The 2013 Study on Data Center Outages

by Marissa Donatone on 9/11/13 8:59 AM

This study identifies the leading causes of data center downtime, and what you can do to prevent them. Read More Here

2013 study on data center outages (1)

Read More

Topics: downtime, Data Center, data center design, reduce downtime, 7x24 exchange

The Benefit of Increasing Return Air Temperatures

by Marissa Donatone on 8/20/13 8:44 AM

benefit of increasing return air temperatures resized 600
Read More

Topics: data center infrastructure, Data Center, data center design, data center infrastructure management, efficient data center, 7x24 exchange, critical air conditioning

DVL Shines The Spotlight On Data Center For Using “Less Watts"

by Mike Rinaldi on 5/31/13 8:55 AM

-- Award recognizes Conde Nast / CBRE for significantly reducing energy consumption. -- 

cbre conde nast

Bristol, PA – May 29, 2013 –DVL Group, a provider of data center infrastructure management solutions, partnered with 12 data centers to help them save at least 1,000,000 watts of electrical energy.

DVL has officially announced a fourth organization that saved the most watts, which earns them the prestigious Less Watts Award.

The winner of the large category, encompassing data centers greater than 5,000 sq. ft., is Conde Nast / CBRE.  CONGRATULATIONS!!

In addition to honoring the winner with the Less Watts Award, DVL is also making a donation of $1,000 in Conde Nast / CBRE's name to the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (DVGBC).

“The Less Watts competition has been a blast,” says DVL Chief Executive Officer Mike Beck.  “Everyone who participated was incredibly cooperative, enthusiastic and just really great to work with. We couldn’t be happier to present the award to this outstanding organization and look forward to helping others save energy with our “Less Watts” program.”  

To learn more about how DVL helps its customers use Less Watts with quality solutions from industry leader Liebert to build dynamic, energy efficient data centers, visit www.dvlnet.com.

 

Read More

Topics: data center infrastructure, Data Center, Green IT, data center design, data center energy, data center infrastructure management, PUE, efficient data center, DVL, Green Technology, energy, Energy Star, 7x24 exchange

ASHRAE: Warmer Data Centers Good for Some, Not All

by Mike Rinaldi on 10/5/12 3:23 PM

Don Beaty has built some of the world’s most efficient data centers. Between 2004 and 2011,  Beaty has been resonsible for crafting recommendations on data center cooling for the leading industry group for heating and cooling professionals. Those dual roles have provided Beaty with a unique vantage point on the evolution of new strategies to cool servers – implementing cutting-edge techniques for the industry’s leading innovator as his “day job,” while working to develop standards and recommendations that can work for a broad spectrum of data center operators.

Beaty has grown accustomed to managing the heat. This week marks the release of the latest guidelines on data center cooling from ASHRAE  (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers), which reflect the growing momentum for operating servers at higher levels of temperature and humidity. “Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments” is published by ASHRAE’s Technical Committee (TC) 9.9, which was co-founded by Beaty and IBM’s Roger Schmidt to provide specialized guidance on data center cooling.
Published on October 5, 2012 by Rich Miller-Data Center Knowledge
psychometric chart

Allowable vs. Recommended ASHRAE Guidelines - Design Your Data Center

The majority of data centers have multiple generations of technology, some type of spinning disc, some type of tape storage and maybe even some mainframe systems.  These data centers can still be extremely energy efficient, but are not going to see the extremes of the ASHRAE design guidelines.  They are the data centers that should probably stay with the ASHRAE recommended guidelines.  Below is an example of the recommended versus allowable ASHRAE Guidelines.  Please note that the recommended temperature guidelines didn’t change in 2011, only the allowable.

•       Temperature

•       2004 – 20C to 25C - Recommended

•       2008 – 18C to 27C - Recommended

•       2011 – 5C to 40C - Allowable

•       Humidity

•       2004 – 40 to 55% - Recommended

•       2008 – 35 to 60% - Recommended

•       2011 – 20 to 80% - Recommended

One thing we are seeing more and more of today is confusion over what temperature and humidity parameters data centers should be designed for.  Most of the discussion seems to assume that there is a monolithic block of data centers that can all be designed the same way.  Nothing could be further from the truth. 

Most of the data centers in existence today have a mixture of technologies and systems that all have varying environmental requirements.  We typically refer to these as mixed use data centers.  Unlike an E-Bay, Google, Microsoft or Apple data center, there is not rack after rack of the same equipment, all with similar operating requirements. 

download-data-center-design-whitepaper

Read More

Topics: Data Center, kW per rack, data center energy, PUE, electrical distribution, reduce downtime, data center outages, 7x24 exchange

7x24 Exchange Data Center Event | Tonight at UPenn

by Mike Rinaldi on 5/31/12 11:56 AM

Register for the upcoming 7x24Exchange Chapter Meeting on May 31, 2012 from 5:30 - 8:30 PM.  
This meeting features 2 great data center presentations 
 
Date: May 31,2012
Host: Information Systems and Computing (ISC) at Penn
Location: Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall in Perelman Quadrangle on the Penn 
Campus | 3417 Spruce Street  Philadelphia, PA  [Map]

Costs:  Member:  $40 | Non-Member:  $60
 
AGENDA
5:30 PM Dinner
6:30 PM Presentations
 
UPenn
Extending the Runway:  Maximizing a Legacy Data Center's Utility Through Strategic Analysis, Reengineering and PlanningFor the past seven years, ISC Computer Operations has been developing creative ways to extend the utility of its Data Center.  See how the combination of strategic analysis, reengineering, and planning using the ITIL Methodology, various tools, and Data Center technologies made this the only IVY League Data Center to achieve ISO 9001:2008 certification.  A virtual tour will help tell the story.Presenter:
Donna M. Manley, IT Sr. Director, University of Pennsylvania
------------------------------------------------------------
Adapting New IT Tools For a Mature Data Center:  How Virtualization, Connectivity and Creativity Transformed a Univserity's Mid Range Platforms and Played A Critical Role in Extending the Useful Life of the Legacy Data Center
Virtualization is one of a number of technical solutions that played a key role in the sustainability of Penn's legacy Data Center.  Hear how the combination and creativity of implementing complimentary technologies added additional years onto the useful life of this facility.Presenter:
William G. Ramirez, IT Technical Director
Read More

Topics: data center infrastructure, data center energy, data center infrastructure management, electrical distribution, data center outages, 7x24 exchange

Subscribe to Our Blog

Recent Posts

Posts by Tag

see all