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1: The Importance of Green IT 11

2. Consolidate and Virtualize

Consolidating IT operations, and using virtualization to reduce server
footprint and energy use, are the most well-recognized and most-often-
implemented efficiency strategies of the past few years. Some of the largest
technology organizations in the world—including Advanced Micro
® ® ® ®
Devices , Hewlett-Packard , Intel , IBM, and Sun Microsystems —have
recently (2008) completed major data center consolidation projects. The
projects also included server consolidation and virtualization. Details on the
significance of virtualization for your IT systems in going to green data cen-
ters is the subject of Chapter 6, “A Most-Significant Step—‘Virtualizing’
Your IT Systems.”

3. Install Energy-Efficient Cooling Units
In most cases, traditional data center design called for bulky computer
room air conditioners (CRAC) units that are placed on the perimeter of the
floor to move large amounts of air around the data center. However, in-row or
supplemental cooling units have been shown to save energy. The in-row units
ptg
typically enclose a row or two of servers, and the backs of all the servers are
pointed into a single “hot” aisle. Heat in the aisle is contained by a roof and
end-row doors, allowing cooling to be applied directly to the heat source,
rather than trying to cool after the heat is dispersed into the general data cen-
ter floor. Details on data center cooling strategies for green data centers are
given in Chapter 8, “What About Chillers, Cooling Tower Fans, and All
That Cooling Equipment Usually Ignored by IT?”

4. Measure and Optimize
In 2009, several groups (including the The Green Grid) are expected to
release important deliverables in the form of metrics that businesses can use
to measure the power-usage effectiveness of facilities infrastructure equip-
ment. Most businesses can already readily identify areas where infrastructure
optimization can achieve increased efficiency by simply monitoring and
measuring their existing infrastructure equipment. The EPA is also working
to create metrics. About 100 companies have indicated that they will provide
raw power data and other information to the EPA for use in developing its
new benchmark. The EPA indicated that the results of the benchmark should
be available by 2010.