Data Centre Energy Efficiency. Duncan Clubb EMEA Data Centre Practice Director CS Technology

Transcription

1 Data Centre Energy Efficiency Duncan Clubb EMEA Data Centre Practice Director CS Technology

2 Key Messages No more silos energy efficiency only comes from a holistic approach to DC design and operation If you can t measure it, you can t control it Air management is the key inside the DC, but many other factors are also important It s not just about design, you need to manage efficiently

3 Carbon Footprint - Impact One Financial Firm s estimated electricity carbon footprint for large Data Centre facilities is 258 million pounds (117,093 metric tons) of CO 2 annually* This current annual CO 2 footprint is roughly equivalent to: The amount of carbon released by a Mini Cooper driven around circumference of the earth 21,513 times or to the moon 2408 times The annual carbon footprint of about 6,296 average US households or 18,883 average UK households. Just under three times the hull weight of the cruise ship Queen Mary 2* This does not include the carbon footprint from other aspects of the facility, technology or people operations Also excluded from review are other greenhouse gasses (Methane, Nitrous Oxide) and other harmful emissions such as Sulphur Dioxide and Mercury emitted from the production of electricity Without making changes to the current efficiency profile of the Data Centres, these number have the potential to be 6 times larger by the end of 2015 based on projected power demands It is worth noting that the local source of power has a significant effect on carbon footprint. Example: Japan utilises larger percentages of nuclear and hydro power so the carbon footprint for the power consumer is relatively low compared to other regions which may use larger amounts of dirtier power generation such as coal 3

4 Taking a holistic approach L15: Business Processes L14: Applications Developers Enterprise Technology L13: Application Services L12: Standard Services L11: Operating Systems L10: Compute Platforms L09: Storage & Persistence L08: Switch Infrastructure L07: Non-electronic IT L06: Physical IT Spaces Core IT Infrastructure Enterprise Technology Networks and Converged Unified Fabrics Physical Infrastructure Physical Infrastructure Cabinets and Cooling Technologies Data Centre Layout Mechanical & Electrical Plant Critical Systems Engineering L05: M&E Distribution L04: M&E Supply L03: Facility Architecture L02: Utilities L01: Real Estate L00: Global Geography M&E Practices Architects Real Estate Agents Utility Supply Architecture Location The Data Centre Stack The Usual Suspects Functional Design Elements

5 Set Points

6 Energy Efficiency includes IT Source: Dell/APC Energy Impact of Increased Server Inlet Temperature

7 Measuring Efficiency and Efficiency Losses In optimising Data Centre efficiency, the goal is maximising the amount of IT work produced by the least amount of resources possible There are currently no universally accepted metrics for measuring Data Centre facility efficiency. Few effective metrics to measure the efficiency/business utility of the IT devices running in the plant (flops? MIPS? CPU utilisation? Business utility delivered?) Inefficiencies and natural loss occurs when energy travels great distances or changes from one form to another. The diagram below illustrates some expected loss points between the source of power generation and the IT equipment. * PUE in this example is 2.5 7

8 Measuring Efficiency PUE / Power Usage Effectiveness The PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) is a simple ratio gaining popularity for measuring facility efficiency. It compares total electrical power in to power delivered to IT equipment. The PUE reveals the overhead to get power to IT kit and cool the plant The formula for PUE is Total Facility Power in to the site divided by the amount power actually used by the IT Equipment Load measured off the PDUs or UPS A PUE of 1 would indicate that all of the power to the site is going to power IT kit. Current industry average PUE for a well designed Data Centre is estimated to be about 2* where approximately half of the power for a facility is required for non-it facility overhead The lowest practical PUE is about for a very well designed mechanicallyoperated data centre using grid electricity Some firms are beginning to use the PUE as a benchmark to quantify efficiency gains from changes in the plant The inverse of the PUE is called DCIE (Data Centre Infrastructure Efficiency) which is IT Equipment Load divided by Total Facility Load 8

9 Measuring Efficiency PUE Explained Graphically Total Facility Power Power Switchgear UPS Battery backup Etc. Cooling Chillers CRACs Etc. IT Equipment Power IT Load Servers Storage Telco Equipment Etc. Building Load (Demand From the Grid) Total Facility Power Total Facility Power -Measured at or near the facility utility s meter(s) to accurately reflect the power entering the datacenter. This should represent the total power (for which the utility charges) consumed in the datacenter. DCE = IT Equipment Power Total Facility Power IT Equipment Power IT Equipment Power - Represents the total power delivered to the compute equipment racks in the datacenter. The most likely measurement point would be at the output of the computer room power distribution units (PDUs) or UPS. 9

10 Measuring Efficiency Caveats When Analysing PUE The PUE number can be effected by the amount of IT kit on the UPS relative the mechanical and electric plant size installed. Examples: A large site just built may only have a few servers running and consequently have a very high PUE due to the overhead of MEP systems a switched on data centre with no IT kit in it has a PUE of! A site that is fully populated with IT kit to the maximum capacity of the UPS will have a relatively lower PUE In non-dedicated Data centre facilities, it can be difficult to develop an accurate PUE number. Examples: Multi-tenant or Co-lo facilities where power and UPS infrastructure is shared or not metered separately for each tenant Multi-use facilities such as mixed office/trading/data centre facilities where segregation of data centre load relative to other uses may be inaccurate. Caution should be used when comparing facilities to ensure the PUE assumptions are as close as possible Notwithstanding the caveats above, the PUE is one of the better metrics we have today to compare facility efficiency between sites and industry peers and the only one so far agreed on at a high level in the industry 1

11 Correlating Efficiency and Carbon Footprint - Technology Carbon Efficiency (TCE) The Technology Carbon Efficiency (TCE) is a metric that measures the carbon impact of 1 MWh delivered to IT equipment. It is expressed in pounds CO 2 per 1kWh. It is calculated by multiplying the PUE by the Carbon produced by the electricity source per 1 MWh This TCE chart illustrates the expected carbon impact per 1 kwh of power delivered to IT equipment under various plant efficiency (PUE) and local grid carbon output levels (CO 2 produced in generating the electricity) Low carbon emitting power sources and/or with a more efficient facility can have a significant impact on the carbon footprint Pounds of CO 2 per 1kWh Delivered to IT Equipment Less Green More Green

12 Correlating Efficiency and Carbon Footprint Financial Impact Estimated Annual Cost to Offset - For Each 1 MW of IT Load Note: Based on 8760 hours per year and $20 US Dollars/Metric Ton or ($ per pound) for a good quality carbon credit from the clean development mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. 1

13 DC Design Element Classification Data Centre design elements can be classified as for Resiliency, Green or Efficiency. While most efficiency design elements are also green, few features benefit all three categories simultaneously. Resiliency Features that enhance the reliability of the Plant to reduce outage impact or downtime. Increasing reliance often decreases efficiency and greenness As tier level goes up, footprint increases and efficiency decreases Greenness and resilience rarely compliment each other directly Green Features that are designed to reduce the environmental impact of the plant. Reduced carbon and environmental footprint Decrease energy and resource input requirements Recycled/renewable materials Carbon footprint is only one measure of environmental impact Efficiency Design features that increase the operational efficiency. Amount of output from the plant for a given resource input Most efficiency features benefit overall greenness Can be calculated several ways for different systems Our primary energy efficiency measure will be ratio of utility power in against UPS load delivered to equipment. 1

14 Air Management Typical Hot Aisle / Cold Aisle layout Hot air and cold air will mix Temperature differential at server inlet from bottom to top of cabinet is substantial

15 Air Management Simple Cold Aisle containment Hot air and cold air largely prevented from mixing Temperature differential at server inlet from bottom to top of cabinet is small

16 Where to measure Physical Testing Environmental Conditions, Aisle and Rack Locations Source: ASHRAE TC 9.9 Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments

17 Best Practices Globally EU Code of Conduct EPA EnergyStar ratings Data centres PUE adopted as preferred energy efficiency metric Looks at total energy consumption June Launch announced Data centres have been collating statistics and are being rated on a scale of Storage & Networks in consultative phase Servers - Complete UPS in development

18 The Regulatory Viewpoint Globally UK Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Cap and trade system for large-scale energy consumers (data centres > 0.6 MW qualify) In early stages Perverse Incentives Affects small business consumers through co-location operators US Cap and Trade Currently applied at the producer level (electricity utility companies) Costs passed on to all consumers Specific data centre system under consideration Australia were developing a Cap and Trade scheme Have recently dropped it!

19 Maximum Efficiency in the Middle East Best design practice Air management is important inside the DC Complete air separation is required (closed loop cooling) Removal of leakage from the 5 thermal loops No choke points in the 5 thermal loops Suitable technologies for the Middle Eastern Climate Cooling in a hot and humid environment Economisers of limited use Evaporative cooling perform less efficiently in humid environments, but wet bulb temperature in UAE is sufficiently low to make it worth considering IT equipment manufacturers have a big part to play Power generation Best operational practice

20 Is free air cooling an option?

21 Products Close-coupled cooling systems A return to liquid cooling? Server immersion systems Reactive Cooling Technology Future Directions Impact on resilience (effects on thermal ride-through) Design Higher delta-t will allow for more efficient systems Control Higher set points Air separation much more critical at higher set points Sophisticated control systems Delivery Containerised solutions Close-coupled cooling system example Phased delivery programme for higher efficiency Only an example not suitable for all situations