At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much data your data center handles. It doesn’t matter what sort of hardware is in place. It doesn’t really even matter what sort of environmental controls are in place. All of those are merely factors, elements through which Operators reach for the Holy Grail of the data world:

Efficiency.

More specifically; energy efficiency. Now, I’m not knocking the other metrics involved with a facility- they’re all quite important. But from day one, what was the metric that everyone paid attention to? What was the one element that all operators invariably reached for? They wanted to create powerful, well-designed, energy-efficient data centers.

Really, who wouldn’t?

So how can you do it? How can you make your data center as efficient as it’ll ever be? There’s a few steps you should think about engaging with:

 

Consider the Green Side of Things: Green tech isn’t just popular because it’s good for the environment- generally, it’s popular because it’s energy-light, too. Green cooling systems save a metric ton of money in climate control costs, and green energy, if designed right, reduces both the load on your power provider and the load on your wallet. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

Pay Attention to the Metrics: “Metrics” and “Analytics” aren’t just buzzwords- they’re actually of rather vital importance to the operation of a Data center. What’s your facility’s PuE? What about your CuE? PAR4? How can you upgrade your efficiency if you don’t understand what areas of your data center are inefficient? Metrics help you determine where your strengths lie- and what weaknesses you need to eliminate. Don’t ignore them.

Keep your Hardware Up to Date: I’m just going to come out and say it. As a general rule, Legacy hardware sucks. It can’t handle the sort of data loads that modern hardware’s designed to tackle, and it runs both slower and hotter. What’s more? I can guarantee you that a decade- possibly even less- down the line, people will be saying the same thing about our current hardware. Keep your systems up to date, and you’ll be able to keep on top of rising demand- in addition to being more efficient.

Establish Proper Threshold Policies: What should your system do if a server runs too hot? What about if the humidity of your server room drops or rises outside of the thresholds you’ve set? You…have set thresholds, right? You need to figure out what benchmarks work for your center, and determine the best means of staying within those benchmarks- in a sense, threshold policies are a lot like security policies- “If X happens Y times, take action Z.”

Keep Cool; Not Cold: I’m sure I’ve touched on this before- most data centers run at least 15 degrees colder than they have to- a throwback to the days of Legacy. It’s worth considering warming things up a few degrees- it’ll save on power, and your servers will run just as well. Don’t raise it above 85 degrees, though- you’re liable to fry something if you do.

Keep an Eye on your Apps : Believe it or not, a poorly-designed application infrastructure can use up just as much power as poorly designed hardware, as servers struggle to navigate their way through the obtuse, convoluted code. The same is true if you’re running too many apps. Take a look at what you’re running on your servers, and ask yourself- is all of this truly necessary?

What About Downtime? How often is your data center active? Does it need to be active all that time? Do all the servers need to be running all the time? It might be worth it to consider staggering the uptime of your servers during periods of low demand- after all, why run a server if it’s not really doing anything, right?

Consider Downsizing: I’d only recommend this as a last-ditch effort. If you’re desperate to reduce your operating costs, and nothing else works, consider cutting a few servers out of your facility. Of course, you’ll need to know the minimum number of systems you’ll need to keep your center up and running.

Don’t be afraid to Try New Things: See a design for a new cooling system? A better rack system for your servers? A new SAAS app that’ll cut your power usage? Don’t be afraid to implement them. It might cost you a pretty penny, but in the long run, you’ll be thankful. Innovation’s key in every sector of the tech industry- the Data Center’s no exception.

Engage in Proper Provisioning: Finally, consider how much power you’re drawing from your energy provider, and work out where that power’s being sent. Is it all being used? Are you wasting energy? Are all the servers receiving all the power they need? Keep a close eye on this one, and plan everything out in advance before you consider increasing your power draw- that’s damned expensive, and you want to avoid doing that if at all possible.