Data Center Effectiveness: The Central Challenges in 2010
Presenter: Pitt Turner, Executive Director, Uptime Institute
Monday, May 17 8:30-9:00 am, Sutton Complex
In the near term, the greatest opportunity for data center managers and executives is to take back control of their jobs! Some have, but most have not. In spite of myriads of opportunities, real pressures to change, solid accomplishments of industry leaders, and volumes of best practices, there remains much to do. This presentation will ground us in the importance of business requirements and lead us forward to implementation of proven upgrades.
Critical Infrastructure Monitoring Best Practices
Presenter: Matt Lane, President, Geist Intelligent Facilities
Tuesday, May 18 2:45-3:15 pm, Nassau B
The word "monitoring" is creating a lot of buzz in the data center world today. What is really needed though in a comprehensive monitoring system? This session, conducted by Matt Lane of Geist Intelligent Facilities, will explore many questions like:
- What can I monitor in my facility?
- What should I monitor in my facility?
- How much data is too much data?
- What should I look for in a monitoring vendor?
- How can I calculate a return on investment for my monitoring system?
Answers to these questions and more will be discussed. Join us for a best practices look at critical infrastructure monitoring systems.
Optimizing Data Center and IT Performance: Virtualization, Cloud Computing, and Smart Grid
Panelists include: James Houghton, Adaptivity; Kevin Meagher, EDSA; Antonio Piraino, Tier1 Research (Moderator); Byron Washom, University of California-San Diego
Monday, May 17 11:35-12:10 pm, Sutton Complex
"Plan your work... and work your plan." It's an axiom that personal productivity coaches have advocated for years... and nowhere is it more true than in the data center. Throughout the lifecycle of any data center, technology upgrades, equipment changes, and maintenance can inadvertently cause a data center to drift further and further from the original design specifications. The future as envisioned by virtualization, cloud computing and now energy management all require new and innovative approaches that imply clear understanding of what your base line is and how to move forward. Optimization is the key. As you deviate from your original design model or blueprint, can your attempts to "upgrade" your facility- or embarking on virtualization, cloud computing, and smart grid strategies - actually be causing it to operate sub-optimally?
Join executives from EDSA, Adaptivity, and fellow data center operators in this lively discussion about "IT Blueprints" and "model-based power analytics"... two important constructs in ensuring the highest possible levels of availability and energy efficiency.
Discussion: Innovations and Roadmap for Data Center Power
Panelists include: Ken Baker, Hewlett Packard; Keiichi Hirose, NTT Facilities, Inc.; Martin Olsen, Active Power; Jason Schafer, Tier1 Research (Moderator); Ben Stewart, Terremark; Ken Uhlman, Eaton
Wednesday, May 19 11:30-12:00 pm, Gibson
As always, the state of the art in data center power provisioning is in constant flux. This panel explores the latest trends in the efficiency of power provisioning components and how choices can affect site availability. Technologies and strategies examined may include
- flywheel energy storage systems
- advancements in batteries
- direct current power distribution
- changes to distribution voltages
- renewables integration
- demand response
What does the future hold for power?
Discussion: Innovations and Roadmap for Cooling
Panelists include: Carl Cotulli, Wright Line; Joerg Desler, Stulz-ATS; Dr. Bob Sullivan, Uptime Institute (Moderator)
Monday, May 17 2:05-2:35 pm, Gibson
What cooling innovations should data center operators expect in the next few years? Some strategies, like hot / cold aisle containment, are easy to adopt and continue to evolve. Others, like outside air cooling, are still considered experimental but hold great promise.
Some have posited that in some ways, the cooling industry has "failed the CIO" in terms of delivering what data centers need. On this panel, cooling solutions providers, data center end-users, and Uptime Institute's "chief skeptic" Dr. Bob Sullivan meet to discuss (and debate!) the cooling options in terms of their costs, efficiency, and contributions to high availability.
Low PUE, High Availability
Presenter: Jeff Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Ark ContinuityMonday, May 17 3:25-3:55 pm, Clinton
Ark Continuity's data center development in the west of England is arguably one of the most energy effcient in the world and has been described as "Europe's Greenest Data center." Its PUE levels of below 1.3 are extremely low, given that its service offerings include a Fault Tolerant level. Ark Continuity achieves this by a number of significant technological innovations, including revolutionary geothermal cooling. Jeff Thomas, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Ark Continuity data centers, will discuss the technological innovations in a business and environmental context.
Green Enterprise IT Award Winner Case Study - Facilities Innovation
Savvis NJ2 HVAC Upgrade ProjectTuesday, May 18 10:05-10:35 am, and 10:40-11:10 am, Nassau A
PRESENTER: Pepe Castells, Central Engineering Group, Savvis
A project was initiated to replace/upgrade the controls of the 12 year old chiller and pumping system. The project was completed without any impact to the IT function and the energy savings will provide an 18 month ROI as well as increased redundancy for the facility.
A principal objective of the Green Enterprise IT Awards is to educate the data center and IT industries in effective ways to reduce energy consumption by highlighting innovation and best practices. Knowledge sharing is a critical component of the Green Enterprise IT Awards program.
In this session, a data center owner or operator will present their Award-winning case study of a completed, facilities-based project that significantly and quantifiably improved data center energy efficiency.
Discussion: Next Generation Energy - Lower Carbon, Lower Bills?
Panelists include Gregg Dixon, EnerNOC; Peter Panfil, Liebert AC Power; Jeff Thomas, Ark Continuity; Dr. Bob Sullivan, Uptime Institute (Moderator); Anthony Wanger, i/o Data Centers Tuesday, May 18 9:20-9:50 am, Nassau Suite The major goal of this session is to separate theory from practice, as they relate to renewable energy in data centers. Renewable energy has several potential benefits, including freedom from pollution, a hedge against rising electricity prices, backup power independent of the grid, and putting power close to the point of use. On the other hand, many users have been slow to adopt renewables in practice, despite the benefits.
For those that have adopted renewables, this panel explores the challenges that early-adopters face, how these challenges were overcome, and what other users can learn and apply to decision-making at their own sites. During the Q&A session, audience members are encouraged to share with the panelists what they think the renewables industry can do to better meet the needs of data center operators.
The Data Center as a Smart Grid
Presenters: Mark A. Ascolese, Chief Executive Officer, EDSA, with Kfir Godrich, Vice President, HP Enterprise Business; and Alain Steven, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President, Viridity EnergyTuesday, May 18 2:45-3:15 pm, Gibson
Not long ago, the idea of operating a mission-critical facility as an autonomous microgrid, one that was "hot-pluggable" on and off the public grid as needed, would have been as far-fetched as building one on a fault line. The greatest obstacle was the fact that the two vital software technologies required - a master controller, and an energy pricing/optimization engine - were at least five years from being commercially viable, according to industry experts. Someone forgot to tell EDSA and Viridity Energy: the two companies have partnered with UC San Diego - already one of the most technologically advanced campus-wide microgrids in the world - to develop one of the first highly-reliable campus microgrids. The implications for data center operators are enormous... bringing them closer to the day when they will be able to make real-time expert decisions about when to rely on self-generated power, when to switch to utility power, and when to sell excess power back to the public grid, all without jeopardizing reliability. Don't miss the sneak preview of what's coming to a data center power grid near you.
Discussion: Efficiency vs. Availability -- An End-User Perspective on Trade-offs
Panelists include Ken Brill, Uptime Institute (Moderator); Bob Cashner, Wachovia (a Wells Fargo Company); Lex Coors, Interxion; Dave Rotheroe, Hewlett Packard; Tony Ulichnie, Uptime Institute
Tuesday, May 18 12:45-1:15 pm, Nassau A
On both the IT and facilities sides of the data center, operators are wary of trade-offs that involve boosting efficiency at the possible expense of uptime. Will new UPS technologies or outside air increase the risk of an outage? Can virtualized platforms and power management features be trusted?
This group of seasoned end-users will discuss how to think about these issues and how each operator can make the best decision with respect to his or her unique business requirements.
Factory-Wired vs Field-Wired: The Model T vs Rolls Royce
Presenter: Martin Olsen, Vice President, Global Channels and Business Development, Active Power
Tuesday, May 18 2:00-2:30 pm, Gibson
The Model T was the first car to "put America on wheels," partly due to Henry Ford's innovation behind assembly line production. Over time, the production process of pushing out Model Ts was refined and streamlined, removing custom designs from the process. All processes became standardized and repeatable which resulted in mass production of units with little to no defects. Reliability was extremely high. Ultimately, this led to economies of scale which allowed Ford to achieve his objective of offering an automobile that is "...low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one..."
This presentation will discuss how data center and infrastructure containerization is similar to the Model T and highlight the performance and economic benefits behind a system that is pre-assembled and factory tested offsite. The speaker will reference a recent study by Massachusetts-based consulting firm MTechnologies, Inc., which recently identified up to 1200 times the disparity in anticipated defect rates in a field-wired system (conventional brick and mortar facility) compared with a system that is factory-wired. Aston Martin and Ferrari still exist today, but more folks drive Ford and Toyota for good reason.
The Chameleon Data Center: Transforming to Meet Your Business Needs...
Presenter: Dr. Carlos Garcia de la Noceda, Senior Program Manager - Data Center Business Unit, Deerns Consulting Engineers
Wednesday, May 19 1:35-2:05 pm, Nassau A
Real flexibility is forced upon the data center as the biggest challenge in the coming years; the result of both increasing uncertainty of and increasing speed of change in the IT environment. Flexibility with little sunk costs is key in combating this challenge. The Chameleon Data Center has been designed and engineered to dynamically adapt when meeting the current and future requirements of the market. It is designed to allow maximum flexibility of data center use in terms of IT space, cooling, power, and resiliency level, whilst maintaining energy efficiency and sustainability. The Chameleon Data Center changes the way we do business and answers current and future demands of space, reliability, flexibility, and investment.
Protecting Critical Data Assets Against Intentional Electromagnetic Interference
Presenter: Gale Nordling, President and Chief Executive Officer, Emprimus Tuesday, May 18 2:45-3:15 pm, Morgan
Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI) is a growing threat to data center operations. Technology exists today for a truck carrying specialized equipment to park near a data center, direct electromagnetic radiation through the walls of the facility, and damage data and equipment inside. This session discusses the threat and possible technologies for countering it.
Discussion: Data Center Management Tools and Software
Panelists include: Mark Ascolese, EDSA; Craig Compiano, Modius; Kevin Flanagan, CGI; Andy Lawrence, The 451 Group (Moderator); Neil Rasmussen, APC by Schneider Electric
Wednesday, May 19 8:15-8:45 am, Nassau Suite
As data centers get increasingly complex and power hungry, data center operators have begun to examine software tools for tracking and analyzing their IT and facility performance. But there are a wide range of strategies and tools for tracking and analyzing power use, some much more far-reaching than others. This panel will discuss some of the tools, approaches, and options available, and how to determine the business case for a particular site. In addition, the panel will discuss which variables are most important to track, and how to determine whether operators need control or simply visibility into key areas. Finally, the panel will provide examples of high-payoff actions that operators can take in their sites, using the features that these tools provide.
Green Enterprise IT Award Winner Case Study - Outstanding Facilities Product
Orangeburg Data Center: Data Center Intelligent Cooling ControlsTuesday, May 18 10:05-10:35 am, and 10:40-11:10 am, Clinton
PRESENTER: Dennis Purcell, Senior Member, Technical Staff, Verizon Wireless
The project was implemented to provide an intelligent cooling control system that would reduce the electrical load of the cooling system by placing the redundant cooling components in a "Hot Stand-By" mode that would seamlessly transition through utility interruptions and individual component failure without increasing risk to IT operations.
Green Enterprise IT Award Winner Case Study - Data Center Design
A Cool Low Energy Approach to Sustainable Data Center DesignTuesday, May 18 10:05-10:35 am and 10:40-11:10 am, Gibson PRESENTERS: Ed Kettler, HP Fellow and Green IT Strategist, HP Enterprise Services; John Mullan, Managing Director, Housham Henderson Architects
The HP Wynyard Data Center takes advantage of a cool climate to reduce the energy required for cooling by using a large quantity of fresh air supplied by axial fans through high-efficiency filters . The building is an energy-efficient and sustainable design, incorporating recycled materials and rainwater harvesting.
Why I Could Care Less About PUE
Presenter: Dave Rotheroe, Senior Technologist, IT Data Center Strategy, Design, & Engineering, Hewlett Packard
Monday, May 17 2:40-3:10 pm, Gibson
Data center efficiency is often thought of in terms only of the facility efficiency, often measured by PUE. While PUE is an important measure that requires attention, focusing too much on it and neglecting a comprehensive approach to efficiency raises TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). Covered in the presentation are real world options, including specific examples of actual installations, that lower TCO with a balanced approach to all aspects of data center operations from the facility, to the IT equipment, to how that equipment is used.
Optimization Drives Data Center Efficiency and Predictability
Presenter: Carl Cottuli, Vice President of Product Development & Services, Wright LineTuesday, May 18 2:45-3:15 pm, Nassau A
For years data center managers have been told that they can either have a highly reliable data center or a highly efficient data center, but not both. However, today there are solutions that can help you achieve both efficiency and predictability.
• The problems you are looking to address • Budget constraints you're operating under • The time frame in which the solution is required
From heat containment and cold-aisle isolation to total airflow management best practices, you can improve your current physical IT infrastructure with eco-friendly solutions that will increase your existing data center's efficiency and reliability.
IT Power Management - Challenges Beyond the Data Center
Presenter: John Scumniotales, Vice President of Engineering, Verdiem
Tuesday, May 18 3:55-4:25 pm, Nassau B
Extending efficiency gains and waste reduction beyond the data center poses many challenges for organizations. To succeed with a broad sustainability program, IT organizations must develop a balanced approach that considers the technology, people, and business impacts. Join your colleagues for a lively discussion and help us answer such questions as:
- How do you get centralized visibility and control of globally distributed heterogeneous end-points (including PCs, network devices, and facilities)?
- Desktop Management, Network Administrators, Security, or Facilities Management - Who makes the energy management call?
- How do you balance risk versus rewards of an IT energy management initiative?
Green Enterprise IT Award Winner Case Study - Joint IT and Facilities Innovation
An Integration Tool between IT and Facilities Departments in a Large BankWednesday, May 19 10:10-10:40 am Nassau Suite; repeats 11:30-12:00, Bryant
PRESENTERS: Julio Cezar De Conti, Superintendent of Engineering and IT Infrastructure, Itaú, and Fabiano Duarte, IT Engineer, member of the Green IT Team, Itaú
To optimize systems and technology, reducing costs and risks, the departments of Facilities and IT of an 85-years old financial institution have been integrated under a single direction board. A committee received the mission of planning annual development actions and goals and of mapping the gains in efficiency, availability and time-to-market.
Discussion: Optimized Data Center Designs of the Future
Panelists include: Chris Kurkjian, Hewlett Packard; Bob Morris, Corgan Associates; Dean Nelson, eBay; Neil Rasmussen, APC by Schneider Electric; Vince Renaud, Uptime Institute Professional Services (Moderator)Monday, May 17 9:35-10:05 am, Nassau Suite Join some of the brightest minds in the industry to get their perspectives on the future of data center design for high performance, low cost, and business agility. Topics covered may include
- intelligent energy management
- new measures of efficiency and productivity beyond PUE
- tighter IT-facilities integration (including the effects of virtualization on physical infrastructure)
- modular and scalable architectures
- remote management
- designs for rapid deployment
- mixed densities and tier levels at a single site
- standardized (maybe even "cookie cutter") designs.
Driving Out Inefficiencies in Power and Cooling
Panelists include: Joerg Desler, Stulz-ATS; Jack Tison, Panduit; Jason Schafer, Tier1 Research (Moderator); Dr. Bob Sullivan, Uptime Institute
Wednesday, May 19 10:45-11:20 am, Sutton Complex
How can the combination of power efficiency and availability best be addressed? In this session, panelists will discuss the role technologies such as direct current power distribution, battery-free UPS, higher voltages, and delivering pre-designed modules play in energy-efficient power designs.
Discussion: Lurking Vulnerabilities, or "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"
Panelists include: Ken Brill, Uptime Institute; Gale Nordling, Emprimus; Jeff Paschke, Tier1 Research (Moderator); Tony Ulichnie, Uptime Institute
Wednesday, May 19 11:30-12:00 pm, Nassau B
This session on availability looks at some of the lesser known and less-discussed threats to data center availability. The participants will cover Intentional Electromagnetic Interference (IEMI), insights on unusual incidents from Uptime Institute research, and vulnerabilities that lurk in most data centers. The session will also survey often-ignored risks that can plague even the best-run facilities. For data center operators who want to learn to root out potential causes of failure and maximize uptime, this is a session not to be missed.
Data Center Efficiency, Inside and Out
Join representatives from EDSA, Skanska, eBay, and the Department of Defense Super Computing Resource Center for a spirited discussion of data center designs. Topics will range from energy efficiency, to model-based diagnostics for availability, to mini-smart grids. Experts in power analytics, site design and construction, and two types of data center operations lend a variety of insights.
Panduit Unified Physical Infrastructure Mini-Track
Learn how Panduit's eco-system of industry-leading technology partners including Cisco, IBM, and Emerson Network Power use Panduit's Unified Physical Infrastructure (UPI) deployment that integrates Smart Data Centers, Connected Buildings, and Industrial Automation solutions to create an optimized physical infrastructure that lowers risk and costs, while improving flexibility and sustainability.
In these sessions, Panduit and its partners will demonstrate how the management and monitoring of the entire physical infrastructure can now be accomplished through a centralized, or unified, operations center for greater capital and operational efficiencies. Panduit will also unveil their first single cabinet micro data center, populated half with switches and half with servers, to be used within a factory or manufacturing floor.
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