Two-thirds of Data Centers Are Addressing Energy Efficiency Concerns With
Long-Term Projects Like Server Consolidation and Virtualization, but Some
See Quick Benefits of Server Power Management
SAN JOSE, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly two-thirds of IT and
facilities personnel consider their data center energy efficiency "average"
or worse -- and their development and test environments might be the
biggest cause of that, according to a survey conducted by Cassatt(R)
Corporation, a leader in providing software to make data centers more
efficient.
More than a quarter of survey respondents said that greater than 60
percent of their development and test servers are idle during off-peak
hours. There is some good news, though: 62 percent are working on a data
center energy-efficiency project now or expect to within the next year,
according to the "Cassatt 2008 Data Center Energy Efficiency Survey." And,
contrary to conventional wisdom, 59 percent would consider turning off
computers that are idle.
As expected, virtualization ranks highest on the energy-efficiency
project list, with 69 percent of respondents pursuing a server
consolidation/virtualization strategy, and nearly 49 percent pursuing
storage consolidation/virtualization. But, while nearly half of the
companies (46 percent) say they need a payback on energy efficiency
projects in less than two years, organizations are primarily pursuing
consolidation, which is frequently a longer-term project.
More than half of respondents recognize the importance of using more
efficient equipment, but only a quarter (24 percent) have plans in the
works to improve the efficient operation of that equipment with approaches
like active power management software to shut off unused servers. Even
though the survey shows server power management to be a missed opportunity
for many organizations, a significant number are looking to complement
their long-term energy-efficiency projects with innovative techniques
designed to deliver compelling, short-term benefits.
"We conducted the 'Cassatt 2008 Data Center Energy Efficiency Survey'
to learn more about the extent to which companies are pursuing
energy-efficiency initiatives and the rationale behind the ones they
choose," said Bill Coleman, chairman and CEO of Cassatt Corp. "Many of the
findings were expected, such as those that emphasize the data center power
crunch, the popularity of virtualization as a potential solution, and the
massive waste in development and test environments.
"Less expected," Coleman continued, "and very problematic for the
industry, are the findings that show that many companies simply don't
measure their power consumption at all, or do so at a very superficial
level. If you can't measure it, as they say, you can't manage it. And it
may be that companies are fixing only part of the problem with initiatives
based on incomplete information. While organizations are showing a
willingness to try some new ideas, many are still ignoring simpler
solutions that could help them with energy efficiency almost immediately."
Justifying Turning Off Servers to Save Energy
Are companies that are engaging in complex, long-term, costly server
consolidation projects based on virtualization also thinking about simple
steps, like turning their unused servers off? According to the Cassatt
survey, some are -- which goes against conventional wisdom in IT operations
today. In fact, 59 percent said that, yes, they could justify turning off
servers for some period of time. When asked how many hours each day a
server needs to be idle to justify turning it off, 11 percent say one to
three hours, 20 percent say four to five hours, nearly 16 percent say five
to seven hours, and nearly 11 percent say eight to 10 hours. Forty-one
percent say they cannot justify turning a server off.
While a solid majority of respondents are willing to consider turning
off servers they aren't using, only 24 percent are pursuing server
power-management software as an energy-efficiency strategy today. On the
face of it, a solution like server power management is an extraordinarily
simple strategy, like turning off the lights when leaving a room. What's
holding them back? Companies cite a range of reasons, including "impact of
turning off idle machines on application availability" (45 percent),
"application stability when shut down and restarted" (42 percent), "impact
on physical reliability" (36 percent), "difficulty determining ROI for a
power-management solution" (28 percent), and "lack of integration into
existing systems management tool" (26 percent).
Nevertheless, many companies say they are willing to try automation to
power-control their servers, though they are most comfortable doing that in
development and test environments. Forty-three percent say they would be
comfortable with automated power management for a majority of their
development and test servers, and 37 percent say they would do this for
low-priority production servers.
Nearly 51 percent of all companies, and over 69 percent of large
enterprises, are installing more power-efficient servers today -- the
second most popular energy-efficiency strategy, after server
consolidation/virtualization, according to Cassatt's survey.
Power-management software can automate the process to actively and safely
power both older and newer servers on and off as needed, adding
significantly to an organization's energy efficiency results.
"While the fears about turning off servers may have had some validity
in the past, they are unfounded when looking at the reliability of today's
hardware and the new power-management software that is now available," said
Coleman. "The Cassatt Active Response software, for example, is
policy-based, application-aware, and hardware- and software-independent, so
it can safely and systematically turn servers off when not needed and on
when they are, with zero impact to application users. Our work with initial
customers leads us to believe that organizations who see beyond these old
data center myths can slice their power costs by anywhere from 30 to 50
percent."
How Big Is the Data Center Power Problem?
The Cassatt survey also showed that many data centers are on the verge
of running out of the power they need to operate. According to Cassatt's
survey, 42 percent of respondents have a data center within 25 percent of
its maximum power capacity. And the problem is getting worse: of the 69
percent who track their power bill, 62 percent state their bill is rising.
A large number of data centers are in the dark about exactly how acute
their power problem is, according to the survey. When asked "How do you
measure power consumption in your server environments?" more than a fourth
(28 percent) say, "We don't." And those that do have limited visibility
into exactly what is using the power. Nearly 24 percent measure by groups
of servers at the power distribution unit (PDU) level, 23 percent by the
server room, and 16 percent by the rack of servers. Only eight percent have
visibility into power consumption by individual server.
The Cassatt survey uncovered several other notable points:
-- "Green" motivation = money: Cost and capacity constraints are the two
strongest motivators for an energy efficiency strategy, cited by
68 percent and 57 percent of respondents, respectively. Even so,
39 percent of companies are motivated by environmental
responsibilities.
-- IT and facilities still aren't talking much: Almost half of
respondents (46 percent) said their facilities and IT teams touched
based infrequently, not at all, or they weren't sure how often.
-- Self-serving advice?: End users say they get their primary guidance
regarding data center energy efficiency from parties with a stake in
their spending -- system vendors (49 percent) and power and cooling
vendors (46 percent). Other experts, like the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), the Uptime Institute, and the Green Grid,
ranked much lower.
-- Missing good advice?: More than 38 percent of respondents are unaware
that the EPA recommends turning off idle or unused servers to save
power.
More about the Cassatt Survey
Cassatt requested participation in its 2008 Data Center Energy
Efficiency Survey via an e-mail to unfiltered contacts from Cassatt's
contact database, directing them to a Web-based survey. Results are based
upon 215 IT and facilities personnel, mainly from North America, who took
the on-line survey during a one-week period in December 2007 and who
participated in telephone interviews in January and February 2008.
A white paper reviewing the survey results and methodology is available
for download at http://www.cassatt.com/resources.php?ID=72.
About Cassatt Corporation
Cassatt provides software to make data centers more efficient -- and
more green. The Cassatt Active Response product line is based on
patent-pending Active Power Management technology that safely and
intelligently powers servers off and on, based on demand, cutting an
organization's energy usage by as much as 50 percent. Customers can
incrementally expand their use of Cassatt to increase application
availability, make better use of existing data center resources, and
improve operations. Cassatt is based in San Jose, Calif., and is on the web
at http://www.cassatt.com.
Media Contact:
Steve Eisenstadt
Page One PR
+1-919-781-8096
steve@pageonepr.com
Copyright (C) 2008 Cassatt Corporation. All rights reserved. Cassatt is
a registered trademark and Cassatt Active Power Management and Cassatt
Collage are trademarks of Cassatt Corporation. Third party marks and brands
are the property of their respective holders.
SOURCE Cassatt Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.cassatt.com
CONTACT:
Steve Eisenstadt of Page One PR,
+1-919-781-8096, steve@pageonepr.com, for Cassatt Corporation
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