Mark Bramfitt - Utilities & IT

Intel vs. ARM from The Economist

I've posted before about the potential use of ARM-designed chips in servers as an energy efficiency play. This article from The Economist focuses on the potential market battle between Intel and the ARM cluster of companies, noting that energy efficiency is the basis of the competition.

In a nutshell, ARM chips dominate mobile electronics applications, which of course means that energy efficiency is a prime design attribute (to maximize battery life). Intel dominates in desktops, laptops, and data center gear, and their processors bring awesome computing capability to bear at increasing energy efficiencies. (Disclosure: Intel is one of my clients.)

It's been posited that ARM-like designs would be applicable to Intel's markets on the basis of energy efficiency - a server running ARM chip sets could use as little as a tenth of the power of an Intel-based model, according to HP (HP has a project to develop ARM-based servers called "Moonshot"). ARM chips might also be suitable for PCs - certainly in the laptop, tablet, and new "ultrabook" categories.

The article points out many of the barriers that would prevent one side from gaining traction in the other's turf: the PC market is stagnant (so why bother), Intel has developed the Atom processor which has efficiency on a par with comparable ARM products, ARM designs likely lack the performance needed for server workloads, and the whole issue of whether software companies and other industry players will support new platforms.

I'll raise just two issues.

First, it has always appeared to me that issue of server energy efficiency is mooted by the incredibly low average utilization rates in most applications. Even the best internet-focused companies with largely homogeneous workloads only report rates in the twenty percent range, and enterprise users are lucky to see rates over ten percent. So efficient power supplies or even comparative advantages in processor efficiency simply don't make the difference that improved utilization would. 

Second, the PC market is relatively stagnant, but there are tremendous opportunities to drive efficiency through refresh and power management. The latest generation of Intel processors are far more efficient than cores made just three years ago, and coupled with power management, desktops use just a little more energy than a late generation laptop.

Which is why I counsel utilities to promote server virtualization and consolidation and desktop power management as their primary programs in these markets. Yes, there are discussions at some utilities about designing programs that reward the purchase of premium efficiency desktops and servers, but that will drive marginal energy savings compared to these two measures.

As to the ARM/Intel foray - battling over energy efficiency is a great thing!

 

Intel Site: Great Utility Data Center & IT EE Program Resource

This is one of those things I should have posted a long time ago, but a recent client inquiry at least prodded me to do it now.

The client wanted to know how to find out about utitlity energy effciency program offerings for data centers across the US, without having to do endless internet searches on his own.

Intel has created just such a resource at their Premier IT Professionals site, which features not only a map and lookup feature for program information, but a blog, technical resources, and useful links.

Full disclosure: Intel is one of my clients, and I have been producing some blog content for this site. But I don't at all mind you bookmarking it along with my blog!

ESource Forum Presentation Deck

I had the pleasure of attending the ESource Forum in Denver this week, sharing a presentation slot with Geoff Overland of the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation to talk about how to prepare and launch utility energy efficiency programs for the data center and information technology market.

We got good feedback from several of the participants, and I like to think that we inspired some utilities to at least get in the shallow end of the pool.  We heard from a few utility program managers that they'd  like to start holding customer education and training sessions, which I advocate as a key component of a phase one program roll out.

ESource will be posting the presentations within the next few weeks, but here's my slide deck: Download ESource 9 21 11. I'd call your attention to the last two slides before the close, which summarize a two-phased approach to a program launch.

Thanks to the ESource team for having me on the agenda - I enjoyed being in Denver for the first time.

In Development: Multi-Utility EnergyStar Server Rebate Program

I've been asked by a client to try to put together a working group of utilities, IT equipment distributors, and program managers to offer a rebate program for EnergyStar servers.

Nominally the effort will look very much like the program for EnergyStar desktops and monitors offered by five utilities on the west coast, including three in California (PG&E, SMUD, and SDG&E). That program is moving something less than a million dollars a year in incentives, but by all accounts has the strong support of the participating distributors (after a period of some skepticism).

There are a number of roadblocks on the path to success, including the fact that server makers have not yet made the effort to certify many, if any, of their products.

I'm building a stakeholders list now, with the intent of holding a program planning "summit" in Q3. If you're interested or would like to participate, let me know.

Green Grid Weighs in On Utility Virtualization Incentive Programs

I had the good fortune of attending a portion of the Green Grid Technical Forum in Santa Clara last week, and seeing Corban Lester's presentation based on a new white paper that analyzes utility server virtualization/consolidation incentive programs. (Presentation only available for Green Grid members.) Corban is with Lockheed Martin and heads up the Green Grid's Utility Task Force.

The paper and presentation did a reasonable job explaining why utilities have entered the data center and information technology markets with their energy efficiency programs. I have quibbles on minor points: I don't think efficiency program managers are as risk averse as portrayed, or that utilities are attracted to the market because it has a high PR profile. Utilities are scrambling for savings to meet their targets, and have an obligation in many cases to address all energy use sectors.

What I do support in the paper is the conclusion that utility incentives for server virtualization and consolidation is still appropriate despite decisions by California utilities (and BC Hydro) to end their programs.

A tailored program offering that targets smaller enterprise customers rather than sophisticated IT shops is still needed to drive market penetration and adoption of virtualization - my reading of the market reports says eighty or ninety percent of the market is untouched. That represents an incredible opportunity to drive energy efficiency in the short term, slowing the need for new data center capacity.

Thanks to Utility Panelists

I moderated a panel session at the Teledata Technology Convergence Conference in Santa Clara Wednesday titled "What's Next for Utility IT Incentives" that was well attended and received.

Lee Cooper of Pacific Gas and Electric Company fielded questions about why incentives for server virtualization were no longer needed (the program will close at the end of the year), and why incentive programs for IT equipment are so difficult to design and administer.  He noted that he is watching server power management software as a technology that could be rewarded with incentives, but admitted that the technology doesn't appear to be at all mature yet.

Mary Medeiros McEnroe from Silicon Valley Power (the municipal utility serving the City of Santa Clara) explained how they tailor their programs to their very specific market, which is dominated by large-scale data centers. She revealed that they had ceased offering incentives for new data centers to install air-side free cooling systems, as the technology was being incorporated in all of the new data centers they were seeing anyway.

Derek Schwartz, founder of the Green Data Center Alliance, addressed what I think is a crucial aspect of utility IT and data center programs: marketing and outreach through education and training.  The Alliance has developed a very interesting plan that describes not only the technologies and measures that are most fruitful for pursuing energy efficiency, but the organizational changes that can help make those gains a reality.

Many thanks to my panelists, who I trust felt comfortable and supported by my moderation!

(I will update this post if a video or audio recording of the session is posted by Teledata.)

The End of Utility Rebates for Server Virtualization?

Frankly discouraging news from California, and British Columbia, indicating that leading utilities are considering ending server virtualization/consolidation incentive programs.

First off, Pacific Gas and Electric Company has announced that they plan to expressly prohibit consolidation projects from their customized incentive program, likely early in 2011. (Under the program, customers apply before pursuing a project, using an energy savings calculation worksheet approved by PG&E.)

Given the efforts by investor-owned utilities in California to offer consistent efficiency programs, both Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric will likely follow PG&E's lead, and the few municiapl utilities in the state that were offering incentives are likely to drop their programs as well.

So the question is why? PG&E was the first utility in the nation to offer an incentive program for what is the leading data center IT efficiency measure, but they now seem to think that program participants will be "free riders". In essence, they think virtualization has reached sufficient market penetration that incentives are no longer justified.

That view is supported by a recent evaluation of BC Hydro's program that indicated that three quarters of program participants would have pursued their projects absent the utility incentive program.

WI Focus On Energy Data Center Forum Recap

Got back (late!) Tuesday night from Milwaukee from the second Wisconsin Focus On Energy Data Center Forum this year.

The WFOE folks did their usual outstanding job lining up a great location, solid turnout (over fifty), and a set of customer case studies to support our program that described the energy efficiency opportunities in data centers.

I was struck by the fact that the attendees were all operators of server rooms or quite small data centers, yet there was intense interest in the energy efficiency story, and how to implement measures and technologies that would stave off capacity shortfalls.

The four testimonials were also uplifting. One described the challenges of implementing PC power management across almost two thousand desktop users. Another showed how they implemented airflow containment in a small center to dramatically recapture cooling capacity, allowing for significant increases in IT equipment deployment.

As I said in my closing remarks at the event, Wisconsin Focus on Energy is showing true leadership in offering education and training, technical support, and financial incentives in the data center and IT space. Large-scale data centers may be few and far between in the state, but customers are responding to the outreach and accomplishing great things in their facilities.

I understand a third event in Green Bay in early 2011 may be on offer...

PG&E Data Center Efficiency Class: September 28th

Mark Hydeman of Taylor Engineering and myself will be reprising our data center energy efficiency education program at Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Pacific Energy Center in San Francisco on Tuesday, September 28th.

Mark handles the truly heavy lifting of the program, describing all of the design and retrofit measures for making air conditioning systems in data centers work, and work efficiently.  I cover an industry overview, and IT and power delivery and conditioning equipment measures, and do my best to inspire participants to take action when they get back to their work the following day.

This class has been oversubscribed in the past, so if you are interested, register now.  

Wisconsin Focus On Energy IT Event Recap

I had the very wonderful opportunity to speak at Wisconsin Focus On Energy's Energy Efficient Computing Summit in Madison last week, covering what is happening in the IT industry, and energy efficiency for power delivery and conditioning, and cooling systems. I also tried my best to present the compelling case for driving towards better management of IT infrastructure with regard to energy use.

Geoff Overland of FOE ably covered IT energy efficiency opportunities, and we were both spelled by a half-dozen case studies presented by customers who have participated in FOE programs.

The FOE staff did an outstanding job organizing this event, held at the Fluno Center (wonderful conference center), and drawing just over a hundred well-informed attendees.

I'm told that the feedback on the program was good enough to warrant two additional "shows" in Wisconsin, scheduled for the second week of November.

By the way, I said it at the event and truly believe it: Wisconsin Focus On Energy is running one of the top five utility IT energy efficiency program portfolios in the country, drawing great customer interest and racking up lots of energy savings.