2009 Going Green Data Center Presentation

8/8/2019 2009 Going Green Data Center Presentation

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BCNET's Zero Carbon Data Center...

When, Where and How?

Dan Gillard

Manager Cyberinfrastructure

BCNET



The Concept Use cyberinfrastructure to combat global warming by reducing

computing infrastructure¶s carbon footprint

Find efficient ways to share computing facilities that are close tosources of green power by utilizing BCNET¶s advanced networkinfrastructure within the Province

Make it possible for BC¶s Universities to reduce their carbon footprint

by relocating their existing ICT infrastructure to ³greener facilities´ Build a zero carbon data centre and use the BCNET/CANARIE

ROADM network to connect users to it



What is a zero carbon building?

A zero energy building or net zero energy building isa general term applied to a building with zero net energyconsumption and zero carbon emissions annually. Zeroenergy buildings are autonomous from the energy gridsupply - energy is produced on-site. All of the building's

energy needs are met on the property, and it does notincrease either energy demand or greenhouse gasemissions.

Source: Wikipedia



How are GHG emissions reduction credits created?

Audit existing non-green infrastructure that operatebusiness as usual ± ISO14064

Create a project (zero carbon data center) that reduces

green house gas emissions

New project reductions are verified by independent 3rd

parties for scientific and environmental integrity

GHG credits are awarded and recorded in a registry that

verifies quality and tracks ownership



Why the need for a new data center? Existing legacy data center designs are inefficient and oversized for their maximum

capacity and typically draw two to three times the amount of power required for ITequipment

Many of the data centers currently housing HPC infrastructure are at least 10 to 15

years old, are reaching end of life, and have difficulty keeping up with current

demands

Many of the current data centers are running out of space and have to expand their

current infrastructure or build new facilities. Difficult to do at their current locations.

Green computing facilities can help lower our carbon footprint and reduce the

emissions of green house gases

A zero carbon data center can set an example for environmental stewardship and

attract global recognition

Attract interest from the public and private sectors



Current data center challenges Cooling and electrical costs can represent up to 44% of a data centers total cost of

ownership ± The Uptime Institute estimates , the three-year cost of powering and cooling servers is currently one-and-a-

half times the cost of purchasing server hardware

With the growing demand for cheaper and ever-more-powerful high-performance

computer clusters, the problem is not just paying for the computers, but determining

whether institutions have the budget to pay for power and cooling

Current Campus power is at a premium if available at all to light new initiatives

Some institutions can¶t deploy more servers because extra space and electricity isn¶t

available at any price.

Many utilities, especially those in crowded urban areas, are telling customers that

power feeds are at capacity and they simply have no more power to sell. BC Hydro

currently has to import power to meet its demands



When

Apr 2009 ± Feasibility study began Nov 2009 - Study and full business case completed

Jan 2010 - Presentation to funders

Mar 2010 - Commitments from project participants

Fall 2010/11 - Construction of Green Data Centre starts

Where?



Where: MUST be on the ROADM Network



Where: MUST be in the BC Interior



Where: MUST be in proximity to a clean source of power



Hydroelectric

BC Hydro to

Add 500MW of

capacity to the

Revelstoke Dam

by 2010!

500MW



HOW? Audit existing facilities to establish a baseline of requirements

± ISO14064

Choose a location close to a clean power source aka a Hydro Dam

Employ next generation data center design principles and

architecture

Leverage BCNET partners knowledge and experience Implement using industry best practices (Microsoft, Google, Sun

etc.)

Go MODULAR, start small and expand as necessary, deploy

capacity when the demand dictates it



Benefits of a Modular Design No need to make large up front investments, this drives capital costs more

in line with actual demand

Incredibly energy efficient

Reduces the amount of water required for cooling and may even eliminate it

Facilitates decommissioning, upgrades, and repairs quickly

With the central spine infrastructure in place, containers or pre-

manufactured server pods can be either AC or DC, air-side economized or water-side economized

Modular containers are customizable, end users are no longer limited to

standard racks and cabinets that can¶t accommodate super computing

profiles



Example: Microsoft¶s GEN 4 Data Center Vision

³A highly modular, scalable, efficient, just-in-time

data center capacity program that can be

delivered anywhere in the world very quickly and

cheaply, while allowing for continued growth asrequired.´



MS GEN 4 Data Center ± Key Characteristics

Scalable

Plug and play spine infrastructure (backplane for plug & play pods)

Factory pre-assembled: Pre-Assembled Containers

(PACs) & Pre-Manufactured Buildings (PMBs)

Rapid deployment

De-mountable and easily Re-deployable

Reduced construction costs

Sustainable



MS GEN 4 ± Spine Infrastructure



MS GEN 4 ± Pre-Assembled Container Farm

Farm



MS GEN 4 ± Modular Cooling Design



A new green data center provides solutions Move existing and locate new infrastructure off the grid to a zero carbon

energy source, earning carbon credits Can reduce power consumption with innovative technologies

Can reduce cooling requirements with innovative designs

Will operate efficiently

Can facilitate large scale virtualization and cloud computing

Provides an opportunity to manage and measure power usage moreeffectively (green grid etc.)

Provides the opportunity to implement a modular platform with lower initial

deployment costs while leveraging incremental expandability as needs for

space grows

Will foster innovation and attract best of breed technologies



Thank you.

2009 Going Green Data Center Presentation

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