Sign in to search Gartner Research
Sign in to search Gartner Research |
|
|
Key Issues to Be Discussed at Gartner Data Center Events, November 22-23 in London, and December 6-9 in Las Vegas
A significant increase in server sales during the next two years will lead to a further acceleration of data center power, cooling and space problems, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner said that users need to quantify the effects of new deployments and take action without delay.
"While server sales expected to rise the next two years, many IT administrators are already grappling with data center power, cooling and space issues of its current fleet," said Rakesh Kumar, research vice president at Gartner. "Virtualization and consolidation projects will help offset some of these issues, but with the snowball effect that these issues tend to create within an organization, users need to act quickly."
According to Gartner, the worldwide server market declined by 16.5 percent in revenue and by 16.8 percent in volume in 2009. However, analysts predict that the market will recover from 2010 onward, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5 percent for shipments and 2.4 percent for revenue from 2010 through 2014.
Mr. Kumar explained that while servers consume only about 15 percent of the direct energy in data centers, there is a cascade effect. The more servers that exist, the more heat is generated and, therefore, the more cooling equipment is needed. Hence, if the data center power, cooling and space problems were causing such headaches in a very depressed IT market, they will become significantly worse in an expanding market.
Gartner has identified a number of actions that users need to undertake to manage these problems in 2010 and 2011, including:
Do not underestimate the issues.
Quantify the problem. Users need to get accurate capacity-related data to quantify the impact of infrastructure expansion on the amount of data center power, cooling and available space. This involves working with facility teams to see what is available and how quickly it could be used up. It also means that the infrastructure and operations (I&O) groups need to work with the application and architecture teams to see what is being planned for the next few years and to translate those needs into energy and space metrics. Many of the consolidation and virtualization projects that started two years ago will continue to yield benefits that will offset the impact of new hardware deployments. However, in all cases, accurate modeling and quantification are key to addressing the problem in a controlled manner.
Use monitoring tools.
Users need to start implementing energy-monitoring tools to manage and predict capacity requirements and to control operational costs. The use of monitoring tools remains low but is readily available as part of core server management tools or as separate, server-independent tools for organizations.
Accelerate consolidation and virtualization projects.
Many of these projects were started two years ago as the IT recession started. These are multiyear activities, with benefits occurring over the life of the projects. However, the benefits often increase toward the end of the project, so users should accelerate the speed of adoption and change. This should provide extra energy capacity and floor space to offset the needs of new hardware.
Assess the benefits of delaying new server purchases.
Many organizations will look to deploy new servers as a result of new projects over the next few years. However, Gartner urges I&O departments to fully assess the benefits and pitfalls of doing so. In some cases, it may be beneficial to delay the acquisition and use capacity that is freed up from consolidation and virtualization projects. The equation is complex, because new servers typically use less energy than older ones, and, in some cases, have greater capacity as a result of new multicore processors. They also have better energy management tools. However, there will likely be spare capacity on older machines that could also be used.
Additional information is available in the report "Data Center Power, Cooling and Space: A Worrisome Outlook for the Next Two Years" which is available on Gartner's website at http://www.gartner.com/resId=1313015.
Key issues facing the data center industry will be examined at the upcoming Gartner Data Center Summit, November 22-23, in London, and at the Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas, December 6-9. These conferences deliver tactics and strategies to address your hottest issues: next-stage virtualization, the impact of cloud computing, best practices in cost optimization, managing escalating energy costs, the aging infrastructure and more.
Members of the media can register for the event in London by contacting Ben Tudor, Gartner PR, at + 44 (0) 1784 267 738 or at ben.tudor@gartner.com. Additional information is available at www.europe.gartner.com/datacenter.
Members of the media can register for the event in Las Vegas by contacting Christy Pettey, Gartner PR, at christy.pettey@gartner.com. For further information on the Gartner Data Center Conference, please visit www.gartner.com/us/datacenter.
Additional information from the event will be shared on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Gartner_inc and at #GartnerDCC.
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the valuable partner in over 13,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Executive Programs, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 5,500 associates, including 1,400 research analysts and consultants, and clients in 85 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.
Comments or opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual contributors only, and do not necessarily represent the views of Gartner, Inc. or its management. Readers may copy and redistribute blog postings on other blogs, or otherwise for private, non-commercial or journalistic purposes. This content may not be used for any other purposes in any other formats or media. The content on this blog is provided on an "as-is" basis. Gartner shall not be liable for any damages whatsoever arising out of the content or use of this blog.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 © 2013
Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
|
