Storage Industry Group Launches Green Data Center Initiative

At its biannual conference in Dallas, the Storage Networking Industry Association Oct. 12 unveiled its Green Storage Initiative Emerald program, which eventually will lead to the release of SNIA’s Emerald Power Efficiency Measurement Specification.
This is similar to other data center standardization efforts already in play, such as those in operation by the Green Grid’s Data Center Efficiency program, the federal government’s Energy Star program, the Uptime Institute and AFCOM’s data center instructional programs.
SNIA’s initiative, however, focuses most closely on the storage side of the data center.
SNIA, whose main job is to standardize cloud storage and power efficiency standards for enterprise storage systems, has posted a Website that vendors and other interested people can use to prepare for the forthcoming public release of the power efficiency measurement specification.
SNIA Chairman Wayne Adams, a senior technologist at EMC, said the Emerald program is designed “to provide a vendor-neutral power efficiency test measurement specification and serve as a clearinghouse for sharing the results of using the specification. The Website will provide the resources needed to learn about, evaluate, test and share storage system power usage and efficiency.”
There is a fee to participate in the Emerald program. SNIA members pay about $300 to download and use the specification and to post their power efficiency measurements to the Website; non-members will pay about $500 to do the same thing.
The money will go toward “sustaining the program’s infrastructure,” Adams said.
SNIA’s Emerald program plans to be fully operational by April 2011, Adams said.
The SNIA Green Storage Initiative manages Emerald by providing input and guidance to the Green Storage Technical Working Group (GS-TWG) and general marketing of energy efficiency activities within the SNIA and the storage networking industry.
The SNIA is a non-profit, international organization of manufacturers, systems integrators, developers, systems vendors, industry professionals and end users.
Storage Networking World continues through Oct. 14 at the Gaylord Texan resort in Dallas.