A British based company has lived up its name, by coming up with a solution to assess energy consumption within a datacenter so that it can be made to running more energy efficiently. InfoWorld is reporting that Migration Solutions has introduced an audit that can assess the energy consumed with a datacenter, and thus help the managers to make more informed decisions.
To accomplish this audit, it was stressed that businesses need to look beyond current industry benchmarks such as PUE and DciE. Alex Rabbetts, managing director of Migration Solutions, told InfoWorld, “We already have a bunch of industry metrics, but they provide only a small part of the answer. For example, if you took readings in summer and winter, you’d get two different sets of figures; all you’re getting with them is a snapshot at a particular time.”
Rabbets further stressed that the ERA (Environment Report and Audit) conducted by Migration Solutions looked deeper at a variety of factors. He stressed that it went beyond just the power, but required a look at building construction, window, and even cooling methods used. InfoWorld further reported that the audit costs around £2.500 and considers about 150 variables.
For any business looking to do such an energy consumption audit, these are important factors to consider. As Rabbet stressed, merely looking at power usage in a typical office in April in many parts of North America will likely show far less energy usage than during a summer heat wave. Given that an audit by Migration Software was estimated by Rabbetts to provide savings of somewhere between five and 20 percent on power costs, and it becomes apparent why an in-depth study of power consumption can be so valuable.
And while Migration Software has attempted to market its audit solution as an industry standard, at present there is no standard that the audit conforms to, and at present no body to ratify it. Hopefully in the future, such an audit will truly be an industry standard so that companies can use these studies to reduce energy consumption, whether it is for a datacenter or corporate HQ.