Hewlett-Packard has come up with a "smart" cooling
analysis service that places cooling resources where they are
needed the most in server rooms and data centres.
HP is working on two programs for cooling management, static
smart cooling and dynamic smart cooling. Dynamic cooling
management, where an outside company such as HP constantly monitors
and adjusts airflow in server rooms, is still a few years away from
becoming reality, said Brian Donabedian, site planner and
environmental specialist for HP.
Right now, roughly 15% of data centres in the US are looking for
more efficient ways to cool their systems, but that number is
expected to grow as IT departments upgrade equipment,
With smart cooling analysis, IT managers can learn whether they
are wasting energy through general overcooling, when targeted
cooling of a certain area of the data centre would be more
efficient, Donabedian said.
The project is the result of a combined development effort from
HP Labs and HP Services. The services arm will collect data such as
floor area, server requirements and other numerical data, and bring
it back to HP Labs for specialised testing to determine the best
location for cooling technology.
HP measures the airflow patterns in a server room, the placement
of cooling technologies such as air conditioners or raised-floor
cooling ducts, and the overall size of the room, and crunches that
data in a complex modeling software program that creates a 3D image
of the room, the servers, and the pattern of hot and cool air
around the equipment.
By directing the flow of cold air to the locations in a server
room that require it the most, businesses can avoid wasting
electricity and money on overcooling, Donabedian said.
Pricing for the service has not been finalised, but will depend
on a number of factors, including the size of the room, the number
of servers needed to cool, and the overall complexity of the
job.