Real-Time Energy Consumption Measurements in Data Centers

Data centers are dense and complex environments that house a wide variety of energy consuming equipment. With information technology (IT) and facilities equipment, there are thousands of energy consumption monitoring points. If a data center operator cannot monitor a device, that device cannot be controlled. In addition, for a data center to reach its optimal energy efficiency, all equipment on the IT and facilities sides must be monitored and controlled as an ensemble. IT and facilities organizations in a company typically have different reporting structures, which results in a communication gap. This book is designed to help bridge that gap and provides an overview of how to instrument and monitor key power and cooling subsystems. This book also includes numerous examples of how to use energy consumption data in calculating power usage effectiveness (PUE), along with a practical method that can be used to quantify the PUE for a data center housed in a mixed-use facility. Finally, some coverage is provided for a data center that deploys a combined cooling, heat, and power system. Calculating the PUE for such a data center presents some challenges; this book helps clarify the key issues.

This book, coauthored by ASHRAE with The Green Grid's Data Collection and Analysis Work Group, is the ninth in a series of datacom books from ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. This series provides comprehensive treatment of datacom cooling and related subjects.

Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments

Even though particle contamination resulting from dust and dirt can lead to unexpected shutdowns of critical IT equipment, the connection between contamination and hardware failures is often overlooked.

Particulate and Gaseous Contamination in Datacom Environments sheds light on this issue and will provide readers with the information they need to maintain a high level of IT equipment dependability and availability. This book identifies datacom equipment susceptibility and operational impact, as well as strategies for prevention, control, contamination testing, and analysis.

Free Supplemental Download

Particulate and Gaseous Contamination Guidelines for Data Centers
The objective of this white paper is to describe the need to control airborne contaminants, both particulate and gaseous, in data centers and to specify their recommended acceptable limits.

This thirteen-page supplement can be downloaded for free here: White Paper.

Units: Dual
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2009
Number of Pages: 104
ISBN: 978-1-933742-60-1
Sponsor: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment
Format: 6 x 9 in.,  Softcover

 

Back to top 

High Density Data Centers - Case Studies and Best Practices

Data centers and telecommunications rooms that house datacom equipment are becoming increasingly more difficult to adequately cool. This is a result of IT manufacturers increasing datacom performance year after year at the cost of increased heat dissipation. Even though performance has, in general, increased at a more rapid rate than power, the power required and the resulting heat dissipated by the datacom equipment has increased to a level that is putting a strain on data centers.

The objective of this book is to provide a series of case studies of high density data centers and a range of ventilation schemes that demonstrate how loads can be cooled using a number of different approaches. This book was printed on 30% post-consumer waste using soy-based inks.

Best Practices for Datacom Facility Energy Efficiency, Second Edition

Sustainable design, global warming, depleting fuel reserves, energy use, and operating cost are becoming increasingly more important. The intent of this publication, as part of the ongoing ASHRAE Datacom Series, is to provide the reader with detailed information on the design of datacom facilities that will aid in minimizing the life-cycle cost to the client, and to maximize energy efficiency in a facility to align with ASHRAE's stated direction (from the 2006 Strategic Plan) to 'lead the advancement of sustainable building design and operations.'
This book covers many aspects of datacom facility energy efficiency, and includes chapters on the topics of environmental criteria, mechanical equipment and systems, economizer cycles, airflow distribution, HVAC controls and energy management, electrical distribution equipment, datacom equipment efficiency, liquid cooling, total cost of ownership, and emerging technologies. There are also appendices on such topics as facility commissioning, operations and maintenance, and the telecom facility experiences.

Units: Dual
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2009
Number of Pages: 230
ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-933742-27-4
Sponsor: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9,
Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment
Format: 6 x 9 in.,  Softcover

Back to top 

Structural and Vibration Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers

This book discusses datacom equipment as well as a building’s structure and infrastructure in a holistic way while providing best practices for their design and installation. This book is divided into four main sections. Part 1, Introduction, gives an overview of the best practices in the design of datacom equipment centers, including recommendations for new and renovated building structures, building infrastructure, and datacom equipment. Part 2, Building Structure, covers the design of new and existing structures. In Part 3, Building Infrastructure, the structural considerations of the building’s infrastructure, raised-access floor systems, and vibration sources and their control are discussed in detail. The last part of this book, Datacom Equipment, covers shock and vibration testing, seismic anchorage systems and analysis of datacom equipment.

Units: Dual 
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2008
Number of Pages: 176
ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-933742-20-5
Sponsor: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9,
Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment
Format: 6 x 9 in.,  Softcover

Back to top 

 

Liquid Cooling Guidelines for Datacom Equipment Centers

Data center IT equipment today is predominantly air cooled. However, with rack heat loads steadily climbing, the ability for many data centers to deliver either adequate airflow rates or sufficient chilled air is now being stretched to the limit. These trends in the heat load generated from IT equipment can have detrimental side effects, such as decresed equipment availability, wasted floor space, and inefficient cooling system operation. This situation is creating a need for implementing liquid cooling solutions. The overall goals of the liquid implementations include aspects such as trasferring as much waste heat to the facility liquid cooling loop as possible, reducing the overall volume of airflow needed by the racks, and reducing processor temperatures such that increased compute performance can be achieved. The book was printed on 30% post-consumer waste using soy-based inks. 

Units: Dual
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2006
Number of Pages: 100
ISBN/ISSN: ISBN-10: 1-933742-05
Sponsor: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9,
Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment
Format: 6 x 9 in.,  Softcover

Back to top 

Design Considerations for Datacom Equipment Centers, Second Edition

This book provides basic information essentials for the design of datacom (data processing and communications) facilities. It covers the topics of design criteria, HVAC loads, cooling systems overview, air distribution and liquid cooling. It will also provides information that is supplemental to basic data center design, which may be of more value to those who already have design and/or operating experience in this field covering additional topics such as ancillary spaces, contamination, acoustics, structural and seismic design, fire suppression, commissioning, availability and redundancy, and energy efficiency.

This publication also explains that most datacom equipment will be replaced one or more times during the life of the facility with more current technology emphasizing the continual need to upgrade individual computer devices that result in a change in the heat load and a change in the needs for air distribution.

Units: Dual
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2009
Number of Pages: 208
ISBN/ISSN: 1-931862-94-X
Sponsor: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9,
Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment
Format: 6 x 9 in.,  Softcover

Back to top 

Datacom Equipment Power Trends and Cooling Applications

The purpose of this book is to discuss datacom (data center and telecommunication) power trends at the equipment level as well as to describe how to use those trends in making critical decisions on infrastructure (e.g., cooling system) requirements and the overall facility. There is an information gap that needs to be bridged between the information technology (IT) industry and the facility design/construction/operation industry. Today’s datacom facilities require a holistic approach, balancing the tradeoffs between datacom equipment and facility cooling infrastructure. Based on the latest information from all the leading datacom equipment manufacturers, Datacom Power Trends and Cooling Applications provides new and expanded datacom equipment power trend charts to allow the datacom facility designer to more accurately predict the datacom equipment loads that the facility can expect to have to accommodate in the future as well as providing ways of applying the trend information to datacom facility designs today. Also included in this book is an overview of various air and liquid cooling system options that may be considered to handle the future loads and an invaluable appendix containing a collection of terms and definitions used by the datacom equipment manufacturers, the facilities operation industry, and the cooling design and construction industry.

Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments, Second Edition

Trends toward increased equipment power density in data and communication (datacom) centers can result in significant thermal design and operation issues, with the potentially undesirable side effects of decreased equipment availability, wasted floor space, and inefficient cooling system operation. There is often a mismatch of IT equipment environmental requirements with adjacent equipment requirements or with facility operating conditions and, thus, a strong need to find common solutions and standard practices that facilitate IT equipment interchangeability while preserving industry innovation. This Guide provides equipment manufacturers and facility operations staff with a common set of guidelines for the design and construction of their respective equipment or facility, thereby aiding in maximizing the performance and health of the facility and its contents.

Units: Dual 
Publisher: ASHRAE
Year: 2009
Number of Pages: 70
ISBN/ISSN: 978-1-933742-46-5
Sponsor: ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Technology Spaces, and Electronic Equipment
Format: 6 x 9 in., Softcover

Back to top