Data Center Energy Use

It can’t be denied that the amount of energy data centers consume is sickening and constantly growing on a daily basis, but the data centers themselves should not be held fully responsible for adhering to the demands of the consumer. Today’s society calls for 24x7x365 availability and the future for most companies lies in the hands of uninterrupted availability. For most data center technicians, their jobs rely on 99.99 percent availability and not saving on the electric bill. This fear of failure mixed with the high expectations of the end-user is what’s causing this massive surge of data center energy use.

James Glanz recently wrote a piece for the New York Times entitled, “Power, Pollution and the Internet.” Although his article lacks proof, it brings to light an important secret of the data center industry: data centers are gargantuan energy consumers. Personally, I think it was harsh for him to say corporations are wasting a good two-thirds of the energy they consume, because data centers for companies such as Facebook and YouTube need to be run around the clock.




Steve Dykes for The New York Times

INSURANCE A row of backup generators, inside white housings, lines the back exterior of the Facebook data center in Prineville, Ore. They are to ensure service even in the event of a power failure.

People don’t realize the vast amount of data it takes to allow them to watch a video on the internet through a website that is quite possibly hosting tens of millions of other users. Or how about that video game you’re playing on Facebook? And while we’re at it, how about your entire Facebook profile? All that data is stored for you in one of Facebook’s many data centers. They need to keep it accessible for you so you can play at anytime, anywhere.

So, who’s at fault? Can the answer be no one? We either need to accept the fact that data centers need the energy to meet the demands of the consumer or we, as consumers, must be patient and lower our expectations, but let’s face it, in the words of the mighty Queen, “I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it NOW!”

In the end, aside from risking potential downtime by reducing data center redundancies or powering down servers when not in use, data center operators can look to energy efficiency improvements aimed at avoiding increased risk of downtime. PTS Data Center Solutions performs Data Center Energy Efficiency Assessments on behalf of utilities and data center operators. However, reducing the number of data centers and their sizable energy consumption is not going to happen in the near future.

PTS Plays Role in Conservation by Building New Data Center for the World Wildlife Fund

PTS Data Center Solutions recently performed an assessment of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) data center at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. That’s a pretty big deal considering WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization with total operating revenue of over $230 million. WWF networks through 100 countries with over 5 million members, so its data center is a very important part of overall conservation operations.

PTS was able to detect a critical problem with WWF’s data center environment. The data center was experiencing an increase in heat and the Computer Room Air Conditioning units weren’t getting the job done. WWF was in dire need of new power and cooling solutions. IT infrastructure availability and energy efficiency were also vital concerns as they are with all of PTS’ clients.

At first, PTS was considering renovating WWF’s aging infrastructure, but when the tenant on WWF’s first floor moved out, PTS determined an entirely new data center in that space would best suit WWF. PTS was tasked with design, construction management, procuring  equipment, overseeing installation, commissioning, and post construction services. WWF received a dynamic cooling solution which gives the data center the energy efficiency that was desired. PTS also installed a 100 KVA UPS which gave WWF critical power protection.

“The use of modular systems is an excellent strategy to address growth without major disruptions”, said Michael Petrino, PTS Vice President. “WWF is now operating a reliable, energy efficient data center. With the new, energy efficient cooling solution in place, the WWF data center is able to conserve significant amounts of energy and allow the WWF to practice internally its mission of conservation of natural resources.”

To read more about PTS’ success with WWF click here or contact us for a copy of the case study and the Press Release.

PTS Data Center Solutions Completes Planar Digital Signage Deployment in NYC

PTS Data Center Solutions recently designed and deployed the Planar Clarity™ Matrix LCD Video Wall digital signage solution for Prudential Douglas Elliman. The display is located on Broadway, between 9th and 10th Streets in New York City.

The Clarity™ Matrix LCD Video Wall System delivers the ultimate display solution for digital signage applications. Optimized for uninterrupted 24/7 operation, Clarity™ Matrix is an ultra-thin bezel LCD media wall system that delivers outstanding visual performance, supports extended operation and requires minimal installation space.

Contact PTS to learn more about digital signage solutions as well as digital display solutions for Network Operations Centers.

Event Follow-up: Is Your Disaster Recovery Approach a Disaster?

PTS Data Center Solutions, in conjunction with Quorum, hosted a particularly relevant event on December 4th. With over 20 industry executives and Backup & Disaster Recovery experts meeting at the Chart House in Weehawken, NJ, PTS and Quorum discussed the need for improved backup and disaster recovery solutions aimed at the Small- to Mid-size business sector.

"The event was originally scheduled for November 7th but we all know what had just taken place the week before - Hurricane Sandy", said Larry Davis, VP, IT Solutions Group for PTS. "If we could have only spread the word earlier and gotten the Quorum solution out to clients without a clear Disaster Recovery plan, the solution really works for a reasonable price."

Developed by Quorum engineers several years ago as a simple to deploy and use alternative to expensive redundant server, storage, and virtualization platform approaches, the Quorum solution has been a hit within market sectors ranging from:

• Schools
• Banks
• Financial Services
• Law Practices
• Accounting Firms
• Manufacturers
• Municipalities

With premises-based appliances, cloud solutions available for offsite recovery, and archive systems for long term storage requirements, the Quorum onQ solution can be deployed rapidly without any other hardware or software needed.

At the event, Quorum engineers provided a live demonstration of a server failure and the One-Click Recovery™ inherent in the onQ solution's design:

• Current Forever: Each ultra-efficient update is merged into the onQ device which houses virtual machine recovery nodes, full current images of client servers and virtual servers.
• Ready-to-Run: The approach doesn't wait until you need to recover to build your virtual recovery nodes, allowing one-click recovery at any time.
• Point-in-Time Recovery: Even though changes are merged into the ready-to-run recovery node, you can restore files or an entire system to a prior state. This is a perfect fit for business and organizations needing the ability to store and recover 7 years of data for regulatory purposes.

To learn more, visit PTS' website, watch the onQ video on the YouTube Data Center channel, or contact PTS at sales@ptsdcs.com

NJ Tech Council: Adaptation of DCIM Tools Rages On

The first annual New Jersey Technology Council (NJTC) Data Center Summit was a real success. With upwards of 150 data center professionals attending, the first panel discussion focused upon Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Challenges & Opportunities.

The first panel speaker, Peter Sacco, President of PTS Data Center Solutions, provided a solid overview of the DCIM sector, functional areas, and challenges faced by both manufacturers and end clients. He then put manufacturers on notice. Mr. Sacco stated there are 100+ companies producing hardware, software, and/or platforms for DCIM. The problem is that typically each company’s offering does one or two of the functional requirements well, others less well, and others not at all. Worse, little effort is made to work with one another although that is becoming less so as providers are realizing their own limitations.

As such, what data center managers really seek for DCIM, easy access to meaningful data that seamlessly correlates to actionable plans, has yet to be realized. In support of this supposition, Pete mentioned the Uptime Institute’s 2010 paper Data Center Infrastructure Management: Consolidation, But Not Yet which notes the market for data center infrastructure management systems will grow from $500 million in 2010 to $7.5 billion by 2020. So far, this hyper growth hasn't materialized as the holy grail of DCIM has been stunted by under powered solutions or solutions that are difficult to deploy.

The remainder of the DCIM panel discussion centered upon manufacturer and user challenges, new developments within the industry, and future directions as panelists compared existing solutions and viability of current deployments.

Beyond the DCIM panel, a second panel discussion focused on Lessons Learned from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Various disaster recovery approaches, processes, and solutions were debated by the panelists. The event also included exhibits with lively discussions around many current hot topics in the data center community.

To learn more about Mr. Sacco's perspectives on DCIM, contact him via email, or download Pete's latest white paper Data Center Infrastructure Management - The Updated Elephant which provides a detailed review of the market for DCIM solutions. Additional DCIM solutions are available on the PTS website. More information on the Data Center Summit is available at Data Center Knowledge.

Asset Performance Management for IT and Data Centers

We are all likely using some tool to track IT assets. To that end, many use their asset management tool to manage the lifecycle of their IT and Data Center assets. However, most tools that provide lifecycle management of IT assets only look at the depreciation value of the asset or perhaps the cost to maintain the asset. Unfortunately, how can we really understand the lifecycle of an asset without also looking at the performance of this IT asset versus the costs to operate the asset and/or versus the cost to operate a new asset? With the rising costs of operating IT assets, PTS thinks it is time to borrow an idea from our manufacturing brethren who have developed tools to manage the performance and to optimize the production of their plant. After all, isn't a Data Center merely a manufacturing plant for processing and storing data? Much like a power plant wants to optimize electricity produced per unit of fossil fuel burned, we as operators of Data Centers need to optimize the IOPs (Input/Output Per Second) produced per kW (KiloWatt) consumed. The difference is there are numerous Asset Performance Management{APM} software tools for the manufacturing world to help optimize the plant by managing such issues as: • Reducing Operational Costs • Extending Asset Life • Delivering Higher Performance with Reduced Resources • Compliance with Regulations & Standards • Standardizing Asset Care Process or Practices • Dealing with Data Management & Islands of Data • Safety and Environmental Performance • Time-based PM tasks and the Need for CBM • Aging Workforce, Loss of Knowledge All of these issues addressed by today's manufacturing APM software tools, in PTS' opinion need to be addressed by APM tools for IT and Data Centers. In conjunction with several of our key partners, PTS has been leading the way with tools that provide the analytics to evaluate the performance of our IT and Data Center assets. Tools must analyze the performance of IT assets as well as quantify and recommend whether to retire, replace, consolidate, or maintain these IT assets:

Optimization tools should put facilities metrics on the same screen as IT metrics allowing data center operators the ability to view and close the gaps between planned capacity and IT and facility energy usage:

Tools need to go beyond a basic measurement like PUE (Power Usage Efficiency) that can be skewed by underutilized or rogue IT equipment and look at Server Compute Efficiency, which is the number of primary processes performed by the server versus the watts consumed by that server:

Finally, data center personnel cannot optimize the performance of their data center assets without managing the labor, tasks, parts and contracts needed to keep our entire data processing plant functioning 7x24:

We've highlighted just a few of the tools PTS has brought together to tackle the problem and build the foundation of Asset Performance Management for IT and Data Centers. It's comical when you think about how the IT and Data Center Industry prides itself on technology and software, yet one could argue there is better software available today to manage and optimize a paper mill than a data center. Wondering if lack of knowledge on the value and performance of IT and Data Center Assets are a problem in your organization and wondering what your organization is doing to address APM for your IT and Data Centers?

Preparing for the Next Disaster: Data Center Generator Deployment Considerations

PTS Data Center Solutions considers generators as a key to data center reliability. Supplementing a battery-based uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with an emergency generator should be considered by all data center operators. The question has become increasing important as super storms such as Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast United States knocked out utility power stations and caused many downed power lines, resulting in days and weeks of utility power loss.

Beyond disaster protection, the role of a backup generator to provide power is important when utility providers consider summer rolling blackouts and brownouts and data center operators see reduced utility service reliability. In a rolling blackout, power to industrial facilities is often shut down first. New data center managers should check the utilities contract to see if a data center is subject to such utility disconnects.

Following are questions to consider before, during, and after generator deployment.

What Should You Consider Before Generator Deployment?

• Generator Classification / Type. Will the generator be classified as an Optional Standby power source for the data center, a Code Required Standby power source for the data center, or an Emergency back-up generator that also provides standby power to the data center?
• Generator Size. When sizing a generator it is critical to consider the total current IT power load as well as expected growth of that IT load. Is specialized sizing software needed to properly size your generator?
• Fuel Type. Will the generators be diesel or gas powered? There are pros and cons to both.
• Deployment Location. Where will the generator be installed? Is it an interior installation or an exterior installation?
• Exhaust and Emissions Requirements. What exhaust emissions standard are required in your town, region, or state?
• Required Run-time. What is the expected run-time for the generator system? How much fuel needs to be on hand to support expected run-times?

What Should You Consider During Generator Deployment?

• Commissioning. What is your commissioning plan? What type of rigging is required? What documentation is needed?
• Load Testing. How will you perform load testing? Do you have access to a non-linear load bank with appropriate power factors for the generator to be tested?
• Servicing. What will the service schedule be for the generator? How will the initial servicing be performed during final commissioning and testing?

What Should You Consider After Generator Deployment?

• Service Agreement. Is a service agreement in place with the local generator manufacturer’s representative?
• Preventative Maintenance. Preventative Maintenance should be performed at least twice a year. Most generator owners who envision their generator installation as being critical to their business execute a quarterly maintenance program.
• Monitoring. How is the generator tied into the building monitoring system? Who is monitoring that system for generator and ATS systems failure?
• Regular Testing. How often should testing completed to confirm availability of the generator? How should the testing be done?
• Maintenance. What are the manufacturer recommended maintenance intervals, work plans, maintenance milestones? What other factors related to the operational characteristics of the generator need to be considered?

Learn more about PTS Data Center Generator Services and Solutions

NJ Technology Council - Data Center Summit

PTS Data Center Solutions will be a conference sponsor for the 2012 New Jersey Technology Council Data Center Summit. Titled Working in the Clouds, the focus of the event is on the latest trends and innovative technologies driving the emergence of Next Generation Data Centers. There will be two panel discussions and PTS Data Center Solutions Founder & President, Pete Sacco, will be a panelist for the DCIM Challenges and Opportunities panel in the morning. This panel discussion will examine the world of Data Center Infrastructure Management as a catalyst to increase energy efficiency and control underlying data center operating costs.

The afternoon panel entitled Data Center Options - Deployment Challenges - Solutions brings IT leaders from different industries together to share their data center experiences from due diligence to deployment. Solutions providers will offer examples of client objectives and services provided. The goal of this panel is to help you sort through identifying your data storage needs and the options and solutions that can help you achieve maximum return. If you are battling an IT deployment or storage problem, PTS can help you through our IT Solutions Group. We have a team of engineering experts including network and systems architects, server and storage engineers, virtualization engineers, and other IT-focused technical staff.

Who should attend this event?

• C-level executives (CEO / CIO / COO / CFO / CTO)
• Data Center Facilities Managers and Engineers, IT and Infrastructure Managers, Data Center Managers
• Directors and Consultants, IT Directors, Infrastructure Directors, IT Consultants
• Business Analysts, Finance Directors & Managers

When: December 13, 2012, from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM

Where: Eisenhower Conference Center, Livingston, NJ 07039

Is Your Disaster Recovery Approach a Disaster?

• Are You Optimizing Your Data Backup Along with Your Disaster Recovery?
• Are You Wondering if there is a Better Approach To Business Continuity?
• Are You Looking for a Low-cost Alternative to Traditional Backup & Disaster Recovery Approaches?

PTS Data Center Solutions will be hosting a Lunch & Learn at the Chart House Restaurant in Weehawken, NJ. Please be our guest to learn about the better path to backup, recovery, and continuity.

Your IT team shouldn't have to worry about data disruption which leads to business interruption. Quorum solutions can solve your backup AND recovery pain and, more importantly, business continues as usual.

Quorum offers a One-Click Backup, Recovery, & Continuity Appliance. These affordable plug and play appliances can keep virtual copies of your critical servers (physical or virtual) ready-to-run for instant recovery on and off-site. Deploy in 1 hour, test every 15 minutes, and recover with a click of a button.

Hear about Quorum's hybrid cloud solution for backup and instant recovery of your servers from your very own private cloud. Ideal for clients with 3-100 physical or virtual servers, this is one Lunch & Learn you will be glad you attended!. Additionally, we will be raffling off a $100 Gift Card to those in attendance.

You are welcome to invite additional colleagues in technology with job responsibilities relevant to this topic. You can find additional information about Quorum and its solutions (datasheets, videos, case studies) by clicking here.

A Lunch & Learn seminar you must attend this year. You'll gain a clear understanding of today's next generation approach to Backup & Disaster Recovery.

• LOCATION: Chart House - Weehawken, NJ
• DATE: Wednesday, November 7th
• TIME: 11:30am - 1:30pm

Registration is Closed - call us at 201-337-3833 for more information

Is Modularity the Future of the Data Center?

The idea of modular data center builds has been around for several years. One definition is the concept of modular design via the use of prefabricated, containerized POD solutions allowing data center operators to expand more rapidly than through traditional engineering design approaches. With PODs, best practices related to power, space, and cooling can be leveraged repeatedly. Each time additional rows of racks are needed, another POD can be deployed.

Another approach to modularity is to build free-standing data centers in a modular fashion. In this design approach, engineers build out a data center or computer room with necessary supporting infrastructure (mechanical and electrical rooms) to provide required, redundant power and cooling for the data center plus future adjacent data center space. This allows the data center operator to commission one room first and add a second room without having to start from scratch for the supporting infrastructure.

However, as with anything else, a modular data center design approach has its advantages and disadvantages. Thus, tread lightly and do your homework if you are considering a modular design for your next data center build, or just to supplement your space for growth.

To learn more, read the article in Global Corporate Expansion Magazine's Fall Issue. Or, if you like, contact the engineers at PTS Data Center Solutions to discuss the pros and cons.