IT directors will face increasing problems in deploying
server-based applications in datacentres unless they address the
growing problem of energy shortages, according to analyst group
Gartner.
The analysts warned, "During the next three years, most CIOs
will experience constraints in datacentre floor space and power
that could limit an IT organisation's ability to grow as the
business grows."
Gartner vice-president Rakesh Kumar said that unless the IT
industry and users addressed this issue, in five or six years there
could be insufficient electricity supplies to power UK
datacentres.
Tomorrow (6 September), the British Institute of Facilities
Management Datacentre Networking Group is due to meet to discuss
the problem. The meeting will be attended by about 80 IT directors
and building services managers, including representatives from
major banks and utilities.
On top of datacentre cooling and power requirements, building
infrastructure plays a significant role, according to Tim Smith, a
consultant at advisory firm Energyfactor, who is giving a
presentation at the meeting.
"The biggest consumer of electricity in a datacentre is the
water cooling pumps, followed by UPS [uninterruptible power supply]
systems," he said.
Smith suggested some simple ways that datacentre managers could
improve energy efficiency, such as fitting variable speed drives to
chiller pumps and partitioning the part of the building where the
UPS systems are located so that they can be cooled using normal
ventilation systems.
In the US, the growing energy problem in datacentres is so acute
that the Environmental Protection Agency has been asked to identify
the potential energy and cost savings to the federal government and
private businesses that the purchase of energy efficient servers
would offer.
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