Data Center Case Studies Focus of New Book
Data centers are becoming increasingly more difficult to adequately cool, due to increased datacom performance that results in increased heat dissipation. Even though performance has increased at a more rapid rate than power, the power required and the resulting heat dissipated by the datacom equipment is putting a strain on data centers.

Case studies and guidance on cooling data centers is available in a new book from ASHRAE , High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Best Practices. "In the struggle to improve the thermal management characteristics of data centers, it is important to assess today's data center designs," Roger Schmidt said. "This book provides case studies of high density data centers and a range of ventilation schemes that demonstrate how loads can be cooled using a number of different approaches."
Case studies featured in the book include the National Center for Environmental Prediction, the IBM Test Facility in Poughkeepsie, NY, the San Diego Supercomputer Center, the Lawrence Livermore National Lab Data Center , the NYC Financial Services Data Center, the Georgia Institute of Technology Data Center, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Data Center, and the Hewlett-Packard Richardson Datacool Data Center.

The cost of High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Best Practices is $54 (ASHRAE members, $43). To order, contact Customer Service.

Intel Hosts Debates on Data Center Eco-Technology

Intel is hosting the Eco-Technology Great Debates, a free customer event, on June 11, 2008 in Santa Clara, CA. This debate between industry experts will provide IT managers with insight into the hottest issues in data center energy efficiency including ac vs. dc power, liquid vs. air cooling and thick vs. thin clients.
The Eco-Technology Great Debates will provide a unique and entertaining forum to expand industry understanding of today's most pressing data center and IT issues.
As the demand for more powerful computing capabilities grows, the need for energy-efficient technologies and best practices becomes increasingly important. The energy consumption of servers and data centers has doubled in the past five years and is expected to almost double again in the next five, costing about $7.4 billion annually. For every dollar spent on servers today, another 50 cents is spent to power and cool these servers. As a result, IT organizations face mounting pressure from C-level executives, government organizations and industry standards bodies to implement energy efficiency strategies and technologies. But what is the right answer? Is there a single best best option or plan?
Keynote presentations will be delivered by Lorie Wigle, general manager, Eco-Technology Program Office, Intel Corporation and president, Climate Savers Computing Initiative as well as Andrew Fanara, the head of the Energy Star product development team, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

• The dc/ac power debate will feature Jim Simonelli, APC; Guy AlLee, Intel Corporation; and Bill Tschudi, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• The liquid/air cooling debate will include Magnus K. Herrlin, Ph.D., ANCIS; Fred Stack, Emerson Network Power; Roger Schmidt, IBM; Christian Belady, Microsoft; Peter Rumsey, Rumsey Engineers, Inc.; and Vali Sorrell, PE, Syska Hennessy Group
• The third debate, thick/thin clients, will see Brad Ellison, Intel Corporation and Mike Ferron-Jones, Intel Corporation

Please feel free to contact Jenny Bragg or Henry ML Wong.

Schneider Hosts INITI@TIVE 2008 in August
The Schneider Electric North American Operating Division announced plans to host a comprehensive multi-industry trade exposition in the United States. Initi@tive 2008, to be held from Wednesday, August 13 through Friday, August 15, 2008, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, will draw attention to new technologies available to help businesses do more with less energy, meet code compliance and legislative requirements, and prepare for future trends. The event also will highlight Schneider Electric solutions, applications and products that will help businesses achieve their energy goals. As a company leading the charge to help corporations and consumers identify and maximize opportunities to more effectively manage energy usage, Schneider Electric is uniquely positioned to address this globally relevant subject. This marks the second time Initi@tive will take place in the United States.

• identify energy usage patterns and baseline
• reduce peak loads, identify energy hogs, and realize energy savings
• capture and identify power event 'ghosts': sags, swells and transients
• analyze event severity according to IT standards
• see power quality at a glance with the patent pending Power Quality Index

Emerson Network Power announced that IBM is planning to interface with Emerson Network Power's  Liebert SiteScan software as part of an enhanced infrastructure management solution that allows data center managers to make more informed decisions about the utilization and performance of their IT resources. IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager (AEM) software tracks, through various IBM systems, energy consumption in data centers and helps customers to monitor power usage and make adjustments to improve efficiency and reduce costs. Liebert SiteScan software from Emerson Network Power captures energy consumption from data center infrastructure equipment, and provides analysis and reporting for enhanced availability and efficiency.
IBM AEM integration with Liebert SiteScan enables IT administrators to be alerted about issues with facilities equipment, such as overheating, low battery power on uninterruptible power supply units or other conditions that may keep IT equipment in a data center from running properly. Liebert SiteScan uses a web-based server to gather information, change operating parameters, run reports and perform similar functions on various types of critical equipment.