Incenting the Right Behaviors in
the Data Center
Christian Belady & Ganesh Balakrishnan
Microsoft Corporation
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
Essential Ingredients for Efficiency
1) Find a relevant Metric
2) Measure for Awareness
3) Incent for Action
Efficiency is behavior problem
more than it is a technology
problem
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
Cost Trends
• Cost of physical space was a primary
consideration in data center design
•Chargeback based on space
•Drove Efficient use of space (Density)
• Cost of power and cooling has risen to
prominence
•Chargeback needs to be based on power
•Drives Efficient Use of Power!
• Data center managers now must prioritize
investment in efficient power and cooling
systems to lower the total cost of operating
(TCO) of their facilities.
Belady, C., “In the Data Center, Power and Cooling Costs More
than IT Equipment it Supports”, Electronics Cooling Magazine
(Feb 2007)
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
Data Center "PacMan" in the US
Land
Core / Shell
Mech /Elec
Arch
Land - 2%
Core & Shell Costs – 9%
Architectural – 7%
Mechanical / Electrical – 82%
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
Where the cost are:
>80% scale with power
<10% scale with space
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
Relevant Metrics at Microsoft
PUE/DCiE
The Green Grid
DCiE: Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency
DC Utilization
Server Utilization
Cost
Move from
DCiE
X 100%
Cost = f(space)
Cost = f(power)
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
SCRY – Tool for Tracking Power/Energy to Allocate
Costs and Optimize Efficiency Globally in DCs
• Tracks power usage daily
• Communication tool for
Online Operations
• Allows universal tracking of
improvements by all
interested parties including
executives
• Has fed Microsoft’s
obsession with Efficiency
and Cost reduction.
http://download.microsoft.com/download/a/7/b/a7b72ab1-ca17-4589-923a-83b0ff57be6d/Energy-Efficiency-Best-Practices-in-Microsoft-Data-Center-Operations-CeBIT.doc
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
SCRY Helps Demonstrate Continuous
Improvement on existing data centers and helps
set Goals for new data centers
Goals at Microsoft.
Microsoft Average PUE
Targets for New DCs
2.200
2.000
22% improvement over 3 years
1.800
1.600
1.400
1.200
Follows
Moore’s Law
1.000
2006
2008
2010
PUE
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
2012
How has Behavior Changed
Optimization of data center design
Follow best practices
Adoption of new technologies
Optimization of code
Engineer the data center
Right sizing
Elimination of stranded compute
Select most efficient servers – app/watt
Right amount of cores and dimms for app
Elimination of stranded power
Elimination of stranded cooling
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. The
information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should
not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES,
EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.
C. Belady/G. Balakrishnan
EPA/DOE Meeting - Redmond , WA
July 8, 2008