datacenter

My Data Center Drives Faster Than Yours

Posted Thu, 04/11/2013 - 14:00 by mark.thiele

I jumped on my data center the other day and rode into town for a beer at the local saloon. I tell you, these data centers keep getting bigger and faster every year. Did I confuse you? What does a data center mean to you? Is it some converged infrastructure with virtualization on it or is it a container with some racks of computers?

Why am I Bothered?

Before you jump in to the DCIM hype...

Posted Wed, 04/10/2013 - 13:57 by jan.wiersma

You’re ready to enter the great world of DCIM software and jump right into the hype ?

Do you actually know what you need from a DCIM solution ? What are your functional requirements ?

So before you jump in, let’s take a step back and look at DataCenter Information Management from a 40,000 feet level: the datacenter facility information architecture.

Where is the open datacenter facility API ?

Posted Tue, 04/02/2013 - 00:03 by jan.wiersma

For some time the Datacenter Pulse top 10 has featured an item called ‘ Converged Infrastructure Intelligence‘. The 2012 presentation mentioned:

Treat the DC infrastructure as an IT system;

- Converge in the infrastructure instrumentation and control systems

- Connect it into the IT systems for ultimate control

Standardize connections and protocols to connect components

With datacenter infrastructure becoming a more complex system and the need for better efficiency within the whole datacenter stack, the need arises to integrate layers of the stack and make them ‘talk’ to each other.

This is shown in the DCP Stack framework with the need for ‘integrated control systems’; going up from the (facility) real-estate layer to the (IT) platform layer.

So if we have the ‘integrated control systems’, what would we be able to do?

The green PUE monster

Posted Sat, 03/30/2013 - 09:41 by jan.wiersma

My fellow Datacenter Pulse (DCP) colleague Mark Thiele wrote a good article on the use of PUE in the datacenter industry. He basicly argues that you should look at the TCO of the datacenter and have a holistic view (like we promote with the DCP stack)

He opens with the ‘my PUE is better than yours remark’ we see going around in the industry. As mentioned before by the Green Grid; the misuse of PUE. (I have written several articles about this issue on my Dutch datacenter blog)

Well guess what… we kinda created this monster ourselves;

Server Power Consumption Cost Exceeds the Cost of the Server – SO WHAT!

Posted Thu, 02/21/2013 - 18:50 by mark.thiele

Saying a modern server uses too much power is like saying a train uses more power than a horse drawn wagon. Of course it does, but it also does way more work. Let's not forget what's important to the question of cost and that is simply how much work is the server performing?

No Man is an Island and neither is a Data Center

Posted Mon, 01/07/2013 - 09:32 by mark.thiele

Is it safe to build a data center anywhere along the coast? Can you really protect the availability or accessibility of your systems in the face of hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters? Just because you've built a solid structure, doesn't mean you can guarantee accessibility and your data center is nothing without connections.

Keeping the Data Center alive

Is building a data center more sustainable than building a soccer field?

Posted Sat, 04/28/2012 - 16:37 by mark.thiele

I fully expect controversy will be created by this blog especially amongst some of my awesome friends in the Sustainability/Green space and I am not actually advocating putting away the cleats and buying a game console.

Center Pulse collaboration session of 2012 in conjunction with the Green Grid Technical Forum

Posted Thu, 02/23/2012 - 09:28 by mark.thiele

Is Public Cloud Computing Green – Or at least Greener than Traditional IT?

Posted Mon, 01/09/2012 - 11:52 by mark.thiele

Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer to the "Is Public Cloud Greener" question as the only real answer is "it depends". At the core of the question is that assumption that because you're theoretically using fewer physical machines more effectively, that you are thereby greener or more efficient. However, even if we stay with that assumption, when you dig into the details of what being "greener" really means, you'll see that there's still no easy answer.

In order for cloud to be greener, it has to accomplish two things at a very high level:

Why Enterprises Will Force Down the Cost of Virtualization

Posted Thu, 01/05/2012 - 12:27 by mark.thiele

Force it's such a strong word, but it definitely applies if my reasoning has any basis in reality.

The point of this blog is to illustrate that regardless of the intrinsic value of any given tool in the IT tool chest, once it's implemented it becomes a cost. Now, please don't read this the wrong way, I'm not an advocate of the thinking that IT is merely a place that helps us cut the cost of IT. What I am saying is that once you've effectively implemented a new technology solution, managing the on-going costs becomes a factor in your survival.

RESOURCES