Green and Virtual Data Center Links
By Greg Schulz
Green and Virtual IT Data Center Links
Moving beyond Green Hype and Green washing
Green hype and green washing may be on the endangered species list and going away, however, green IT for servers, storage, networks, facilities as well as related software and management techniques that address energy efficiency including power and cooling along with e-waste, environmental health and safety related issues are topics that wont be going away anytime soon.
There is a growing green gap between green hype messaging or green washing and IT pain point issues including limits on availability or rising costs of power, cooling, floor-space as well as e-waste and environmental health and safety (PCFE).
To close the gap will involve addressing green messaging and rhetoric closer to where IT organizations pain points are and where budget dollars exists that can address PCFE and other green related issues as a by-product. The green gap will also be narrowed as awareness of broader green related topics coincide with IT data center pain points, in other words, alignment of messaging with IT issues that have or will have budget dollars allocated towards them to sustain business and economic growth via IT resource usage efficiency. Read more here.
Enabling Effective Produtive Efficient Economical Flexible Scalable Resilient Information Infrastrctures
The following are useful links to related efficient, effective, productive, flexible, scalable and resilient IT data center along with server storage I/O networking hardware and software that supports cloud and virtual green data centers.
Various IT industry vendors and other links
Green and Virtual Data Center Primer
Green and Virtual Data Center: Productive Economical Efficient Effective Flexible
Are large storage arrays dead at the hands of SSD?
Closing the Green Gap
Energy efficient technology sales depend on the pitch
EPA Energy Star for Data Center Storage Update
EPA Energy Star for data center storage draft 3 specification
Green IT Confusion Continues, Opportunities Missed!
Green IT deferral blamed on economic recession might be result of green gap
How much SSD do you need vs. want?
How to reduce your Data Footprint impact (Podcast)
Industry trend: People plus data are aging and living longer
In the data center or information factory, not everything is the same
More storage and IO metrics that matter
Optimizing storage capacity and performance to reduce your data footprint
Performance metrics: Evaluating your data storage efficiency
PUE, Are you Managing Power, Energy or Productivity?
Saving Money with Green Data Storage Technology
Saving Money with Green IT: Time To Invest In Information Factories
Shifting from energy avoidance to energy efficiency
SNIA Green Storage Knowledge Center
Speaking of speeding up business with SSD storage
SSD and Green IT moving beyond green washing
Storage Efficiency and Optimization: The Other Green
Supporting IT growth demand during economic uncertain times
The Green and Virtual Data Center Book (CRC Press, Intel Recommended Reading)
The new Green IT: Efficient, Effective, Smart and Productive
The other Green Storage: Efficiency and Optimization
What is the best kind of IO? The one you do not have to do
Click here to learn about "The Green and Virtual Data Center" book (CRC Press) for enabling efficient , productive IT data centers. This book covers cloud, virtualization, servers, storage, networks, software, facilities and associated management topics, technologies and techniques including metrics that matter. This book by industry veteran IT advisor and author Greg Schulz is the definitive guide for enabling economic efficiency and productive next generation data center strategies. Read more here and order your copyhere. Also check out Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press) a new book by Greg Schulz.
White papers, analyst reports and perspectives
Business benefits of data footprint reduction (archiving, compression, de-dupe)
Data center I/O and performance issues - Server I/O and storage capacity gap
Analysis of EPA Report to Congress (Law 109-431)
The Many Faces of MAID Storage Technology
Achieving Energy Efficiency with FLASH based SSD
MAID 2.0: Energy Savings without Performance Compromises
Articles, Tips, Blogs, Webcasts and Podcasts
AP - SNIA Green Emerald Program and measurements
AP - Southern California heat wave strains electrical system
Ars Technica - EPA: Power usage in data centers could double by 2011
Ars Technica - Meet the climate savers: Major tech firms launch war on energy-inefficient PCs - Article
Askageek.com - Buying an environmental friendly laptop - November 2008
Baseline - Examining Energy Consumption in the Data Center
Baseline - Burts Bees: What IT Means When You Go Green
Bizcovering - Green architecture for the masses
Broadstuff - Are Green 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 Incompatible?
Business Week - CEO Guide to Technology
Business Week - Computers' elusive eco factor
Business Week - Clean Energy - Its Getting Affordable
Byte & Switch - Keeping it Green This Summer - Don't be "Green washed"
Byte & Switch - IBM Sees Green in Energy Certificates
Byte & Switch - Users Search for power solutions
Byte & Switch - DoE issues Green Storage Warning
CBR - The Green Light for Green IT
CBR - Big boxes make greener data centers
CFO - Power Scourge
Channel Insider - A 12 Step Program to Dispose of IT Equipment
China.org.cn - China publishes Energy paper
CIO - Green Storage Means Money Saved on Power
CIO - Data center designers share secrets for going green
CIO - Best Place to Build a Data Center in North America
CIO Insight - Clever Marketing or the Real Thing?
Cleantechnica - Cooling Data Centers Could Prevent Massive Electrical Waste - June 2008
Climatebiz - Carbon Calculators Yield Spectrum of Results: Study
CNET News - Linux coders tackle power efficiency
CNET News - Research: Old data centers can be nearly as 'green' as new ones
CNET News - Congress, Greenpeace move on e-wast
CNN Money - A Green Collar Recession
CNN Money - IBM creates alliance with industry leaders supporting new data center standards
Communication News - Utility bills key to greener IT
Computerweekly - Business case for green storage
Computerweekly - Optimising data centre operations
Computerweekly - Green still good for IT, if it saves money
Computerweekly - Meeting the Demands for storage
Computerworld - Wells Fargo Free Data Center Cooling System
Computerworld - Seven ways to get green and save money
Computerworld - Build your data center here: The most energy-efficient locations
Computerworld - EPA: U.S. needs more power plants to support data centers
Computerworld - GreenIT: A marketing ploy or new technology?
Computerworld - Gartner Criticizes Green Grid
Computerworld - IT Skills no longer sufficient for data center execs.
Computerworld - Meet MAID 2.0 and Intelligent Power Management
Computerworld - Feds to offer energy ratings on servers and storage
Computerworld - Greenpeace still hunting for truly green electronics
Computerworld - How to benchmark data center energy costs
ComputerworldUK - Datacenters at risk from poor governance
ComputerworldUK - Top IT Leaders Back Green Survey
ComputerworldMH - Lean and Green
CTR - Strategies for enhancing energy efficiency
CTR - Economies of Scale - Green Data Warehouse Appliances
Datacenterknowledge - Microsoft to build Illinois datacenter
Data Center Strategies - Storage The Next Hot Topic
Earthtimes - Fujitsu installs hydrogen fuel cell power
eChannelline - IBM Goes Green(er)
Ecoearth.info - California Moves To Speed Solar, Wind Power Grid Connections
Ecogeek - Solar power company figures they can power 90% of America
Economist - Cool IT
Electronic Design - How many watts in that Gigabyte
eMazzanti - Desktop virtualization movement creeping into customer sites
ens-Newswire - Western Governors Ask Obama for National Green Energy Plan
Environmental Leader - Best Place to Build an Energy Efficient Data Center
Environmental Leader - New Guide Helps Advertisers Avoid Greenwash Complaints
Enterprise Storage Forum - Power Struggles Take Center Stage at SNW
Enterprise Storage Forum - Pace Yourself for Storage Power & Cooling Needs
Enterprise Storage Forum - Storage Power and Cooling Issues Heat Up - StorageIO Article
Enterprise Storage Forum - Score Savings With A Storage Power Play
Enterprise Storage Forum - I/O, I/O, Its off to Virtual Work I Go
Enterprise Storage Forum - Not Just a Flash in the Pan - Various SSD options
Enterprise Storage Forum - Closing the Green Gap - Article August 2008
EPA Report to Congress and Public Law 109-431 - Reports & links
eWeek - Saving Green by being Green
eWeek - 'No Cooling Necessary' Data Centers Coming?
eWeek - How the 'Down' Macroeconomy Will Impact the Data Storage Sector
ExpressComputer - In defense of Green IT
ExpressComputer - What data center crisis
Forbes - How to Build a Quick Charging Battery
GCN - Sun launches eco data center
GreenerComputing - New Code of Conduct to Establish Best Practices in Green Data Centers
GreenerComputing - Silicon valley's green detente
GreenerComputing - Majority of companies plan to green their data centers
GreenerComputing - Citigroup to spend $232M on Green Data Center
GreenerComputing - Chicago and Quincy, WA Top Green Data Center Locations
GreenerComputing - Using airside economizers to chill data center cooling bills
GreenerComputing - Making the most of asset disposal
GreenerComputing - Greenpeace vendor rankings
GreenerComputing - Four Steps to Improving Data Center Efficiency without Capital Expenditures
GreenerComputing - Enabling a Green and Virtual Data Center
Green-PC - Strategic Steps Down the Green Path
Greeniewatch - BBC news chiefs attack plans for climate change campaign
Greeniewatch - Warmest year predictions and data that has not yet been measured
GoverenmentExecutive - Public Private Sectors Differ on "Green" Efforts
HPC Wire - How hot is your code
Industry Standard - Why green data centers mean partner opportunities
InformationWeek - It could be 15 years before we know what is really green
InformationWeek - Beyond Server Consolidaiton
InformationWeek - Green IT Beyond Virtualization: The Case For Consolidation
InfoWorld - Sun celebrates green datacenter innovations
InfoWorld - Tech's own datacenters are their green showrooms
InfoWorld - 2007: The Year in Green
InfoWorld - Green Grid Announces Tech Forum in Feb 2008
InfoWorld - SPEC seeds future green-server benchmarks
InfoWorld - Climate Savers green catalog proves un-ripe
InfoWorld - Forester: Eco-minded activity up among IT pros
InfoWorld - Green ventures in Silicon Valley, Mass reaped most VC cash in '07
InfoWorld - Congress misses chance to see green-energy growth
InfoWorld - Unisys pushes green envelope with datacenter expansion
InfoWorld - No easy green strategy for storage
Internet News - Storage Technologies for a Slowing Economy
Internet News - Economy will Force IT to Transform
ITManagement - Green Computing, Green Revenue
itnews - Data centre chiefs dismiss green hype
itnews - Australian Green IT regulations could arrive this year
IT Pro - SNIA Green storage metrics released
ITtoolbox - MAID discussion
Linux Power - Saving power with Linux on Intel platforms
MSNBC - Microsoft to build data center in Ireland
National Post - Green technology at the L.A. Auto Show
Network World - Turning the datacenter green
Network World - Color Interop Green
Network World - Green not helpful word for setting environmental policies
NewScientistEnvironment - Computer servers as bad for climate as SUVs
Newser - Texas commission approves nation's largest wind power project
New Yorker - Big Foot: In measuring carbon emissions, it’s easy to confuse morality and science
NY Times - What the Green Bubble Will Leave Behind
PRNewswire - Al Gore and Cisco CEO John Chambers to debate climate change
Processor - More than just monitoring
Processor - The new data center: What's hot in Data Center physical infrastructure:
Processor - Liquid Cooling in the Data Center
Processor - Curbing IT Power Usage
Processor - Services To The Rescue - Services Available For Today’s Data Centers
Processor - Green Initiatives: Hire A Consultant?
Processor - Energy-Saving Initiatives
Processor - The EPA's Low Carbon Campaig
Processor - Data Center Power Planning
SAN Jose Mercury - Making Data Centers Green
SDA-Asia - Green IT still a priority despite Credit Crunch
SearchCIO - EPA report gives data centers little guidance
SearchCIO - Green IT Strategies Could Lead to hefty ROIs
SearchCIO - Green IT In the Data Center: Plenty of Talk, not much Walk
SearchCIO - Green IT Overpitched by Vendors, CIOs beware
SearchDataCenter - Study ranks cheapest places to build a data center
SearchDataCenter - Green technology still ranks low for data center planners
SearchDataCenter - Green Data Center: Energy Effiecnty Computing in the 21st Century
SearchDataCenter - Green Data Center Advice: Is LEED Feasible
SearchDataCenter - Green Data Centers Tackle LEED Certification
SearchDataCenter - PG&E invests in data center effieicny
SearchDataCenter - A solar powered datacenter
SearchSMBStorage - Improve your storage energy efficiency
SearchSMBStorage - SMB capacity planning: Focusing on energy conservation
SearchSMBStorage - Data footprint reduction for SMBs
SearchSMBStorage - MAID & other energy-saving storage technologies for SMBs
SearchStorage - How to increase your storage energy efficiency
SearchStorage - Is storage now top energy hog in the data center
SearchStorage - Storage eZine: Turning Storage Green
SearchStorage - The Green Storage Gap
SearchStorageChannel - Green Data Storage Projects
Silicon.com - The greening of IT: Cooling costs
SNIA - SNIA Green Storage Overview
SNIA - Green Storage
SNW - Beyond Green-wash
SNW Spring 2008 Beyond Green-wash
State.org - Why Texas Has Its Own Power Grid
StorageDecisions - Different Shades of Green
Storage Magazine - Storage still lacks energy metrics
StorageIOblog - Posts pertaining to Green, power, cooling, floor-space, EHS (PCFE)
Storage Search - Various postings, news and topics pertaining to Green IT
Technology Times - Revealed: the environmental impact of Google searches
TechTarget - Data center power efficiency
TechTarget - Tip for determining power consumption
Techworld - Inside a green data center
Techworld - Box reduction - Low hanging green datacenter fruit
Techworld - Datacentere used to heat swimming pool
Theinquirer - Spansion and Virident flash server farms
Theinquirer - Storage firms worry about energy efficiency How green is the valley
TheRegister - Data Centre Efficiency, the good, the bad and the way to hot
TheRegister - Server makers snub whalesong for serious windmill abuse
TheRegister - Green data center threat level: Not Green
The Standard - Growing cynicism around going Green
ThoughtPut - Energy Central
Thoughtput - Power, Cooling, Green Storage and related industry trends
Wallstreet Journal - Utilities Amp Up Push To Slash Energy Use
Wallstreet Journal - The IT in Green Investing
Wallstreet Journal - Tech's Energy Consumption on the Rise
Washingtonpost - Texas approves major new wind power project
WhatPC - Green IT: It doesnt have to cost the earth
WHIRnews - SingTel building green data center
Wind-watch.org - Loss of wind causes Texas power grid emergency
WyomingNews - Overcoming Greens Stereotype
Yahoo - Washington Senate Unviel Green Job Plan
ZDnet - Will supercomputer speeds hit a plateau?
Are data centers causing climate change
News and Press Releases
Business Wire - The Green and Virtual Data Center
Enterprise Storage Forum - Intel and HGST (Hitachi) partner on FLASH SSD
PCworld - Intel and HP describe Green Strategy
DoE - To Invest Approximately $1.3 Billion to Commercialize CCS Technology
Yahoo - Shell Opens Los Angeles' First Combined Hydrogen and Gasoline Station
DuPont - DuPont Projects Save Enough Energy to Power 25,000 Homes
Gartner - Users Are Becoming Increasingly Confused About the Issues and Solutions Surrounding Green IT
Websites and Tools
Various power, cooling, emmisions and device configuration tools and calculators
SNIA Emerald program
Carbon Disclosure Project
The Chicago Climate Exchange
Climate Savers
Data Center Decisions
Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)
EMC - Digital Life Calculator
Energy Star
Energy Star Data Center Initiatives
Greenpeace - Technology ranking website also here
GlobalActionPlan
KyotoPlanet
LBNL High Tech Data centers
Millicomputing
RoHS & WEE News
Storage Performance Council (SPC)
SNIA Green Technical Working Group
SPEC
Transaction Processing Council (TPC)
The Green Grid
The Raised Floor
Terra Pass Carbon Offset Credits - Website with CO2 calculators
Energy Information Administration - EIA (US and International Electrical Information)
U.S. Department of Energy and related information
U.S. DOE Energy Efficient Industrial Programs
U.S. EPA server and storage energy topics
Zerofootprint - Various "Green" and environmental related links and calculators
Vendor Centric and Marketing Website Links and tools
Vendors and organizations have different types of calculators some with focus on power, cooling, floor space, carbon offsets or emissions,
ROI, TCO and other IT data center infrastructure resource management. Following is an evolving list and by no means definitive even for a particular vendors as
different manufactures may have multiple different calculators for different product lines or areas of focus.
Brocade - Green website
Cisco - Green and Environmental websites here, here and here
Dell - Green website
EMC - EMC Energy, Power and Cooling Related Website
HDS - How to be green - HDS Positioning White Paper
HP - HP Green Website
IBM - Green Data Center - IBM Positioning White Paper
IBM - Green Data Center for Education - IBM Positioning White Paper
Intel - What is an Efficient Data Center and how do I measure it?
LSI - Green site and white paper
NetApp - Press Release and related information
Sun - Various articles and links
Symantec - Global 2000 Struggle to Adopt "Green" Data Centers - Announcement of Survey results
ACTON
Adinfa
APC
Australian Conservation Foundation
Avocent
BBC
Brocade
Carbon Credit Calculator UK
Carbon Footprint Site
Carbon Planet
Carbonify
CarbonZero
Cassatt
CO2 Stats Site
Copan
Dell
DirectGov UK Acton
Diesel Service & Supply Power Calculator & Converter
Eaton Powerware
Ecobusinesslinks
Ecoscale
EMC Power Calculator
EMC Web Power Calculator
EMC Digital Life Calculator
EPA Power Profiler
EPA Related Tools
EPEAT
Google UK Green Footprint
Green Grid Calculator
HP and more here
HVAC Calculator
IBM
Logicalis
Kohler Power (Business and Residential)
Micron
MSN Carbon Footprint Calculator
National Wildlife Foundation
NEF UK
NetApp
Rackwise
Platespin
Safecom
Sterling Planet
Sun and more here and here and here
Tandberg
TechRepublic
TerraPass Carbon Offset Credits
Thomas Kreen AG
Toronto Hydro Calculator
80 Plus Calculator
VMware
42u Green Grid PUE DCiE calculator
42u energy calculator
Green and Virtual Tools
What's your power, cooling, floor space, energy, environmental or green story?
What's your power, cooling, floor space, energy, environmental or green story? Do you have questions or want to learn more about
energy issues pertaining to IT data center and data infrastructure topics? Do you have a solution or technology or a success story that you would like to share
with us pertaining to data storage and server I/O energy optimization strategies? Do you need assistance in developing, validating or reviewing your strategy
or story? Contact us at: info@storageio.com or 651-275-1563 to learn more about green data storage and server I/O or to
schedule a briefing to tell us about your energy efficiency and effectiveness story pertaining to IT data centers and data infrastructures.
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Green and Virtual Metrics
Chapter 5 "Measurement, Metrics, and Management of IT Resources" in the book "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC Press) takes a look at the importance of being able to measure and monitor to enable effective management and utilization of IT resources across servers, storage, I/O networks, software, hardware and facilities.
There are many different points of interest for collecting metrics in an IT data center for servers, storage, networking and facilities along with various points of interest or perspectives. Data center personal have varied interest from a facilities to a resource (server, storage, networking) usage and effectiveness perspective for normal use as well as planning purposes or comparison when evaluating new technology. Vendors have different uses for metrics during R&D, Q/A testing and marketing or sales campaigns as well as on-going service and support. Industry trade groups including 80 Plus, SNIA and the green grid along with government groups including the EPA Energy Star are working to define and establish applicable metrics pertinent for Green and Virtual data centers.
Acronym
Description
Comment
DCiE
Data center Efficiency = (IT equipment / Total facility power) * 100
Shows a ratio of how well a data center is consuming power
DCPE
Data center Performance Efficiency = Effective IT workload / total facility power
Shows how effective data center is consuming power to produce a given level of service or work such as energy per transaction or energy per business function performed
PUE
Power usage effectiveness = Total facility power / IT equipment power
Inverse of DCE
Kilowatts (kw)
Watts / 1,000
One thousand watts
Annual kWh
kWh x 24 x 365
kWh used in on year
Megawatts (mw)
kW / 1,000
One thousand kW
BTU/hour
watts x 3.413
Heat generated in an hour from using energy in British Thermal Units. 12,000 BTU/hour can equate to 1 Ton of cooling.
kWh
1,000 watt hours
The number of watts used in one hour
Watts
Amps x Volts (e.g. 12 amps * 12 volts = 144 watts)
Unit of electrical energy power
Watts
BTU/hour x 0.293
Convert BTU/hr to watts
Volts
Watts / Amps (e.g. 144 watts / 12 amps = 12 volts)
The amount of force on electrons
Amps
Watts / Volts (e.g. 144 watts / 12 volts = 12 amps)
The flow rate of electricity
Volt-Amperes (VA)
Volts x Amps
Sometimes power expressed in Volt-Ampres
kVA
Volts x Amp / 1000
Number of kilovolt-ampres
kW
kVA x power-factor
Power factor is the efficiency of a piece of equipments use of power
kVA
kW / power-factor
Killovolt-Ampres
U
1U = 1.75”
EIA metric describing height of equipment in racks.
Activity / Watt
Amount of work accomplished per unit of energy consumed. This could be IOPS,