ServerTech Blog - Information for the Data Center Equipment Manager

Know your goals.

Over at eWeek, Chris Preimesberger has some great food for thought on some misconceptions in the data center monitoring arena. For me, the overall takeaway is that you must have a good grasp of the goals for the data center and the overall organization to make the best decision in choosing a monitoring package. Actually, the idea that you should attempt to get everything into one single monitoring package may not be the best way to reach your goals. Remember that each person and job task within the data center is likely to have different goals which may require targetted monitoring and management for most efficient use of their time.

Seeing into the future - Extend the life of your planned data center

Over at ComputerWorld, Sandra Gittlen has a nice article on extending the life of your data center. There are some good tips for those who need to get a few more years out of an existing data center, but I think this article should give pause to those organizations planning now for a ten year data center. We all know the difficulty of divining the conditions of business and technology even two years ahead, let alone really knowing what things will look like in ten years. Adjusting to changes in business goals and technological advances is a continual process and data center flexibility is key. One of the aspects of this required flexibility that is not really mentioned in the article is that of continual monitoring of power usage for individual devices. Building this capability into a new data center gives the future data center managers the ability to understand which devices, which applications, and which departments are using how much power and when. Tracking power to best utilize branch circuits, plan for growth, and optimize application utilization schedules is becoming a critical part of good data center design. Doing so will help prevent hitting the limits of the data center before its time, and even allow it to go beyond the initial expectations.

Free Interop expo pass or 25% discount off of full registration

Hey everyone,

Fall has finally arrived and with that also comes a new wave of data center trade show across the globe.  Server Technology is sending our power experts around the world to exhibit at these events and answers all your questions.  One of the larger events of the season is Interop, New York.  Visit their website here.  And, lucky for you, we also have a discount code/free expo pass for those of you who are attending: FREE EXPO PASS OR 25% DISCOUNT COUPON  Stop by booth 548 and learn more about the Server Technology Total Solution, which includes Sentry Power Manager v5.0 and our new firmware version 6.1.

In related news,  Server Technology will be again powering the NOC (Network Operations Center) throughout the show with both cabinet PDUs and our Sentry Power Manager (SPM) v5.0.  Our high quality components guarantee that the Interop Net will be up and running 24/7, measuring and monitoring all the power activity of the devices deployed throughout the trade show floor.  Our heavy investment in our patented designs will allow the Interop IT staff to securely distribute power, manage outlets, trend, and report on the temperature, humidity, and power of all the racks on the show floor as well as at the off-site facility.  In fact, we invite anyone interested to view the SPM v5.0 deployed in the Interop Net here: https://199.45.9.202/ Username: spmdemo; Password: sti01.

If you are looking to see what other events are coming up through the rest of 2011, visit our events calendar. 

Server Tech helps power the Sun Cloud

 

Hello everyone!

The above video focuses on the Sun Cloud deployed within the Super Nap in Las Vegas, NV.  It's a very cool video that showcases the great work being done by both companies.  There is a quick cameo appearance by Server Technology CDUs.  Our superset of features were a perfect fit for their application.  We have invested heavily in our testing and patented designs, and we were honored to be a part of this project.  Take a quick watch of this data center.

Google's Green Plan

In this white paper Google describes how it made improvements in PUE from 2.4 to 1.5 with just a few steps. Of course, the first step is Monitor, Monitor, Monitor. You need both the IT loading with high-accuracy measurements such as with Server Technology PIPS and POPS CDUs, as well as strategically placed temperature and humidity measurements. Server Technology has support for the simple addition of two combination temperature/humidity probes on all intelligent CDUs, which provides those critical measurements where needed - at the source of the heat!

Spend Wisely On New Equipment

In a recent article from Processor Magazine, I am briefly quoted:

Here is a link to the full article, but see below for the section regarding power distribution.

Best Tip: Include Power Monitoring In Your Purchasing

 

 

According to Brandon Siri, senior marketing service representative at Server Technology (www.servertech.com), data center and IT managers need to start planning power monitoring early in their design cycle. “Waiting until the last minute can result in rush decisions and compromises to the infrastructure,” he says. “Getting the right cabinet PDU installed ensures that you are using all the available power [and] have the correct outlet types and gives you the intelligence features that your design requires for optimization.”
He cautions against skimping on monitoring during purchasing rounds, as well. Inexpensive components and basic cabinet PDUs work, he notes, but they don’t give data center managers the monitoring and outlet control functions of more intelligent versions. “The cost of the cabinet PDU intelligence can be justified with a positive ROI after a few months, once you realize that they can help you save on overall power consumption,” Siri says.

Data Center expansion - If I'm a data center manager and need to do this, what do I need to think about?

We hear time and again where a data center manager states that they have run out of power, but if they were asked “where are you using the power?” most of the time they do not have a good answer.    Data center expansion is primarily caused by the fact that a company has run out of resources and need more. In reality, most of the time when the resources are said to be lacking, they are not.  Stranded power, underutilized circuits, power usage reports and trends all need to be considered before you consider expansion.  

Stranded Power

Let’s say you have a 20A dedicated circuit to a device where the actual power draw is 8amps.  The difference in power between actual usage and circuit capacity ties up the additional resources and strands the use.  This means that the 12A can’t be used elsewhere because it is tied up in a circuit where the capacity cannot be utilized.   Stranded power is a necessary evil within data center because of the need to support redundancy, but how much extra power do we need to have available to support redundancy before it affects or limits the amount of usable circuit capacity?

Underutilized Circuits

By being able to determine what IT devices are on and not on will allow us to answer the question:  “What devices really need to be on in a data center?”  In the 7x24 fully available world that we live in, does that require 100% of the devices to be on 100% of the time? 

Power usage reports and trends

Consumption over time is an interesting report to look at.  Sometimes the trend will resemble an ECG of a nervous patient; others will resemble a near flat line.  But a report of actual consumption versus face plate rating will show the user a much more telling story versus a static maximum load.   

By Marc Eisenberg, Enterprise Systems Manager

Storage - You need to monitor its power too.

Over at Data Center Knowledge, Rich Miller gives a nice overview of some of the challenges of information growth. One thing that is missing is that as "big data" grows BIGGER, power usage will grow bigger as well. Monitoring power in the data center has been the hot topic for some time now with many manufacturers entering the market with products at all levels of the power distribution chain. Server Technology has been the leader in monitoring and management at the the cabinet level power distribution for years. For many legacy storage cabinets, it is not practical to retrofit the cabinet PDU with newer intelligent units. In that case, a solution lies in the Server Technology Dual Inline Power Monitor which gives you the means for monitoring and alerting just like the Smart series CDU's. And, with the Sentry Power Manager (SPM), aggregate power data from all your servers, storage, and network equipment to get the full picture of the actual IT equipment power usage.

Provisioning for more rack power using 240/415V Power Distribution



Provisioning for more rack power using 240/415V Power Distribution - The literature I’ve been reading on 240/415V power distribution appears heavily tailored for new builds; are there other instances where 240/415V is applicable and will provide benefit

 

Yes. 

Bringing higher AC voltages to the rack based equipment switching power supply modules has been a hot topic for more than a few years now.   Selecting a power distribution system based on the maximum available power to the supply rated voltages on each device will maximize efficiency.

•       Equipment will operate more efficiently using the highest supported voltage available.

An article from a few years ago; “Bringing 415VAC To the Cabinet Level “ leads us to recognize the value and indicates the greatest and quickest ROI is with new builds.

http://www.servertech.com/uploads/documents/0000/0561/Bringing415VACtoTheCabinetLevel_July2009Article.pdf

North American data center new builds utilizing the benefits by implementing 240 volts to the equipment within the rack continues at an increasing rate.  However, other factors have also become drivers for implementation within present data centers.  Increased power demands and provisioning for more power can be a key issue for a new or present data center installation. 

For example, instances have come up where a row of racks within an existent data center had an increased power requirement for up to 17kW of continuous current redundant power.  The increased power demand for these racks required increased voltage, current, or both to satisfy the requirement.  The initial intent was to bring 3-Phase power and increased amperage to the rack.  The implementation was to provide two power feeds (A & B) to the rack at 208V, 60A 3-Phase [208V x 60A x 1.732 x .8 = 17.3 kW, per power feed  (Volts x Amps x square root of 3 due to line-to-line wiring x 80% maximum safety rating per NEC].  This would have provided a means to maintain an 80% safety rated maximum load of up to 17.3 kW should any one side (A or B) be required to carry the entire load.   However, it became apparent that these equipment racks could not physically accommodate the larger, less pliable power cords and bulkier connectors required for the higher amperage rated power strip inlet cords.  These racks also could not physically accommodate multiple lower amperage in-feeds ad required some innovative thinking.  Further investigation uncovered a 240/415V solution once it was realized 277/480V power was available within the existent installed UPS system.  With the addition of a smaller autotransformer, fully redundant 17kW power was provided using 240 volts AC to the equipment.  This was provided using 240/415V power distribution with two power feeds (A & B) per rack [240V x 30A x 3 x .8 = 17.3 kW per power feed: Volts x Amps x 3 due to line-to-neutral wiring x 80% maximum safety rating per NEC].   Increasing the power by means of increased voltage without increasing the amperage (240/415V @30A) allowed use of rack based power strips utilizing smaller more pliable power inlet cords with reduced size connectors as compared to that of a higher amperage rated (208V @ 60A) power strip.   

In conclusion, North American data centers implementing 240 volts to the end equipment AC power supplies continues at an increasing rate.  The majority of the implementations are for new build outs that can easily show the greatest and quickest ROI for 240/415V power distribution.   Some of the key points for 240/415V power distribution to the rack:

•       Provides a means to increased rack Power densities.

•       Equipment will operate more efficiently using the highest supported voltage available.

•       Fewer branch circuits to the rack will reduce wiring, weight, & bulk.

•       Less wiring bulk increases airflow and cooling efficiency.           

 

Number of Power Feed Required Comparison to provide safety rated 17 kW

Volts	Amps	Phase	Safety Rated kW per Power Feed	# of Power Feeds required  for 17 kW	Total  # of Power Feeds Required  with Redundancy	NOTES
240	30	3	17.3	1	2	240 x 30 x 3 = 21.6kW
208	60	3	17.3	1	2	208 x 60 x 1.732 = 21.6kW
208	30	3	8.6	2	4	208 x 30 x 1.732 = 10.8kW
208	30	1	5.0	4	8	208 x 30 = 6.2kW
120	30	1	2.8	6	12	120 x 30 = 3.6kW

Video Interview: Calvin Nicholson talks about what's new for data center power

 

Calvin Nicholson, Director of New Technologies, at Server Technology talks about data center power with Rich Tehrani, CEO of TMC, at Interop 2011. 

Topics discussed in this video:

How Server Technology is powering the 2011 Interop NOC.

How often power is exceeded on a server.

Specific example of how Server Technology has helped companies with powering their devices.

Maximizing circuits

Wire-Free Power monitoring with RF Code

Higher-Densities (480V 3-Phase)

A new version of Sentry Power Manager (5.0) COMING SOON

What problems are data centers experiencing today?

Hot spots in the data center

Capacity on circuits