Logicalis

HP Thermal Assessment cuts costs and energy consumption in Logicalis Data Centre

The Challenge

The need to reduce energy costs, power consumption and cooling ranks highest among the messages currently resonating with organisations seeking data centre efficiencies. With unnecessary expenditure no longer an option, and the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) on the horizon, rarely have data centres been more eager to literally ‘clean up their act’.

As power consumption and heat generation in data centres increase as the result of ever higher computing densities, facility infrastructures are under increasing pressure to become more efficient. Few are more aware of this than Craig Allen, who heads up Logicalis’ 10,000 square foot Tier 3 Data Centre in Berkshire, which houses managed and hosted customers, as well as the company’s core IT systems.

“In a state-of-the-art facility like ours, server blade technologies and other high-density equipment configurations are continually adding to the complexity and cost of providing adequate power and cooling – a problem exacerbated by our need to run increasingly complex workloads,” says Allen. “What installations like ours need therefore is a means of gauging our readiness to meet these challenges and a way to continually improve the function and efficiency of our facilities. We were therefore delighted to discover that HP offered the skills and expertise to carry out an analysis of our thermal environment.”

The Solution

HP’s solution came in the shape of its Thermal Assessment Service, available in three versions - Quick, Comprehensive and an Energy Efficiency Analysis - which each provide an evaluation of an organisation’s data centre cooling, based on interviews with its staff and HP’s own observations of the customer’s data centre and cooling environment.

Each level of the service uses innovative and proprietary technologies to provide a detailed analysis of a data centre’s thermal environment. This analysis then enables customers to optimise their data centre cooling to reduce operating costs, increase capacity, and improve reliability.

The entry-level HP Thermal Quick Assessment includes a gap analysis and a written report designed to highlight best practices, recommend quick wins, and help customers understand how to use their data centre power and cooling resources more efficiently. In view of the growing popularity of blade server technologies in very dense configurations, HP also offers a Quick version of the service for HP BladeSystem Environments, although this is not limited solely to HP’s Blade Servers.

The HP Energy Efficiency Analysis combines the deliverables and benefits of the Quick Assessment, and in addition provides the mechanical and electrical engineering expertise to examine the complete efficiency of the data centre - from air flow management right through to electrical and mechanical efficiencies deployed to support the data centre infrastructure. It helps organisations manage the efficiency of their facilities by calculating baseline energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission metrics. By identifying mechanical, electrical and operational issues, it is then able to provide recommendations and actions for improving efficiency.

The HP Thermal Comprehensive Assessment includes all the services provided in the Quick version, plus sophisticated 3D thermal modelling of data centre thermal conditions. It identifies airflow patterns influenced by the placement of computer room air conditioning units (CRACs), their cooling capacity, under-floor obstructions, and perforated-panel locations.

Through HP’s proprietary Thermal Zone Mapping, it begins by identifying areas with inadequate air conditioning, areas of overlapping coverage, and areas best suited for the addition of new equipment. It provides an analysis of the impact of room and rack configuration, infrastructure management practices, and failure scenarios. An assessment report then proposes counter measures for problem areas and models “what-if” scenarios.

The Comprehensive service provides computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, which HP uses to simulate the probable effects of potential cooling improvements or the addition of new equipment. This service is designed for data centres planning to operate in excess of 100 watts/sq. ft. or those featuring high-density computing areas. It was therefore particularly suited to the Logicalis data centre.

The Outcome

“The specialist HP team collected temperature measurements throughout our data centre, then used modelling tools to create 3D models of the airflows and cooling conditions in the rooms,” says Craig Allen.

“They also carried out a Thermal Zone Mapping exercise using proprietary HP modelling software to provide us with a view of CRAC zones of influence throughout the data centre. This insight is designed to help data centre staff more effectively locate mission-critical equipment in locations influenced by multiple air-conditioning units - potentially protecting the installation from the effects of overheating due to mechanical failures.”

The HP thermal assessment has enabled Logicalis to implement a more efficient cooling strategy, providing a saving of around £50,000 per annum on their electricity bill alone. “This means the thermal assessment service not only paid for itself in less than four months, but it has also helped us in our ongoing commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says Allen.

What’s more, HP’s Thermal Zone Mapping has enabled Allen and his team to optimise cooling settings in future, thereby saving further cost, increasing computing capacity, and enabling them to better determine the placement of high-density, mission-critical servers to achieve optimum cooling coverage.

“Overall, HP’s assessment has given us a much better understanding of our space, power and cooling resource requirements, and the thermal effect that any future changes might have on our data centre environment,” he concludes.