Do Green Data Centers Exist?

As the New Year starts on a high note for some, and a low note for others, one thing is for certain, 'green' is in. However, figuring out what green really means is a whole new problem. For the IT world, the word 'green' has been thrown around so many times, the facts have been lost. Especially for companies that sole business revolves around data centers, the word 'green' may cause fear.

 

Let's face it; data centers can never become fully green. The purpose of these centers is to provide ample amount of backup power, cooling, lighting, and energy at a low cost. Ultimately, the pure number of technical equipment on causes heat that in turn casts waste into the atmosphere. Even for 'green' data centers that waste will never cease to exist.

 

Companies are pitching, 'cheapest dedicated servers' without concern for 'green.' For the few companies that fit in the middle of this complex Venn diagram, finding renewable energy centers is the only way. To be on the correct path to 'greenness-es,' the application that runs your hardware must be on some sort of carbon reduction enabler. Although your service may reduce transport emissions it still releases high levels of carbon through the servers that is hosting it. Consider selecting a machine that offers the best combination of operations per a second, per a watt, and minimum idle power. Add a high-inlet temperature tolerance and high delta-T to top off your power-efficient IT infrastructure.

 

Now that the server is picked, consider some other important factors including consolidating client's business to gain load volume on a 24/7 basis. De-duplication is essential, do not allow a server to sit idle; consider target core utilization above 30%. Continuous refreshing the IT hardware will further ensure operations per a watt performance and server power supply is efficient.

 

The location of your data center matters too. Consider a data center in San Francisco, high humidity levels, chance of earthquake, extreme conditions. On the other hand, consider a data center in Chicago, beyond windy and cold conditions, virtually no extreme conditions. Due to the lack of extreme conditions, hosting in Chicago is cheaper and better for the environment; less use of cooling hardware and disaster recovery. To maintain green, the data centers should maintain temperatures between 26-27 degrees (Celsius). Plus there should be no mechanical refrigeration, just fans and pumps. Further, the system should not use water for adiabatic cooling unless harvest and stored on site.

 

There is many more ways to ensure the data center you own, use, or are building is 'green.' Doing research on a facility, including, location, temperature, equipment, air waste, etc, should be done prior to placement. Do not forget to consider the state and city in which to place your equipment; some spots are truly better than others. Overall, there are a lot of steps to create 'green' centers, more than many companies are willing to do. Demand your company does it!