Data Center Optimization: A guide to better efficiency and rack density

As business change and evolve – you better believe that your data center is right there along for the ride. Consider this, a recent report from DataCenterDynamics indicates that the world’s data centers are expected to consume 19% more energy over the course of the next 12 months than they have in the past year. According to the report, data centers currently consume about 31 GW, a report on energy consumption data included in the census concludes. The average total power to rack is about 4.05 kW, with 58% of racks consuming 5 kW per rack, 28% consuming from 5 kW to 10 kW per rack and the rest consuming more than 10 kW per rack.

Furthermore, the latest AFCOM State of the Data Center report showed that 70% of respondents indicated that power density (per rack) has increased over the past 3 years. 26% indicated that this increase was significant.

Because of the big dependency around data center services, redundancy and uptime are big concerns. There are fairly steady trends around redundant power levels spanning today and the next three years. For example, the report shows that at least 55% already have – and will continue to have – N+1 redundancy levels. Similarly, no more than 5% of respondents either currently have, or will have, 2(N+1) redundant power systems. For the most part, data center managers are using at least 1 level of redundancy for power.

So, what’s driving all of this utilization and usage? What’s actually changing within the business? This change in the data center is being driven by more users, more data and a lot more reliance on the data center itself. With private cloud technologies and the rapid growth in data leading the way within many technological categories (the Internet of Things) – working with the right data center optimization technologies has become more important than ever.

Administrators must understand how to control their resources, align with the business, and create greater levels of efficiency. Most of all – there are emerging challenges around the workload. With all of this in mind, how do you create efficiency levels which can keep up with modern business demands? Do you know where data center demands have changed? What if your organization has compliance-bound workloads – how do you build business and end-user confidence with solid management best practices?

In this whitepaper from CPI, we explore new concepts around data center demand, where energy efficiency and cooling optimization fit in, and modern best practices around your data center.

So, how do you overcome these challenges and data center demands? You deploy intelligent technologies which proactively create efficiency.

To combat these challenges, new types of aisle containment systems address thermal management, improving data center operational efficiency and reclaiming lost power. It’s critical to ensure that air flow is well controlled and that hot/cold aisle containment is in place. Efficient aisle control as well as good environmental management can really help a data center remain environmentally-conscious.  Furthermore, aisle containment can improve air flow and cooling efficiency by as much as 10-percent, according to Gartner Analyst Dave Cappuccio. Cold aisle containment can reduce fan energy by 20 – 25% and deliver 20% energy savings from the chiller all while paying for itself in about two years, according to PG&E.

Using technologies around aisle containment provides physical separation of cold air and hot exhaust air by enclosing the hot or cold aisle or ducting hot air away from cabinets with “chimneys” to facilitate a cool air supply to equipment air intakes at the desired, uniform temperature. Hot aisle containment or ducted cabinets provide similar results. Airflow management, the separation of hot and cold air within the server room, is the critical first step to maximizing cooling system efficiency. Once airflows are separated, there is a wide range of adjustments to cooling systems that provide savings from reduced operating cost and increased efficiencies. Likewise, airflow management increases “free cooling” hours.

Remember, new technologies will continuously impact how you deploy resources, optimize workloads, and even integrate cloud. Download this whitepaper today to learn more about shifting data center and business landscape – and how to ensure optimal data center efficiency. This means deploying next-gen data center systems which:

• Require and Optimize Airflow Management.
• Remove Barriers to Higher Power/Heat Densities.
• Track Rack Conditions and Environmental Variables.
• Enable and Integrate with Power Monitoring.
• Monitor Uptime and Status Reports.