Data Centers of the Future Part I
This is part 1 of a 4 part series on data centers of the future. Part 1 is a discussion about the issues and challenges facing data centers that are being designed today.
“Sometimes we run out of power, sometimes we run out of cooling, usually we run out of both.” Anonymous
Planning a data center today that will meet your company's long terms needs is very challenging in today's environment. With high density 1U and Blade servers becoming the technology of choice in today's data processing environment, planning the infrastructure for a data center that can support them long term is critical. With rapidly increasing power and cooling requirements and with construction costs increasing dramatically in response, the data center of the future that many people have been predicting for years may now become a reality.
High density data centers have been predicted for years. In fact, there is one well known computer manufacturer that has been predicting 100 watts per square foot data centers for at least 15 years. It just goes to show you that if you predict something long enough, it eventually comes true. In reality, despite the predictions, densities in data centers had been increasing slowly. That has changed with the advent of server based data centers and let's be clear, when everyone discusses high density data centers, it is server based data centers they are talking about. .
5 years ago the average density in a data center was approximately 30 watts per square foot. 2 years ago it was approximately 40 watts per square foot, last year it was up to approximately 50 watts per square foot and by the end of this year there are some groups projecting average densities of 70 to 80 watts per square foot. The chart below shows some of the predictions on densities that are out there and the impact they would have on the average watts per square foot requirements as well as the average kW requirement per rack. KW per rack is a way of measuring the load at the rack level, which is a more accurate way of predicting densities in server based data center than looking at the overall watts per square foot requirements.
Timeframe Avg. Watts/Sq Ft Avg. kW/rack
*2003 40 2
**2005 80 4
**2007 240 15
**2010 500 30
* Per surveys by 7x24 Exchange, Lawrence Berkley Labs, Uptime Institute
** Estimates based on gradual implementation of new server technology that is currently on the market
So what are the power and cooling requirements for today's data centers and what impact will that have on the data centers in existence today and the data centers planned for tomorrow? I believe it depends on your mixture of technology. If you are a mixed environment data center, (Mainframes, Mid-range systems and servers) you will probably see more moderate increases in your power and cooling requirements than a data center that is primarily row after row of servers. Your exact power requirements will vary depending on the technology mix you choose to implement, but everyone is going to see increases.
I believe that mixed environment data centers could see their power and cooling loads double in the next 5 years. This could make many of the data centers designed originally for mainframe data processing obsolete without significant upgrades. With many of these data centers designed for 40 to 60 watts per square foot of electrical loading, doubling even a 40 watts per square foot electrical load could be problematic. The result may be that most of these data centers get either remodeled or replaced. If you have one of these legacy data centers you may need to take a hard look at what it would take to upgrade your site.
In server based data centers the impact will be significant. Blade servers can have power requirements of up to 30kW per rack or more, while 1U servers can be up to 15kW per rack or more. Just so nobody thinks I am exaggerating, these figures are based on equipment that is readily available today . Below is a chart showing the power and cooling requirements of several manufacturers servers. Most of the other manufacturers have similar power and cooling requirements. At these densities both getting enough power to each cabinet and providing adequate cooling can be, is problematic!
Part 2 Today's solutions for high density data centers and their impact on the data center.
Ron Hughes, President of California Data Center Design Group has been involved in the design, construction and operation of data centers for over 25 years. In the last 6 years alone, Ron Hughes has managed the design of over 1,600,000 square feet of data center space in the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Mexico.
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