their current data centers and addressing future data center projects, there is a lot to be said for data center designs and just how maticulously companies will be applying what they know about power, cooling and other data center aspects.

HP recently discussed their approach to the Data Center challenge at the Linux Conference in San Francisco.

Monitoring Power Consumption in the Data Room

Utility companies may be moving towards a new method for regulating power consumption in the home and office environment. 

This article discusses how a group called the Zigbee Alliance and their technology may affect power consumption monitoring for utility companies.