The Green Data Center

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The Green Data Center

• Paul Weiss
• UCOP
• UCCSC 7/21/08

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• Power ? huge
• Sharing ? opportunity
• Expertise Techniques ? significant savings
• Inaction lost opportunity and wasted

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Power - Expensive

• UC cost today is likely to be in the neighborhood
  of 1,000,000/yr/Megawatt
• But it isnt going to get better

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Power - Expensive

• Power costs have risen substantially in the last
  25 years. How about the next 25 years?
• Today, nationwide, data centers use 1.5 of all
  electricity, and this is expected to go up to 3
  by 2011.
• Power utilization by data centers is expected to
  double nationally in the next 5 years.
• For research, this amount might even be more.

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Power - Expensive

• It is estimated that over 50 of a data centers
  operating budget will go to paying the utility
  bill.
• The cost of buying a wintel server will be lt the
  cost to power/cool the server during its usable
  lifetime.
• This has huge financial ramifications.

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Power UC Uses A Lot

• How much?
• UCLA is considering building a multi- megawatt
  facility.
• UC Davis is planning to build a multi- megawatt
  facility.
• And LBNL is planning to build a new 16 megawatt
  facility, moving out of their current 6 megawatt
  facility.

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Power UC Uses A Lot

• How much power does UC use?
• I dont know the answer to that question, but it
  is clearly a lot.
• And it will grow.
• Certainly gt 25 MW
• Maybe up to 100 MW?

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Power Where You Put Your Data Center Matters

• PGE 1,059,000/year/MW
• Columbia River Arealt500,000/year/MW
• But where you use it still has dramatic impact
  on the environment w/o taking to reduce energy
  consumption

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Sharing Some Anecdotes

• Dell estimates average CPU utilization of 5.39
  industry wide.
• UCOP averaged 1.97 on our wintel servers.
• UCOP is going to converge 104 servers down to 5
  using VMware.

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Sharing Some Anecdotes

• Cisco, through aggressive management, attention
  and virtualization, has gone from 5 actual disk
  utilization up to 58 actual disk utilization.
• Keys were fast provisioning, SLAs, focused
  effort, expertise and total cost of ownership
  recognition. This led to less hoarding mentality
  and massive savings.

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Sharing Some Anecdotes

• UC Grid
• By individuals sharing, there is more capacity
  for everyone.
• Likely outcome? Less need for hardware,
  therefore less space and power consumed!

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Can We Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency?

• Techniques and approaches can positively impact
  data center energy consumption and improve energy
  efficiency.
• Using direct current vs. alternating current can
  save significant energy. One analyst claims up
  to 70.
• In many places, the outside air is plenty cold
  enough much of the year for free. Yet only
  recently have data centers adopted systems that
  can filter outside air for cooling computer
  rooms.

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Can We Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency?

• It is estimated that up to 58 of power is used
  on wasted and/or inefficient components
• Unnecessary chips or slots (graphics, system
  management, peripheral control)
• Inefficient fans, voltage regulators, power
  supplies
• Many servers used in architecture that allows no
  redundant components (fans, NICS) as network load
  balancers handle outages

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Can We Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency?

• Many data center techniques exist to reduce power
  consumption
• High ceilings
• Hot/cold aisles
• Concrete floors and no raised floors
• Cabling techniques that do not inhibit airflow
• Overhead cooling
• Google claims to have achieved 90 power
  efficiency.

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Can We Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency?

• 2007 EPA Report to Congress on Server and Data
  Center Energy Efficiency 3 Scenarios
• 1. Improved Operation 30 improvement in
  infrastructure energy efficiency from improved
  airflow management
• 2. Best Practice Up to 70 improvement in
  infrastructure energy efficiency from all
  measures in Improved operation scenario plus
• Improved transformers and uninterruptible power
  supplies
• Improved efficiency chillers, fans and pumps
• Free cooling

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Can We Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency?

• 3. State-of-the Art Up to 80 improvement in
  infrastructure energy efficiency due to all
  measures in Best practice scenario, plus
• Direct Liquid Cooling
• Combined heat and power
• From 2007 to 2011, using EPA scenarios, the
  projected savings in electricity use corresponds
  to reductions in nationwide carbon dioxide
  emissions of 15 to 47 million metric tons.

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Can We Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency?

• Conclusion
• It requires dedicated expertise, focus and total
  cost of ownership analysis.
• That is expensive to invest in and hard to
  acquire in every location
• But the payoff can be huge.

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Inaction Has Ramifications

• Researchers' inability to hook up to servers and
  running out of storage space (UC Davis)
• Environmental costs
• Huge data center building spend is being
  contemplated or underway across UC
• Opportunity to save on power is not being
  optimized.

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Inaction Impacts UCs Mission, UCs Future

• UC Mission Today
• Teaching, Research and Public Service
• UC Mission Tomorrow?
• Teaching, Research and Public Service
• UC 2025 The Power and Promise of Ten -
  Maintaining and extending the Research
  Enterprise

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What is UC Doing?

• Sustainability UCOP organization, funding
  environmental efficiency study at most UC data
  centers.
• Looking at better data center sharing models.
• Cyberinfrastucture pilot shared research cycles

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What Can You Do About It?

• Spread the word
• Turn off computers (desktops eat significant of
  power) when not in use.
• Consider the aspects of this presentation and
  what you directly or indirectly can do about
  this.
• Measure, plan, take action.