Eco-Logical Data Center

Green IT - what next?

Everyone is talking and philosophizing about green IT.
Processor manufacturers, such as AMD and Intel, are bringing ever higher performing CPUs to market, which are implemented by virtually all server manufacturers.
These have already improved energy efficiency.

But was that it? Are there any other possibilities?

The thought of running all server components on direct current has not yet been put into practice in computer center environments. If the servers in a computer center were to operate on direct current, there would be no need to convert from alternating to direct current.
In addition to the optimized technologies implemented in CPUs, memories, hard drives etc., this would produce further considerable energy savings – about 25 – 30% according to experts at Intel.

Everyone who is responsible for a computer center infrastructure strives to make the best possible use of the space, i.e. by fitting as many computers as possible into the smallest space.
Reality currently presents a different picture: depending on power supply and heat dissipation possibilities, server racks are often not optimized.

Why is that, and what can be done to eliminate the bottlenecks?

At present, each server in a computer center is installed as a stand-alone appliance that works in cluster.
So why are all servers equipped with one or more power supplies?
Installing the power supply for all servers at a central point in the rack or in the computer center – with optimized redundancy of course - would be much more efficient. The server constellation can be optimized by eliminating individual power supplies to each server, resulting in:

• less power consumption
• less waste heat
• less space required
• reduced operating costs