Content
NEW! A Framework for Data Center
Energy Productivity
This paper introduces a new family of data center resource optimization
metrics designated collectively as Data Center Productivity (DCP) metrics
and presents the first derivative metric within this family called Data
Center energy Productivity (DCeP). The DCeP metric provides a unique
analytical tool that may be used to track the overall work product of a data
center per unit of energy expended to produce this work. While DCeP in its
current form is only applicable to improvements in a single data center, it
is hoped that this work will provide a framework to develop similar metrics
for comparing across different data centers.
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NEW! The Green Grid Peer Review of
"DC Power for Improved Data Center Efficiency" by Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory
As the demands on data centers increase, creating higher costs and power
usage, the industry is looking for ways to increase efficiency and decrease
operating costs in the data center. One potential area of increased
efficiency lies in the power distribution configuration within the data
center and its IT equipment. In early 2007, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory (LBNL) posted results of a direct current (DC) demonstration
project, which operated from June to August of 2006. Here, a peer review of
that study is provided, including a critical review of the results as well
as a discussion of next steps in the evaluation of this and other power
distribution topologies.
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NEW! Five Ways to Reduce Data
Center Server Power Consumption
This document only addresses changes that can be made at the server1 level.
Other white papers from The Green Grid will address power, cooling, airflow,
consolidation, virtualization and a host of other mechanisms to increase
efficiency elsewhere in the data center. Reducing energy use at the point of
consumption (the server) provides benefits at all other levels by reducing
load on power and cooling facilities which in turn reduces their own energy
use.
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The Green Grid Data Center Power Efficiency Metrics: PUE and
DCiE
The Green Grid is an association of IT professionals seeking to
dramatically raise the energy efficiency of data centers through a series of
short-term and long-term proposals. This is an update to the very first
white paper published by the Green Grid in February 2007 called “Green Grid
Metrics: Describing Data Center Power Efficiency” to refine the nomenclature
and intent of that paper. In that paper, The Green Grid proposed the use of
Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and its reciprocal, Data Center Efficiency
(DCE) metrics, which enable data center operators to quickly estimate the
energy efficiency of their data centers, compare the results against other
data centers, and determine if any energy efficiency improvements need to be
made. Since then, PUE has received broad adoption in the industry but
DCE has had limited success due to the misconception of what data center
efficiency really means. As a result, this paper reaffirms the
use of PUE but redefines its reciprocal as data center infrastructure
efficiency (DCiE). This refinement will avoid much of the confusion
around DCE and will now be called DCiE.
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Existing Metrics, Guidelines and Programs Affecting Data Center and IT
Energy Efficiency
In this paper, The Green Grid™ provides a survey of various organizations
that are currently investigating issues surrounding data center power and
energy. For each organization considered herein, this paper provides
an overview of the stated purpose and scope of the organization, a list of
any metrics or programs managed by the organization that relate to data
center energy efficiency, and, where appropriate, The Green Grid's™
commentary on the organization or metric. This work forms the backdrop
for future white papers to be published by The Green Grid™ in which the
organization will extend the state of the art by proposing or endorsing new
technologies, new metrics, and new best practices.
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Qualitative Analysis of Power
Distribution Configurations for Data Centers
Many different power distribution configurations exist today that can be
used to power a data center. Each of these configurations
has its own advantages and disadvantages that can have a major impact on all
aspects of the facility. This paper discusses the
qualitative differences between seven possible configurations that
can either be found in the United States or Canada today, or could be used
in the future.
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The Green Grid Opportunity
The Green Grid examines why it is so important to define and propagate
the best energy efficiency practices in datacenter operation, construction
and design. In this paper, The Green Grid has identified both short-term and
long-term objectives to increase the energy efficiency of datacenters and IT
infrastructure equipment.
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Guidelines for Energy Efficient Data
Centers
The Green Grid provides a framework for improving the efficiency of
both new and existing data centers. The nature of data center energy
consumption is reviewed and best practices are suggested that can
significantly impact operational efficiencies.
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The Green Grid Metrics: Describing Data
Center Power Efficiency
The Green Grid explains the use of the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
metric, along with its reciprocal the Data Center Efficiency (DCE) metric.
These metrics are designed to allow a data center operator to relatively
quickly estimate the energy efficiency of their data center, as well as to
quantify how the data center stacks up against its peers.
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