Powering Down
One thing that became very apparent to us when selecting our next generation of co-location, computing, and architecture platforms was that we need to reduce the cost of power. Decreasing power cosumption cuts our expenses by increasing our overall energy efficiency, and has the added benefit of reducing carbon emissions for a better environment.
We decided that the best approach was to make incremental changes that add up over time.
Our immediate design updates included the following:
- We chose low voltage processors for all of our web application servers. These processors help lower our overall power consumption by about 15% over traditional processors. We’re also using multi-core processors, which allow for more work per watt over single-core processors.
- We raised our temperature set points on the computer room air-conditioners (CRACs). These set points save energy while remaining well within manufacture specifications.
- To increase airflow efficiency and limit the amount of hot exhaust air that is drawn back into equipment air inlets, we installed blanking panels throughout our rows.
- Raised floor plenums with unobstructed airways cool the front sides of our racks.
- We monitor overall power consumption in real time to trend overall usage, and set alerts to inform us of power consumption abnormalities.
Our long term plans include:
- Providing DC power directly to our gear, making one less inversion from AC to DC and increasing efficiency from 10 – 20%.
- Possibly using software virtualization of server systems, which uses less energy than new server hardware.
Through greater energy efficiency at the datacenter, we can increase fiscal and environmental responsibility.
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