Siemens contention: Green data center from planning

According to IDC's estimate, from the operating cost control point of view, in the IT industry, the cost of energy consumption has reached its hardware procurement costs of 25%. The data is rising at a compound annual rate of 52%. When enterprises and large and medium-sized organizations face the changing business pressure and the data of exponential growth, it is necessary to consider and pay attention to the characteristics of environmental protection and energy saving in the data center.

At the same time, the Enterprise Data center in the field of various products have been affixed to the "green energy-saving" label, a variety of "green energy" as the main selling point of the new technology is also emerging, then these new technologies and new products can create a real "green energy-saving" data center? How do enterprise CIOs and data center managers look at data center "green energy" issues?

The network has recently launched a series of interviews on the topic of Green data center, with the invitation of Senior Program manager of Siemens Zhang Ti to discuss the "green energy-saving" trend in the data center and try and practice the "green energy saving" in the data center.

Moderator: Good friends, welcome you to watch our high-end interview today. So sitting in IT168 's studio today, is a senior program manager from Siemens's data center Services Division.

Zhang dispute: Hello everyone, hello.

Moderator: We also know, because we have been talking about some green energy-saving topics in succession recently. And we know that Siemens actually has some very prominent experience in data center transportation and management. The entire data center can be said to be a green model and model. So today we are very honored to invite Mr. Zhang Ti to our studio, and we would like to share and communicate with our users and netizens about the experience of Green data center construction. I think the beginning of the interview we start from the whole Green data center development trend above. I would like to ask a question, that is from your point of view, I do not know if you have some other users of some exchanges of experience. I don't know what you think this Green data center is for Chinese users. In my impression is the 08 manufacturers began to talk about green data center, but the response of the user is not much, so I do not know that the development of today is a leading manufacturer of power, or the user himself to feel the pain point of this demand.

Zhang: First of all, thank you for the recognition of the achievements of Siemens Data center. Then we'll talk about the Siemens Data Center, the understanding of the data center. First question to you, we now most of the users of the Siemens Green Data Center, or the green data center, he's a degree of awareness, first of all, I think the green energy conservation has become not only the data center area, an important (decision) step, The dots in all of our lives, including the policy direction of our government. Including some of our practical life applications. To green energy, the data center is growing at an increasing rate, and his growing demand for this kind of information is geometrically disbursements, and we can say that Moore's law is a good description of his growth. This is a very simple arithmetic problem. We are equal to four times times the growth in our IT information business every two years and the amount of electricity that we use for IT equipment three times times. But every two years we have all of our IT support power his growth we only grew twice times, which would cause our electricity to become more and more tense. At the same time, every year, the global data centers emit a lot of greenhouse gases, emissions into the atmosphere, so green energy conservation is now a very urgent need.

Moderator: Actually from our side and some other user interviews also found this problem, because after this interview we also found that most users of the green data center, far beyond our imagination. As you said, the Green data Center small personal life, big to national society. Really is a very meaningful topic. I also want to know, because users are more curious about how Siemens is doing this green energy-saving.

Zhang contend: Siemens ' green energy-saving first is a building from the Siemens Data Center, which is one of the big aspects. followed by his operation. Let's talk about construction first. At the beginning of our data center, Siemens is based on an energy-saving, consumption, one of our original intention to do his a planning and design, we made a very long, from five to 15 years of development planning, this period we will not waste any construction costs, this is an energy-saving, a very good way to save energy , what kind of data center do we want for our needs, to build a data center, a lot of users are talking to me at the moment, they are also saying, our data center is to build how big, some of the time is to build a very large data center, this is not necessary. First of all, to grasp the needs of their own use, to make a good plan. Secondly, when we build the data center, we will use a lot of advanced energy-saving engineering technology to build our data center into a real green data center. For example, we use a lot of natural cooling (technology), such as the cold channel closure, including our unique characteristics of Siemens, data center using the plug bus. This type of power supply has made a great contribution to energy saving.

Next is the operation Dimension, the construction of the data center uses, he in his entire life cycle, must unceasingly the integration, actually said specifically, is to the server resources virtualization integration. We are also constantly using virtualization technology, to take many of our original needs of several physical servers, gradually transferred to a physical processor. So objectively we save a lot of energy. Construction spending, I remember Siemens data center, Pue value should be around 2.1. Our current PUE value has dropped to 1.72 as our ongoing virtualization consolidation continues to improve and improve the physical facilities, including airflow, including power distribution. And this value is in our data center usage just over 50% when a value, if the use rate of more than 80% or even 90%, I believe the Pue value will be around 1.5.

Moderator: In fact, Mr Zhang Ti introduced some of Siemens ' very important experiences in green data centers. I think just now you talked about the planning, then I think from your point of view, to be able to calculate a little bit, if you want to plan a data centre, he needs to consider from which aspects?

Zhang dispute: Is this, the planning of a data center construction, first of all we have a location problem, we must meet the current design specifications. Including implementation ah, acceptance of some of the specifications, these are prerequisites. A proper location also allows us to make a difference in energy conservation. For example, if this is the national or global data center, then I believe that if the use of natural cooling technology to build in the relatively cold climate of the region, than in the relatively hot climate of the region, the data center is more energy-efficient. Second, the focus on our business needs to grasp. If we know exactly what kind of business we need, this is a crucial determinant of the scale and level of our data center's future construction. I think these two points are the prerequisite for good planning.

You have just talked about the possibility that Siemens's data center may have several years of planning, including a five-year plan, including 15 years of planning. So now Siemens, the next transformation should be in 07, just we communicate this should be in 07, then his overall design is to use a few years of planning to do it?

Siemens's data center should be called completion. The final is in May 08, we put into use, trial run. After his, I remember our design plan should be around 8-10 years. Because our understanding of the data center lifecycle at the time was 8 to 10, we decided that future data center patterns might have some adjustments or changes. So it's not too much to take him to 15 years or even a 20-year longer term.

Moderator: Just now you introduced Siemens Data center after a very careful planning, then the current Siemens data Center one of his application size is probably what a situation.

Zhang dispute: Yes, Siemens in Beijing's data center, planning area is 1100 square meters, but we in the first phase of the use of about 600 square meters as the first phase of the project. Which is used to hold our IT equipment, the main room area is about 490 square meters. He has a role in the entire Northeast Asia region, all Siemens Group, all Siemens, one of his IT services. At present, in our entire data center host room placed nearly 600 servers, while for our domestic, more than 40 branches of more than 16,000 terminals to provide valet service.

Moderator: that you mentioned just now, the entire data center supports the terminal to reach more than 16,000, this is a very large-scale data center, then you to the entire data center server, storage, including network, the respective resource utilization situation does not know you this side to have the understanding.

Zhang dispute: There is a certain understanding, I from Siemens Data Center for the team to learn some relevant data, at present, we in the server his utilization should reach more than 60%, while other some storage, network equipment, his utilization can reach more than 85%.

Moderator: So this is actually a relatively high utilization situation.

Zhang: Yes, because we are also doing some server virtualization consolidation. Our virtualization rate has reached about 30%. is already a fairly high number at home.

Moderator: So our 30% virtualization applications, probably all of those applications?

Zhang: He mainly hosts some of the Siemens group, as well as some of our key partners in the mail delivery services, files and Web Access, including systems such as SAP applications.

Moderator: You just talked about the entire Siemens center in the virtualization application of the proportion of more than 30%, in fact, the entire domestic users, in the virtualization application has been the forefront. So I don't know if Siemens has the data, what kind of consolidation has been reduced in the number of servers after virtualization has been applied.

Zhang dispute: So, before we apply virtualization technology, we need to handle the same amount of business we currently have, and it takes about thousands of servers to work at the same time, and now through the whole of our ongoing virtualization, including some IT equipment, server device technology factor performance is increasing, in this large background, We have now reduced to about 600 units. But this is also the rise in this, the number of servers is down, and we provide the amount of data in the rise, is this.

Moderator: On the one hand we provide more and more complex applications, on the other hand, the number of servers is reduced. I also want to understand, from your side, you to the server storage, and then the network components of this energy consumption you know?

Zhang contend: In their coming to compare, the amount of energy that should be in our grasp, he accounted for the total amount of electricity in the data center about 50%. The server is certainly the majority, but in terms of some of the monomer's IT equipment, there may be some blade servers, and some large storage equipment he is the largest energy consumption, network equipment is certainly slightly lower, this is our current grasp of some data.

Moderator: In other words, I don't know if there are any software available to help users find my data center weakness is there.

Zhang dispute: Our Siemens data IT group's research and development team is in Germany, they have some corresponding solution to solve these problems, such as this kind of thermal imager, such as very sensitive sensor and so on, now these room, the hotspot of the data Center capture instrument, Siemens has the corresponding solution, I may not be able to explain much about software.

Moderator: Perhaps more to understand the actual situation in the room. I also want to know, in fact, you just introduced Siemens in the computer room of energy saving and consumption of some unique technology, including just now you mentioned the natural cooling, may be the need for a new location in the play relationship. In addition you mentioned a call bus?

Zhang: Well, this is one of the most distinctive things about Siemens Beijing data Center. The previous data center was built from the underground power distribution room, cable through cable bridge to the inside of our data center, and then allocated to each cabinet of the PDU, for all of our IT equipment to use power, we are from the underground distribution room directly with the plug bus to our room. This has obvious benefits, one is greatly reduced the use of our cable, you know that cable his load flow is with his constant stack, his load flow will be reduced, and he will have a certain amount of surplus, so that our copper loss first savings. The second is our space, which can also be understood as a small means of energy conservation. We use effective space to put more IT equipment, so we do not need to use more space to expand our data center. He freed up some of the power cabinet space to prevent our IT equipment, and the third is our transport for the aspect very convenient, no more expansion, move or change his power, his transformation, will open the floor, and then open the bridge, and then power off, and then the cable connected again, and then repeat the side, and finally restore him. This is very, very troublesome. Using the plug-bus technology, we can directly open the floor, pull out the plug box, directly outside the replacement of our needs of the specifications of the circuit breaker, and then put him back on the OK.

Moderator: In addition to plug bus, in the Green data center This unique characteristics of some of the technical aspects of the technical aspects, there are those you can introduce?

Zhang: It is worth mentioning that we are in a data center of Siemens in Munich, he is very good at refrigeration. He did not use the traditional chiller, or the compressor his refrigeration mode. He is completely water-cooled, the real sense of water-cooled air conditioning, pumping groundwater as a medium of our cold cycle, and then take away the heat in the room, this groundwater into a hot water, and then back to the underground, so the cycle of a circle. He has greatly saved energy, so the data center, his pue value is very low, only about 1.4.

Moderator: 1. 4 that is already close to the international this most advanced level. You also mentioned that the domestic Siemens Pue value is also around 1.72, I know you are the Pue value is how to consider, because I understand some users, he may not be able to calculate his pue value.

Zhang contend: The calculation of the Pue value is actually very simple. The so-called pue is one of our power consumption efficiency, that is, using all of your data center energy consumption, divided by your energy consumption on IT equipment, the closer to 1, it is considered as the more energy-saving data center. At present domestic one Pue value level should be in 2.5 to Zhang contend. 0. This is also a very very energy-consuming data center. He is equivalent to twice times the amount of electricity to support IT equipment. So he's not doing a good job of saving energy. Some of the new data centers, now many of our customers are asking for PUE value, at least 2. I think it is good to do the Pue value of 2.0 at home. What needs to be emphasized is that the PUE value is not quite simple, as I said a calculation, a reaction on the drawing, or at a point in time to measure the mark readings. He is a dynamic process for a long time. After a long period of transportation, one of his, you can simply understand him as an average, not at a certain point, or at the beginning of construction. You've seen this 1.72 just now, and our usage rate is only 50%. If his usage reaches more than 80%, the Pue value will be lower I believe.

Moderator: Now I have interviews with some users in the country, may be with these users they are in the data center application level is actually related, their reaction will feel that pue value for them does not have a particularly strong guiding significance. Perhaps to them, the test Pue value itself is a problem, in the energy monitoring aspect itself does not make outstanding, itself does not strictly prohibit. The second one is I'm not quite sure that this pue value for some data centers he may have a peak, and then there is also a smooth flow. If for him, for the peak, he felt that this pue value for him completely meaningless, he had to meet a peak build to be able to achieve, and then caused by the Pue value is too high. I don't know what you think of this situation.

Zhang: Well, that's the point that I just emphasized, the Pue value is not a measure of his measurements at a particular point in time, or a ratio of reactions to a drawing, he is an average in this long running state. If I think pue is meaningful, after all, he reflects the internal energy consumption of our data center, of course, some customers believe that pue value or low impact on their own, in fact, there is a very realistic significance. The lower the Pue value, the more energy-efficient your data center proves, the less it costs you spend on the data center, which means that the more energy-saving, the cheaper, my son is in the transport. This is of great practical significance. So even a lot of international organizations, specifically for the pue have a measurement ah, or a regulation of such a process, including the development of Wue, developed out of cue, is to the water and the exploration of the emission of an indicator of their measurement. So I believe that the various UE will also become our data center measurement of energy efficiency is an important sign.

Moderator: Then I would like to ask, from your point of view, because the manufacturer in the push Green data center This technology has been a long time, from your side to understand the manufacturer's promotion and green data center related to those technologies?

Zhang: First of all it should be its own IT equipment, with these IT equipment manufacturing technology, with our application of silicon materials his technology more and more development, its own server his performance on the premise that he lowered his power consumption, which is commendable. Then there are some physical support devices. For example, our precision air-conditioning, such as our ups and so on. There are also a lot of people who are advocating or studying other energy-saving ways, which is more applied in the engineering construction field. such as cold channel closure, such as hot channel closed, this way. To give a specific example, ups in this respect, the first ups appeared in fact he is dynamic, that is, we now call a flywheel-type ups, because he provided a certain amount of backup time is limited, so gradually replaced by our static ups. But static ups, and the battery behind him, are more energy-intensive. But the flywheel-type UPS has a certain contribution in terms of energy saving, but it has not been promoted in the domestic market due to various restrictions.

Moderator: Well, based on your experience, we have had some calm and some problems in the process of trying this green data center.

Zhang contend: Bottlenecks and difficulties must be there, for example, now there are some green data center He has a very advanced concept and technology, first of all, we use these technologies to implement the time, will encounter certain difficulties, such as the high voltage DC technology has been advocated, this to our energy saving is meaningful, but because of the various brands, Each manufacturer's IT equipment is not fully applicable to our High-voltage DC this set of technology within the voltage range, this is also the need for many of our manufacturers, many equipment manufacturers to sit down together to talk about how to create a unified standard, let us more to apply some energy-saving technology.

Moderator: We've just talked about the problem of matching this high-voltage DC power supply, so have you encountered any other difficulties and bottlenecks in addition?

Zhang: I just gave a very obvious example to illustrate if we all can reach a consensus, unified a standard, first of all solve our consciousness problem, we need to go to energy-saving, this is very very important premise, second of some difficulties and bottlenecks, the first is the cost. This you know, now some green energy-saving technology, he is relatively advanced, advanced means that the cost is higher. This is a significant impact on our data center decision makers, the second is the risk, some very mature technology, although he does not save energy, but we use it very safe, very convenient, if you want to do the first to eat crabs, will have to bear a certain technical, including some financial risks. Another is the standard, we do green data center, although we call him Green data center, in the end the standard is there, we are now a blank, is the lack of standards in this area, can not you say green, on green. I also said I was green.

In addition to an indicator of a pue value, this is a value that can be observed for a long time. It is also hoped that at the policy level, there is a relevant standard for us to do, according to these standards to do whether you are green or not green. Otherwise, the data center is bleached green. The last one I think the difficulties and bottlenecks is to put some advanced ideas and techniques, how to put his implementation of the problem. It's like the very hot cloud computing technology now. How to put energy-saving technology, like cloud computing, let him in from the sky Cloud, into raindrops fell to the ground, to implement our actual project implementation. This is also a development should be said to be the bottleneck problem. I believe that solve the above points, green energy-saving data center will no longer be a hot spot, we all think that energy saving. has been popularized, and this is one of the best results.

Moderator: I think you just mentioned cloud computing, in fact, I think this is actually very important, I do not know whether Siemens has done some cloud computing attempts.

Zhang: As far as I know, at present, the well-known enterprises in China, Siemens is also trying to do cloud computing, and achieved a certain small achievement of one of the enterprises, we now have a private cloud within the Siemens company. In other words, IT group, Siemens IT group, first set up a resource pool within Siemens. We have a lot of services ah, application Ah, all from the private cloud of our enterprise, this is our cloud computing technology to implement a major effort and achievements.

Moderator: You just talked about some Siemens in the Green data center to adopt some characteristics of technology, including plug bus, in fact, is very bright, you can introduce more experience?

Zhang dispute: Some other experience in fact in engineering construction, we have also taken some very detailed things, such as we do in the hot and cold channel Airflow Organization Division, on some openings, for some vacant cabinet space, we will adopt blind board, or airtight brush the way he seals, This is also the airflow to our organization AH, the air circulation of his cold air more concentrated, there is very very practical significance. Including decoration, we will take more environmentally friendly, and better insulation performance of some materials, so that the use of our cold, is very very good, this is also in the details of some very small open, although he is small, but the accumulation of bits, Also plays a key role in reducing the overall energy consumption of our data centers.

Moderator: Yes, in fact, I think these are also very important, this initial planning and general direction to ensure energy saving, and then in small detail also need to source for energy-saving ideas. In addition, I would like to ask, we Siemens in the data center, there is no reference to the experience of other data centers in the industry?

Zhang dispute: Of course there is, because of his mountain stone can attack jade, as long as the concept and technology is advanced, we will also be used, like a very practical small data center in the use of the inter-row refrigeration Ah, this is the other friends to provide very very practical this technology, It is very helpful to our energy saving and consumption reduction.

Moderator: Then finally you can give our users and netizens also summed up, you to build a green data center experience and suggestions.

Zhang contend: Experience and suggestions some, first I think if you build a very, very green datacenter, the first plan, the second you have to have a good design, third, because like Siemens, our own designers and our final operators and users are the same team, the data center of the building requirements of the acquisition, And our final reaction to the composition of the drawings is of great significance. So you have to understand the user's needs first, and then grab their points and focus to build the data center, so as to do their best. Finally, in the aspect of transport to give some such as standard process, do a very very standardized transport, this is also on the Green Data Center for energy-saving has very important significance. And the last thing I want to say is, green energy conservation is not the idea, has been all of us have to be urgent to do a problem, we believe that under the cooperation of various forces, promote, green data center is no longer a topic, is to enter the tens of thousands of people, into everyone's thought, one of the deep-rooted consciousness. This is also our final vision of Siemens.

Moderator: OK, thank you very much, Mr. Zhang Ti. Today, we share a lot of experience with our users and friends, and Siemens has some practical experiences in green data center.

Zhang dispute: Thank you

Moderator: Thank you for watching our interview today.