e-Newsletter - June - Issue 1 - HTML

Data Centers Lack Ability to Go Green, Says New ARI Survey
A survey by the Aperture Research Institute (ARI) of more than 100 data center professionals has shown that organizations are unable or unwilling to meet the expectations set by their adoption of green initiatives for the data center. This follows an earlier ARI report published in March 2008, which discovered that 70% of organizations are adopting green initiatives, although 19% of those had omitted the data center from that program.
In the latest ARI study, 74 percent of those surveyed refused to activate power saving features on devices if it would require a drop in performance. While 37 percent are concerned that the power/performance ratio doesn't add up; 15 percent worry that they have no way to track whether the power saving setting is on or off. Nearly half (48 percent) of those surveyed blame the business for not using power saving features, saying that users wouldn't tolerate a drop in performance in the interests of saving power.
When it comes to procurement, energy efficiency and ease of disposal are the lowest priorities, rated as less significant than brand and price. 37 percent of data centers have no plans to measure energy efficiency, and 76 percent do not charge the business for the power used by the IT it commissions. One reason for that is a lack of infrastructure for measuring power consumption.
Steve Yellen, Principal of the Aperture Research Institute, said: "Although many organizations have made a commitment to cutting their environmental impact, when it comes to the data center, most lack the tools and processes they need if they are to deliver on that promise. The number one cause of increasing power consumption is an increase in demand for IT services, so business managers must be made accountable for the energy their applications consume. Only 24 percent of organizations we surveyed said the IT department charges the business for energy use. They simply don't have the technology to be able to implement the management processes they need."
The survey also found that decommissioning processes are not strictly followed, and "ghost servers" haunt the data centers of 19 percent of organizations. Ghost servers are those servers which the business no longer needs, but which have not been switched off, and which are as a result needlessly consuming electricity, space and other limited resources.
The Aperture Research Institute's latest research note can be downloaded for free at Data Centers Lack Tools to Measure Efficiency and Support Green Initiatives.

Data Center Users Group Conference Tackles IT and Facilities Issues

More than 230 industry experts representing 135 companies with the world's most business-critical networks discussed server virtualization, energy efficiency, cooling strategies and high-density power distribution during the two-day Data Center Users' Group (DCUG) spring conference late May in Tampa, FL. The DCUG is a group of influential data center, IT, and facility managers formed by Emerson Network Power. The group provides a collaborative, focused environment where those closest to the data center can address the issues, trends, challenges and solutions associated with building a highly available, flexible and cost-effective facility. The spring conference focused on analyzing emerging technologies and best practices for data centers, 2010 and beyond, and featured a series of discussions with experts from different focus areas, including presentations on these subjects:

The DCUG members in attendance at the conference reviewed results from the group's recent industry survey that indicates an overwhelming majority of data center operators are seeing rising power densities in their racks and expect the trend to continue.

Thirty-two percent of survey respondents reported an average of more than eight kilowatts (kW) per rack in their facilities, up from 25 percent at that level in 2006. Looking ahead, 57 percent said their rack power density would exceed that level by 2010.
"The significance," said Bob Miller, vice president, marquee accounts, Emerson Network Power's Liebert business and a member of the Data Center Users' Group board of directors, "is that once you get above eight kW it really points out the need for next-generation high-density cooling strategies."
Respondents also demonstrated significantly more interest in monitoring and energy efficiency. In spring 2005, 18 percent said monitoring was important. That number jumped to 43 percent in this survey.The increased emphasis on energy efficiency is even more dramatic. In spring 2005, 0 percent said it was important. Now 40 percent say energy efficiency is important.