Harnessing the Giant: Storage Efficiency on an Anemic IT Budget Data Center Enhancements Inc.

Harnessing the Giant: Storage Efficiency on an Anemic IT Budget

Data Center Enhancements Inc.

There’s a Storm on the Horizon

“According to AFCOM’s Data Center Institute, power failures and limits on power availability will interrupt data center operations at more than 90% of all companies over the next five years.”

Challenging the IT Environment

• Data center energy consumption continues to grow at a rate of 15% per year.

• Corporate storage requirements continue growing at 50% or more per year

• 2009 IT budgets are static or have declined, creating a financial squeeze for IT

• Understanding the underlying issues behind storage energy consumption will help IT Professional better manage this challenge

Current Efficiency Trends

Billion BTUs

Energy Consumption by State

NY State Energy Prices per MM BTU

U.S Dept. of Energy

Where Does the Energy Go?

Storage Power Consumption

Anatomy of a Storage System

Technology Enhancements

• Large Capacity Disks• Multi-Tiered Storage

Architecture• Automated, Policy-

Based Data Migration Software

File Access Over Time

AIX File Accesses Per Day

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

<= 1 day 1 day - 1-wk. 1-wk. - 1-mo 1-mo. - 2-mo. 2-mo. - 3-mo. 3-mo. - 6-mo. 6-mo. - 9-mo. 9-mo. - 1-yr > 1-yr

Number ofAccesses

Last Accessed

Expon. (Last Accessed)

75% 10% 15%

Files accessed within the last 2-months.

Files accessed between 2 and 6 months.

Files accessed beyond 6 months

Comparing Disk Drive Attributes

Disk Drive Power Consumption

Estimated Electrical Cost per 100 TBby Disk Capacity and Type of Technology

Vendor

Disk Capacity in

GBDisk Drive

Type Rotation Speed

Typical Power per

Disk in Watts

Idle Power per Disk in

Watts

Number of Raw Disks per 100 TB

Total Power in KW/hr.

**Average Cost per KW/hr. @

$.0639

1-Year Power Cost per 100 TB

5-Year Power Cost per 100 TB

Power Efficiency

Index (Watts/GB)

BTUs per disk

BTU/hr per 100 TB

Seagate 3.5-inch 73 FC 15K 14.7 9.2 1370 20.1 $1.29 $11,273 $56,365 0.201 50.2 247,371,365

Hitachi 3.5-inch 73 FC 15K 14.0 8.9 1370 19.2 $1.23 $10,736 $53,681 0.192 47.8 235,591,776

Seagate 3.5-inch 146 FC 15K 16.5 10.7 685 11.3 $0.72 $6,327 $31,634 0.113 56.3 138,830,868

Hitachi 3.5-inch 146 FC 15K 15.7 10.7 685 10.8 $0.69 $6,020 $30,100 0.108 53.6 132,099,674

Seagate 3.5-inch 300 FC 15K 18.8 13.7 334 6.3 $0.40 $3,515 $17,574 0.063 64.1 77,128,669

Hitachi 3.5-inch 300 FC 15K 19.0 14.1 334 6.3 $0.41 $3,552 $17,761 0.063 64.8 77,949,187

Seagate 3.5-inch 73 FC 10K 14.0 8.7 1370 19.2 $1.23 $10,736 $53,681 0.192 47.8 235,591,776

Hitachi 3.5-inch 73 FC 10K 14.1 10.3 1370 19.3 $1.23 $10,813 $54,065 0.193 48.1 237,274,574

Seagate 3.5-inch 146 FC 10K 15.5 9.9 685 10.6 $0.68 $5,943 $29,716 0.106 52.9 130,416,876

Hitachi 3.5-inch 146 FC 10K 14.2 10.8 685 9.7 $0.62 $5,445 $27,224 0.097 48.5 119,478,686

Seagate 3.5-inch 300 FC 10K 18.0 12.2 334 6.0 $0.38 $3,365 $16,827 0.060 61.4 73,846,598

Hitachi 3.5-inch 300 FC 10K 16.9 13.4 334 5.6 $0.36 $3,160 $15,798 0.056 57.7 69,333,751

Seagate 3.5-inch 400 FC 10K 12.1 8.1 250 3.0 $0.19 $1,693 $8,466 0.030 41.3 37,156,680

Hitachi 3.5-inch 450 FC 10K 17.1 12.7 223 3.8 $0.24 $2,135 $10,673 0.038 58.3 46,839,527

Seagate 3.5-inch 450 FC 10K - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seagate 3.5-inch 600 FC 10K - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Seagate 3.5-inch 250 SATA II 7.2K 10.6 8.0 400 4.2 $0.27 $2,373 $11,867 0.042 36.2 52,080,768

Hitachi 3.5-inch 250 SATA II 7.2K 6.0 4.8 400 2.4 $0.15 $1,338 $6,692 0.024 20.4 29,368,436

Hitachi 3.5-inch 320 SATA II 7.2K 6.0 4.8 313 1.9 $0.12 $1,047 $5,236 0.019 20.4 22,980,801



Hitachi 3.5-inch 500 SATA II 7.2K 6.0 4.8 200 1.2 $0.08 $669 $3,346 0.012 20.4 14,684,218

Seagate 3.5-inch 750 SATA II 7.2K 11.6 8.0 134 1.6 $0.10 $870 $4,350 0.015 39.6 19,093,006


Seagate 3.5-inch 1000 SATA II 7.2K 11.6 8.0 100 1.2 $0.07 $649 $3,247 0.012 39.6 14,248,512


A Typical Tiered Storage Architecture

How Do the Costs Add Up?

$33,680

Technology Enhancements (cont.)

• Thin Provisioning• Data Deduplication• Energy Monitoring

and Management

Configuration Changes

• Storage Consolidation• Storage Virtualization• FC Network Port

Consolidation• Performance Optimization• Firmware “Tune-Up” • Disk Spares Assignment • RAID Array Layout

Loss from RAID5 Parity and Sparing

Configuration Changes (cont.)

• New Generation Power Supplies

• Eliminate Internal Disks (Boot-from-SAN)

• Centralize Storage Management Functions

• Reclaim Unused Storage Space

Operational Improvements

• Retire Legacy Equipment• Shut Down All Inactive

Systems• Clean Up File Systems• Preen Data for

Unwanted/Illegal Files• Review Schedules and

Backup Lists

Operational Improvements (cont.)

• Implement File Aging and Expiration

• Retain Only Data that is Necessary

• Increase the Use of Off-Line Storage

Backup and Recovery

• Limiting Cloning• Control the Number of

File Copies• Turn On Data

Compression• Use High Capacity

Tape Drives

Advanced Technologies

• 2 1/2 inch Drives• Solid State Disks • Automatic Power

Down Disk Drives• Improved Storage

Controller Efficiency• DC Power Supply• MAID Technology

Improve the Data Center Environment

• Replace Missing Floor Tiles• Measure Air Pressure Under Raised Floor• Eliminate Items Blocking Air Flow • Replace Blank Panels in Storage Racks• Evaluate Raising Temperature and

Humidity Settings• Implement Cabinet Cooling Technologies • Obtain a Thermal Map of Airflow• Turn off Video Monitors When Not in Use

Best Practices

• Increase User Awareness

• Data Classification• Balancing Performance,

Availability, Capacity, and Energy Efficiency Requirements

• Change the IT Culture

Changing the IT Culture

• Not the IT Environment of the ‘80s or ‘90s• Make Energy Efficiency Part of Your Core

Culture– Secure Executive Level Commitment– Train, train, and train for results– Make energy conservation a component in

every IT employee’s evaluation criteria– Provide incentives and personal recognition

for efficiency improvements– Raise the level of visibility and importance of

energy efficiency

Potential Results

EPA Report to Congress

Where Do We Start?

• “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you’ve arrived?”

• Begin with an Unbiased Assessment– Provides a clear picture of what you have now– Creates a baseline for measuring change– Allows you to prioritize your approach based

on actual operating environment parameters– Will identify “quick hit” opportunities– Identifies scope, duration, gaps, and resource

requirements needed for a successful project– Yields core information for strategic planning

Assessment Objectives

• What Should a Storage Assessment Provide?– Presents the “big picture” to management– Estimates the efficiency level of current

storage equipment– Provides a documented operational baseline– Facilitates a gap analysis– Determines project resource requirements– Identifies and prioritizes area of greatest return– May provide ROI, TCO and other financial

artifacts for a proposed remediation project

Implementation Strategy

• Improvement is a process, not an event• A Storage Optimization Project should

include:– A comprehensive transformation strategy– Quantifiable goals and key milestones– Key metrics that can be tracked and evaluated– A prioritized implementation timeline– Master Project Plan with key events identified– Annualized budget requirements– A methodology for staged implementation– Integration points that allow the project to

gracefully merge with other IT projects

Summary

• Power and Cooling Expense will Be a Growing Factor in Future IT Budgets

• Many Opportunities Exist for Improvement• Opportunities for Improvement Range from

Quick and Simple to Complex and Obscure• Dramatic Cost Savings can be Achieved

over Time with a Good Strategy• An Effective Energy Strategy Starts with a

Comprehensive Assessment• Energy Efficiency Improvement is a

Continuous Process

RANDY COCHRAN - DATA CENTER ENHANCEMENTS INC. - PHONE: (630) 513-9747 - WEB: HTTP://WWW.DC-EI.COM

Questions?

Forty Improvement Steps

Low Cost Improvements

1. Turn Off Inactive Equipment

Inactive storage equipment that are left running in a data center will continue to consume power and generate heat without providing any useful work.

2. Retire Legacy Equipment

Outdated storage equipment can be another big consumer of energy. Develop a program to retire aging storage containing low-capacity disks, inefficient circuits, and no power conservation improvements.

3. Remove Unwanted Data

Over time, systems collect unused files, core dumps, outdated logs, personal files, and other unwanted data. Files can be reviewed to remove unwanted or outdated data that have no value to the company.

4. Clean up File Systems

Like date, file systems should be periodically reviewed to ensure that defunct applications, outdated user directories, and temporary system update directories have been purged from the storage system.

Low Cost Improvements (Cont.)

5. Periodically Update I/O Firmware

Manufacturers upgrade their firmware to ensure bugs are fixes, security holes are patched, and performance is optimized. Upgrading firmware ensure that your controllers work at an optimal level.

6. Review the Backup Process

Examine the backup schedules and exclusion lists to ensure all information is relevant. The backup system may be executing operational instructions that have become obsolete over time.

7. Replace Missing Floor Tiles and Blank Panels

Missing floor tiles and equipment rack panels reduce a positive cooling pressure produced by the cooling system and can significantly disrupt the flow of air across computer equipment.

8. Eliminate Air Pressure Blockage

Check for positive air pressure, and search for collections of items underneath the raised floor that may be restricting airflow to, or through the equipment racks.


9. Increase Temperature and Humidity Settings

Confirm temperature and humidity settings are at the correct levels. Evaluate equipment manufacturer’s specifications to ensure all settings do not go exceed what the manufacturer recommends.

10. Turn Off Video Monitors

When video monitors are not in use, they should be turned off. Monitors are usually left on 24-hrs a day whether they’re being used or not, consuming power and generating heat without providing value.

11. Minimize/Eliminate Internal Disks

Servers are usually ordered with internal disks for the operating system, binaries, swap space, and other system needs. Whenever possible, eliminate system disks by using Boot-from-SAN technologies.

12. Reclaim Unused Space

Storage systems tend to collect areas of allocated, but unused storage space over time. Periodic review and reclamation of these spaces can result in significant storage savings.


13. Data Retention Policy

“Save everything” is usually the worst of approaches. Implement a policy of saving only data that has confirmed business value, or is necessary for litigation protection or meeting regulatory requirements.

14. Increase User Awareness

End-user habits and patterns can have a significant effect on storage consumption. Train them on the value of content management, space utilization, and data cleanup once the file is no longer important.

15. Balanced Storage Requirements

Every requirement should be assigned storage based on specific needs for performance, availability, capacity, and energy requirements. Data should be segregated to the appropriate level of technology.

16. Data Compression

Most backup systems are capable of performing data compression on the data stream. For many types of data that means a reduction of 2 to 1 in the amount of backup space required.

Modest Cost Improvements

17. Performance Optimization

A poorly performing server, fabric, or storage structure will consume additional power and require more cooling. Periodic performance tuning exercises will optimize server and storage operations.

18. Raid Array Optimization

Traditional RAID5 configurations of 3+1 wastes significant amounts of resources. Careful consideration of RAID layout requirements can increase usable space and reduce power requirements.

19. Disk Spares Assignment

Over-provisioning of disc spares consumes additional resources without adding any value. Industry best practice suggest that assigning one spare drive per two trays of disks is an optimal configuration.

20. High Efficiency Power Supplies

High efficiency power supplies that have raised the level of efficiency from typically 60-70% to over 90%. In many situations an exact replacement for systems and storage power supplies can be found.

Modest Cost Improvements (Cont.)

21. Port Speed Optimization

Implementation of high speed ports and NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization) allows you to provide required storage network bandwidth with few resources, which translates into lower power and cooling demand.

22. High Capacity Disk Drives

Advances in disk technology are dramatically increasing storage capacity within the same physical disk enclosure. Today’s technology supports up to 2.0 TB can be stored on a single 3 ½ disk drive.

23. Centralizes Storage Management

Over time, systems management tools tend to proliferate along with servers and storage. Centralization of storage management can eliminate redundant monitors and unnecessary power consumption.

24. Data Copy Proliferation

Without controls, duplicate copies of data can proliferate like rabbits. IT management should review data copy policies and ensure that only a reasonable number of copies are created.

Substantial Investments

25. Energy Monitoring and Management

There is a new generation of Energy Monitoring and Management tools coming onto the market that will facilitate comprehensive management of energy usage and provide reporting tools for power demand.

26. Storage Consolidation

Storage systems have proliferated as quickly as servers. Extensive over-provisioning has lead to storage systems that are grossly underutilized. Consolidation allows excess storage to be retired.

27. Energy Efficient Disk Technology

A new generation of disk drives is emerging which will feature such advanced features as optimized caching, intelligent circuitry, energy optimized motors, and other power reduction techniques.

28. Arrays Built from 2.5 Inch Drives

There is growing interest in disk arrays built from 2.5 inch drives which, in the same physical space as a 3.5 inch drive, can deliver twice the storage capacity at half the energy requirement.

Substantial Investments (cont.)

29. Thin Provisioning

Databases require a contiguous allocation of storage space be made available for future growth. Thin provisioning allows virtual storage to appear as a contiguous physical storage to the database.

30. Data De-duplication

This technology identifies patterns in the data stream and replaces duplicates by placing a pointer in place of the duplicate pattern. This can substantially reduce the total amount of backup storage,

31. Storage Virtualization

Virtualization creates an abstraction of physical storage and allows servers to see available disk as one large storage pool. It provides greater flexibility and increases the utilization of the storage subsystem.

32. Data Classification

Data classification is a process that determines the value of different types of information. Once it has been completed, data can be assigned to an appropriate level of disk performance, speed, and cost.

Substantial Investments (cont.)

33. Solid-State Drives

Solid-state drives dramatically reduce power consumption by eliminating electro-mechanical parts and rotating platters. SSD power consumption is miniscule when compared to traditional disk drives.

34. MAID Technology

Maid Technology is designed to power the storage array down to an idle state if no activity has been detected within a specific period of time. They are particularly valuable for infrequently accessed data.

35. High-Capacity Tape Drives

When installed in tape libraries, high-capacity tape drives hold more data and minimize movement of the robotic arm. Since the robotic arm is an electromechanical device, minimizing travel can save energy.

Re-Architected Solutions

36. Multi-Tiered Disk Storage

Data is assigned to different classes of disk subsystems, based on the value of information to the organization. The resulting energy savings from this type of segment segmentation can be dramatic.

37. Automated, Policy-Based Migration

This software utility is a major enabler of multi-tiered storage. It monitors file characteristics and automatically migrates files to an appropriate class of disk when specific data criteria is met.

38. Direct DC Power

Significant energy loss occurs when power goes through multiple conversion steps between the primary distribution point and the system power supply. Converting to direct DC power can save up to 30%.

39. Grid Storage Infrastructure

Grid storage interconnects independent storage nodes in a loosely coupled network. It is based on the premise that storage is most efficient when kept as close to the processing operation as possible.

Re-Architected Solutions (cont.)

40. Storage-as-a-Service

When storage is purchased from an external service provider, organizations pay only for the storage they use and therefore consume only the energy needed to run the storage space they’ve purchased.

Harnessing the Giant: Storage Efficiency on an Anemic IT Budget Data Center Enhancements Inc.

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