Reducing Information Technologies ever-increasing carbon footprint

reducing information Technology's ever- increasing carbon footprint Tom Raftery Blog: cix.ie / tomrafteryit.net Podcast: www.podleaders.com Email: tom@tomrafteryit.net

CIX • Cork Internet eXchange - CIX • First professional data centre outside Dublin • Opening Oct ’07 • Not a sales pitch (unless your based in Cork!!!)

CIX.ie

Lingo • Watts = Voltage x Amps • 1000 Watts for 1 hour = 1kWh • 1U = 1 rack unit = 44.45 mm (1.75 in) high • 1U servers -> 1A = 220W or .22kW • Blade Servers/SAN = 500W per 1 U • A large server might take 1kW • 40U rack could use 20kW of power

CIX Vision • Carbon neutral data centre • Why? • How?

Why? Climate change

Why? • DC running costs • Stafﬁng - reasonable controllable • Connectivity - decreasing • Energy - increasing

Increasing Energy requirements • Rack of equipment typically used • 1.5 kW 7 years ago • 4.5 kW 4 years ago and • 15 kW in 2006! • SL Avatar consumes 1.75 kWh p.a.!

Watts per $1000 server spend • Price to ﬁll a rack has gone down • Power consumption has gone up • => Increasing Watts per $1000 of server spend

Watts per $1000

Carbon Neutrality • How? • Using Pure Plant Oil (PPO) as an energy source

Background • Data Centres: • Consume a lot of electricity • At roughly a constant rate • Have generating capacity at 2x requirements • Connected to grid through high voltage substations

Background • Electricity Supply: • Cannot be stored • Seasonal & diurnal demands • ESB offers Max Demand (MD) discounts • Wind generates 0-30% of demand but is highly unstable

The Strategy • Create a Data Centre power grid • Powered by diesel generators burning PPO • Grid generates power for ESB by day and pulls surplus power from ESB by night • Give control of grid to ESB • ESB can now buy more wind power

Requirements • Political will • Buy in from ESB • Buy in from other DCs • Buy in from farmers! • Time!

In the meantime • CIX are innovating to maximise • Energy efﬁciency and • Minimise carbon footprint

Optimal DC environment

DC Energy Flow

Innovations • Utilise free cooling • Dynamically maximise chilled water temperature • Eliminate water mixing • Minimise humidiﬁcation • Eliminate air mixing • Utilise low resistance, slow speed air paths

Free Cooling • Mean temp in Cork is 10.5˚C • Optimum inlet temp for servers is 21˚C • Exhaust air from servers is 30˚C to 40˚C • Use ambient temp to cool the warm air and return water

Maximise Chilled Water Temp • Chillers have a ﬁxed set point • CIX developed dynamic chiller control system • Maximises temp of chilled water • Reduces energy required to chill it

Eliminate Water Mixing • Fixed chiller set-point • If CRAHs get overly cold water • => mix with warm water - extremely wasteful • Dynamic set point eliminates water mixing

Minimise Humidiﬁcation • Low temperature water CRAHs => condensation • reduces the relative humidity • Steam (energy and cooling implications) required to humidify • Dynamic chiller set point => less condensation

Typical DC

Eliminate Air mixing • Mixing hot and cold air - v wasteful • Most DCs - hot aisle/cold aisle separation • CIX - cold aisle containment - most energy efﬁcient rack layout

Low Resistance, Slow Speed Air • Large unobstructed under-ﬂoor cavities • Large overhead spaces for return air ﬂows • Fans require less energy to move air • Also, using thyristor controlled direct drive fans to reduce belt resistance losses

Server Supplied Heating • Dimplex heat exchange unit • Servers heat the CIX ofﬁces • Servers heat water for CIX

Power • 10kv low impedence looped connection to the national grid • Using GE Super ECO UPS’s offering >98% efﬁciency

Power Normal mode Bypass Static bypass supply •Normal mode • The output voltage is newly generated, Rectifier Inverter independently from the input voltage AC Load DC Rectifie Heat losses are present in rectiﬁer and • r AC DC inverter supply Battery bank •Super Eco Mode • Load is supplied via the bypass Super Eco Mode • UPS rectiﬁer keeps the battery charged Bypass • UPS inverter switched o Static bypass supply (no heat losses) Rectifier Inverter Transf. AC Load DC Rectifie r AC DC supply Battery bank

Typical DC

End Result Standard DC CIX 33% 12% Chiller 3% <1% Humidiﬁer 9% 4% CRAC 30% 80% IT Equipment 5% 0.01% PDU 18% <2% UPS 1% <1% Lighting 1% 1% Switch Gear

Conclusion • Carbon neutrality • many stakeholders • Political will • time to roll out • Extreme energy efﬁciency • Being built-in!

References • Uptime Institute - www.upsite.com • APC - www.apc.com • GE - www.ge.com • CIX Energy Efﬁciency White Paper - www.cix.ie/air- conditioning-efﬁciency-at-the-cix-data-centre • Second Life Avatar Power consumption - www.roughtype.com/archives/2006/12/ avatars_consume.php

Thanks Tom Raftery Blog: www.tomrafteryit.net Podcast: www.podleaders.com Email: tom@tomrafteryit.net

Reducing Information Technologies ever-increasing carbon footprint

by Tom Raftery on Sep 22, 2007

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