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•Guest Column: Reducing Energy Use In The Data Center

By Will Layton, co-founder and vice-president of COPAN Systems Federal Division

Data center costs are on the increase, from exploding amounts of data to the cost of the electricity required to store it, IT managers need solutions that reduce costs on both sides. By some accounts, storage capacity needs are expanding 50% annually, while the cost to cool a data center outweighs the cost to lease the space in which it is housed. There is also huge demand to keep all data on-line, which makes the problem worse by an order of magnitude. Many government data centers are already out of power and cooling.

Data growth within Federal agencies is driven by a number of factors. An August 2007 EPA report, "Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency Public Law 109-431," indicated that growth on the Federal level was being driven by the use of the Internet to publish government information, government regulations requiring digital records retention, national security and the digital provision of government services. In addition, the same report cited that the increased demand for computer resources has led to significant growth in the number of data centers, along with an estimated doubling in the energy used by these servers and the power and cooling infrastructure that supports them.

In an effort to control the Federal agencies' use of power and reduce costs, the government has passed mandates requiring agencies to reduce the amount of power they use in their data centers. Back in 2006, Congress required federal government data centers to install energyefficient servers. President Bush recently signed an executive order requiring federal organizations to find ways to save energy. Overall, the Fed has set a goal of 30% reduction in energy consumption by the year 2015.

Click Here To Download:
•Guest Column: Reducing Energy Use In The Data Center