ASHRAE Journal - February 2013 - 74

Data Centers
that a single physical server can become many virtual servers
and/or many physical servers can become a single virtual server.
The purpose in doing so is to recapture stranded capacity and
better use. By virtualizing a server, many applications now can
be used on that single server at once or on demand.
Organizations that have moved towards hardware virtualization have reported a reduction in quantity of servers (as much as
a 10:1 reduction for some). In some cases, this has driven major

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consolidation programs, resulting in large companies with, let’s
say, 20 data centers being able to consolidate it to less than 10
data centers. This strategy results in a win-win situation with
both capital and energy efficiency realized.
Virtualization may be one measure that normalizes the load
profile. However, the main point here is not to suggest any absolutes other than the short life of technology and the continued
expansion of the digital world, meaning a continued increase
in the amount of data stored and in the
uses for software.

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ASHRAE Journal

Big Data
Another data center industry topic to
consider is “big data.” Searching online for
“big data” will result in “big” number of
web page returns describing the challenges
with being able to effectively handle the
large volumes of data that something like
the Internet of Things can yield. Handling
this data includes its capture, storage,
search, sharing and analysis.
This is a really hot topic that has recently caused disproportionately large
growth in the data storage portion of the
data center industry. It is another indication of the high variability and unpredictability of the data center load. Storage
servers, unlike compute servers, tend to
have a flatter load profile and are working
to counteract the fluctuations caused by
virtualized servers in some data centers.

Conclusion
It is an incredibly difficult task to try to
predict the load profile of a data center,
which makes it incredibly difficult to
right-size the cooling system to achieve
optimum energy efficiency. The right
solution for one data center will not work
well for another since each has very unique
business models and traffic demands.
It is important to understand all of the
variables that influence the load, both now
and in the future, and to ensure designs
are adaptive, flexible and receptive to
potentially frequent and prolific change.
By gaining these insights, steps can be
taken to right-size the infrastructure so
that superior energy efficiency can be
more readily obtained.
Donald L. Beaty, P is president of
.E.,
DLB Associates Consulting Engineers, in
Eatontown, N.J. He is publications chair of
ASHRAE TC 9.9.
February 2013

ASHRAE Journal - February 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - February 2013