Cisco saves $120,000 using virtual facility simulation method
By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 24 December 2009, 18:12 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Bangalore: According to Datacenter technology developer Future Facilities, Cisco saves around $120,000 per year in energy costs by simulating a datacenter using its Virtual Facility simulation methods. The simulation results were used to design the placement of floor grilles and blanking panels that lowered equipment inlet temperatures and enabled the company to raise its chilled water set point by eight degrees Fahrenheit, reports Web Host Industry Review. Cisco applied two techniques for improving energy efficiency to a facility on its San Jose campus that occupies 7,000 square feet and houses 3,202 units of IT equipment, requiring 770 kW of power. The energy bill for the facility included $660,000 per year in cooling energy and $707,000 in IT equipment power, for a total of $1.4 million. The facility has been running since 1999, with limited consideration given to energy efficiency. The first of the two techniques, applied by a team led by Cisco engineering manager Chris Noland, was the application of familiar best practices, which included the use of blanking panels and plastic curtains to separate supply and return air. According to Future Facilities, Noland's team noted that best practices offered no indication of the outcome, and that they failed to address incompatibilities between equipment and cabinets (rather than room design) as a source of inefficiencies. According to Web Host Industry Review, the second technique was the application of the Virtual Facility simulation, which provides a detailed 3D model simulating space, power and cooling behavior. Future Facilities says that the VF system replaces 'inadequate rules of thumb' with scientifically precise measurement in designing the facility.

siliconindia