Do not ignore the data centre energy crisis, warns expert
Printer friendly
Debate over the impending capacity and energy crisis is intensifying in the data centre industry. As data centres fill with increasingly demanding hardware and cooling systems, the energy crisis looms large and will impact upon many locations in the UK and across Europe.
Despite a recent survey from HP [http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2008/081218a.html?jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN] claiming that 60 per cent of CIOs will initiate a green IT project in 2009*, the issue still is not top of the corporate agenda.
Capacity is at such a high level, not enough energy can physically be supplied to servers and the cooling systems required to keep them operating. This lack of power will undoubtedly lead to more instances of downtime and data centre failure – a large-scale failure that could prove cataclysmic for many organisations.
Companies can plan for the energy crisis now by decommissioning older, power-hungry servers that are only partially utilised and consolidate [http://www.i-tcs.com/infrastructure_services/server.html] workloads elsewhere. Virtualisation, a buzzword throughout 2008, can solve a large percentage of the problem. In comparison, physical rather than virtual servers [http://www.i-tcs.com/technology/ibm.html] require 10 times more rack space and subsequently significantly more energy in terms of power, along with the cooling and necessary backup generators for failover.
Having effective failover technologies is also an important part of minimising server downtime because of power disruption. Some companies may even have a secondary data centre [http://www.i-tcs.com/managed_services/hosting.html] altogether, however this must be set out correctly to ensure effective operation.
'Secondary data centres are often located within the same electrical grid as its primary counterpart, therefore exposed to experiencing the same power issues and environmental factors. We've even seen a back up data centre which is situated just across the Thames from the primary site, a very risky situation in which to put any company's data,' continues Vinten.
When positioning a secondary data centre, it should be located as far away as possible as the primary data centre, at least over 20 miles. Currently the best places to locate these are outside densely populated areas because of the lower electricity demands per grid.
- Login or Register to comment
- Add to a social bookmarking site
The Dispatch Box: A portfolio management approach to reducing the public sector deficit
Chris Mills, partner in PIPC’s Portfolio Management Practice, discusses how government can strike the right balance between cutting deeply and protecting critical investments...
"Research has repeatedly shown that over 50% of potential value from project investments is wasted year after year, through a combination of poor selection and sub-optimal execution.Clearly we can no longer afford such waste but getting the balance right between cutting deeply and protecting critical investments will be a major challenge for whichever government is in power after the election."
"So, what’s the answer?" Read more
Frontline Club: Digital Election 2010
A panel discussion on the importance of social media in determining the outcome of the forthcoming general election, recorded at the Frontline Club in London.