Data Center Efficiency: Strategies for Optimization

As our world and companies are increasingly attuned to developments in Information Technology, more attention is being paid to data centers. Thinking about managing such infrastructure, the question is raised: How do we improve data center efficiency?

If company bottom lines, a desire to serve clients well, and valuing innovation are not enough motivation, data centers must also pursue efficiency in order to comply with various policies for infrastructure management. The US Federal Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) and the associated M-19-19 are examples of the developing need for compliance in the field and how both public and private companies can benefit from adopting the recommendations in these initiatives.

What can practically be done?

Nlyte Software, a leading company for Hybrid Digital Infrastructure Management, offers a myriad of suggestions in the eBook. These suggestions can help companies increase their data center efficiency.

1. Try Virtualization

A look at the  various operating needs of each data center might reveal the centers that run numerous applications simultaneously. These applications may require different operating systems or applications to run on separate servers. The result is many physical servers that cost energy to function, time to preform, and personnel to oversee. Moving towards consolidation of these operations into a virtual environment can increase multifaceted efficiency including: time, financial cost, energy consumption, and human management.

2. Remember this about PUE

PUE, the Power Usage Effectiveness of a data center, is found through a simple equation: the sum of all energy used by a data center divided by the amount of energy used by IT equipment. This is commonly looked to as an indicator of energy efficiency. A PUE score of 1 is ideal, and companies are used to aiming for this low target. Yet, an efficiency increase can be gained by paying attention to PUE. A fairly simple way to increase data center energy efficiency is by reducing the amount of energy in the formulas numerator: the energy used by anything that is not a part of the IT equipment. This can be done by a change as simple as decreasing the lighting in areas where human physical presence is not often necessary.

3. Have a solution

The best way to make data centers most efficient is to have a solution, such as hybrid digital infrastructure management (HDIM). This type of management allows for cross-capacity optimization as you manage your hardware, software, energy, data centers, colocation, cloud, and more. This allows for such features as optimization of infrastructure and workloads, asset lifecycle management, power and space capacity management, workflow automation, compliance and reporting, and more. Implementing HDIM can be a substantial step towards multilevel improvement in efficiency.

Improving data center efficiency—from energy efficiency and PUE concerns to hybrid digital solutions and data center infrastructure management—doesn’t have to be complicated. By taking one step at a time, you can start seeing a significant difference in your data center while working towards even more impact.

To find out more about beginning with DCIM, try the “Getting Started with DCIM” white paper or download the DCIM For Dummies eBook from Nlyte Software.