The upward trend in the growth of data center energy usage has slowed, according to a new study from Stanford professor Jonathan Koomey. The report found that data center power consumption increased by 36 percent from 2005 to 2010, a much smaller increase than the 100 percent gain projected in an influential study Koomey prepared [...]

With any popular movie, there is usually a sequel. It looks like the rise in popularity of the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric has followed the same path. PUE has clearly become the most popularly quoted data center metric lately, perhaps in some cases if only as misguided marketing tool. On May 17th the Data [...]

Since 2008, the largest players in the data center industry have been advocating operating server rooms at warmer temperatures. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and Facebook have all embraced the idea of raising the thermostat in their data centers, saying the benefits of reduced spending on cooling can be substantial, and the practice hasn’t led to elevated [...]

Data center cooling is a constant issue in both initial design and evolution. But a greater issue is the expense in dealing with the challenge. Beyond the cost of buying, installing and power the CRACs (Computer Room Air Conditioning) units is the very real expense of consulting. Typical estimates put consulting fees between $40,000 and [...]

One of the key power usage metrics that I often find our customers requesting is Available Redundant Capacity (ARC). They don’t always ask for it using this name. More simply, they want to know “Where can I safely add new IT equipment without overloading and potentially bringing down my facility?” When viewed from the rack, [...]