In In plain-speak, data centres are nothing less than an energy-guzzling power monster. Within a typical enterprise, the datacenter can account for anything from 15% to as much as 50% of power usage of the IT function. Hence, reducing the energy consumption within the datacenter is quite an essential and important aspect of going green. And the truth is, it is not that hard either as since quite a few years, it has been on the energy map of the industry and scores of solutions are readily available in the market.
Greening the datacenter involves two aspects, namely, reducing the computing energy map and also the ancillary energy consumption. The need to pay attention to ancillary infrastructure is important because cooling infrastructure consume much energy, according to some estimates as much as 60%of the power consumed.
Reducing the computing energy footprint is a little complex, and requires much diligence and application. Of the many ways, virtualisation is gaining immense ground over the past few years. In a typical scenario, enterprises will have a host of servers, often one for every enterprise-wide application, or racks and racks of storage containing archaic information. Virtualisation of servers and software can be of immense help as companies can then consolidate their infrastructure. In fact, a virtualisation device or a software application can track the server space and remap applications to different physical locations as necessary. With virtualisation, information can be made location-independent and can be redirected across multiple I/O devices and platforms.
It is much easier to go in for a green datacenter when you go in for a new one, but even the existing one can be greened with a little diligence and planning. Server consolidation through virtualisation could be a good starting point. Next up can be software/application consolidation which will help in reducing the hardware infrastructure. Cloud is also emerging as a green datacenter option, with the ability to host remotely and efficiently.
Remember in the end, greening the datacenter is not as complex as it seems, and much literature is available on the same. And even small steps to the end can go a long way in achieving the goal.
Step Guide:
- Measure energy footprint of the different equipment in the datacenter
- Reduce ancillary power consumption
- Go for virtualisation
- Consolidate software and applications
Green factoid: According to IDC estimates, un-utilized server capacity equates to approximately $140 Billion, or more than 20 Million servers. Also, the fact that at 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted annually per server, these un-utilized servers produce a total of more than 80 Million tonne of CO2 per year.
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