Data center metrics

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify energy efficiency metrics that can be used by IT managers to measure and maintain the implementation of cost savings and green initiatives in data centers. Design/methodology/approach -The paper looks at the background of the problem and explores the reasons why energy savings in the data center are an important issue. Included are interviews and survey results from IT professionals serving at four unique organizations. A model of the measurable components of a data center is created to provide a framework for organizing metrics and communicating results throughout the corporation. The strengths and weaknesses of two of the most common data center metrics, PUE and DCP, are examined closely. Findings -The paper concludes with future metric recommendations and a proposed credit-based system that could be applied to encourage closer management of these metrics. Practical implications -The metric recommendations can be used by IT managers resulting in energy efficiency improvements in their data centers. Originality/value -The paper provides a good comprehension of multiple approaches and makes recommendations for a platform metric that can be further developed and adopted as a standard.

DC Energy Data Measurement and Analysis for Productivity and Waste Energy Assessment

“…Undeniably, power consumption monitoring is beneficial. However, the lack of appropriate metrics poses a significant barrier to improving energy efficiency in DCs [20]. Metrics will help communicate power consumption and also the environmental impact of data centers [21].…”

A case study and critical assessment in calculating power usage effectiveness for a data centre

“…There is currently not enough data to illustrate the PUE of data centres on a world-wide scale [7] however, some smaller studies have been completed. 70% of 115 respondents in one particular study were aware of their PUE and an overall average value of 1.69 was reported [17].…”

“…2006 [11] and promoted by the Green Grid (a non-profit organisation of IT professionals) in 2007 [12] has become the most commonly used metric for reporting the 'energy efficiency' of data centres [7,13,14]. The PUE is useful to present the proportion of energy which is actually used to operate the IT equipment with respect to the total power draw of a facility, and is defined in equation (1).…”

“…A number of studies conducted on energy consumption and efficiency in data centres have estimated that they consume 40 [5], 15 [6] or 10-30 times [7] more energy per square foot compared to commercial office space. Similar studies on 14 data centres by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) found energy consumption was between 120-940 W/m 2 [8] whereas only 50-100 W/m 2 was consumed in a typical commercial office space [9].…”

“…In order to measure the energy efficiency of data centres, metrics are a useful tool. However these metrics need to be fit for purpose [10] as inappropriate ones can act as a barrier to increased energy efficiency [7].…”