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Data centers, the facility that houses enterprise date and infrastructure, is a significant center for power consumption. Studies suggest that in 2017, data centers in US alone consumed more than 90 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. This amount is the equivalent to the power generated by 34 coal power plants, generating 500 megawatts per plant. These numbers have undoubtedly intensified with more data center enhancements made over time. Not only are businesses bound by a social obligation to reduce the carbon footprint and conserve non-renewable energy but also reduce consumption to optimize costs. Increasing number of businesses today are met with challenges to meet power consumption demands on data centers whilst finding ways to cut down power related overheads. The good news is organizations can achieve this by optimizing and regulating certain operations and processes. Here are 4 ways in which power consumption can be optimized.
Lower CPU Power Dissipation
Processing power units (CPU) consume electrical energy for its functionality and dissipate as heat. One way that CPU power is squandered are Virtual Machines (VM). Many businesses turn towards installing VM’s into servers, since it offers higher performance and faster maintenance for a lower cost. This technology can run many applications and utilize fewer servers. But in respect to saving utility costs, cramming VM’s to servers is not a good option. CPU’s respond by demanding more power for every additional VM. In addition, if the server to VM ratio is disproportional, it is likely that the profits earned by VM technology will have to be allocated entirely to fund the cooling system. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that expert advice is sought.
Evaluate cooling system costs
Cooling systems, lighting and battery backup systems consume 35% of power in a power center. Out of the three, cooling systems opens windows to curtail excessive consumption of power. As discussed earlier CPU’s consume a lot of power and are prone to accumulate heat and cause damage. Data centers mainly utilize cooling systems to keep overheating in check. A viable approach is using speed fans. This devise consists of a thermostatic sensor which is capable of regulating speed by itself according to CPU utility. By adapting this fan speed reduction method research says that companies could decrease utility costs by 20%. Another option is to replace fans with liquid cooling methods. Liquid cooling is 2-10 times efficient than air and rids excess noise generated by fans. Even though liquid cooling installation is relatively costlier, it aids to minimize utility costs more effectively.
By equipping your business with modern servers, a possibility of acquiring optimum performance through temperature increase also presents itself as an option. Studies suggest that modern servers can perform well under 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Then again, one should not take these steps haphazardly and perform these under professional guidance.
Focus on Hard Drive Storage Configuration
Hard drives in a data center can collectively consume large amount of power. Studies suggest that they consume approximately 6 watts per drive. In addition, hard drives give out heat, causing cooling systems to also consume more power to dissipate excess energy. Replacing hard drives with Solid State Drives (SSD) is a more practical effort to minimize hard drive power consumption. They consume less power than hard drives and in turn produce less heat since they do not possess any moving parts. Also, their IOPS are compatible to hard drive performance. For instance, the SSD’s utilized in the Samsung Company consumes 1.25 watts in active mode and when in idle uses only 0.3 watts.
Migrating to Cloud Based Services
Cloud services grants end users to access company data and information via internet. These services are provided from service provider’s server as oppose to company’s own servers. Moreover, migrating to cloud services discharges companies from deploying their own resources since service provider supplies both software and hardware components necessary for the service. One may argue that cloud and colocation are not adaptations that contributes to cut down net power consumption. But cloud vendors are more versed and equipped with more sophisticated and sustainable solutions to stretch a power unit to optimum levels. For instance, Google data centers has reached a laudable PUE of 1.11, which is few decimal points away from the perfect 1.0.
Here at CSG Technologies we extend our services to transition from IT infrastructure to cloud services. We partner with renowned public cloud vendors such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google to extend end-to-end cloud migration services ranging from assessing, planning, executing and leveraging. Contact our experts to discuss how best we can reduce your overhead costs together.
