1E

Wouldn't you Like Your Servers to be Doing Useful Work?

The savings from the adoption of data center efficiency measurement tools are not insignificant – we collectively stand to save $3.8 billion in energy costs alone and $24.7 billion in the total cost of running non-productive servers globallyi.

Utilized or Useful?

According to Gartner (source: Data Center Efficiency and Capacity: A Metric to Calculate Both), a typical x86 server will consume between 60% and 70% of its total power load when running at low utilization levels. Furthermore, according to Gartner’s research, server utilization, especially in x86 environments, is often at the low end of the performance range, averaging between just 7% and 15% in many organizations.

To us here at 1E, this throws up some interesting questions. How many servers out there are actually being used? How efficient are those servers? How many are doing what we call Useful Work and how are organizations measuring server utilization and above all, server energy use and efficiency? Perhaps most importantly, what if you had the ability to put under-utilized servers into a power-saving ‘Drowsy’ profile?

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Gartner content

Data Center Efficiency and Capacity: A Metric to Calculate Both
David J. Cappuccio
18 September 2009
Current metrics being proposed in the industry for data center efficiencies are not adequate for use in day-to-day operations. This research proposes a simple performance metric to be used to identify underutilized resources and cost-saving opportunities in data centers.

1E Content

NightWatchman® Server Edition
NightWatchman Server Edition revolutionizes the measurement of power usage and activity across servers. It reports how much power is used for business applications and how much is being wasted on idle and non-productive processes.

How to save energy in the IT industry
In this podcast, hear Sumir Karayi, CEO, 1E speaking about power management in IT to the Financial Times' Stephen Pritchard.

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24.7bn a Year Goes on Unused Servers is published by 1E. Editorial supplied by 1E is independent of Gartner analysis. All Gartner research is © 2009 by Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All rights reserved. All Gartner materials are used with Gartner's permission and in no way does the use or publication of Gartner research indicate Gartner's endorsement of 1E's products and/or strategies. Reproduction and distribution of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.