Educ Green Data Center Wp

7/30/2019 Educ Green Data Center Wp

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September 2007

The green data center for educationMore than social responsibility: a foundation for environmental leadership, reducing costs andincreasing operating stability


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The green data center for education

Contents

Introduction pg3

Challenges facing education pg5

Transitioning to a green data center pg 7

Whose job is it? pg9

Reducing cooling requirements pg10

Increasing facilities system efficiency pg11

Reducing power consumption with innovative technologies pg 12

Do you have a game plan? pg14

Conclusion pg15


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INTRODUCTION

After years of being viewed by many as a concern for a relative few, environmental issues arenow front-page news around the world. Faced with increasingly urgent warnings about theconsequences of the projected rise in both energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions,governments, educational institutions and businesses alike are now focusing more attention thanever on the need to improve energy efficiency.

Most educational institutions are concerned with addressing the needs of their students and thegreater community while providing services. Energy consumption and environmental concernscan take on a whole new meaning as these begin to impede the educational institutions ability tomeet local demands.

By implementing energy efficiency strategies, educational organizations can reduce emissions ofair pollutants and greenhouse gases, lower energy costs and improve the reliability and securityof their energy systems. Using clean energy can also help to lower the institutions carbon output,increase the use of alternative fuels, make existing and planned facilities more energy efficientand foster collaboration with the local community all while providing opportunities for leadershipand recognition.

For education CIOs, many times the tipping point for energy efficiency is the data centers, whichare well-known as significant power users. If educational institutions data centers cannotaccommodate new servers or storage because of power availability or infrastructure constraints,bringing new capabilities online can become a major challenge in terms of both time and money.

In addition to their own energy consumption and environmental concerns, education leaders havethe added responsibility of being the stewards of their environment. In the drafting ofenvironmental policies for their institutions, educational leaders have to make sure their ownoperations can be seen as examples of sound environmental practices. Educational institutionsalso need to add appropriate courses to student curriculums to bolster their knowledge ofenvironmental concerns and solutions.

For education CIOs, that translates into finding ways to expand the capacity of data operations to

meet the growth requirements of their institutions operations. A growing number of educationalleaders and CIOs are realizing that environmental concerns and efficient operations can go handin handand that a green, or environmentally friendly, data center may actually be one of thebest ways to reduce costs, accommodate growing student and greater community demands, andprovide an example of how to minimize the impact on the environment, all while saving money.

HighlightsWhile creating a green data center can be a complex undertaking, there are manysolutions and techniques available to support the transition.

With energy costs rising and information technology (IT) equipment stressing the power and

cooling infrastructurewhich, in turn, threatens operating resiliencymany see an economic andoperational crisis looming. Educational leaders today are being challenged to rethink their datacenter strategies, adding energy efficiency to a list of critical operating parameters that alreadyincludes serviceability, reliability and performance. A green initiative can help an educationalinstitution regain power and cooling capacity, recapture resiliency and meet student and greatercommunity needswhile, at the same time, dramatically reducing energy costs and the total costof ownership. Educational institutions that implement green initiatives are not only improving theirenergy efficiency and reducing costs, but providing an example to others of the benefits of moreenvironmentally friendly IT operations.


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Transitioning to a green data center and optimizing operating efficiency can be a complexundertaking. There are multiple components to factor into the equationand best results canoften be achieved by integrating improvements from multiple fronts. The good news is that thereare many solutions and techniques available to support such a transition. Furthermore, theprocess can occur in a stepwise manner, reducing risks and helping to realize benefits along theway. Going green is becoming more than an altruistic aspiration to save the planet. Its now clearthat going green is a necessity that educational institutions will need to embracesooner ratherthan later.

Did you know?

Your organization could be wasting money to the tune of thousands of dollars every minute because of energy-inefficient data centers and IT operations. And, to make matters worse,organizations are running out of power capacity, while their requirements are escalating.


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HighlightsEnergy costs are rising, supply is limited, the data center infrastructure is being taxed, andits ability to meet business demands is at stake.

This issue hasnt escaped the attention of the power companies. In the U.S., over 80 local utilityand state energy efficiency programs are offering rebates for increasing energy efficiency. One ofthe first utilities to offer such a program was Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) of California. Thecompany approved a plan to reimburse part of the cost of server and storage consolidationprojects, including software, hardware and consulting, up to a maximum of US$4 million percustomer. Marc Bramfitt of PG&E said, We dont want to build any more power plants. We wantour customers to save energy and well pay them to do so

3.

In addition, governments at both the country and regional levels are initiating energy efficiencyprograms. For example, a recently passed bill authorizes the U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) to analyze the growth of energy consumption in data centers. The European Unionhas established a directive to drive a 20 percent reduction in energy usage by 2020. AndAustralia requires all companies using more than 150,000-MW per hour of electricity per year toprepare an assessment and action plan.

The message is clear: Energy costs are rising, supply is limited, IT infrastructure is being taxed,and its ability to meet user and community demands is at stake. Educational leaders and CIOswho want to solve these problems will need to focus on data center innovation. Fortunately, greenstrategies and technologies exist today to help optimize space, power, cooling and resiliencywhile improving operational management and reducing costs, as well as helping to position com-panies for growth and enabling them to meet expanding needs.

3Alex Barrett, For PG&E customers, it pays to virtualize, SearchServerVirtualization.com, October 26, 2006.

http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1226458,00.html.
http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1226458,00.htmlhttp://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1226458,00.htmlhttp://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1226458,00.htmlhttp://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1226458,00.html


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TRANSITIONING TO A GREEN DATA CENTER

HighlightsThe technologies and strategies for improving data center energy efficiency span the datacenter ecosystem.

How do you go about creating an energy-efficient green data center? IBMs 30-plus years ofextensive, hands-on experience in designing, supporting and operating data centers has allowedit countless opportunities to learn what works and what doesnt. Its also provided us with aunique perspective on how to apply that learning to help create workable strategies for improvingenergy efficiency.

As the following graphic shows, the technologies and strategies for improving data center energyefficiency span the data center ecosystem. Companies typically achieve the best results byintegrating power and cooling changes with advanced technologies, such as virtualization,energy-efficient hardware and software, and power and workload management initiatives.


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HighlightsA best practices assessment and energy audit make it possible to pinpoint areas of highenergy use, while establishing a baseline for further planning.

Although there is clearly no single right way to create a green data center, experts believe thatthe most productive first step for education leaders and CIOs is to conduct a best practicesassessment and energy audit. This systematic checkup offers a real-time profile and model of thedata centers energy-use conditions and pinpoints areas of high energy use while establishing abaseline for further planning.

At the same time, education leaders should develop a holistic view of the environment, taking thefollowing factors into account:

An inventory of your current systems, their power usage and their locations Growth and expansion plansto help forecast future needs Whether your operations are in compliance with current or planned governmental energy

efficiency regulations

How your educational organizations implementation of energy-efficient IT operations canbe an example to local businesses

Established goals for reducing your institutions carbon footprintand the time frame setfor achieving those goals

HighlightsOpportunities to improve energy efficiency can range from major infrastructure upgradeprojects to a number of simple and inexpensive measures.

A careful review of the assessment and profile will allow an education CIO to build a list ofopportunities to drive maximum energy efficiency in the data center. If the team hasnt yet looked

closely at the thermal characteristics of the data center, its likely that theyll find manyopportunities to improve energy efficiency. These can range from major infrastructure upgradeprojects, such as upgrading chillers or uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), to simple andinexpensive measures, including:

Blocking cable openings to prevent cold-air waste in the hot aisle Removing under-floor cable blockages that impede airflow Turning off servers that are not doing any work Turning off computer room air-conditioning (CRAC) units in areas that are over-

provisioned for cooling

Of course, any analysis of your current situation needs to recognize the likelihood that educationdata and IT needs will change. For example, it would be wise to employ a modular approach tothe design of future power and cooling capacity, allowing for easy expansion or modification.

Factoring in local conditions and seasonal circumstances can also be important. While ITequipment and UPS usage probably will be fairly constant, chiller or heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) energy usage will vary with outdoor temperature and humidity conditions. Inaddition, its important to ensure that power and cooling scenarios are designed for recovery, notjust for steady-state operation.


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WHOSE JOB IS IT?

HighlightsFacilities and IT departments need to collaboratesometimes with the addition of outsidehelpin finding ways to meet environmental and energy challenges.

Until recently, environmental management and energy expenditures were typically theresponsibility of the facilities departments, but rising energy costs and evolving IT demands arechanging all that. Its becoming critical that facilities and IT departments form a partnership andcollaborate in this area. Even if they do, many educational institutions will not have the skills orthe tools to profile and model thermal conditions and appropriately apply the information to datacenter planning or upgrades. Because these are highly specialized skills, obtaining outside helpduring this part of the process may be well worth the investment.


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REDUCING COOLING REQUIREMENTS

A number of factors should be considered in planning to improve power and cooling efficiency byreducing the heat generated in the data center.

Improvements in rack and room layout can increase energy efficiency with relatively low up-frontinvestment. The opportunities include:

Organizing IT equipment into hot-aisle and cold-aisle configurations Positioning the equipment so that you can control the airflow between the hot and cold

aisles and prevent hot air from recirculating back to the IT equipment cooling intakes Leveraging low-cost supplemental cooling optionssuch as water or refrigerant heat

exchangers Improving rack cooling efficiency by employing a rear-door heat exchanger or an

enclosed racking system to dissipate heat from high-density computer systems before itenters the room

HighlightsOrganizing data centers into thermal zones can eliminate hot spots that challenge cooling

systems; this can enhance system reliability by helping to avoid heat-related hardwarefailures.

Similarly, relatively simple airflow management improvements can boost energy efficiency. Forexample, you can:

Take advantage of the current capacity by clearing under-floor blockages andimplementing effective cable management

Ensure that floor openings match the equipment thermal load by adding or removingperforated tiles at the equipment air intakes

Consider adding ducted returns

Ultimately, educational institutions should consider organizing their data centers into thermal

zonesassigning a defined set of IT equipment and floor space to specific HVAC or CRAC units.This type of space and thermal planning will eliminate hot spots that challenge cooling systemsand will enhance system reliability by helping to avoid heat-related hardware failures.


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INCREASING FACILITIES SYSTEMS EFFICIENCY

HighlightsNew chiller systems, thermal storage systems and air delivery systems can help reduceboth energy requirements and costs.

The energy efficiency of infrastructure equipment has significantly improved in recent years.Replacing chiller or UPS systems that have been in service for 15 years or more can result insubstantial savings. New best-in-class UPS systems can experience as much as 70 percent lessloss than legacy UPS equipment. New chiller systems can improve efficiency by up to 50 percent.New chiller plants also can be installed with variable-speed drives, reducing pumping-systemenergy usage and allowing better integration of the liquid cooling system into the chilled waterinfrastructure. Water-side economizers, which utilize outside air to directly cool the chilled water,can further reduce the energy required to run the chillers.

The capacity and efficiency of chilled water systems can be augmented with thermal storagesystems that store energy generated at night, when chillers typically operate more efficiently, andthen release this energy during the day, when energy costs are higher.

Air delivery to the data center also can be made more efficient, either through central HVACsystems or through CRAC units with variable-speed drives. Central HVAC tends to be moreefficient, as the systems are larger and more amenable to taking advantage of no-cost coolingwhen outside air temperatures are sufficiently low to provide some or all of the coolingrequirements. CRAC units, on the other hand, provide greater flexibility in managing the datacenter.

Even without upgrading facilities equipment, educational organizations can save energy and gaincooling capacity by relaxing stringent relative humidity and temperature requirements for theirdata centers. Since these specifications are usually driven by the presence of hot spots, removingthose hot spots will allow temperature and relative humidity requirements to be relaxed, helping toreduce the energy required to operate the data center.

In addition to cutting back on power usage inside its data center, an educational institution canalso reduce its carbon footprint by taking advantage of options for more eco-friendly sources ofpower. Integrating renewable energy into the power supplyincluding solar-, wind-, hydro- andbiomass-generated energyis a good way to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Educationalinstitutions with the flexibility to relocate or open new data centers are even choosing locationsthat are rich in renewable energy sources as part of their environmental strategy.


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REDUCING POWER CONSUMPTION WITH INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES

HighlightsWith IT equipment becoming more energy-efficient and greener all the time, replacing olderIT equipment with newer models can reduce overall power and cooling requirements.

Applying innovative technologies within the data center can yield more computing power perkilowatt. IT equipment is becoming more energy-efficient and greener all the time. Withtechnology evolution and innovation outpacing the life expectancy of data center equipment,many companies are finding that replacing older IT equipment with newer models cansignificantly reduce overall power and cooling requirements and free up valuable floor space. Forexample, IBM studies have demonstrated that blade servers reduce power and coolingrequirements by 25 to 40 percent over 1U technologies. While it may seem financially unwise toreplace equipment before it is fully depreciated, the advantages that new models can offerlowerenergy consumption, plus two to three times more computing power than older modelscombined with potential space, power and cooling recoveries are enough to offset any lost assetvalue.

Virtualization

HighlightsA server thats only 15 percent utilized may cost as much to run as a server thats fullyutilized, making virtualization an energy-efficient and cost-effective option.

Virtualization can be a tremendous ally in reducing heat and expensesimply because it meansthat youll need fewer servers. Servers use energy and give off heat whether theyre in use 100percent of the time or 15 percent of the time, and the actual difference in electrical consumptionand heat generated between those two points is not significant. This means that a server that isonly 15 percent utilized will cost as much to run as a server that is fully utilized.

Virtualization is a technology designed to enable multiple application workloadseach having anindependent computing environment and its own service-level objectivesto run on a singlemachine. This eliminates the approach of dedicating a single workload to a single serverapractice that yields low utilization ratesand allows virtualized servers to function near maximum capacity.

A virtualized environment also is typically more resilient than a dedicated server environment.Component failures can be automatically managed and the workload restarted. Whats more,resources in a virtualized environment can be managed from a single point of control, improvingoperations.

HighlightsJust as server virtualization reduces the number of servers needed, storage virtualizationreduces the number of spindles required.

The advantages of virtualization are not limited to servers. Storage virtualization can be used tocombine storage capacity from multiple vendors into a single reservoir of capacity that can bemanaged from a central point. Just as server virtualization reduces the number of serversneeded, storage virtualization reduces the number of spindles required, increasing the total


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amount of available disk space and optimizing utilization rates. Storage virtualization can alsoimprove application availability by insulating host applications from changes to the physicalstorage infrastructure.

Virtualization, especially when coupled with the green design of new server and storagehardware, offers an effective solution for keeping power and cooling costs in check. The mostenergy-efficient equipment is equipment thats no longer in usewhether its a server, a router ora storage device.

With virtualization, you can consolidate workloads on a multitude of underutilized devices ontofewer, more efficient pieces of equipmentand begin to realize possible savings and efficienciesthat have been difficult to achieve, even through the greenest system or building designs.

Power management in IT systems

Ideally, power usage in a data center should be proportional to the workload. One way to achievethis balance is to idle unneeded equipment. Its a technique thats effective but difficult tomanage. New power management technology, however, gives data center managers full controlover optimizing power consumptionthanks to workload management software and hardwarecapabilities.

HighlightsNew power management technology makes it possible to meter actual power usage andcap the amount of power used by a single server or by groups of servers.

This technology makes it possible to meter actual power usage and produce trend data for anysingle physical system or group of systems. The amount of power used by a single server or bygroups of servers can be cappedbased on workloads and business trendsto optimize energyuse and application performance without sacrificing productivity.

Eco-friendly disposal

To help accelerate the movement to greener equipment, environmentally responsible disposalofferings are available. These services dispose of systems in an eco-friendly manner, typicallyensuring compliance with regulations and removing data before disposal. Best of all, someprograms will pay market value for the old equipment.


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DO YOU HAVE A GAME PLAN?

Educational leaders are charged with the complex responsibility of meeting student and greatercommunity demands and delivering educational services in a cost-efficient manner.

Most educational institutions have always expected that their CIOs will supply a reliable, high-performance infrastructure to support their operations within their allocated budgets. Thatexpectation is expanding to include the demand for infrastructure to be environmentally friendly.

Are you prepared to continue meeting this expectation in the changing environment? Do youknow for sure that your data center can meet growing power and cooling demands? Do you havea plan to manage the impact of rising energy costs? Are you prepared to contribute togovernment initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Do you have a strategy for yourdata center to ensure that you can continue to meet government environmental expectations? Ifyour answer to most of these questions is not a resounding yes, perhaps the time has come toevaluate your strategy.

Going green at IBMLike many companies, IBM has found that supporting environment-friendly initiatives can be asmart business move. A significant area of focus is reducing a companys carbon footprint, or theamount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions a company is directly or indirectly responsible forproducing. Power consumption is considered an indirect contributor to a companys carbonfootprint because power companies produce CO2emissions in the generation of electricity.

While some assume that cutting CO2emissions costs businesses money, we have found just theopposite, said Wayne Balta, Vice President of Corporate Environmental Affairs and ProductSafety. Energy efficiency solutions have saved IBM an annual average of US$15.8 million andachieved an enviable 4.9 percent annual average energy savings rate against its annual energyusage since 1998. In CO2emission avoidance, thats equal to removing 15,600 cars, eachtraveling 10,000 miles annually.


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CONCLUSION

HighlightsEducational institutions ongoing efforts to think and act green will help keep theirinvestments protected, and reduce their operating costs.

As educational institutions intensify their focus on reducing energy demands and greenhouse gasemissions, pressure to improve data center energy efficiency will continue to grow. We believethat the following four Rs must play an essential role in the development of any initiative tocreate a green data center:

Regain power and cooling capacity Recapture resiliency Reduce energy costs Recycle end-of-life equipment

Successful educational leaders and CIOs will make these four Rs their mantra as they evaluatetheir own internal operations and work to develop stronger economic policies. By doing so,

educational institutions will improve the environmental impact of their own operations, reduceoperating costs and help fulfill their obligations to students and the greater community.

For more informationFor more information about creating a green data center, please call your IBM representative orvisit ibm.com/education
http://www.ibm.com/educationhttp://www.ibm.com/education


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Copyright IBM Corporation 2007

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References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to makethem available in all countries in which IBM operates.

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