Is PUE Still Relevant for Data Center Efficiency

ALWAYS ON GLOBALSWITCH.COM
Is PUE Dead in the Water?
Derek Allen
May 2014

ALWAYS ON GLOBALSWITCH.COM AMSTERDAM FRANKFURT HONG KONG LONDON MADRID PARIS SINGAPORE SYDNEY
2
Agenda
1. Introduction
2. Overview of technical information
3. Claims about Power Utilisation Effectiveness (PUE)
4. What does PUE mean to the end user?
5. Efficiency versus data centre reliability
6. The risks involved in achieving a low PUE
7. Conclusion

1. Introduction
3

4
Derek Allen, Group Operations Director
 30 years' industry experience
working for companies including
Cable & Wireless, UBS and BT
 13 years in the data centre industry
 Extensive knowledge from operating
large scale data centres
 Focus on ensuring best-in-class
operating procedures across global
footprints
 1978
 2000
 2002
 2008
 2012

Leading Large Scale Carrier Neutral Data Centre Owner,
Operator and Developer Europe and Asia-Pacific
 Founded in 1998
 Global Switch owns and operates its
data centre properties
 Around 3,100,000 sq ft of gross space
 Nine data centres across seven
markets located in Tier 1 city centres
close to business, communications and
internet hubs
 Network dense environments with low
latency
 Better than 99.999% uptime
 Market leading track record
 Company asset value of £3.8bn as at
31 March 2013
 Internationally renowned customer
base
 Financially strong
 Committed to ISO 9001, 14001, 18001,
27001
5

6
What Happens in an Internet Minute?
Source: Intel

2. Overview of Technical Information
7

8
Data Centre Efficiency Metrics
CUE
Carbon usage effectiveness
DciE
IT equipment power / Total facility power x 100 %
DCcE
Data centre compute efficiency
DPPE
Data centre performance per energy
CADE
Facility efficiency (FE) x Asset Efficiency (AE)
PUE
Total energy usage / IT energy usage
pPUE
Total energy within a boundary / IT equipment within that boundary
FVER
Fixed to variable energy ratio
= 1+ fixed energy / variable energy
ERE
Total energy usage- reused energy / IT energy
WUE
Water usage / IT energy
EUE
Total facility energy consumption / exchange equipment
RUE and RUiE
Rack unit effectiveness
Data Centre
Efficiency
Metrics
Data centre Alliance- Carbon Production Measurement
Amount of IT equipment
used, in standard units
kWh electricity
used per unit
x x Energy overhead
of data centres
x
Carbon emissions
of electricity
source(s)
PPW
Performance per Watt
CLF
Cooling load factor
PLF
Power load factor

9
Data Centre Efficiency Metrics
EPR
Electricity production rate
(for combined heat and power systems)
DCP
Data centre productivity
COP
Coefficient of performance
SPECpower
Data Centre
Efficiency
Metrics
Data Centre Carbon Emission
Carbon Footprint
DCEP
Data centre energy productivity
DCEP
Data centre energy productivity
Mips/W
Mega instructions per second per watt
ITEU
(IT equipment utilisation)
ITEE
(IT equipment energy efficiency)

PUE=
10
Data Centre Efficacy Metrics
Calculations
Electric Energy *1.0 + Chilled Water Energy * 0.4
PUE=
IT Equipment Energy * 1.0
Total Facility Energy
IT Equipment Energy
PUE=
EITS –ECRAC – EUPS – ELV +ENet1
ESIS+ETIS+ETX+EHV+ELV+EF
PUE is now recognised as one of the leading measures for data centre comparisons

11
PUE Reporting Styles

12
PUE Reporting Styles
PUE
One of the objectives of this presentation is to make a case for creating an
industry PUE reporting standard calibrated for real use (that gives an axis to the graphs)
value
Time (10 years)
1000
0 0
4
PUE
Time (1 year)
value
DCIM
Time ( 1 year)
value
0
4
4
0

13
PUE Subcomponents
IT Load
Compute
Devices
Network
Devices
IT Support
Systems
Telecoms
Storage
PUE =
Total Facility Energy
IT Equipment Energy
Facility Load
Building
Management
Office Lights
HVAC
Fire and
Security
Power
Infrastructure

14
The Efficiency Challenge
POWER IN MW (106)
LIGHT OUT mW (10-3)
Transformers
Suites
Cooling
Heat
rejection
Generators/DRUPS
Data
LightInfrastructurePower

15
End User Survey – 2013
We asked a select group of end users
a series of questions around PUE
and the metrics that
are important to them

16
End User Survey –2013
 PUE Cat 0: IT load measured at UPS output(s). Total dc power measured
at the utility meters. Peak utilisation/demand in a single snapshot
measurement
 PUE Cat 1: IT load measured at UPS output(s). Total dc power measured
at the utility meters. 12-month cumulative readings
 PUE Cat 2: IT load measured at electrical distribution panels supporting IT
loads. Total data centre power measured at the utility meters. Peak
Utilization/demand in a single snapshot measurement
 PUE Cat 3: IT Load measured at the point of connection of IT devices to
electrical system. Total dc power measured at the utility meters. 12 month
cumulative reading
 Use an alternative local method for measuring PUE

17
Which method do you use to
calculate PUE?
7%
14%
17%
21%
17%
24%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
PUE Cat 0: PUE Cat 1: PUE Cat 2: PUE Cat 3: Alternative local method for
measuring PUE
Other
Source: Global Switch End User PUE Survey 2013

3. Claims about PUE
18

19
Who is your audience?
 Design/Technical
 At what load/what resilience/part load efficiency?
 Tier I (N)
 Tier II (N+1)
 Tier III (N+1) – concurrently maintainable
 Tier IV 2(N+1) – Fault tolerant, not just N+N
 Marketing
 Hyped up messaging
 Populated entirely with sound-bites
 Operations/Procurement
 Metered or Calculated?
 Is this daily, monthly, annual, average?
 Is the Tier level as per Uptime Institute (to standard)?
 We must test the sources of data

20
Traditional or Modular?
Modular data centres “more affordable”?
Extract from Networking (October 2013)
.... “ the actual cost of deploying a modular data centre solution
is around 13 % less than the build of a traditional data centre of
similar capacity. The study compared all associated costs of
both approaches, and also found that in many cases the
greater density and more efficient use of space means that
modular facilities are able to achieve significantly better PUE. “

21
Where are you measuring your PUE?
16
kW
57, 000
kW

22
IT Loads v Plant
Mature Data Centre New IT Mature Plant Poor PUE
Mature Data Centre New IT New Plant
Average to Good
PUE
Mature Data Centre Old IT Mature Plant
Average to Good
PUE
New Data Centre New IT New Plant
Average to Good
PUE
New Data Centre New IT Mature Plant (!) PUE?
New Data Centre Old IT New Plant
Outstanding PUE
(Unbelievably
good!)
Test Reality of PUE at Real Site

4. What does PUE mean to the end user?
23

24
What does PUE mean to you?
88%
44%
6%
59%
50%
25%
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
How efficiently your
Data Centre
operates
How much power is
used by IT
equipment
Industry guide that
is used for Total
Cost of Occupancy
purposes
Ratio of IT power to
Data Centre facility
power
Means to calculate
Carbon Reduction
Commitment (CRC)
tax liability
Efficiency of the
Data Centre
infrastructure plant
items
Data Centre
infrastructure
efficiency (DCie)
Not a meaningful
metric
Other

25
How do you believe a lower PUE will
impact your business?
86%
83%
31%
35%
10% 10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Save energy Save money Deploy more IT
equipment
Improve propositions
to Executives /
Finance Director
Demonstrate buying
power in market
Other
Impact on Business

26
Which PUE measurement is
important to you?
29%
50%
54%
14%
57%
25%
39%
0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Design
expectation
Full load Part load Instantaneous Monthly average Seasonal
average
Annual average Other
PUE Measurement

27
What has your organisation done in
2013 to improve its PUE rating?
39%
64%
61%
32%
54%
11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Improved data
collection
Optimised
infrastructure
Introduced energy
savings
Changed operating
parameters
Changed IT
hardware
Other

28
Do you know the PUE average of your
data centres?
YES NO
45% 55%

5. Efficiency Versus Data Centre Reliability
29

30
Speed versus Reliability and Efficiency

31
Processing Efficiency
Physical Infrastructure
Power
Cooling
Lighting
Physical security
Fire protection
Uniform classification of power-consuming subsystems is
essential for benchmarking data centre efficiency
IT Load
Servers
Storage
Networking
Power IN IT Watts Mips/W
PUE =
Watts IN
IT Watts

32
Uptime v PUE
IT LOADS
TransformersHeat
Rejection
TransformersDX CRAC
TransformersFan Wall
TransformersFresh air
systems
TransformersAdiabatic
Coolers
TransformersHV
TransformersTransformers
Transformers
Air
Containment
- CAC
- HAC
TransformersUPS /
DRUPS
TransformersRefrigeration TransformersCRAC
Units

33
Plant Efficiency at Part Load
20% 100%75%
Load
Peak Design Load
Efficiency

34
Data centre losses
SIMPLEDATACENTRE
HV
input
HEAT
HEAT
CRACS CHILLED WATER CHILLERS
ELECTRICAL ENERGY
HEAT
ELECTRICAL ENERGY
Electrical
energy
converted
to heat
HEAT HEAT
HEAT
HEAT HEAT HEAT
RESILIENTDATA
CENTRE
IT LOAD
Electrical
energy
converted
to heat
HV
input
HV
input
HV
input
TY
Switch
gear
switch
UPS
Switch gear
switch
TY UPS

6. The risks involved in achieving a low PUE
35

36
Risks of achieving a low PUE
 When end users simply focus on reducing PUE, it can
be counter- productive
 Example data centre – simple maths
 Input power of 100 kW; 50kW of which is being used
to power IT equipment; Average PUE 2.0
 The IT department decide to virtualize servers
 IT power is reduced by 50%, i.e. 25 kW
 A likely input power could be 75kW so PUE
becomes 3.0
 The compute capacity is the same – infrastructure
plant remains

37
Are you aware of ISO 50001?
YES NO
32% 68%

Data centre design objectives
 LEED , NABERS and
BREEAM accreditations
 Provide best in class space
utilisation in terms of gross to
net technical space
 Offer a scalable environment
for end users with flexible
densities across the facility in
accordance with ASHRAE TC
9.9 standards
 Minimised waste heat, so low
PUE
 Incorporate green concepts
that support local communities
38

PUE is about Continuous Improvement
Data Centre DesignMonitoring & Reporting
Operation has to be committed
to energy efficiency, reducing
carbon emissions and
investigating green energy
solutions
 Commitment to developing
sustainable data centres
 Latest innovations applied in
design
 HV transformers placed close to IT load
 Reduce low voltage distribution losses
 Purchase at highest possible voltage
 Design transformer for maximum
efficiency
 Outside air cooling, where
available
 Increasing to ASHRAE ‘in-suite’
temperature and humidity
parameters to improve energy use
 Flexible load matching features
 Constant monitoring of
temperature and humidity
systems
 Work closely with end users to
continually improve energy
efficiency
Organisation
PowerCooling
Always Green
39

40
ISO 30134-2
Information technology- Data Centres- Key Performance
Indicators - Part 2: Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)
 Under development
 Defines the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of a data centre
 Introduces PUE measurement categories
 Describes the relationship of PUE to a data centres infrastructure, IT
equipment and IT operations
 Defines the measurement, the calculation and reporting of the PUE
 Provides information on the correct interpretation of the PUE

7. Conclusion
41

42
Data Centre Efficiency
“A Brave New World”
 PUE
 ISO Standard ISO
30134
 Space Efficiency Ratios
 Tier Rating and Uptime
%
 Power Costs per Unit
£, $ or €
 Rental Cost
 Scale: Efficiency of
Plant
The objective of this presentation was to make a case for creating number of
metrics including an industry PUE standard associated to real use

Psychrometric Chart
Normal Temperatures
Barometric Pressures 1013.25 mbar
-10
-5
0
10
15
20
25
30
-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60
90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20
0.000
0.001
0.002
0.003
0.004
0.005
0.006
0.007
0.008
0.009
0.010
0.011
0.012
0.013
0.014
0.015
0.016
0.017
0.018
0.019
0.020
0.021
0.022
0.023
0.024
0.025
0.026
0.027
0.028
0.029
0.030
Dry Bulb Temperature (°C)
0.75
0.85
0.80
Relative Humidity (% rH )
Red Area- ASHRAE Allowable
Blue Area – ASHRAE Recommended
0.90
Traditional data centre standard
5
43

Psychrometric Chart
Normal Temperatures
Barometric Pressures 1013.25 mbar
0.001
0.002
0.003
0.004
0.005
0.006
0.007
0.008
0.009
0.011
0.012
0.013
0.014
0.015
0.016
0.017
0.018
0.019
0.020
0.021
0.022
0.023
0.024
0.025
0.026
0.027
0.028
0.029
0.030
Red Area- ASHRAE Allowable
Blue Area – ASHRAE Recommended
Traditional data centre standard
44
% Load / Design
Occupancy%
ClimateHot / Humid Cool / Dry

45
Thank you for listening
Derek Allen
Group Operations Director
D +44 (0) 20 7802 5192
M +44 (0)7884 584 814
dallen@globalswitch.com
GLOBAL SWITCH, ALWAYS GREEN
Thank you for your time.
Questions
All rights reserved © 2013 Global Switch

Is PUE Still Relevant for Data Center Efficiency

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (19)

Similar to Is PUE Still Relevant for Data Center Efficiency

Similar to Is PUE Still Relevant for Data Center Efficiency (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Is PUE Still Relevant for Data Center Efficiency