'Power Capping' the Datacenter

snydeq writes "Datacenter operators seeking increased server density may soon turn to power capping, an emerging technology that limits the amount of electricity a server can consume, InfoWorld reports. The practice, which can be applied at the rack level, ensures that no server draws above a set power level, thereby increasing datacenter capacity within a rack-level power envelope by as much as 20 percent, according to a proof-of-concept study at Baidu, China's largest search company. As with powering down servers during off hours, of course, power capping incurs calculated risk, as those in charge of business-critical applications may be reluctant to set power limits below maximum utilization. Yet given IT's need to contend with the permanent energy crisis, the notion of power capping the datacenter could prove advantageous."

Re:Not a crisis

[Threni]

Google for "Peak Oil". I think you'll find that we'll all be in very serious trouble very soon.

is this news?

[Anonymous Coward]

this has been done for quite awhile by several providers -- is this really news to anyone? SAVVIS has been limiting by cage for at least a year in the chicago area.

Mechanical batteries

[copponex]

Beacon Power is an American corporation specializing in flywheel based energy storage headquartered in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Beacon designs and develops products aimed at utility frequency regulation for power grid operations. The storage systems are designed to help utilities match supply with varying demand by storing excess power in arrays of 2,800-pound (1,300 kg) flywheels at off-peak times for use during peak demand.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beacon_Power [wikipedia.org]

The people who keep saying we can't find ways to be more efficient should stop wasting oxygen.

Re:Metered datacenter?

[afidel]

Basically every colo datacenter is metered. Standard is 2x20A circuits (16A max draw) per rack. If you want 30A or quad 20A circuits in your rack you generally pay a hefty overage charge. At our DR colo provider they require metered PDU's. I have this capping capability with my HP servers which means I can fill a rack right up to the edge but make sure I don't overload the circuit by keeping my peak usage closer to average. You also need to use staggered startup on your servers if you want to play it that close to your power cap.