SECOND NATURE
E d u c a t i o n f o r S u s t a i n a b i l i t y
Data Center Efficiency 101
What Sustainability Managers
Should Know
Mike Walker, President, AlterAction Inc. (An ENERGY STAR Technical Support Contractor)
Second Nature and the ACUPCC
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Second Nature is a Boston-based non-profit with the mission to proactively build a sustainable and positive global future through initiating bold
commitments, scaling successful actions, and accelerating innovative solutions among leadership networks in higher education.
The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) is a signature program of Second Nature.
• High-visibility effort to address global climate disruption
• Network of +680 Colleges and Universities
• Commitment to eliminate net GHG and embed sustainability in their
Data Center Efficiency 101
What Sustainability Managers Should Know
Gabriela Boscio
Manager, Communications and Education Second Nature
Mike Walker
President, AlterAction Inc.
(An ENERGY STAR Technical Support Contractor)
Who are we?
•
Work on behalf of EPA’s ENERGY STAR
program as “technical support contractors”
•
3 core areas of expertise:
– Large scale “human behavior change”
– IT management & consulting
– Energy efficiency, sustainability
•
Vendor/product/solution neutral
We are here today because
data centers...
1.
Consume a lot of energy
– Energy consumption grew:
• 200% from 2000-5
• 36% from 2006-10
– 2% of electricity in US
2.
Can be made far more
efficient
– Efficient data centers can use up to 80% less power
Server rooms/closets in
commercial buildings
Typical office building:
23%
of annual energy costs
High efficiency office building:
40-50%
Savings remain untapped
…
ü
Split incentives
ü
Risk aversion
ü
Some solutions require new
Presentation Goals
1.
Identify drivers of energy costs
2.
Provide non-technical overview of measures
3.
Empower managers to spot opportunities
Server rack vs. barbecue grill
• Industrial Light & Magic deployed 84 blade servers/rack. Just 1 rack…
– Uses 28 kW
– Requires 8 tons of cooling
– Generates heat = 4 Weber Spirit gas grills
Data center energy savings: 3
areas of opportunity
1.
IT equipment
2.
Airflow management
Eliminating unused servers &
systems
• Opportunity: – 8-10% of servers performing no useful function • Why?– Good at provisioning, not so much at decommissioning
• Solution?
– Take inventory
– Identify, remove comatose servers
• Eliminating one server can save
$2500/year in energy, software
Consolidating lightly utilized
servers
• Due to traditional one workload, one box approach
– More than 90% of all x86 servers run at <12% utilization
– Typical server runs at < 6% utilization • Four smarter approaches:
– Combine apps onto a single server/operating system instance
– Reduce redundancy by clustering servers
– Downsize application portfolio
What is a “virtual machine?”
•
Software that simulates
server hardware & OS
•
Allows for multiple
concurrent OS instances
on a single “box”
•
Improves scalability,
reduces downtime, and
enables faster
Virtualization, cont.
• Cuts energy consumption by 10-40% • Ubiquitous: – 92% of large data centers – 37% of small data centersVirtualization reduces total
cost of ownership
• SWIC had 35 physical servers • Virtualization effort led to 35 virtual machines on 4 virtual hosts (physical servers)Right-size new servers
•
Are you fully utilizing what’s already deployed?
•
Avoid “oversizing”
– Don’t buy a tour bus when the workload calls for golf cart
Data storage – more efficient
technology
•
Lower speed disk drives, smaller drive
platters
•
Massive array of idle disks (MAID)
– Only those disk drives in active use are spinning at any given time
•
Solid state storage (SSDs)
– No mechanical parts
– Startup (OS) disks are good candidates
Data Storage Resource
Management (SRM) tools
• Deduplication removes duplicate files
• Automated provisioning improves storage utilization
• Thin provisioning provides just-enough, just-in-time storage
• Tiered Storage matches storage technology to access
What is a Uninterruptable
Power Supply (UPS) system?
• Provides power until emergency generators come on line • Corrects for power surges, voltage drops, and frequency distortions
Exelon: UPS Change Improves
Efficiency & Redundancy
• Increasing “load factor” boosts efficiency
• Example: Exelon
– Before: two 1000 kVA UPSs in parallel run at low load
– After: four smaller
(750 kVA) UPSs run at higher load
Save energy with ENERGY
STAR qualified UPSs
•
Cut energy losses by 33-55%
•
Variety of types available:
– Traditional “double conversion” UPSs
– Modular UPSs (pictured) maximize the “load factor”
ENERGY STAR UPSs made by
leading manufacturers
ENERGY STAR certified data
center products
Large network equipment
Storage Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS)
New ES servers can consume
54% less power
ENERGY STAR qualified
servers
•
Eligible servers:
– Blade, multi-node, rack-mounted, and pedestal
– ≤ 4 processor sockets per server (or blade/node)
•
Requires:
– Efficient power supplies
– Low power draws when server is at “idle”
– Advanced power management features
– Server Efficiency Rating Tool (SERT) test results
ES servers made by leading
manufacturers
Data center energy savings: 3
areas of opportunity
1.
IT equipment
2.
Airflow management
Raised floor environment
Proper hot aisle/cold aisle
orientation can save 5-12%
Cold aisle
containment
further
reduces mixing
• Some hot air is still mixing with cold air
• Containment can save:
Airflow management
strategies
Grommets minimize air Variable Speed fan Drives (VSDs) in CRACs Adequately sized return plenum or ceiling height Adequately sized supply Appropriate pressure in Rigid enclosures (“containment”)eliminate mixing Hot aisle / cold aisle layout
Airflow management devices:
blanking panels
•
Maintain the
separation of hot
and cold air in a
rack
•
A single 12”
blanking panel
can yield 1-2%
energy savings
Airflow management devices:
floor grommets
•
Improve cooling
efficiency by sealing
areas where cables
enter & exit plenums
(e.g., a raised floor)
•
Less leakage helps
direct more cold air to
the equipment that
Airflow management devices:
structured cabling
QTS conducted an extensive
air flow assessment
•
Removed obstructions to vented tiles, (e.g.,
cabling)
•
Closed vented tiles that were not in use
•
Installed self–sealing grommets
•
Used vinyl covers to seal gaps in doors, pipes
Variable Speed Drives (VSDs)
•
CRAC fans use 5-10%
total data center energy
•
Fan/pump power varies
with the cube of speed
– Translation: 1/2 the speeduses 1/8 the power!
•
Other EE measures
VSD considerations
•
Reduced fan speed in retrofits can cause
condensation and freezing on the coils
– New CRACs with VSDs have digital compressors that slow
down with fan speed
•
VSDs can affect
power quality w/
harmonics
– eBay needed 16 225-KVA harmonic
eBay installed VSDs on 83
CRAH units
Data center energy savings: 3
areas of opportunity
1.
IT equipment
2.
Airflow management
Turn up the heat!
•
Server inlet temps as low
as 55°F??? That’s old
school!
•
In 2008, ASHRAE
recommended 64 to 81°F
•
Save 3% to 5% in energy
costs for every 1°F
Today’s servers can stand the
heat. Safe operating ranges:
•
Sun Blade (40° to 90°F)
•
Dell Blade (50° to 95°F)
•
IBM Blade (50° to 95°F)
Raising server inlet temps:
considerations
• Can produce hot spots if not monitored properly
• Internal server fans may automatically turn on, raising energy costs
• Data centers with VSDs benefit the most
• Uncomfortable working conditions?
Humidity control in the past
•
Tight relative humidity (RH)
tolerances leads to:
– CRAC #1 reads RH as too high:
• Over-cools air to remove moisture and then reheats to bring temp back up
– Results in CRAC #2 reading RH as too low:
• Adds moisture by generating steam and cools air to bring temp back down
Solving humidity issues
•
Use dew point (DP) instead of RH to
measure humidity
•
Maintain broader ASHRAE recommended
humidity range (42 to 59 degrees °F DP)
•
Use adiabatic humidification technologies
–
Misters, foggers, ultrasonic
eBay:
½
year payback with
ultrasonic humidification
Free cooling with a water-side
economizer
• Evaporative cooling of tower produces chilled water • Heat exchanger used to bypass mechanical chiller • Downside: high capital costs • Added securityFree cooling with an air-side
economizer
Exhaust Air 85°F Outside Air 65°FHours of air-side economizer
use per year
Info available on
energystar.gov/lowcarbonit
•
Non-technical
descriptions
•
Impartial
information about
– Costs – Savings – Implementation considerations Top 12 Data Center Opportunities1. Virtualization of Servers
2. Decommissioning of Unused
Servers
3. Consolidation of Lightly Utilized
Servers
4. Data Storage Opportunities
5. Efficient Equipment Purchase
6. Hot Aisle/Cold Aisle Arrangement
7. Containment/Enclosures
8. Variable Speed Drives
9. Housekeeping: Blanking Panels,
Cabling and Gaps
10. Server Inlet Temperature and
Utilities often help pay for
energy saving measures
Utility Programs Vir tu ali za tio n EN ER GY S TA R Se rv er M as siv e A rra y o f Id le D is ks Un in te rru pt ib le Po we r S up ply Ch ille rs / C oo lin g Tow er s Th er m al En er gy St or ag e St or ag e Co ns oli da tio n Air flo w Va ria ble Fr eq ue nc y D riv e Air -S id e Ec on om ize r W at er -S id e Ec on om ize r Pu m ps /M ot or s HV AC / C RA C DC P ow er
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) C C C C/P C P P C P P
Austin Energy C C C C C P P C/P
AVISTA Utilities C P P C/P
British Colombia Hydro (BC Hydro) C C C C C C C C C C C C
Commonwealth Edison C C C C C C C C P C
Duke Energy (NC, SC, OH) C C C/P C C C C/P C C P P C
Efficiency Vermont C C C P C C P P
Energy Trust of Oregon P C C C C C C/P
Focus on Energy (WI) C/P C C P C C C P C C P C
Idaho Power P P P
Nevada Power P P
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA) C C C C C C/P C C C/P C/P C
Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) C C C C C C P C C P P C
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) C C C C C
Sacrament Municipal Utility District (SMUD) C C/P C C/P C C P C/P
ENERGY STAR rating for data
centers
• Allows you to compare your data center to others across the U.S.
• Rewards data centers in the top 25 % of their peers in energy efficiency
– Metric = Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
• Limited to stand-alone data centers or buildings that house large data centers
NetApp Data Center in Research Triangle Park, NC
(or how NOT to proceed?)
Why do IT energy efficiency
projects run out of steam?
You need an IT expert on your
side
…
•
“You might be right!
– Why don’t we ask an IT energy efficiency expert?”
…
and now you
Suggested next steps
1. Schedule a walk-thru to look for potential savings opportunities
2. Counter technical concerns/questions with…
– “You might be right: why don’t we ask an expert?”
– Schedule a (free) conference call with a vendor-neutral ENERGY STAR technical advisor
3. Estimate project ROI
– Emphasize increased reliability and redundancy as direct benefits
– Don’t forget $ from utility incentive programs 4. Build a coalition for change
Contact information
•
Additional info:
www.energystar.gov/lowcarbonit
•
Contact:
– Mike Walker, AlterAction Inc.
(ENERGY STAR Technical Support Contractor)
@jmikewalker