Data Center/Server Room Best Practices

Decrease Data Center Energy Usage

Case Studies

See how the best practices have been applied on campus

Server rooms and data centers, while necessary to keep our systems and processes functioning, are also major energy consumers. Fortunately, there are practices that can be implemented to greatly reduce energy consumption. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), data center consumption doubled from 2000 to 2005. The good news is present technologies and designs can reduce their energy usage up to 25 percent.

Best Practices for Data Center Management

Select the type of data center/server room that best fits your space to review the best practices:

Server Closet: < 200 ft.² / 1-2 servers, no external storage
Server Room: < 500 ft. ² / a few to dozens of servers, no external storage
Localized Data Center: < 1,000 ft.² / dozens to hundreds of servers, moderate external storage
Mid-Tier Data Center: < 5,000 ft.² / hundreds of servers, extensive external storage
Enterprise-Class Data Center: 5,000+ ft.² / hundreds to thousands of servers, extensive external storage

After a holistic review of IT best practices, the CSCI @ U-M Data Center / Server Room Team consolidated a set of best practices primarily based on the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s (LBNL) Technical Best Practices for Data Center Energy Management. The team reviewed the LBNL Best Practices and identified those strategies most applicable to the University environment. The best practices were then mapped by applicability to various data center sizes based on the EPA’s Typical IT Equipment and Site Infrastructure System Characteristics by Space Type (pg. 37, table 2.1).

There are hundreds of areas identified as server rooms or data centers on campus – from small server closets to large enterprise data centers, each with unique needs. Despite differing specifications, one key important conservation practice is to keep servers out of undesignated spaces; they should be housed in a server closet, server room, or data center that adheres to the energy-saving best practices.

Learn how green your server room and/or data center is*

Perform a Energy Usage Benchmark

In order to optimize any system or combination of systems working together, such as those found in a typical data center, it is crucial to accurately assess its current performance.
Get a Power Usage Efficiency (PUE) reading—Provide routing information within Plant for this measurement.

Perform an assessment of your data center / server room with the best practices.

Self-assessment—Self-explanatory! Use the Data Center/Server Room Worksheet with the best practices.
Planet Blue Team Review –Find out if your building is on the list to be reviewed.
Peer Review—A group of U-M data center managers and staff will review your site and make an assessment relative to industry best practices and energy efficiency opportunities.

*Learn where your server room / data center is located. Be sure to look for the new categorization fields in the Space Management survey.

Put your plan into action!

Determine which best practices are applicable to your site and develop structured recommendations.
Create an Energy Reduction Plan—Start with the source of the problem and use energy-saving best practices to solve it.
Go green! Implement DC/SR Energy Reduction Plan

Keep Records of the Savings and Share Sustainable Efforts!

Perform post-implementation measurement and Energy Usage Benchmark
Document summary results