Expert Advice on Green Storage System

With rising energy prices, green data centers are becoming more of an economic imperative instead of simply an environmentally-friendly choice. In order to help storage vendors become more eco-friendly, Enterprise Storage Forum (ESF) asked experts how their company does it.

According to 3PAR CEO David Scott storage vendors can become eco-friendly by:
1. Developing compliant internal initiatives and manufacturing practices,
2. Having efficient and environmentally-conscious product design and packaging, and
3. Using supplemental green programs such as 3PAR’s Carbon offset program.

Rackable System focuses on using energy-efficient components. These include low-wattage hard drives which use 7 to 8 watts instead of 12 to 14 watts; power supplies with up to 96.5 percent power efficiency; and low-voltage processors and memory.

While at Fujitsu Computer Products of America, the company uses smaller HDD products that give better performance while requiring less power.

According to Bob Worral, chief information officer at Sun Microsystems, the cost of powering data centers worldwide may grow from $18.5 billion in 2005 to $250 billion by 2012.