Originating Author: Peter Burris
The first thing to go in any "green" strategy is the assumption that energy-related practices and costs are "given" and invariant, handed to the IT organization by a combination of product attributes, workloads, and utility schedules. However, replacing this perspective requires adoption of a broad set of power, heat, and related energy metrics that can consistently inform decision-making related to data center design, operations, and product selection.
Product-agnostic tools and services for measuring data center efficiency from a power and heat standpoint are being made available by firms like IBM. These tools can provide powerful guidance for optimizing the energy spend required by different sites, floor plans, and even operational practices. However, in the absence of standard metrics for aggregating alternative product options, users will have to rely on vendor claims regarding the power draw and heat dissipation for specific configurations. Over time, standards for reasonably comparing configuration alternatives will emerge, if only to serve vendor aims of contrasting old and new products, which will be critical to completing the energy metrics picture.
Action Item: Energy and heat characteristics must be added to other cost factors (e.g., performance, reliability, changeability, maintenance) when determining the obsolescence of installed equipment.
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