VMware opens its Green Data Center

October 6, 2009 Dave Ohara

Seattletimes has an article on VMware’s new Wenatachee green data center.

VMWare opens a green data center in Wenatchee

Posted by Sharon Chan

While a tax law prompted Microsoft to move its cloud business Azure out of Washington state, the state just attracted a software company, VMWare, to build its data center in Wenatchee.

VMWare, a software company and Microsoft competitor in Palo Alto, Calif., opened a 61,000-square-foot data center in Wenatchee in January to consolidate several smaller labs and data centers the company was using to run and test its virtualization software. The company's chief executive officer Paul Maritz, is a former top exeuctive at Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Dublin Green Data Center Coverage

September 29, 2009 Dave Ohara

I’ve known about Microsoft’s Dublin data center, and now that there is official coverage, I can blog about it. The Dublin area was a good opportunity for Microsoft to push for the greenest data center.

I’ve been to Ireland many times visiting Apple and Microsoft facilities, and my name Dave Ohara so many times my name gets spelled with an apostrophe (like O’Hara). But I am not Irish even though I have kissed the Blarney stone and bought a family crest for my Dad of O’Hara. My Ohara surname is Japanese, but I still enjoy Ireland. I don’t have this problem when I go to Japan. :-)

Ohara is a Japanese surname (e. g.: 小原,尾原,大原)

The Dublin Data Center manager John Dwyer is a friend I worked before our data center days at Microsoft, and I was thinking he needs a complete coverage blog post. So here we go.

Let’s start with John Dwyer’s ex-boss Mike Manos.

A Well Deserved Congratulations to Microsoft Dublin DC Launch

September 25, 2009 by mmanos

Today Microsoft announced the launch of their premier flagship data center facility in Dublin, Ireland. This is a huge achievement in many ways and from many angles. While there are those who will try and compare this facility to other ‘Chiller-less’ facilities, I can assure you this facility is unique in so many ways. But that is a story for others to tell over time.

I wanted to personally congratulate the teams responsible for delivering this marvel and acknowledge the incredible amount of work in design, engineering, and construction to make this a reality. To Arne, and the rest of my old team at Microsoft in DCS – Way to go!

\Mm

PS – I bet there is much crying and gnashing of teeth as the unofficial Limerick collection will now come to a close. But here is a final one from me:

A Data Centre from a charming green field did grow,

With energy and server lights did it glow

Through the lifting morning fog,

An electrical Tir Na Nog,

To its valiant team – Way to Go!

DataCenterKnowledge has a post on Microsoft’s Dublin Data Center.

Gallery: Microsoft’s Dublin Data Center
September 28th, 2009 : Rich Miller

The exterior of the new energy-efficient Microsoft data center in Dublin, Ireland.

Microsoft’s new data center in Dublin will power much of the company’s global cloud computing operation, while using far less energy and water than typically consumed in other data centers of this scale. We’ve put together a photo gallery offers a closer look at the design innovations driving its efficiency, including photos of the server room and data center interior and a diagram of the free cooling system. See our photo feature,Inside Microsoft’s Dublin Mega Data Center.

The official press release for EMEA is here.

Microsoft Expands Cloud Computing Capabilities & Services in Europe

Microsoft’s new Dublin Data Centre to support demand for online services for business and consumers.

Text Videos Images Resources

DUBLIN, Republic of Ireland— September 24, 2009

Microsoft today announced the opening of its first ‘mega data centre’ in Europe to meet continued growth in demand for its Online, Live and Cloud services. The $500 million total investment is part of Microsoft’s long-term commitment in the region, and is a major step in realising Microsoft’s Software plus Services strategy.

Green Data Center is mentioned in this press document.

Case Studies

Greening the data centre, the Dublin Data Centre case study In Ireland, Microsoft has built its largest data centre outside the United States, using cutting-edge technology and an innovative approach to energy efficiency as part of an integrated strategy for environment sustainability.

Steve Clayton a Microsoft blogger has his post.

I’ve seen the cloud…it lives in Dublin

I’m in sunny Dublin today (yep, it’s sunny here) for the grand opening of Microsoft’s first “mega datacenter” outside of the US. What you may ask is a mega datacenter? Well basically it’s an enormous facility from we’ll deliver our cloud services to customers in Europe and beyond.

I had the chance to check the place out last month and have a full tour and it’s incredible. Okay there isn’t much to see but that’s sort of the point. It’s this big information factory that is on a scale that you’ll not see in many other places in the world and run with an astonishing level of attention to detail.

It’s also quite revolutionary and turns out to be our most efficient data center thus far. Efficiency is measured by something called PUE that essentially looks at how much power your use vs the power you consume. The ultimate PUE of course is 1.0 though the industry average is from 2-2.4. Microsoft’s data centers on average run at 1.6 PUE but this facility takes that down to 1.25 through use of some smart technology called “air”. Most datacenters rely on chillers and a lot of water to keep the facility cool – because of the climate in Dublin, we can use fine, fresh, Irish air to do the job which has significant benefits from an environmental point of view. Put simply, it saves 18 million litres of water each month.

I’ve spent some time today talking to press about this place and I left them with the title line – I’ve seen the cloud and it lives in Dublin.

There are data center images on the Microsoft site..

Microsoft Dublin Data Centre

Microsoft Dublin Data Centre Entrance

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Microsoft Dublin Data Centre Aerial

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Air-side economization architectural diagram

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Microsoft Dublin Data Centre Server Pods

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Microsoft Dublin Data Centre Generator Room

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Microsoft Dublin Data Centre Rooftop Air Units

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News spreads fast and google news has this listing.

Data Center Knowledge

Gallery: Microsoft's Dublin Data Center

Data Center Knowledge - Rich Miller - ‎20 hours ago‎

Microsoft's new data center in Dublin will power much of the company's global cloud computing operation, while using far less energy and water than ...

Microsoft Dublin Facility Uses Free Cooling Web Host Industry Review

Putting the heat on data center cooling costs Cleantech Group

all 3 news articles »

RTE.ie

Microsoft Set to Fire up Dublin Data Center

PC World - Jeremy Kirk - ‎Sep 23, 2009‎

Microsoft has opened up for business its new Dublin data center, a massive 550000-square-foot facility dedicated to serving primarily European customers. ...

Microsoft's Chiller-less Data Center Data Center Knowledge

Microsoft goes chiller-less in its new data center Consulting-Specifying Engineer

Microsoft Dublin data centre opens Irish Times

IRISHDEV.com

all 45 news articles »

I am constantly amazed at how others don’t reference a fraction of what I put above on the original sources of information. This post took me less than 1/2 hour to write, and I didn’t have to call anyone as all the information was publicly accessible and could be found through search engines.

Referencing other sources is a key way to get your blog post up in google search results, and it builds your social network. Now I can take this post and send it on to John Dwyer, Mike Manos, Steve Clayton and many others.

eBay announces Green Data Center part of 15% GHG Reduction

September 21, 2009 Dave Ohara

Environmental Leader has a post on eBay committing to a 15% GHG reduction.

eBay to Emit 15% Fewer GHGs by 2012

E-commerce powerhouse eBay plans to reduce its 2012 greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent, when compared to its 2008 emissions. This news comes at the same time as eBay has donated some old servers to the University of Notre Dame, where the servers will assist in AIDS and cancer research.

Heat generated by the Notre Dame servers will be used to warm a greenhouse that is adjacent to where the servers are housed, according to a press release.

eBay will do most of its work in reducing emissions by improved data management and infrastructure. Next year, the company will begin using a “green” data center that will handle more than a third of its IT infrastructure. The site, in South Jordan, Utah, is being built to LEED Gold status.

The eBay press release is here, and extracted the data center parts.

Energy Efficient Operations and Data Management

As an ecommerce company, eBay has a relatively small carbon footprint with a majority of the company's environmental impact coming from the energy consumed by its data centers. The company's approach to data management and infrastructure will be a key efficiency driver. In 2010, eBay will unveil a new state-of-the-art green data center that will house more than a third of its global data infrastructure. The site, which is being built to the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standards in South Jordan, Utah, will deliver state-of-the-art efficiencies in cooling and power management, as well as in IT infrastructure and software.

Hardware efficiency is mentioned.

eBay also operates on a two-year tech refresh system that allows the company to process more transactions per watt. While this system drives energy efficiency in its operations, it comes with environmental collateral damage in the form of e-waste. To address this, eBay has undertaken new initiatives in the past year to actively repurpose and extend the useful life of hardware.

and eWaste is addressed

An example of the company's commitment to reuse can be found in its recent donation of old servers to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. The server donation initiative not only puts old eBay servers to work in Notre Dame's research labs to power AIDS and cancer research, but leverages the heat generated from those servers to warm a greenhouse that sits adjacent to the laboratory.

Renewable energy is part of the reduction with fuel cells.

Investments in Renewable Energy
eBay continues to support the use of renewable energy to green its operations. The company opened a 197,000 square foot office building in San Jose last year, which features a 650 kW solar installation and has also been LEED Gold certified - with dimming systems and the use of recycled materials throughout. Following that, eBay is installing a new 100kW solar installation at the company's offices in Denver, Colorado. A fuel cell strategy is also under way - to be announced in early 2010.

Best Possible Conditions for a Green Data Center, Intel & T-Systems launch DataCenter2020

September 18, 2009 Dave Ohara

Intel and T-systems have launched DataCenter2020.

Bavaria's Silicon Valley: DataCenter 2020

Sep 18, 2009

T-Systems and Intel join in researching the efficient data center of the future

Opening in Munich: At DataCenter 2020, T-Systems and Intel are working on the industrial implementation and automation of ICT services. Their goal: bringing them to market with maximum energy and cost savings. In an initial phase at Euroindustriepark, the two companies are researching how to create the best possible conditions for a green data center. Initial findings will be published this year. They will serve as the basis for ecological improvements to new and existing data centers.

Some of the technical details for the below pictures are:

Highlights of DataCenter 2020 include a ceiling height that can be adjusted from 2.50 meters to 3.70 meters and a smoke generator that makes air flows visible. The test environment, roughly 70 meters square, and an equipment room of the same size are located in the T-Systems data center. Intel is providing about 180 servers for the project, while the corporate customer arm of Deutsche Telekom is supplying the infrastructure necessary to operate them.

IBM opens Green Innovation Data Center for tours

September 17, 2009 Dave Ohara

news.com has an article on IBM’s new Green Innovation Data Center. Customers can now add this to a choice of HP’s Dynamic Smart Cooling solution.

IBM data center gets deep energy retrofit

by Martin LaMonica

SOUTHBURY, Conn.--IBM's "green" data center here is kind of like a techie version of the "This Old House" television show. But in this case, the project was to build a showcase for energy-efficiency computing, rather than construct a new addition for a suburban home.

IBM's main problem was data center sprawl. Five years ago, internal IT staff could barely keep up with growing demand for computing resources from employees, causing an expansion from one data center location to four--a situation that was costly and inefficient.

Now, those four data centers have been consolidated into a single spot with the latest in energy-efficient tech gear, including a network of 200 sensors and water-cooled servers. It also uses what are considered the best practices for physically laying out a data center, with close attention to everything from cabling to air flow.

The news.com article has a variety of pictures, most not really that interesting. Here is a picture of the Automated Logic control panel which integrates with a beta IBM Tivoli energy management system.

IBM is a big believer in water cooling.

To lighten the overall cooling load, IBM is using its Cool Blue liquid-cooling systems, which fit onto the back of server racks. These heat exchangers cool the hot air coming from servers' fans by circulating cold water through coils, which absorb the server heat and then are cooled using the building's chiller.

I wonder how many IBM plumbers you get with a service engagement?

A look at the under-floor controls for the water-cooling system, which is monitored for flow and temperature. The water is cooled by the building's chiller, but IBM set up a local loop of the water so that it can serve individual server racks, a way to improve the overall efficiency.

It is interesting to see others who are trying to get rid of this complexity in the data center, and increase temperatures.