Measuring data centre power

Added by The Editor, 3 months ago.

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Few data centre managers know how much power their data centres are using, which makes it difficult for them to come up with a well-constructed plan to optimise power consumption and enhance their green credentials, according to recent research from IT market analyst company Quocirca.

Even those who have access to the power bill do not seem to have any granular breakdown of how that power is being used, says Quocirca founder Clive Longbottom. With data centres representing the greatest energy spend for most large organisations, he adds, such a lack of visibility should not be allowed to continue.

Writing in a recent issue of Computer Weekly, Longbottom discusses the drawbacks of calculating power consumption based simply on "reading the tag on the back [of IT equipment]. That figure, he explains, only gives a nominal power value based on a fully loaded system, "plus a bit for good luck".

"Data centre managers who use the additive power tag approach will find that their back-up power systems may well be well over-architected for real needs. This can have massive knock-on effects. If you believe that your back-up capability is nearing its limits, you will be loathe to add new servers to the data centre, or will look to prioritising what equipment has to be left to fail to leave power for mission-critical areas. All a bit of a palaver when you find that in reality, you're only running total power of 60% of your rated back-up capability," he says.

Only by fully understanding the real power draw of equipment within the data centre can a base line be created so that plans for improvement can be made, says Longbottom. Only knowing what the real draw is can lead to the optimum cooling approach being created. Knowledge of what current loads are will provide the information you need to manage the lifecycle of your backup power systems, and not jump too soon to new equipment.

And any IT director who doesn't have such figures at their fingertips, needs to make it their top priority to get hold of them as soon as possible.