Improving Energy Efficiency in Data Centers

Pete Sacco, Founder & President of PTS Data Center Solutions, wrote a recent article for Data Center Knowledge. With the high cost of power, efficient data center design can lead to significant monthly operational savings.

The article discusses various issues related to energy efficiency including performing initial assessments to develop a baseline, analyzing facility support infrastructure and IT infrastructure opportunities to reduce load, implementing changes, and measuring the resulting improvements in efficiency.

Ultimately, it appears from analysis and testing, the best way to significant reductions in power consumption is to reduce the overall IT load which delivers reductions in IT power consumption as well as reductions in power related to cooling that same IT load.

To learn more visit the PTS Media Library and register to download the complete white paper.

Improving Energy Efficiency in Data Centers

Pete Sacco, Founder & President of PTS Data Center Solutions, wrote a recent article for Data Center Knowledge. With the high cost of power, efficient data center design can lead to significant monthly operational savings.

The article discusses various issues related to energy efficiency including performing initial assessments to develop a baseline, analyzing facility support infrastructure and IT infrastructure opportunities to reduce load, implementing changes, and measuring the resulting improvements in efficiency.

Ultimately, it appears from analysis and testing, the best way to significant reductions in power consumption is to reduce the overall IT load which delivers reductions in IT power consumption as well as reductions in power related to cooling that same IT load.

To learn more visit the PTS Media Library to download the complete white paper.

Improving Energy Efficiency in Data Centers

Pete Sacco, Founder & President of PTS Data Center Solutions, wrote a recent article Data Center Knowledge.

The Real Cost of Manual Asset Management

No Limits Software, a leading provider of data center solutions, including asset management, capacity planning, and power and environmental monitoring, recently released an interesting white paper on the real or true cost of manual asset management.

There are a number of methods used to manage IT assets inhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the data center including Excel spreadsheets, custom developed asset management databases, and expensive asset management software solutions. As a data center grows, the viability of using low end solutions such as an Excel spreadsheet drops significantly while the cost for high end asset management tools rises significantly. In the white paper, the author presents concrete financial costs associated with manual data entry to maintain accurate IT asset records.

Ultimately, the ability to perform auto-discovery of assets and then track those assets through their life cycles in terms of management and maintenance is a critical component of a well conceived data center management approach.

To read the full white paper visit the PTS Media Library.

To learn more about No Limits Software solutions click here.

Best Practices in Building a New Data Center

Peter Sacco, founder and CEO of PTS Data Center Solutions and partner with nlyte Software, was recently interviewed by Barbara Morris, Editor, of The DCIM Advisory, nlyte's monthly online trade journal.

The article focuses on how to avoid the pitfalls many experience in mission critical facilities and centers around Pete's experiences visiting 50 to 60 data centers every year and having designed many more. His experience in and knowledge of data centers is vast and complex, but he breaks it down into four main points to consider:

• Defining data center management depends on your point of view.
• Data center challenges continue to be the lack of space, power and cooling.
• Mission-critical facilities have a finite life span.
• A data center infrastructure management (DCIM) solution simplifies data center management.

To read the entire article click here.

To learn more about nlyte's DCIM solutions click here.

Emerson Network Power's Smart Solutions Tour Review.

Hope you didn't miss Emerson Network Power's Smart Solutions Tour, but in case you did here are a few of the highlights: In addition to having a live SmartMod to tour, Emerson Network Power delivered compelling presentations on SmartRow & SmartAisle versus conventional builds for their new integrated infrastructure that covers integrated power, cooling, fire suppression, management and control. Case studies were presented where SmartAisle solutions save 9% in CAPEX, 60% in real estate & 27% in energy versus a conventional build for a medium size data center. Equally a SmartRow saves 9% in CAPEX and 27% in energy versus a conventional build for a small data center.

Emerson Network Power also showed new additions to their XD line offering more breakthroughs in Data Center efficiency. The XDR is a pumped refrigerant rear door passive cooling fanless heat exchanger module. The XDR installs as the rear door of an equipment rack, providing up to 20kW of room neutral cooling. XDS is a pumped refrigerant cold plate technology to remove heat directly from servers through conduction for high density server racks at 20KW or 40KW.

Emerson Network Power also presented their future on data center management & control tools where existing tools, such as; SiteScan, Nform, Aperture, Data Center Planner and DSView will roll-up to the new Trellis platform to be released in December of 2011. Trellis through data rolled up from these point solutions and analytics will empower stakeholders with recommendations for managing, planning & optimizing their data center facility and IT infrastructure.

2011 Smart Solutions Tour - April 5th

PTS will be participating with Emerson Network Power at an upcoming event called the 2011 Smart Solutions Tour. The event is on April 5th in Edison, NJ.

Don’t miss this opportunity to see how intelligent, integrated infrastructure can help you attain crucial data center objectives such as efficiency, capacity, availability and control – without sacrifice.

Plus take a tour of the unique, rapidly deployable SmartMod™ enclosure.

Visit http://www.ptsdcs.com/event-20110405-Emerson-Network-Power.asp to learn more and register.

Is It Time To Toss The Tape?

The ExaGrid disk-based backup appliance with deduplication replaces tape in the nightly backup process. Customers are moving to disk-based backup solutions to remedy a number of problems. These include long backup windows as data volumes increase, the slow (and often unreliable) process of finding and restoring files from tape, the need for a Disaster Recovery Strategy or remote site replication, and the desire to employ zone-level deduplication in the process to eliminate redundant data and maximize storage capacity. In a recent independent survey, 88% of respondents reported faster backup times using the ExaGrid solution.

The migration from tape to disk-based backups is also being driven by the low cost of disk, the speed advantages of disk over tape, and the long-term reliability of a disk-based solution for compliance and regulatory purposes in certain industries.

ExaGrid solutions are ideal for users with 1TB to 100TB of data and can be integrated and installed by the customer in less than one hour.

Our customers are no longer asking if they will replace tape with disk, but when? If you are considering the move from tape, you might find the “7 Key Steps to Overcoming the Limitations of Tape Backup White Paper” helpful. Click here to download and if you qualify, ExaGrid will send you a $100 American Express Gift Card if you request an individual web presentation with PTS and ExaGrid.

Possible Future Acquisitions by Hewlett-Packard

I recently came across the following Software Advice article on possible future acquisitions by Hewlett-Packard, http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/enterprise/hp-mergers-acquisitions-who-is-next-1031401/.

In the article, the author discusses the likelihood of each potential acquisition and present an infographic that summarizes HP's recent M&A activity up until now. They have also included a survey to find out what readers think about each possibility.

I hope you find it as interesting as I did.

About PTS Data Center Solutions
Experts for Your Always Available Data Center

PTS Data Center Solutions specializes in the business strategy, planning, designing, engineering, constructing, commissioning, implementing, maintaining, and managing of data center and computer room environments from both the facility and IT perspectives.

Founded in 1998, PTS is a consulting, design/engineering, and construction firm providing turnkey solutions, and offering a broad range of data center, computer room, and technical space project experience. PTS employs industry best practices in integrating proven, ‘best-of-breed’, critical infrastructure technologies that result in always available, scalable, redundant, fault-tolerant, manageable, and maintainable mission critical environments.

Integrated Data Center Facility and IT Expertise

With a proven process for understanding and addressing client needs as well as integrated facilities and IT experience and expertise, PTS has a unique vantage point for executing data center, computer room, and network operations center projects.

In every engagement, PTS applies a disciplined, consultative approach to systematically survey and assess the situation and then develop effective plans for seizing opportunities and overcoming obstacles. And, PTS offers a full complement of services—from business strategy and planning to facilities engineering to IT design and implementation—to help transform those plans into reality.

From our corporate headquarters in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, and our office in Orange County, California, PTS works to fulfill our mission of creating satisfied customers by emphasizing planning and pre-construction services to provide the optimal people, process, and technology solution to meet our clients’ needs and results in an early and accurate alignment between scope, schedule, and budget.

For more information, contact PTS at 1-866-PTS-DCS1 / 1-866-787-3271 or visit PTS online at www.PTSdcs.com.

PTS Accepted into Con Edison's New Data Center Energy Efficiency Program

Franklin Lakes, NJ, February 15, 2011 — PTS Data Center Solutions announced today it has been accepted as a Market Partner in the Consolidated Edison of New York (Con Edison) Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Program. Specifically, PTS’ focus will fall under Con Edison’s new Data Center Efficiency Program which Con Edison has launched in conjunction with NYSERDA.

The program is specifically designed to offer data centers an unprecedented opportunity to reduce operating costs, improve energy efficiency, and reduce carbon output. In particular, within Con Edison’s coverage area, PTS will assess data center operations and make detailed energy efficiency improvement recommendations of both a facility & IT infrastructure nature.

New York State contains the second highest concentration of data centers in the US and a Lawrence Berkley National Labs study found that data centers in New York consume an estimated 4.5 billion kWh/year at a cost of $584 million/year. The program looks to support data center operators who are capacity constrained and/or looking to reduce energy usage and, therefore, operating expenses.

PTS will leverage its long history in data center consulting, engineering, infrastructure, construction, and maintenance to deliver Energy Usage Assessments with clearly defined energy savings recommendations. These recommendations may span the facility support infrastructure and IT equipment as PTS incorporates a comprehensive and holistic approach to data center analysis and redesign.

PTS President, Peter Sacco, said “PTS is pleased to join the Con Edison Market Partner Network. We will provide exceptional Energy Efficiency Assessments supporting our reputation in the tri-state area as a leading provider of consulting services related to data center greening and optimization. We are excited to work with data center providers who understand the impact successful energy efficiency improvements will have on the environment.”

Energy savings services offered through the program include:

• Outreach, Education, and Marketing to recruit data centers into the initiative;

• Technical Assistance Studies for data center, computer room, and server room operators interested in identifying their energy efficiency options;

• Energy Improvement Installation Incentives to off-set the cost of energy efficiency improvements. Improvements could include lighting, cooling, insulation, VFDs, server upgrades, virtualization, storage consolidation and other energy-related measures; and,

• Customer Installation Support to provide participating data centers with a complete package that addresses all energy related issues critical to their facilities’ operation.

A customized portfolio of energy efficiency services will be tailored to a data center’s specific energy needs.

To learn more about the Con Edison program as well as other PTS Energy Efficiency services, feel free to contact PTS at 201-337-3833, visit http://www.ptsdcs.com/energy-efficiency-assessments.asp, or email us at marketing@PTSdcs.com. You can also get program information at the Con Edison program website http://www.coned.com/energysavings.

About Consolidated Edison Company of New York (Con Edison)

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $35 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit us on the Web at www.conEd.com, at our green site, www.coned.com/thepowerofgreen, or find us on Facebook at Power of Green.

About PTS Data Center Solutions

Founded in 1998, PTS is a turnkey solutions provider specializing in data center and computer room consulting, engineering, infrastructure, construction, and maintenance services. We offer a broad range of project experience in designing data centers, computer rooms, and technical spaces. We employ industry best practices in integrating proven, ‘best-of-breed’, critical infrastructure technologies that result in always available, scalable, redundant, fault-tolerant, manageable, and maintainable mission critical environments.

In today's highly competitive climate where businesses can't stop and downtime is measured in profits lost, PTS offers survey, assessment, strategy, planning, feasibility, engineering, design, construction, commissioning, implementation, monitoring, maintenance, and predictive analysis services for protection against of some of the leading causes of critical systems downtime, hardware damage, data loss, and decreased employee productivity. Highly respected in our industry, PTS sets the standard for ‘always available’ solutions for data center and computer room environments.

To learn more, visit the company’s website at www.ptsdcs.com.

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Contact Information:
Larry Davis
Director of Marketing
201-337-3833 x123
ldavis@ptsdcs.com