for Power Energy and

Transcription

1 Engineered for Power Management: Dell PowerEdge Servers Are Designed to Help Save Energy and Reduce Costs

2 ABSTRACT Keeping up with the rising cost of energy is one of the greatest challenges facing IT departments today. The latest Dell PowerEdge servers, including the PowerEdge R900, are engineered to help meet this challenge. The server s new hardware features and support for Dell OpenManage, the latest suite of Dell system management tools, give IT organizations the ability to monitor energy use. The new monitoring capabilities permit IT administrators to inspect power usage in greater detail so that they can make betterinformed decisions. Combined with energy-efficient Dell server designs that help maximize performance per watt, they help give IT managers an exceptional level of control over server energy costs. 2

3 IT organizations focus on data center energy efficiency for a variety of reasons. Most IT managers realize that increasing energy usage, together with higher energy prices, is having a growing impact on the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their infrastructure. IT administrators in many rapidly growing companies need to squeeze more performance out of space- and power-constrained environments. Still others are working to reduce energy use as part of corporate environmental initiatives. For all of these reasons, there is an increasing need for easy-touse, cost-effective power monitoring and management tools. Begin improving energy efficiency with better information To make good decisions, IT managers require the best available information. Any effort to increase energy efficiency in the data center must be based on accurate, detailed knowledge of ongoing power use. Dell recommends a comprehensive approach to gathering this information. Energy usage should be monitored not only for the data center as a whole, but also by component, system, rack, and row. This approach is designed to allow the greatest degree of flexibility and control over data center energy use. For example, with sufficiently granular information, the IT administrator can set maximum power levels and alert thresholds by server or by server group. Ultimately, comprehensive monitoring enables the administrator to selectively power down servers during off-peak hours to help reduce unnecessary energy consumption, while still meeting service-level agreements. Power monitoring is built into latest Dell servers Technology provided in the latest Dell PowerEdge servers helps make this comprehensive monitoring possible. Dell PowerEdge R900, PowerEdge 1950, PowerEdge 2900, and PowerEdge 2950 servers support the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) power monitoring capabilities and IT Dell OpenManage IT Assistant reporting based on the industry-standard PMBus specification. The Dell OpenManage suite consists of management applications for Dell PowerEdge servers, offering a set of standards-based and interoperable tools for server deployment, monitoring, and change management. OMSA enables IT administrators to easily manage servers by performing tasks such as reviewing server status and inventory, configuring BIOS, setting actions based on events, and turning servers on or off. The latest version now enables power monitoring and management as well. Dell OpenManage IT Assistant provides a comprehensive, standards-based, one-view console for managing Dell servers and other network systems. Among other capabilities, it allows administrators to capture events and alerts generated by Dell servers running OMSA, configure actions based on these events and alerts, and monitor server performance statistics. Together, OMSA and Dell OpenManage IT Assistant provide a wide range of power usage information that IT administrators can use to control energy-related expenses. Dell servers that support PMBus will report amperage per power supply, peak power and peak amperage per server, energy and power consumption per blade, and the aggregated power and energy consumed by groups of servers. Dell OpenManage console helps simplify advanced power management With the detailed information available through OMSA and Dell OpenManage IT Assistant, IT organizations are able to interpret current usage information and plan for future energy use. IT administrators can use the Dell OpenManage console to monitor server power and make adjustments across workloads and servers, completing key power management tasks quickly. Charts and graphic displays are similar to those used in Dell OpenManage performance monitoring and thus are already familiar to many IT organizations. The Dell OpenManage suite of management tools enables administrators to configure maximum power thresholds by server or server group, all within a single, easy-to-use interface. Alerts based on the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) are generated and recorded in hardware logs when readings cross the defined thresholds. Peak consumption times are also reported, and the administrator can reset peak observed watts/amps and cumulative power using the OMSA command line interface. Dell Energy Smart servers are designed to boost performance per watt Energy-efficient computing depends on server design as well as monitoring tools. The hardware features of the PowerEdge R900 as well as Energy Smart configurations of the PowerEdge 2950 and PowerEdge 1950 servers are designed to help improve energy efficiency. To select the best, most efficient servers for a given task, it is necessary to consider performance per watt and not power usage alone. The real measure of success is how much work can be done per watt. Dell Energy Smart features start with some of today s most energy efficient multi-core processors, including 3

4 low-voltage Intel Xeon processors. These dual-core and quadcore processors combine silicon and architecture innovations intended to help improve performance per watt. They are designed to consume less energy and generate less heat than previous generations of chips, without sacrificing the performance needed to power demanding applications. Other hardware features add to the efficient design. For example, Dell employs a new low-flow fan technology that controls fan speed based on the thermal requirements of the system. An innovative, high-efficiency power supply is also designed to draw significantly less energy, helping to maintain cooler internal temperatures. Dell OpenManage and VMware enable adaptive power utilization The full potential of Dell OpenManage power monitoring and management becomes evident in virtualized server environments. IT managers can combine the Dell OpenManage suite with the cluster resources of virtualization software such as VMware Infrastructure 3 to set power consumption limits and to help optimize the number of physical servers needed at various times so that energy is not wasted. With this solution in place, the IT administrator can automatically adapt clusters to the workload by moving around the virtual servers. If CPU and memory utilization readings for a cluster fall below a minimum threshold set by the administrator, the management software is designed to place one physical server at a time into maintenance mode. In this state, the physical server uses less power, thereby helping to reduce energy costs. The virtual machines on the affected physical server are automatically migrated to other physical servers in the cluster. If the utilization readings for the cluster increase above a maximum threshold, one physical server at a time can be powered back on to handle the load. Professional assessment and planning help reduce complexity and costs Although the latest Dell server features help put power monitoring and management within easy reach of IT departments, long-range proactive planning is also essential. Planning can help businesses optimize future data center deployments to reduce IT complexity, maximize energy efficiency, and minimize costs. Dell Services consultants help businesses assess, scope, and plan data center power and cooling requirements for future deployments. Businesses receive comprehensive assessments and remediation plans for HVAC, cooling, and power delivery systems. Consultants are backed by the Dell Power and Thermal Lab in Austin, Texas, a research facility dedicated to the creation and validation of industry-standard solutions to today s energy efficiency challenges. By partnering with industry leaders like APC, Liebert, Rittal, and Samina SCI, Dell is working to address end-to-end data center efficiency. `}`} Dell OpenManage IT Assistant 8.1 Power Monitoring Dell servers that support PMBus will report: Amperage per power supply Power consumption and total energy consumed Peak power and peak amperage per server Energy and power consumption per blade Aggregation of power and energy consumed for a group of servers `}`} Dell OpenManage Server Administrator 5.3 Power Monitoring Enables monitoring and management capabilities, including: Resetting of peak power values Amps per power supply Aggregate watts consumed Aggregate cumulative power drawn Maximum peak power (watts and amps) Power supply input voltage `}`} Dell Energy Smart Servers Features include: Low-voltage Intel Xeon processors Dual-core and quad-core low-voltage processors designed to increase performance per watt Dell low-flow fan technology Controls fan speed based on thermal requirements of the system High-efficiency power supply Designed to draw significantly less energy, helping to maintain cooler internal temperatures 4

5 For more information For more information about the Dell PowerEdge R900, contact your Dell representative or go to DELL.COM/html/us/products/pedge/pedge_r900_flash/pedge_r900_sitelet.html. THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. VMWare is a registered trademark of VMWare, Inc. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. TO LEARN MORE VISIT DELL.COM/Servers

6 TO LEARN MORE VISIT DELL.COM/Servers