While the PUE metric has shortcomings that have long been recognized by many within the industry, it remains widely used as an industry benchmark — it’s enduring appeal due, perhaps, to its simplicity and usefulness.
The primary sources of energy consumption in most data centers are server operations and cooling. Much of the energy usage comes from large industrial equipment, such as pumps, chillers, and cooling towers.
At its most fundamental level, evaluating colocation proposals involves comparing providers’ responses against your organizational needs, as defined during the scoping process, and usually involves confirming four fundamental questions.
While the PUE metric clearly defines the measurement process for facility efficiency (thanks to The Green Grid!), it represents only a portion of sustainability in the overall data center eco-structure.
Two primary types of deployments are driving power consumption higher and making improved efficiency essential. Each requires a different approach for specifying rack power distribution units (PDUs).
While stay-at-home orders have clearly highlighted just how much our society depends on our digital infrastructure, it’s important not to let the critically of the industry overshadow the effect it has on the environment.
Traditional air-cooled data centers will continue to work for many of the legacy applications. However, there are better solutions that enable space reduction, increased efficiency, cost reduction, and sustainable operations, all while providing the ability to compute at higher densities.