Excerpt:
Even a small data center can save tens of thousands of dollars through smart choices in equipment and best practices. For every dollar spent on new IT hardware, another 50 cents is spent on power and cooling, doubling from five years ago.
However, data center manager can trim energy consumption by up to 50 percent by making wise choices in management practices, IT hardware, power and cooling infrastructure by following simple guidelines, such as:
- Turn off idle IT equipment- Issue: IT equipment consumes high levels of power even under light loads, Solution: Power down or retire underutilized equipment
- Virtualize servers and storage- Issue: IT equipment consumes nearly maximum power when it is underused, Solution: Use virtualization to improve utilization
- Consolidate servers, storage and data centers- Issue: IT equipment consumes nearly maximum power even when underused, Solution: Consolidate lightly used equipment into fewer, more productive systems
- Turn on the CPU power management feature- Issue: The CPU itself could be consuming more power than necessary, Solution: Vary CPU power consumption to match utilization
- Select high-efficiency power supplies- Issue: Power conversion within the server might consume more power than necessary, Solution: Use certified energy-efficient power supplies and voltage regulators
- Use high-efficiency UPSs- Issue: Power quality systems can sap power Solution: Take advantage of new, high-efficiency power protection systems
- Adopt power distribution at 208V/230V- Issue: IT equipment could be operating at its least efficient voltage rating, Solution: Adopt the most efficient power distribution voltage the equipment can accept
- Adopt cooling best practices- Issue: Too much of the power budget goes to cooling, Solution: Simple, affordable practices can enhance cooling capabilities and reduce costs
- Conduct an energy audit of your data center- Issue: Easy opportunities for energy savings could be right at hand, Solution: Assess data center efficiency, and compare it to industry benchmarks
- Mobilize now to reduce energy consumption- Capitalize on opportunities to cut energy consumption through any of the best practices available
Capitalizing on the energy strategies mention, could potentially save $1.5 million a year. This data center would achieve more with available power and cooling systems, delaying the point where upgrades would be needed to match expansion.
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