Green IT: Reality or Hype? (
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Selling Popsicles to Eskimos
Some data centers may have the capacity to go greener with what
currently exists, but may not even be aware of the functionality they
have in-house. Drue Reeves, an analyst with the Burton Group, says:
"We're seeing a 'sales of popsicles to Eskimos' kind of thing. Some
vendors have already had features in their products that could increase
energy efficiency, but now they're trying to resell them with that as a
selling point."
Although green technology doesn't seem to be gaining the traction that
its enthusiasts might like, it's probable that it will begin to take
off in the near future, as older hardware gets replaced, Reeves notes.
"It doesn't make sense to replace a thousand servers just to get something more
energy-efficient," he says. "You'd end up paying millions just to save
thousands." He anticipates that instead of a rip-and-replace strategy,
companies will begin to think more strategically about what's currently
running, and whether so many pieces of equipment are necessary, similar
to turning off the lights in rooms that aren't used, Reeves adds.
"Last year seemed to be about energy efficiency for servers, and this
year will be about efficiency for storage," he says. "But no matter
what the technology, it's more about efficacy and proper management
strategy than what's put in place."
For some data centers, going green may be an optimistic, long-term
goal, but the short-term reality is that they're consuming power—and
plenty of it—and can't shift gears very easily.
One example is Terremark Worldwide, which has a co-location hosting
facility in Florida that can do only limited tweaking, since it allows
customers to bring in their own equipment. The facility is 750,000
square feet and has a monthly power bill of $630,000, according to Ben
Stewart, company spokesperson.
"When you talk about using that much power every month, swapping out a
few pieces of hardware or recycling your paper is like going to the
ocean and dropping a
five-pound bag of sugar into it to try to sweeten the water," he says.
Although builders of a newer Terremark facility in Washington, D.C.,
are implementing a number of green strategies during its construction,
the Florida location depends on coal- and oil-driven generators that
make its "carbon footprint enormous," Stewart notes. Also, its location
doesn't allow for the type of "free cooling" strategies employed by
northern data centers, which can bring in cold air from outside of the
building during the winter.
For a data center of Terremark's size, the best option would be to move
to an area with hydroelectric power, Stewart says, but in such areas,
either the power is already being consumed by other companies, or
there's no way to run fiber to the location. So, instead, there's just
that enormous power bill and numerous conversations with customers to
persuade them to buy more energy-efficient equipment, Stewart says.
"Everything is a trade-off," he says. "Every decision brings up other
issues. I'm sure every data center would love to be green and more
efficient, since it's good for the planet, but the reality is that
there's only so much we can do right now."
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