19 May 2011

Video: Steve Bowes-Phipps, University of Hertfordshire 2011 Green Enterprise IT Award Winner Innovation in a Smaller Data Center



By Mary Vincent - Follow on Twitter @MaryVincent
Steve Bowes-Phipps
, Data Centres Manager, University of Hertfordshire, and 2011 Green Enterprise IT Award Winner in the Innovation in a Smaller Data Center <1,000 sq ft category presented the Award-winning case study profiling a completed project (IT and/or facilities) that significantly and quantifiably improved energy efficiency in a smaller data center.
A Video of his May 10, 2011 Presentation is below, and here is a Summary:
The RARE-IDC: Reduction and Re-use of Energy in Institutional Data Centers project ran from September ‘08 – June ‘10.
This project achieved the goals for the University of Hertfordshire, but also provided transferable models both for delivering low power alternatives for ICT services, and for efficient sustainable operational arrangements.
These were of benefit to most HE/FE communities and contribute to the UK’s JISC Institutional Innovation Programme and more specifically to the JISC-funded Managed Environmentally Sustainable ICT in Further and Higher Education (SusteIT) project.
Project Aims:
1. To refurbish one of the two existing Data Centers at The University of Hertfordshire into a tier-2 facility with:
a. Cooling and energy provision to ensure a more sustainable and efficient Data Center.
b. Provide a full solution including capacity planning, cabinets, cooling solutions, power and redundancy, and building management (fire suppression, water detection etc)
c. To allow for future growth of at least 50%.
2. To use “Green” solutions wherever possible. Looking at new sustainable technology for Data Centers even if not suitable for the final solution.
3. To reduce the total operational cost of running the Data Center.
4. To reduce the current PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness; the ratio of power delivered to I.T. equipment to the total amount of power used by the Data Center) from 2.2 to < 2.0
5. All available solutions were fully documented to form part of a Feasibility study. The winning contractor worked with the University to help identify and deliver the final solution.