Interest in the efficiency of data centers is on the rise

This is due to many different factors, but it has a lot to do with the increasing popularity of cloud computing, which fully depends on their existence. The data centers used by cloud computing providers aren’t like the ones you’re used to. They aren’t just a few servers sitting in an air conditioned room in the back of the office. They are giant server farms that can consume extremely large amounts of energy and other resources if not powered in an efficient manner.

In fact, they can consume 10 to 30 times the energy of an average office building. They can also produce a whole lot of E-waste if end-of-life hardware is not recycled or reused. This can be scary to think about considering how much we hear about diminishing resources, rising energy costs, and the harmful effects of E-waste.

On the positive side, awareness is growing and the demand for more efficient data centers is too. Providers have and are proving that being able to boast operating efficiently creates quite the competitive advantage. The ability to claim your company is “green” has become a strong selling point. Providers that are investing in becoming more efficient are increasingly able to reduce costs and, in turn, offer lower prices on a wider array of offerings.

At this particular point in time (I don’t like saying “in this economy”), most companies’ priorities are as follows:

1. Reduce spending.
2. Reduce spending.
3. Maintain image/integrity (while reducing spending).

Smart Support Companies are Offering Green

There aren’t many better ways to turn a company with priorities like these into a customer than to offer them a solution that simultaneously enables them to save money and do what’s right for the environment.

This is a big reason why providers are starting to make progress towards consolidating resources, conserving energy, and reducing pollution. Take a look at Google’s latest “green” data centers, for example. The average energy overhead of all of Google’s datacenters combined is only 19%. The industry average is a whopping 96%! How is Google able to accomplish such efficiency? There are many different ways, but here are a few of the ways they’re doing it:

1. Using 100% recycled water.
2. “Free cooling” utilizing cooling towers rather than chillers.
3. Recycling or reusing 100% of end-of-life hardware.

Additional methods for increasing efficiency are in the works as well. Possibilities being explored include implementing “utility-scale” solar power, which would require the use of solar power plants that can provide massive amounts of energy at prices that can compete with fossil fuels. Also, geothermal cooling is a very interesting new concept. The bigger providers – like Google and IBM – are diving in deeper because they can afford the up front costs associated with constructing fully “green” data centers. In the long run, these providers will be the ones achieving the real cost savings, which will then be passed down to the consumer.

Data centers are becoming more efficient by the day. Experts are spending more and more time coming up with new concepts and solutions for inefficiencies and proper disposal of E-waste and are seeing real results. As long as the awareness and demand is there, focus on research and development will continue to increase and we will all be rewarded with lower cost solutions and a cleaner planet. Sounds good to me!

This article was contributed by Highroad IT. They are a managed services provider in Newport Beach that specializes in “Green IT”.

In a recently blog entry we talked about how virtualization can be used to increase efficiency and reduce e-waste to help your company become more green. For many people outside of Southern California, ‘Green IT’ isn’t an action item on their to-do list just yet. So, if ‘Green IT’ hasn’t hit your to-do list yet, how does this virtualization stuff benefit you? After all, you don’t have hundreds of employees and your needs are not complicated – email, accounting and file sharing for example.

An Internet website defines “virtualization” as: A method of partitioning one physical server computer into multiple “virtual” servers, giving each the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine.  Each virtual server functions as a full-fledged server and can be independently rebooted.

You and your Network Support Company are Looking for a New Management System

Suppose you start looking at a new line-of business application to manage your business. You have been on plenty of sales calls and attended a few web-based presentations. You are sure productivity and increase your customer service levels. Everything is moving along nicely until…..you find out that the software company requires that their application run on a dedicated server that is not providing email services (Exchange) or providing user authentication services (Active Directory). Now what?

You do have some choices in this situation. Just a few things you might consider are:

1. Move email services to a hosted exchange solution so it will no longer be running on your in-house server. Although, this will not solve the Active Directory issue.
2. Determine if the new application is available as a hosted solution, which may have the added benefit of lower upfront costs in exchange for higher on-going monthly costs.
3. Purchase a new server to add to the network. Install the new application on this server.
4. Purchase a new server with sufficient capacity to run multiple servers in a virtual environment. Migrate your existing server to the new virtual server. Install the new application onto the virtual server as well.

Definitely the Time to Call in your Managed Services Provider

Because her team works with your network day in and day out, they will be familiar with your systems; how they are working now, what capacity they have and what technical hurdles there are. They will be able to talk to the application provider to determine which of the above solutions will work and which will not.

Your managed services provider should work with you to explain each option so that you can make the best decision for your company. If you feel that their ultimate goal is to sell you a new server regardless of whether you have discussed all of the options first, then you need to find a different managed services provider. [We recommend taking a look at our list of reputable regional managed services providers.]

Having intimate knowledge of your network, knowing your business and having a model based on long-term relationships – not short-term sales – are the biggest benefits of choosing managed services over a break fix model. When you enter into a contract with a managed services provider, they become part of your team and should be working with you to achieve the best use of technology for your particular situation.

Expect to hear ‘Server Virtualization’ more often when Discussing your Small Business Network

But since we began by talking about virtualization, let’s get back to that….

Let’s assume that you just aren’t comfortable moving your email or your application to a hosted solution – option #1 and #2. Perhaps you just aren’t able to get a really reliable, fast internet connection in your area and you are concerned that the applications will run too slowly. Maybe you just don’t want to have your data stored anywhere other than your location. That’s fine.

Let’s also assume that you really don’t want to purchase a whole new server on which to install just this one application – option #3. Servers that are single purpose like this, often, are only using about 30% of their capacity. What a waste of money and power.

Virtualization – option #4 – is your answer if you want to keep data local, provide the new application an isolated environment AND speed up your existing system at the same time. In addition to these benefits, you get easier migration to new hardware in the future, disaster recovery built in and the ability to test major upgrades with instant roll-back capabilities. All of these reasons help explain why vitualization is becoming more common for small business networks.

What is Involved with Implementing Virtualization in your Small Business Computer Network?

So, you decided that it might make sense to purchase a new server and use virtualization to partition off a piece of it for your new line of business application.

What Does it Cost to do Server Virtualization?

All current servers on the market support virtualization. You really don’t need to spend much more money (if any at all) to get a decent virtualization platform. If you have a server that was purchased anytime after mid-2009, you may be in luck and already have what you need. The software necessary to run virtual servers used to be pricey, but many software vendors are offering a free version that is plenty powerful for small business networks. Even better, the return on your investment really pays off when your current server is ready for an upgrade in the future. Instead of purchasing a new server, it can be migrated into the virtual platform that you just purchased. Instant benefits with near zero cost.

How much pain is involved? What’s the downside?

As long as you are using a managed services provider who has a handful of (or more) virtualization implementation references, there should be no more pain than with any major implementation. Done properly, you will not notice the difference.

What Should I be Asking my Managed Services Provider?

• Who have you done an installation like this for, and may I speak with them?
• Have you spoken with the application vendor to make sure that we will be fully supported if we virtualize our environment?
• How will we backup our system? I understand that some tape drives do not function properly in a virtual environment.
• Once we virtualize this first server, what is the plan to get our other servers virtualized? Will it require downtime?
• What can I do to ensure that we are as ‘green’ as possible in respect to this server?

This article was contributed by KI Technology Group. They are a managed services provider in East Lansing that specializes in virtualization for small businesses with 10 to 150 employees.

Network Computers, Technology and Pollution

As the IT industry continues to grow worldwide, energy consumption and pollution caused by computer use and end-of-life electronics disposal are becoming a cause for concern. Computer usage worldwide is at an all time high, which also means that energy consumption and the improper disposal of environmentally hazardous materials are also at their peak.

Thanks to the raised awareness of these issues and the demand for “greener” technologies, there are ways for us to increase our use of information technology while reducing the escalation of energy consumption and our impact on the environment. We can’t create an inverse relationship and reverse our negative impact, but we can minimize it if we all make a commitment and do our part.

Why are your Computers, Servers, Network and that new Google Nexus such a Problem?

Inefficiency

Computers and related equipment are not terribly efficient. Chances are, the computer you are working on right now is only being used at 5-15% of it’s working capacity and, while idle, is consuming about the same amount of energy as when you are using it fully. Laptops, desktop computers, and servers, are energy-hungry machines – they’re consuming electricity even when they sleep.

It has been estimated that in 2006, in the United States alone, datacenters consumed $4.5 billion worth of electricity. Can you imagine where that number is today? With industry growth continuously reaching new heights worldwide as an increasing number of people and businesses adopt current technology, one can only assume that energy usage is increasing dramatically.

E-waste

Information Technology is a very large global contributor not only to wasted energy, but to waste in general. The fact is, end-of-life electronics such as computers and monitors contain large amounts of hazardous materials that can be disastrous to our environment. These materials can be properly disposed of and recycled, but more often than not they are dumped in our landfills or sent overseas where they are cheaply and harmfully processed.

The main reason for this is that correctly disposing of E-waste in an environmentally friendly manner can be costly and resource intensive. Unfortunately, awareness has not yet been raised to a level where we take the steps necessary to stop the disastrous effects of improper E-waste disposal on our environment. We aim to help change that.
Here are a few facts about E-waste that you should know:

1. At least 60 million PC’s have already been dumped in U.S. landfills.
2. 250 million computers have become obsolete between 2004-2009.
3. Computers and monitors contain 2-8 lbs. of lead, cadmium, mercury, and other neurotoxins that are not safely contained in landfills.
4. When neurotoxins are dumped in landfills or incinerated, they release toxins into the air and soil that according to health experts, can cause cancer, birth deformities, and arrested brain development.
5. According to Basel Action Network (BAN), 75%-80% of American E-waste wind up in Africa, China, India, and other developing regions – where much of it is processed cheaply, under unsafe and environmentally unsound conditions, exposing them to dangerous chemicals.

As you can see, the disposal of E-waste is a big issue not only in the U.S., but worldwide, and it becomes a bigger issue every day.

How do you Continue to use your Computers, Servers, Network and that new Google Nexus with Minimal Impact?

Increase Efficiency

There are many things you can do to cut energy consumption while improving your bottom line.

• Centralized cooling and air/heat containment for your datacenter. There is no longer any reason to air condition an entire room to keep your systems cool.
• Server and desktop virtualization allow you to consolidate workloads so that you don’t have five systems at 20%, but one at 100%.
• Cloud and application hosting services for email, Microsoft Office, backups, etc. These alternatives are not only affordable from an cash-flow standpoint, but will actually prevent costly upgrades that create e-waste in the future.

The time has come for you to do away with excess hardware and start saving money, space, and, most importantly, energy

E-waste Recycling

Taking necessary action by recycling your end-of-life electronics is extremely important. There are a growing number of E-waste recycling companies that offer pickup services at a very low cost and, in many cases, free of charge. Please join in helping stop the improper disposal of E-waste and start looking towards a cleaner and greener future. Contact your local E-waste recyclers today!
If you have any questions at all on how to accomplish your goals of becoming more energy efficient or regarding how to recycle E-waste in your area, please contact the a managed services provider in your local area.

This article was contributed by Highroad IT. They are a managed services provider in Newport Beach that specializes in “Green IT”.