Michiel van Blommestein's Posts - The Data Center Professionals Network2024-03-28T14:08:33ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommesteinhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/363368005?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profiles/blog/feed?user=30sm2q33qmjxd&xn_auth=noIT Techs: Take Note of all Mergers and Acquisitions, For Your Own Goodtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-31:2336802:BlogPost:436502010-08-31T22:06:02.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
It has been a hot summer on the tech front. The Dell-HP battle for 3PAR is still raging, Intel surprised everybody with their McAfee acquisition, and VMware and Citrix are very much in a buying mood as well.<br></br><br></br>The chief question is: <span style="font-weight: bold;">so what?</span><br></br><br></br>Back when I was a journalist for Techworld, we were thinking about fazing out mergers and acquisition news in favour of practical tips for the workplace. Reason was very simple: IT Pros did not read…
It has been a hot summer on the tech front. The Dell-HP battle for 3PAR is still raging, Intel surprised everybody with their McAfee acquisition, and VMware and Citrix are very much in a buying mood as well.<br/><br/>The chief question is: <span style="font-weight: bold;">so what?</span><br/><br/>Back when I was a journalist for Techworld, we were thinking about fazing out mergers and acquisition news in favour of practical tips for the workplace. Reason was very simple: IT Pros did not read (click on) stories about acquisitions. Somehow, they were not interested in what companies are bought by Oracle, VMware and other behemoths.<br/><br/>I can understand this behaviour. You would be hard pressed to think of a reason rank and file IT people could use this information. However, as Techtarget points out, there are definitely reasons <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1519472,00.html?track=sy185">they should</a>.<br/><br/>Here is the thing: an acquisition of a small vendor by a larger one does not just happen because the latter has money to spare. It happens because small vendors are specialised, and ride on the cutting edge of technology. That is also the reason that customers (the companies that employ the IT pros) buy their products, instead of those offered by larger firms. Also, the organisations tend to be smaller, leaner and more focused on their customers than the big ones out there.<br/><br/>What happens after an acquisition? The complete opposite from what the buying party would invariably try to make you believe: A lot, and it is almost never in the customers best interest. <br/><br/>Take Oracle-Sun. Sun clients have been experiencing higher support fees since Oracle took over. That eats into budgets, and that IS a big concern for the IT workers out there. Those who backed out sooner rather than later were right in doing so. <br/><br/>So if you are a 3PAR customer, which of the two suitors (HP and Dell) will be the most destructive one? That is a question you pro's out there should be asking yourselves. Don't worry, you're not a snob when you read some analysis about this bidding war, it just is common sense.<br/><br/>On a side note: this post will be the last one before a longer hiatus. There is been a lot of development on this community, and there will be in the coming month. I am off for a longer holiday. The blog section remains open though. Everyone is free to submit posts and getting them featured. <br/>Debunking the 'Community Benefit' Mythtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-30:2336802:BlogPost:435472010-08-30T20:30:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
How happy should a rural community be when a large corporation decides to build a data center there? Very happy, if we have to believe the local press. Large facility equals large investment equals jobs equals opportunities for the inhabitants, right?<br></br><br></br>Not so, according to ZDNet's blogger David Chernicoff in a <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/datacenter/how-does-a-new-datacenter-benefit-the-community/420">sharp clear post</a>. The problem is that data centers tend to be designed in a…
How happy should a rural community be when a large corporation decides to build a data center there? Very happy, if we have to believe the local press. Large facility equals large investment equals jobs equals opportunities for the inhabitants, right?<br/><br/>Not so, according to ZDNet's blogger David Chernicoff in a <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/datacenter/how-does-a-new-datacenter-benefit-the-community/420">sharp clear post</a>. The problem is that data centers tend to be designed in a way so they do not need much staff to begin with. Even the largest facilities can come around with a crew of 20 or so people. Even those jobs go to people from the outside, as they involve special skills that the company deems necessary. <br/><br/>Actually, to take Chernicoff's arguments further, the local community had to pay a price to allow the data center to be built in the form of rebates and grants. And each tax penny that is not collected, has to be compensated by someone else.<br/><br/>So is there no benefit? Chernicoff only comes up with construction, as this will create temporary jobs in the area. Other than that, zip. <br/><br/>However, he forgets something small. The people from the outside that are coming in, come to live in the community. The data center business does not tend to attract the penniless, so it could help boost something. But even considering this, Chernicoff makes a strong case in debunking the 'data center is great for the community' story. Which is too bad, really.<br/>For your viewing pleasure: John Cleesetag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-27:2336802:BlogPost:433842010-08-27T23:00:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Just a quick post today before the weekend, and this one is based on something the Green Data Center Blog <a href="http://www.greenm3.com/2010/08/john-cleeses-ideas-for-creativity-leveraging-the-unconscious-brain.html">posted earlier today</a>. <br></br><br></br>John Cleese may be getting old, and I have seen him doing promotion for more than one tech company (so he is not the most independent of minds, so to speak). But in all honesty, the man is still a legend. The following clip is about creativity,…
Just a quick post today before the weekend, and this one is based on something the Green Data Center Blog <a href="http://www.greenm3.com/2010/08/john-cleeses-ideas-for-creativity-leveraging-the-unconscious-brain.html">posted earlier today</a>. <br/><br/>John Cleese may be getting old, and I have seen him doing promotion for more than one tech company (so he is not the most independent of minds, so to speak). But in all honesty, the man is still a legend. The following clip is about creativity, but is could very well be applied to the data center business. Enjoy!<br/><br/>
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zGt3-fxOvug?fs=1&hl=nl_NL"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="false"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zGt3-fxOvug?fs=1&hl=nl_NL" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="false" width="640" height="385"></embed> </object>How Biofuel can Ruin your Availabilitytag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-26:2336802:BlogPost:432682010-08-26T21:00:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Big scare going around: more and more authorities are mandating biofuel for use in data center backup generators. While this is great in theory, it is less so in practice, as <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1518927,00.html?track=sy185">this article</a> at Techtarget.<br></br><br></br>To illustrate what is going on, let me tell you about my own experience with my car. I am driving a 1999 Toyota Diesel, which is the fuel the Dutch government hates the most…
Big scare going around: more and more authorities are mandating biofuel for use in data center backup generators. While this is great in theory, it is less so in practice, as <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1518927,00.html?track=sy185">this article</a> at Techtarget.<br/><br/>To illustrate what is going on, let me tell you about my own experience with my car. I am driving a 1999 Toyota Diesel, which is the fuel the Dutch government hates the most (don't worry, I'll get to the link with biofuel very soon). One day in winter, I was driving on the motorway when the car suddenly lost power. Whatever I did, it was impossible to speed up and get moving.<br/><br/>Luckily, I could pull over to a filling station before the car was dead in its tracks. It turned out that the cold weather (by Dutch standards, it was very cold out there, and Diesels don't like that) was the cause, because water drops had formed in the fuel of the devil. The engine did not like that, and stopped as a precaution. After cooling off (no pun intended), I was driving again.<br/><br/>Now this happened with a standard diesel engine. And not just any diesel engine: Toyota built some of the best engines at the time, as they perfected in the rugged <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Hilux">Toyota Hilux</a>. But even this engine was susceptible to this problem.<br/><br/>And here is the catch: chances of this happening increase a thousandfold with biofuels, because they tend te be more contaminated. And no, you cannot just park a backup generator when this happens, because it is usually the last line of defense for a data center to stay operational. So if the engine coughs on fuel imperfection, you can kiss your availability goodbye.<br/><br/>Needless to say that this is causing some concern, especially in some American states where biofuel is mandated. For that reason, the Uptime Institute has written <a href="http://uptimeinstitute.org/content/view/302/281/">a white paper</a> on the subject. But there are more writings out there.<br/><br/>It ain't easy being green.<br/>Microsoft Shows why the Cloud is still Flawedtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-24:2336802:BlogPost:429192010-08-24T20:07:08.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Yesterday was a bad blue monday for customers of Microsoft's hosted business software in North America. A network failure disconnected them from their business productivity suites and hosted mail servers for over two hourse. To make matters worse, it happened at the start of the working day, when people actually DO read their mail and start planning the rest of the week.<br></br><br></br><span id="articleText">"The outage was caused by a network issue that is
now fully resolved, and service has…</span>
Yesterday was a bad blue monday for customers of Microsoft's hosted business software in North America. A network failure disconnected them from their business productivity suites and hosted mail servers for over two hourse. To make matters worse, it happened at the start of the working day, when people actually DO read their mail and start planning the rest of the week.<br/><br/><span id="articleText">"The outage was caused by a network issue that is
now fully resolved, and service has returned to normal. During the<br />
duration of the issue, customers were updated regularly via our normal<br />
communication channels. We sincerely apologize to our customers for any<br />
inconvenience this incident may have caused them," reads Microsoft's statement.</span><br/><br/>Resolved or not, outages like this one are simply unacceptable. Two hours of productivity is a lot, and more importantly: it COSTS a lot. Yes, it can happen with services like hotmail, MSN and the like, but this is corporate stuff we are talking about: BPOS, Exchange Online, Sharepoint Online and all that. <br/><br/>It also lays bare a problem that Cloud Computing is experiencing all over the board: doubts about availability. A problem on the network level immediatly has serious consequences for everybody. SLA or not, downtime is something to be avoided. In the 'traditional' model of computing, a problem could spread out the way this did, but usually it stays quite local. With the cloud, every network problem automatically means an availability problem.<br/><br/>And it is not as if this happened at a small start up vendor. The fact that it happens to Microsoft means that this can happen to everyone (even though users of hotmail might think otherwise). For the cloud, bad press exists, and incidents like this will shoo away potential customers back to their own data centers.<br/>Tips for a Tidy Data Center?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-23:2336802:BlogPost:427622010-08-23T19:27:05.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
I would be the worst data center manager in the world. The reason is very simple: I am very disorganised, and that is probably one of the worst traits to have when you are trying to run an IT facility. As I write this, paperwork is scattered all over my desk, there are countless of browser windows opened at the same time, and the cabling of my one desktop computer reminds me of the plate of spaghetti I ate today, If that is problematic for me, how hard would it be to organise a data…
I would be the worst data center manager in the world. The reason is very simple: I am very disorganised, and that is probably one of the worst traits to have when you are trying to run an IT facility. As I write this, paperwork is scattered all over my desk, there are countless of browser windows opened at the same time, and the cabling of my one desktop computer reminds me of the plate of spaghetti I ate today, If that is problematic for me, how hard would it be to organise a data center?<br/><br/>However, there are many best practices out there to keep a data center organised and tidy. Some of the tricks of this trade are mentioned by <a href="http://www.processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles/P3217/25p17/25p17.asp&guid=C47F8790AE624DDFA2684828D52671CA">this article</a> in Processor magazine: virtualisation and cloud computing, cabling management (something that is already beyond me), raised flooring even if you supply everything from above (in the event of a ruptured water pipe. And yes, it DOES happen...), detailed maps and blueprints (to prevent said ruptured water pipe because someone started drilling a hole where he should not have. Again, this DOES happen) and getting a good rack layout.<br/><br/>So let's say the sloppiest person in the world (ie. me) would start his own data center: Are there any other tips you like to share with us? In what way do you keep your data center manageable?<br/><br/>Is AHSRAE overdoing it?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-20:2336802:BlogPost:426652010-08-20T20:00:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Nail, head, hammer, perfect strike? Or failing to hit the broad side of a barn? I just quickly wanted to point out to <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3816:ashrae-mandating-use-of-economizers&catid=40&Itemid=43">this article</a> on the site of Data Center Journal. As the call for data center efficiency grows louder by more and more stakeholders (and even non-stakeholders), so does the call for regulation.<br></br><br></br>The American…
Nail, head, hammer, perfect strike? Or failing to hit the broad side of a barn? I just quickly wanted to point out to <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3816:ashrae-mandating-use-of-economizers&catid=40&Itemid=43">this article</a> on the site of Data Center Journal. As the call for data center efficiency grows louder by more and more stakeholders (and even non-stakeholders), so does the call for regulation.<br/><br/>The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has been a prime example of this, as they are actively re-working their standards.<br/><br/>That means there is a danger for over-regulation. For example, ASHRAE is proposing mandating the use of economisers. You can imagine that there is some concern over this from the industry. Economisers are not the only way to cool facilities, and mandating them would mean locking out other alternatives.<br/><br/>So what is your take: is ASHRAE going too far? Or are they doing the right thing here?<br/>Intel Buys a Big Mactag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-19:2336802:BlogPost:426492010-08-19T22:01:34.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
The acquisition of McAfee by Intel is unquestionably one of the biggest takeovers of this year. Potentially, this is going to rock the IT world as much as, say Oracle-Sun did last year. With a sum of almost 7.7 billion dollar, it is a large buy even for a giant like Intel. And it shows Intel means business, as the price reflects a 62 percent premium on the share price of the day the deal was made.<br></br><br></br>Why? Obviously,…
The acquisition of McAfee by Intel is unquestionably one of the biggest takeovers of this year. Potentially, this is going to rock the IT world as much as, say Oracle-Sun did last year. With a sum of almost 7.7 billion dollar, it is a large buy even for a giant like Intel. And it shows Intel means business, as the price reflects a 62 percent premium on the share price of the day the deal was made.<br/><br/>Why? Obviously, <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9180942/Intel_McAfee_deal_baffles_security_analysts">most experts are surprised</a> by this takeover. Intel is pure hardware. McAfee is pure software. The customer base is different. There is no synergy between the companies. McAfee does not even do appliance based security. <br/><br/>However, there is some method to this madness. The main reason Intel gives for buying McAfee at first glance looks illogical. As mentioned before, McAfee does not do security on the level of the chip, so when Intel says that hardware security is becoming more and more vital, it is just hurling sand in our eyes. But the other reason is much more logical: mobile devices.<br/><br/>Think about it: mobile devices are computer systems in their own right, with as many (if not more) attack vectors for malware. By buying McAfee, Intel buys the number two in security, so they are actually buying knowledge. When Intel would, say, bring a new smartphone to market, they can inbed antimalware in the system. And guess what: smartphones are more closed than normal IT systems. So the whole security sphere is covered by Intel. This business model is quite proven in a broader context: the iPhone.<br/><br/>One has to wonder if Intel succeeds in making McAfee's software less bloated as it is now.<br/><br/>What do you think?<br/>New Brocade Facility Implements Own Innovationtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-18:2336802:BlogPost:426102010-08-18T21:44:17.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Brocade has opened <a href="http://datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=950FED3803994A80A7FF5AD0E9DDBD76">a new facility</a> near their San Jose headquarters, reports DatacenterDynamics. And yes, it is all about drinking one's own poison. <br></br><br></br>The vendor consolidated three R&D facilities into the new 5,000 sq ft data center, reducing physical footprint of its research labs by 30 percent…
Brocade has opened <a href="http://datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=950FED3803994A80A7FF5AD0E9DDBD76">a new facility</a> near their San Jose headquarters, reports DatacenterDynamics. And yes, it is all about drinking one's own poison. <br/><br/>The vendor consolidated three R&D facilities into the new 5,000 sq ft data center, reducing physical footprint of its research labs by 30 percent and energy consumption by 37 percent, according to a news release. The idea is that the reduction in energy use will eliminate 4,450 tons of CO2 emissions per year.<br/><br/>The flagship feature of Brocade is its NetIron MLX technology. It "allowed engineers to eliminate the need for an aggregation layer in the data center’s network and to collapse access and aggregation layers into a flat Layer 2 network," so states the article. "In addition to reducing capital outlay and simplifying operations, connecting network edge directly to the core decreased space, power and cooling requirements in the facility."<br/><br/>Ok, I'll be completely honest here: I don't understand outright what they are on about. But I do want to know. Anyone able to explain it to me.<br/><br/>By the way: Brocade claim a PUE of 1.3, which is reasonable enough to believe. <br/><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SccDsLJRsrI?fs=1&hl=nl_NL"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="never"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SccDsLJRsrI?fs=1&hl=nl_NL" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="never" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Powering Servers with Waste Heattag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-17:2336802:BlogPost:425082010-08-17T20:00:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Everybody here should know the concept of <span style="font-style: italic;">perpetual motion.</span> Also, I can assume that it is known that this concept is purely hypothetical. That's too bad, because otherwise we might have had the perfect solution for data centers at hand: the perpetual motion of heat-to-electricity for servers, that again generate the heat.<br></br><br></br>Applied Methodologies Inc.…
Everybody here should know the concept of <span style="font-style: italic;">perpetual motion.</span> Also, I can assume that it is known that this concept is purely hypothetical. That's too bad, because otherwise we might have had the perfect solution for data centers at hand: the perpetual motion of heat-to-electricity for servers, that again generate the heat.<br/><br/>Applied Methodologies Inc. <a href="http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2010/08/17/servers-that-generate-their-own-power/">have explored this idea</a> with a new design that uses heat from IT equipment to generate power for the servers and switches in a data center. They are not the first, and while this looks very simple (heat, after all, is energy. And servers need energy) there is one humongous catch: the heat generated by data centers is typically too little to harness effectively. <br/><br/>However, it seems that AMI is ready to put its idea into practice and is looking for potential OEMS to help them with their so-called <a href="http://www.amilabs.com/tgs/">Thermoelectric Generation Systems</a>. The company says a 1U TGS server can generate 10 volts and 5 amps at current efficiency levels. It is proudly showing off its prototypes on Youtube:<br/>
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<br/><br/>My gut tells me it is a bit too convuluted to be practical, just as the 19th century 'perpetually moving' devices designed by inventors tended to be. But still, it is an important area to explore. Besides, if all else fails you can always use the heat to warm the company cafetaria.<br/>The Storage War Comes to an End...tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-16:2336802:BlogPost:423952010-08-16T21:43:41.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
...and will probably enter an era of cold consolidation, as giant Dell <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/16/dell_buys_3par/">has bought 3PAR</a>. That means this space is now almost exclusively taken up by the big boys: HP, IBM, and Hitachi Data Systems (which, admittedly, is the odd one out). Still, it is yet another sign that the entire data center will be consolidated to a couple of large vendors, where the only way for them to survive is by being gobbled up by one of the IT…
...and will probably enter an era of cold consolidation, as giant Dell <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/16/dell_buys_3par/">has bought 3PAR</a>. That means this space is now almost exclusively taken up by the big boys: HP, IBM, and Hitachi Data Systems (which, admittedly, is the odd one out). Still, it is yet another sign that the entire data center will be consolidated to a couple of large vendors, where the only way for them to survive is by being gobbled up by one of the IT giants. <br/><br/>3PAR is, in many respects, such a wonderful company. Its strength lies in the design of its clustered high-end Fibre Channel enterprise class storage systems. By using ASIC-based hardware and virtualisation layers, the performance of 3PAR kit is quite renowned. Also, it is easy to manage. <br/><br/>Probably, that will continue now that Dell has taken over, and the products will be running alongside the Dell EqualLogic range. It cost Dell a pretty sum (1.15 billion dollars), but that apparently is how much innovation is worth nowadays.<br/><br/>As The Register mentions, the next logical step would be to be an ethernet switch vendor, but Brocade would be too obvious for my taste. Maybe Juniper? Who knows.<br/><br/>There is one disturbing aspect here: clearly, it shows how poor the large vendors are in thinking up something new themselves. On the other hand: has it ever been different?<br/>The Pros and Cons of CFDtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-13:2336802:BlogPost:420922010-08-13T20:21:24.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
While we have been discussing the merits and flaws of PUE, another computational model is making great strides in the data center sphere: Computational Fluid Dynamic, or CFD. However, the whole concept is totally different.<br></br><br></br>Because where PUE focuses on bringing a straightforward, easy to use calculation on data center efficiency, the core value of CFD is accurate tracking of the air flow. In cooling, air flow is (of course) vital and probably one of the most difficult things to…
While we have been discussing the merits and flaws of PUE, another computational model is making great strides in the data center sphere: Computational Fluid Dynamic, or CFD. However, the whole concept is totally different.<br/><br/>Because where PUE focuses on bringing a straightforward, easy to use calculation on data center efficiency, the core value of CFD is accurate tracking of the air flow. In cooling, air flow is (of course) vital and probably one of the most difficult things to track.<br/><br/>You can compare it with the weather forecast: while there are very knowledgable institutions at work, they are rarely spot on in their predictions because of the complex nature of wind, pressure, humidity etc. That makes CFD so tricky: air flows are dependent on many things, which is why software to track CFD is so damn expensive. It starts at 7500 dollar for a year license. That is no small sum for a start up. <br/><br/>So should you go for it? That is <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3798:computational-fluid-dynamics-cfd-wise-investment-or-unnecessary-expense&catid=120&Itemid=100116">the question</a> Data Center Journal poses. The basic answer the Journal brings is: maybe, if you are running a large facility. Smaller data centers should stay well clear, since 'cheaper' solutions actually sacrifice the one thing that would make CFD so interesting: accuracy.<br/><br/>I agree wholeheartedly. Why would you even invest in something that is meant to give you accuracy, when going for the budget option actually denies you your basic need? Is CFD worth it anyway, as thermic camera's can give us a good insight in where the hotspots lie?<br/><br/>Another thing that puzzles me is this: isn't CFD originally <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_fluid_dynamics">designed to track fluid flows</a>? What is it that makes data center hot air/cold air fluids all of the sudden?<br/>Yeah, more predictions!tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-12:2336802:BlogPost:420462010-08-12T21:12:30.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
My hiatus is over, and I have to say: it was a bit short considering the fact that Polish-Lithuanian weddings are quite taxing on both body and mind (especially if you are the groom). <br></br><br></br>But that does not mean that the data center world is standing still, and especially Data Center Professionals. The new discussions and blog posts are really interesting. Keep it up!<br></br><br></br>The first thing I got in my mail was a so-called…
My hiatus is over, and I have to say: it was a bit short considering the fact that Polish-Lithuanian weddings are quite taxing on both body and mind (especially if you are the groom). <br/><br/>But that does not mean that the data center world is standing still, and especially Data Center Professionals. The new discussions and blog posts are really interesting. Keep it up!<br/><br/>The first thing I got in my mail was a so-called <a href="http://viewer.media.bitpipe.com/1083363042_135/1270844807_267/Expert-Guide-to-Server-Virtualization.pdf">Expert Guide</a> on server virtualisation, brought to us by TechTarget and sponsored by EMC. It brings six 'predictions', and I put that between quotation marks because I had a strong feeling I read them before. As in, time and time again.<br/><br/>The main problem I have with these lists is that you can publish them every year at leisure, pretending you are an expert. This list is, unfortunately, no different: hypervisors will evolve further, virtualisation will play a larger role in disaster recovery, more server consolidation (yawn), test and development (roll up eyes), storage and security. It reads like a document EMC wrote at the end of 2009, and decided to bring it into circulation again in the summer. It might have been interesting if they put in some kind of update on how things stand. They did not.<br/><br/>Could anyone here please give me a new thought on virtualisation? Are there any areas that vendors just seem to miss and for which virtualisation can be interesting? Right now, it just seems as a commodity to me...<br/><br/><br/>A Case with Containerstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-03:2336802:BlogPost:411382010-08-03T20:26:29.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Quick post today. Case studies are one way for writers to make a living, and I speak out of expierence that it is actually quite a challenge. Recently, containerised data centers are in, and Techtarget published <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1517536,00.html">a short case</a> of Purdue that are implementing the HP POD. Now, this case study is a bit broader than the usual paid-for article, so it is an ok read if your planning to dabble with…
Quick post today. Case studies are one way for writers to make a living, and I speak out of expierence that it is actually quite a challenge. Recently, containerised data centers are in, and Techtarget published <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1517536,00.html">a short case</a> of Purdue that are implementing the HP POD. Now, this case study is a bit broader than the usual paid-for article, so it is an ok read if your planning to dabble with containerised data centers<br/><br/>In other news today: I am going to take a short blogging hiatus (one week) starting tomorrow. I have quite pressing matters to attend to. However, I will be back and blogging again on wednesday 11 August.<br/>APC and Software???tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-08-02:2336802:BlogPost:410822010-08-02T19:52:43.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
We all know APC (they like to add: 'By Schneider Electric', but that makes it a bit convoluted if you ask me...) as one of the big vendors of power supplies, cooling systems and what not. Together with Emerson, they are also one of the loudest when it comes to PR. <br></br><br></br>But among those less interesting announcements, you sometimes see one that makes you sit up for a while. This one from last week did that to me, actually:…
We all know APC (they like to add: 'By Schneider Electric', but that makes it a bit convoluted if you ask me...) as one of the big vendors of power supplies, cooling systems and what not. Together with Emerson, they are also one of the loudest when it comes to PR. <br/><br/>But among those less interesting announcements, you sometimes see one that makes you sit up for a while. This one from last week did that to me, actually: <a href="http://www.apc.com/site/press_center/index.cfm/apc-by-schneider-electric-establishes-a-dedicated-software-business-for-data-center-monitoring-planning-and-modeling/">APC is going to open a separate software branch</a>.<br/><br/>Excuse me? The software seems to me one of the last selling points APC can run on. While it is adequate to manage most of their hardware kit, but I seriously don't see the use of the software for 'umbrella management' of entire facilities. <br/><br/>But here it is, and from a competition perspective, they were forced to really. Emerson, their main rival, is miles ahead on software. The formalisation of software is something APC really needed to do in order to play a role in the ever more diversivying data center landscape.<br/><br/>To freshen up you memory, APC currently has the following offering of management software:<br/>
<br/>
<span id="ContentBody"></span><ul>
<li><span id="ContentBody">InfraStruxure Central, for data gathering and monitoring</span></li>
<li><span id="ContentBody">InfraStruxure Capacity</span></li>
<li><span id="ContentBody">InfraStruxure Change, for planning and optimization</span></li>
<li><span id="ContentBody">InfraStruxure Energy, for modeling and analysis of energy use</span></li>
</ul>
The man that is going to lead the new software business is Soeren Jensen, the current VP of data center software.<br/>Finally: A Call Against the Green Teatag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-30:2336802:BlogPost:408062010-07-30T21:01:13.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
I was having this feeling for ages, but finally Doug Mohney (the main writer for <a href="http://www.greendatacenternews.org/">Green Data Center News</a>) has put a great analysis that <a href="http://www.greendatacenternews.org/articles/118676/looking-towards-the-post-green-era-by-doug-moheny/">words</a> almost exactly how I feel.<br></br><br></br>Personally, I call this the problem of the 'Green Tea'. Because every vendor is trying to put 'green' in their PR efforts as much as possible, it is getting…
I was having this feeling for ages, but finally Doug Mohney (the main writer for <a href="http://www.greendatacenternews.org/">Green Data Center News</a>) has put a great analysis that <a href="http://www.greendatacenternews.org/articles/118676/looking-towards-the-post-green-era-by-doug-moheny/">words</a> almost exactly how I feel.<br/><br/>Personally, I call this the problem of the 'Green Tea'. Because every vendor is trying to put 'green' in their PR efforts as much as possible, it is getting extremely diluted. The bag holding PR green is only so large that it serves a set amount of cups. That amount has long been crossed many times over. I, for example, am getting blind to the word green in press releases and announcements. <br/><br/>Doug has a similar story, but where I can only helplessly rant as the journalist I am, he actually analyses it pretty neatly. For example:<br/><br/>"Practices in the Post-Green Era will revolve around the
themes of rightsizing, sustainability, and carbon-footprint. Too many companies are happy about<br />
bragging about how they are building more green data centers rather than<br />
consolidating operations through virtualization and eliminating excessive data<br />
storage, outsourcing when they can, and building from scratch only as a last<br />
and final resort."<br/><br/>That hits it on the head pretty well. I am still <a href="http://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profiles/blogs/bloom-energy-something-does">a bit more sceptical</a> when it comes to that Bloom Energy Server than Mohney though...<br/>The Design Fantastictag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-29:2336802:BlogPost:407352010-07-29T18:39:09.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Data Center Knowledge is running an article on some of the <a href="http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2010/07/29/ten-unique-data-center-designs/">most interesting data center designs in the world</a>. <br></br><br></br>It is truly fascinating on the way engineers think up their building in a way that is both functional and esthetically pleasing. Well, in data centers, it is usually the 'functional' that is leading. But it is possible to get some art out there as well.<br></br><br></br>Some of these…
Data Center Knowledge is running an article on some of the <a href="http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2010/07/29/ten-unique-data-center-designs/">most interesting data center designs in the world</a>. <br/><br/>It is truly fascinating on the way engineers think up their building in a way that is both functional and esthetically pleasing. Well, in data centers, it is usually the 'functional' that is leading. But it is possible to get some art out there as well.<br/><br/>Some of these facilities are extremely well known (and, therefore, mentioned earlier). Who doesn't know the Microsoft Chicago facility, the Yahoo Computing Coot or the Wynyard Facility in Great Britain.<br/><br/>Still, good examples for the rest of the industry, every single one of them.<br/>Yet Another 'Pre-Fab' Data Center Modeltag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-28:2336802:BlogPost:406622010-07-28T18:24:27.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
When Mike Manos came up with the idea to containerise a Microsoft data center in Chicago, he was really on to something. More and more industry leaders come up with their own idea of dividing data centers into modules that are cheap to transport and install.<br></br><br></br>The latest vendor to bring us one is HP, which has christened it the <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179723/HP_says_prefab_data_center_cuts_costs_in_half?taxonomyId=154">Flexible Data Center</a>. Each 'part' is…
When Mike Manos came up with the idea to containerise a Microsoft data center in Chicago, he was really on to something. More and more industry leaders come up with their own idea of dividing data centers into modules that are cheap to transport and install.<br/><br/>The latest vendor to bring us one is HP, which has christened it the <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179723/HP_says_prefab_data_center_cuts_costs_in_half?taxonomyId=154">Flexible Data Center</a>. Each 'part' is 6.000 sq. ft large, and can be freely added to scale up the facility. HP reckons that they can slash construction times in half. <br/><br/>Of course, HP says their own engineers came up with the idea after talking to customers. Personally, I highly doubt that. However, if what they say about their PUE (only 1.2) is true, than they did a good job. Though I suspect them from being creative in that department as well. <br/>Where is the Most Expensive Place to Run a Data Center?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-27:2336802:BlogPost:405852010-07-27T19:40:36.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Today I got a mail from Techtarget containing <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1517200,00.html">an article</a> on how a new law in California could make it extremely expensive to run a data center over there. Now, as the Dutch say: The soup usually is not eaten as hot as it is served, and it won't probably be as bad as some would led you to believe.<br></br><br></br>However, it did make me wonder: where would it be most expensive to run a data center right…
Today I got a mail from Techtarget containing <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1517200,00.html">an article</a> on how a new law in California could make it extremely expensive to run a data center over there. Now, as the Dutch say: The soup usually is not eaten as hot as it is served, and it won't probably be as bad as some would led you to believe.<br/><br/>However, it did make me wonder: where would it be most expensive to run a data center right now? What factors play a role? Just a thought experiment, nothing fancy. And to be honest: I expect those places where a normal house is expensive would be equally so for data centers.<br/><br/>Too bad though that Google basically only gives me American examples, so that will have to do. Bloomberg runs <a href="http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/08/0804_cloudcomputing/1.htm">a slideshow</a> with a top 5. And yes: the most expensive places are in California (Oakland and San Francisco) and on the East Coast (Boston, Newark and, unsurprisingly, New York). No surprises here. By the way: they also give a list of the cheapest places to build a DC, and guess what: Montana, Indiana, North Carolina, Alabama and South Dakota. You don't need to be a real estate analyst to figure that out.<br/><br/>However, a totally different article gave me a total different view on it all. <a href="http://larrycheng.com/2009/09/16/the-most-expensive-commercial-real-estate-in-the-world-is-a-place-for-computers-not-people/">I think this guy is spot on</a>: the most expensive place would be there where the lines to the transaction servers of financial institutions might be the most expensive place for digital real estate. <br/><br/>Or maybe it is <a href="http://it.slashdot.org/story/10/07/23/1142249/Managing-the-Remotest-Data-Center-In-the-World">this place</a>, where it is also impossible to get to for most mortals.<br/><br/>So how are the prices in your region?<br/>Better be a Friend of BICSItag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-26:2336802:BlogPost:405402010-07-26T20:35:49.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Most of you would be familiar with BICSI (Building Industry Consulting Service International), the international information technology systems association. Their involvement with the data center sphere goes back a good while, and their influence in especially the US is profound on a tech knowledge level.<br></br><br></br>This month, the group has announced two partnerships. A new <a href="http://www.bicsi.org/uploadedFiles/PDFs/News_Articles/News0610_InfoComm_Release.pdf">'friendship agreement'</a> is…
Most of you would be familiar with BICSI (Building Industry Consulting Service International), the international information technology systems association. Their involvement with the data center sphere goes back a good while, and their influence in especially the US is profound on a tech knowledge level.<br/><br/>This month, the group has announced two partnerships. A new <a href="http://www.bicsi.org/uploadedFiles/PDFs/News_Articles/News0610_InfoComm_Release.pdf">'friendship agreement'</a> is signed with InfoComm, a group that supports audio-visual professionals. The other one is a <a href="http://www.bicsi.org/uploadedFiles/PDFs/News_Articles/News0610_InfoComm_Release.pdf">continuation of the partnership</a> with the TIA, the Telecommunications Industry Association.<br/><br/>Now what do both groups have in common? Exactly: they cannot exist without IT nowadays. Telco's have some of the heaviest, most demanding data centers out there, while the audio-visual industry relies on better and better connectivity.<br/><br/>The agreement means that the groups will coordinate their standards efforts, making sure they keep in line with one another. Also, there will be significant knowledge transfers between the groups, and certificates will undergo harmonisation where needed. <br/><br/>This also shows that IT is the good samaritan here, because it is less dependent on the other sectors in the way they are dependent to IT. It is in their good interest to sign a contract like this with BICSI and similar groups.<br/><br/>We will see a lot more of these in the coming years.<br/>The Top Mistakes in Data Center Operationstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-23:2336802:BlogPost:402022010-07-23T21:23:38.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Over at the Green Data Center Blog, Dave Ohara <a href="http://www.greenm3.com/2010/07/top-10-mistakesopportunities-in-data-center-operations-my-1-implement-quality-system.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenDataCenterBlog+%28Green+Data+Center+Blog%29">draws attention</a> to a <a href="http://info.leetechnologies.com/bid/42772/Top-10-Mistakes-of-Data-Center-Operations">white paper by Lee Technologies</a> that claims to point out the ten worst mistakes…
Over at the Green Data Center Blog, Dave Ohara <a href="http://www.greenm3.com/2010/07/top-10-mistakesopportunities-in-data-center-operations-my-1-implement-quality-system.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenDataCenterBlog+%28Green+Data+Center+Blog%29">draws attention</a> to a <a href="http://info.leetechnologies.com/bid/42772/Top-10-Mistakes-of-Data-Center-Operations">white paper by Lee Technologies</a> that claims to point out the ten worst mistakes made in the way data centers are run. Now the thing is, I have little taste in registering myself to download a white paper, but it is a good thing Green Data Center Blog gives us a summary.<br/><br/>The order Lee Technologies uses is: <br/> <br/>1: Not including your operations team in facility design2: Relying too much on data center design <br/><br/>3: Failure to correctly address the staffing requirement <br/><br/>4: Failure to train and develop your talent <br/><br/>5: Failing to consistently drill and test skills <br/><br/>6: Failure to overlay your operations program with documented processes and procedures <br/><br/>7: Failure to implement appropriate processes and procedures <br/><br/>8: Failure to develop and implement Quality Systems <br/><br/>9: Failure to use software management tools<br/> <br/>10: Thinking you can build a best in breed program as quickly as a data center<br/><br/>You can debate this, of course, and as always lists like this should not be taken as the infallible word of everything beyond. However, as Ohara points out, you can use it as a base and determine your own list of failures.<br/><br/>To usher in the weekend with a positive (though a tad cliche'd) note: mistakes are a great way to learn.<br/>Measuring Cooling, Step by Steptag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-22:2336802:BlogPost:401262010-07-22T20:56:53.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Short post today. Wesley Smith, Director of Operations for Tier IV facility FIBERWORLD, has written a short <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3730:the-secret-to-measuring-and-optimizing-data-center-cooling-performance&catid=26&Itemid=100125">step-by-step guide</a> on how to measure the effectiveness of your cooling. It is posted to Data Center Journal.<br></br><br></br>Frankly, it is kind of basic and most of it should be standard fare…
Short post today. Wesley Smith, Director of Operations for Tier IV facility FIBERWORLD, has written a short <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3730:the-secret-to-measuring-and-optimizing-data-center-cooling-performance&catid=26&Itemid=100125">step-by-step guide</a> on how to measure the effectiveness of your cooling. It is posted to Data Center Journal.<br/><br/>Frankly, it is kind of basic and most of it should be standard fare for any seasoned data center operative (I mean, <strong style="font-weight: normal;">'Understanding your IT load</strong>' is a bit duhh'ish...). But I guess it is ok to draw up a quick cheat sheet.<br/>Measuring Cooling Step by Steptag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-22:2336802:BlogPost:401242010-07-22T20:52:33.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Short post today. Wesley Smith, Director of Operations of Tier IV facility FIBERTOWN, has drawn up a little <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3730:the-secret-to-measuring-and-optimizing-data-center-cooling-performance&catid=26&Itemid=100125">step-by-step list</a> on determining how effective your cooling is. He did so for Data Center Journal. <br></br><br></br>Frankly, it is not very comprehensive while most of the points he mentions…
Short post today. Wesley Smith, Director of Operations of Tier IV facility FIBERTOWN, has drawn up a little <a href="http://datacenterjournal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3730:the-secret-to-measuring-and-optimizing-data-center-cooling-performance&catid=26&Itemid=100125">step-by-step list</a> on determining how effective your cooling is. He did so for Data Center Journal. <br/><br/>Frankly, it is not very comprehensive while most of the points he mentions should be standard knowledge for any data center operative. However, it could be useful for drawing up a cheat sheet.<br/>A Small List of Fire Suppression Productstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-21:2336802:BlogPost:400182010-07-21T21:04:21.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
It is one of those systems that you hope you would never have any use for. And even if it shows its use, you curse the day that it was needed. I am, of course, writing about fire suppression systems. <br></br><br></br>If poorly chosen, the fire extinguisher can be more devastating than the fire itself. I mean, I would not like a sprinkler system hovering above my home pc, let alone that a manager would like one looming over his super critical servers.<br></br><br></br>Good thing there are lots of alternatives…
It is one of those systems that you hope you would never have any use for. And even if it shows its use, you curse the day that it was needed. I am, of course, writing about fire suppression systems. <br/><br/>If poorly chosen, the fire extinguisher can be more devastating than the fire itself. I mean, I would not like a sprinkler system hovering above my home pc, let alone that a manager would like one looming over his super critical servers.<br/><br/>Good thing there are lots of alternatives nowadays. But which one is best for what situation? <br/><br/>Processor magazine has published <a href="http://processor.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Fp3215%2F17cp15%2F17cp15.asp&guid=699C9F12E87942748A57597CE325EB2A&searchtype=&WordList=&bJumpTo=True">a very nice overview</a> in its Product Spotlight section about extinguishers. Although these are just a very small selection, the good thing about this list is that is specifies for what situation a particular product is suited best. And it might give you an idea or two what kind of suppresion you would like.<br/><br/>Or you can just rebuild the whole facility using insurance money.<br/>Is the Crisis over for Data Centers? Survey Says...tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-20:2336802:BlogPost:399812010-07-20T21:19:44.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
...Not yet. That is basically what the annual <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1516863,00.html">Purchasing Survey Repor</a>t conducted by TechTarget says. The survey is conducted last spring and has more than a thousand respondents, nearly all of them in the United States.<br></br><br></br>First the somewhat good news: even though a massive 20 percent of data center managers say they are facing budget cuts, that is down from 40 percent last year. 46 percent…
...Not yet. That is basically what the annual <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid80_gci1516863,00.html">Purchasing Survey Repor</a>t conducted by TechTarget says. The survey is conducted last spring and has more than a thousand respondents, nearly all of them in the United States.<br/><br/>First the somewhat good news: even though a massive 20 percent of data center managers say they are facing budget cuts, that is down from 40 percent last year. 46 percent even anticipate a budget increase. <br/><br/>But now the somewhat sobering personal conclusion: To be honest, that is still not the most reassuring thing I have laid my eyes on, as last year was a tried and true massacre. You would think it should stop. While it slows down, it does not stop.<br/><br/>Some other eye catchers: <br/><br/>-'Green' is actually declining in interest, as only a third has checked is as 'very important. Managers do keep spending on their infrastructure though, so that might be just symbolic. <br/><br/>- Only 8 percent of surveyed are planning to adopt (public) cloud computing, That's extremely poor.<br/><br/>- System management is getting more and more popular as a spending area.<br/><br/>- Blade servers are suffering a demasque. Where you would expect een increase in use, it is actually dropping. Apparently, data centers are throwing them out.<br/><br/>- Hyper-V is not really taking off, with a total of 10 percent of managers saying they are using it (4 percent Hyper-V, 6 percent Hyper-V R2). Give it time though, it hasn't been that long on the market.<br/><br/>OpenStack: The LAMP for the Cloud?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-19:2336802:BlogPost:399362010-07-19T22:19:13.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Today saw the official announcement of <a href="http://openstack.org/">OpenStack</a>, an open source cloud platform from Rackspace. It basically consists of two parts (for now that is): object storage and a compute pack.<br></br><br></br>For now, all we get is early code of the compute pack. But just in terms of potential impact, OpenStack could actually be quite significant as it is aimed at a very broad industry base and it is completely open. So my question would be: could OpenStack be for the cloud…
Today saw the official announcement of <a href="http://openstack.org/">OpenStack</a>, an open source cloud platform from Rackspace. It basically consists of two parts (for now that is): object storage and a compute pack.<br/><br/>For now, all we get is early code of the compute pack. But just in terms of potential impact, OpenStack could actually be quite significant as it is aimed at a very broad industry base and it is completely open. So my question would be: could OpenStack be for the cloud that what the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python) stack was for application servers? <br/><br/>I know that there is <a href="http://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/page/by-company">at least one Microsoft</a> member here, and it would be nice to know what this means for, say, Azure.<br/>Finally: A Standard Way to Measure PUEtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-16:2336802:BlogPost:398262010-07-16T20:40:03.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
They waited for the hottest months of the season (that is, on the northern hemisphere), but a taskforce led by The Green Grid has finally laid out plans to come to a standard way to measure PUE. They have published their proposal in <a href="http://www.thegreengrid.org/%7E/media/WhitePapers/RecommendationsforMeasuringandReportingOverallDataCenterEfficiency2010-07-15.ashx?lang=en">this white paper</a>. As things stand, this is the proposal for stand alone data centers, not computer rooms…
They waited for the hottest months of the season (that is, on the northern hemisphere), but a taskforce led by The Green Grid has finally laid out plans to come to a standard way to measure PUE. They have published their proposal in <a href="http://www.thegreengrid.org/%7E/media/WhitePapers/RecommendationsforMeasuringandReportingOverallDataCenterEfficiency2010-07-15.ashx?lang=en">this white paper</a>. As things stand, this is the proposal for stand alone data centers, not computer rooms integrated into other buildings (ie. offices). <br/><br/>Now you might be confused. Is PUE not a fairly easy metric? And isn't it not widely used already? Yes and yes. However, the problem lies in the details. As you know, PUE is the total energy consumption divided by the energy consumption by IT. The problem is: what is energy consumption anyway? Is it the peak total energy demand, or the peak annual energy? Where do you measure IT consumption? Isn't a processor fan technically part of the cooling infrastructure instead of IT?<br/><br/>Even with these discussions going on, PUE is still a very useful metric. for example, it is great if you use it to compare the performance of your data center this year, compared to the year before. You can immediately determine what the gains are from new equipment or that new lay out you chose. As long as you are consistent in determining your PUE in the same way over and over, nothing really can go wrong.<br/><br/>Where things start to go awry is when you want to compare different data centers with each other. PUE in its current form is just adequate for that. Sure, for PR reasons many companies pride themselves on data centers with PUE's in the 1.2's, but that's just on the surface. Right now, those claims do not mean anything.<br/><br/>And so, here it is: a standard. Actually, four different ways of measuring PUE are proposed, depending on the situation. As a result, you can only compare a PUE1 facility with another PUE1 facility, and not with a PUE0 or PUE3 facility. The reason for this is that some managers prefer to take a snapshot, while others want a very comprehensive measurement over a long period of time, which includes IT workload peaks.<br/><br/>Not only does the taskforce propose to standardise measurement, they also aim at sophisticating the metric itself. For example, PUE as it is now does not discriminate between different power sources. You could start a dedicated wind park the size of Greenland, but your PUE would remain as bad as it was before. Not anymore: they are going to introduce weighing factors.<br/><br/>Later on, the taskforce is planning a version for computer rooms.<br/>Colt's Modular Buildtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-15:2336802:BlogPost:398042010-07-15T20:30:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Ever since Microsoft popularised the concept, modular (or: containerised) data centers are very popular. While they might not be as efficient in the long run as a fully customised data center, the time saved makes it well worth it.<br></br><br></br>Beside Microsoft, more and more vendors are championing this design principle. IBM, HP and Google join the Redmond giant in embracing this idea, in which modules are just chucked inside an unused facility. They even claim nowadays that they can sport PUE's…
Ever since Microsoft popularised the concept, modular (or: containerised) data centers are very popular. While they might not be as efficient in the long run as a fully customised data center, the time saved makes it well worth it.<br/><br/>Beside Microsoft, more and more vendors are championing this design principle. IBM, HP and Google join the Redmond giant in embracing this idea, in which modules are just chucked inside an unused facility. They even claim nowadays that they can sport PUE's in the 1.2's. <br/><br/>The newest addition to this concept is the one thought up by once-telecom provider Colt. Green Data Center News <a href="http://www.greendatacenternews.org/articles/114701/the-instant-new-build-data-center-by-doug-mohney/">describes</a> this this Colt Modular Data Center (MDC) as follows: "A (sic) MDC
design is assembled and tested at an approved factory before being transported and assembled at the final location within four months -- all you need is an empty warehouse and a checkbook." <br/><br/>Sounds simple. So the waiting is for another vendor who will undoubtedly do it faster and more efficiently.<br/>THIS is What You Need to Earn an Energy Startag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-14:2336802:BlogPost:397702010-07-14T20:00:00.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
We have a winner. A month after the program came into effect, the first Energy Star has been granted to a facility. NetApp's RTP datacenter in North Carolina is the first that can <a href="http://www.datacenter-edge.com/content/netapp-rtp-data-center-first-earn-energy-star-status">slap the logo behind the reception desk</a>. <br></br><br></br>This particular data center was opened a year ago, and is used by the storage vendor for R & D<br></br><br></br>The facility scored 99/100 points. Here are some of…
We have a winner. A month after the program came into effect, the first Energy Star has been granted to a facility. NetApp's RTP datacenter in North Carolina is the first that can <a href="http://www.datacenter-edge.com/content/netapp-rtp-data-center-first-earn-energy-star-status">slap the logo behind the reception desk</a>. <br/><br/>This particular data center was opened a year ago, and is used by the storage vendor for R & D<br/><br/>The facility scored 99/100 points. Here are some of the features that makes this data center worthy of an Energy Star, courtesy of DatacenterDynamics:<br/> <br/><span style="font-weight: bold;">* 74 degrees Fahrenheit average supply air temperature: Using a higher temperature threshold on supply air (74 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 55 degrees to 60 degrees Fahrenheit) allows NetApp to dramatically reduce cooling costs.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">* Airside economiser: The data center is cooled by using just outside air (free cooling) 67% of the time during the year.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">* Pressure-controlled room: Modulating fans, based on NetApp's proprietary technology, supply pressure-controlled rooms and regulate the volume of air to avoid oversupplying air and wasting energy.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">* Cold aisle containment: The cold room separates the cold and hot air streams to protect supply air temperatures from being affected by hot air returning from the</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">racks.</span><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><br style="font-weight: bold;"/><span style="font-weight: bold;">* Overhead air distribution: Instead of pumping cold air up through the floors (raised floors), overhead air distribution takes advantage of cold/hot air buoyancy and eliminates ductwork, reducing the energy needed for fans.</span><br/><br/>So there you have it. Just to <a href="http://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profiles/blogs/what-data-centers-and">refresh your memory</a>: the label is only awarded to facilities that are in the top 25 percent of their peers. I do wonder though how they can say that for the applications that are coming in now. And are Energy Stars later revokes if a facility 'slides down the rungs' when newer data centers open their doors?<br/><br/>I am still highly sceptical about the whole scheme. But NetApp have something to cheer about.<br/><br/>Kyoto Wheeling, or no Dealing?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2010-07-13:2336802:BlogPost:397412010-07-13T19:24:16.000ZMichiel van Blommesteinhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/MichielvanBlommestein
Quick post today. The Kyoto Wheel has been around since 2007, so it is fair to assess this technology in cooling data centers as a 'mature' concept. Those of you who are already using it know the answer already: Yes, amazingly this somewhat cumbersome brute is actually quite effective in using outside air to cool your data centers.<br></br><br></br>Techtarget have written <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid80_gci1516553,00.html">a sort of review</a> of the Kyoto Wheel,…
Quick post today. The Kyoto Wheel has been around since 2007, so it is fair to assess this technology in cooling data centers as a 'mature' concept. Those of you who are already using it know the answer already: Yes, amazingly this somewhat cumbersome brute is actually quite effective in using outside air to cool your data centers.<br/><br/>Techtarget have written <a href="http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid80_gci1516553,00.html">a sort of review</a> of the Kyoto Wheel, giving an overview of the workings of this slow-moving, hulking monstrosity. It has some great strengths (low energy consumption, efficiency) as well as mighty drawbacks (space, not very usable in the warmer parts of the year). But the general conclusion remains that the Kyoto Wheel is a very viable and mature solution for data center cooling.<br/>