November 13, 2008

Most Efficient Data Center - The One That’s Not Built

Kenneth Brill, executive director of the Uptime Institute, told the New York Times that companies should build fewer data centers during tough times, and that the most efficient data center is the one that a company decides it doesn’t need to build.

A new study from the institute estimates that behind every $2,500 server for a Tier 4 data center, there are more than $23,000 in capital and operating costs over the four-year-life of that server. For a Tier 2 data center, the total supporting costs are about $13,600.

The research says using virtualization software, retiring unused servers, buying more energy-efficient servers and making smarter use of power and cooling could save more than $140 million over four years, assuming a 15 percent annual rise in computing workloads.

But the research says the biggest saving comes from not having to build new data center to accommodate rising workloads, a move that would save $112 million and cut CO2 emissions by nearly half.

Experts have offered tips on how to cut energy bills while increasing data center’s cooling reliability and stability. The U.S Department of Energy and the EPA also recently released “Energy Efficiency in Data Centers: Recommendations for Government-Industry Coordination.” However, Brill says the government’s report on data center efficiency “misses the root cause” of efficiency problems.

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