Industry news

Data centre power efficiency 'can save up to 30%'

A study produced by Virtual Iron has revealed companies stand to save up to 30 per cent on their power by increasing the efficiency of their data centre.

By using their Live Power software, which allows virtual servers to be shifted onto fewer machines so underused computers can be switched off when demand is low, businesses can produce what it describes as "significant" cost reductions.

Its study suggests those companies which operate with a cyclical workload stand to make the greatest savings, although it concedes the precise figures depend on a number of factors, including power costs and the precise patterns of usage.

Scaling down operations during idle periods allows power consumption to be cut, as while previously machines would need to be left on whether they were required or not these can now be monitored and turned off.

Director of product management at Virtual Iron Chris Barclay says: "You could have two servers running ten virtual machines each at peak time, but then at off-peak times you could move the 20 machines on to one server and turn the other one off."

In related news, Gartner recently released a series of 11 suggestions to improve power efficiency in data centres.