Green Tech
by Michael Zhao President and CEO, Array
Networks
IT and energy use
Virtualization is a trend that is
revolutionizing IT, and will continue its
rapid growth in 2009. Instead of dedicating
an entire machine to a single application,
several virtual machines on the same
physical hardware can be used to run
independent instances of different
applications. Reducing servers will reduce
not only the rack space and power
requirements, but will also reduce the
cooling and air-conditioning requirements,
since fewer machines means less heat
emitted, less need for cooling, and smaller,
more-efficient data centers that ultimately
cost a lot less to build and operate.
In 2009, virtualization will extend to
the desktop. Replacing heavy-duty
workstations with virtual desktops can
reduce overall power consumption and reduce
IT support load at the same time, since the
desktops are hosted in a data center.
Alternatively, with cloud computing, the
desktop and applications can be hosted
through the Internet.
In 2009, the adoption of remote-access
technologies will increase, turning on the
machine when needed, thereby saving on power
and cooling for the hours when the machine
is not being used.
Remote-access technology will allow more
people to work from home. There are obvious
savings from getting workers out of their
automobiles, but there are also savings in
the data center.
Hybrid technology that uses compute
resources at data centers, along with
appropriate computing resources on the
client side will eliminate the need to have
more powerful servers in the data centers,
or have less of them so that the cooling
requirements can be reduced or eliminated.
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Power and demand
by Kathy Mazzarella Senior vice president,
Graybar
In the year ahead, IT managers will turn
to advancements in data center technologies
to overcome a myriad of challenges. Topping
the list of concerns: adding new
applications and services, and keeping the
data center running when power may be in
short supply.
In the next five years, more than 90
percent of all businesses are expected to
experience costly data center downtime due
to power failures or limits, according to
the data center trade association AFCOM. To
avoid being part of this statistic, IT
managers will need to secure critical power
solutions. Among the solutions: adopting
greater redundancy, maximizing energy
efficiency and relocating to risk-adverse
areas.
Operational redundancy helps keep data
centers secure and accessible by replicating
critical functions, such as power, data
processing and storage, or by creating
redundant facilities. Larger, more complex
mission-critical data centers require more
redundancy.
As IT managers implement redundant
systems, they will need more power and
cooling to support the additional equipment.
Since redundant systems in data centers
require more energy, many IT professionals
will focus on managing costs through
energy-efficient solutions.
Data centers consume more than 2 percent
of all the energy used in the United States.
With consumption expected to double in the
next five years, many IT managers are
working to maximize their efficiency now to
avoid the higher energy costs associated
with increased demand in the future.
Businesses may also relocate their data
centers to areas of the country that provide
less-expensive power. The need for critical
power will also drive relocation to areas
less prone to natural disasters.
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More remote access
by Jerry Chase
CEO, Lantronix
With the economy in turmoil and as
companies pay more attention to their green
initiatives, corporations will increasingly
turn to technology to help reduce costs and
deliver better service to their customers.
Businesses will start investing in products
and technology that require fewer human
resources to implement, and allow employees
to provide services and support via the
Internet.
Current economic realities, such as the
need to work more efficiently and cost
effectively, and the need to conserve energy
and reduce associated costs, are now a
global phenomenon. This has a direct effect
on the market for remote product services
(RPS).
The RPS model allows companies to access
firewall-protected equipment from anywhere,
anytime, using the Internet. As more
employees are working remotely and
corporations are expanding globally,
businesses will need to be able to manage
and fix equipment that is located in remote
locations and networks for which they may
not have administrative privileges.
More electronic devices and office
equipment, such as copiers or security
systems, will be network enabled so they can
be remotely managed via the Internet. As
companies face mounting pressure to cut
costs, technicians will need to have remote
access to equipment, so they can diagnose
issues from distant locations and, in many
cases, implement solutions without the need
to travel to the malfunctioning device. With
advancements in security and ease of
implementation of remote-access
technologies, companies in 2009 will
increasingly turn to these RPS solutions to
lower the costs of providing service and
maintenance.
For more information
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Energy hogs cooled
by Ian Seaton Technology marketing manager,
Chatsworth Products
The technology exists today to make 2009
a watershed year for finally removing the
waste from cooling electronics in data
centers. Data centers are among the most
wasteful energy hogs in our current society.
Consider that typically less than 10 percent
of server capacity is utilized, while using
about 80 percent of their full energy
requirement. Nearly as much is spent to cool
these servers as to power them. With some
external pressure now from the struggling
economy, this knowledge should start to
percolate up to the C-suites.
One recent model for analyzing data
center cooling costs looked at each heat
exchange point and the cost of moving a
fluid (air, water, refrigerant) from one
heat exchange to the next, with either fans
or pumps. One cooling topology in the model
had one heat exchange, with a transfer of
compresser-less liquid cooling directly to
the electronics. This technology can cool a
megawatt of IT load with about 30 kW, or
anywhere from a sixth to less than a tenth
of any of the other methods reviewed.
Another cooling solution is the use of
energy-recovery wheel-cooling technology.
This air-cooling technology has one heat
exchange, one set of fans delivering data
center return air through the wheel and one
set of fans removing the heat from the wheel
into the outside environment.
While 2009 might not be the tipping point
for these technologies, the stressed economy
may finally focus attention on them, so
projects initiated in 2009 could start
reaping the efficiency benefits shortly
thereafter.
For more information
(click here)