| |
| |
|
Hardware Information |
|
|
|
The Making of Energy Efficient Datacenters
The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron is a wonderful movie to watch. It is based on the book, The anatomy of greed, written by a former employee of Enron, Brian Cruver. One interesting thing that comes on our minds is the size of all power companies. They are all huge. We all depend on power for just about everything and yet very rarely do we think about conserving energy. A typical PC for example takes about 135 watts of power. A data center with about a 1000 servers should typically take about 135 x 1000 Watts or 135 Kilowatts and that would just power the computers. This does not include the air-conditioning and lighting. According to to a research paper sponsored by The California Energy Commission in a datacenter about 50% of the total energy consumed is by the servers and about 35% is the air conditioners.
Intel, AMD, Transmeta and Via have all released processors whichconsume very low power. A typical Pentium or AMD processor consumesabout 25 Watts of power, whereas these low powered processors take onlyabout 5 watts of power i.e. about 5 low powered processors wouldconsume as much power as a single main stream processor of today. Theselow powered processors are also generally fan less processors whichmeans lower noise levels too. Intel has the centrino which has a lowerpower consumption than the regular pentiums. Intel also has the armprocessors but those are RISC. Our prime focus would be AMD, Transmetaand Via. They all have some very promising products. One thing to be noted is that most of these low powered processors workonly at about 1.2GHz or lower. So they won't be as fast the pentium4s.Which means one would have to host lesser sites per server. A goodrecommendation would be upto a maximum of 600 sites on aregular pentium 4 server. A low powered processor should comfortablytake about 200 sites. One advantage of these low powered processors isthat they have a very small form factor too. This means that one canhave more such servers in the same space that is typically allocated toa high powered servers. All datacenters use a profitability matrixbased on the following rule: Performance/PerWatt/Per Cubic Foot. This is one place where the low poweredprocessors really score high. AMD Geode? NX Processor familycomprises of the AMD Geode? NX 1250@6W processor, the AMD Geode?NX 1500@6W processor and the AMD Geode? NX 1750@14W processor. Thefirst two in these consume only 6Watts of power and run without acooling fan. According to AMD they provide the highest x86 performancefor fan less operations. They are based on the mobile AMD Athlonprocessor technology. Transmeta was one of the first companies to develop low powered processors.For a long time Transmeta was known as the company where theMicrosoft co founder Paul Allen had interests in and the placewhere Linus Trovalds, the father Linux, worked. Both of them are nolonger part of the organization. Today they are known for the twoprocessor families they have - The transmeta crusoe andthe transmetaefficeon Transmeta Crusoe?-processors range from 500Mhz to 1.2 Ghz. According to Transmeta,Crusoe is a unique combinationof software and hardware. It's this radical design that gives Crusoe itsimportant advantages, and manufacturers of all kinds of electronicdevices their first truly innovative new platform in over 25 years.Thanks to Crusoe, mobile devices can be made smaller and lighter thanever. These new devices will be more comfortable to use, too, becauseCrusoe generates very little heat a problem that plagues the industry'slegacy hardware-only processors. And because it uses far less power,mobile devices running on Crusoe run far longer on a single batterycharge, and Crusoe-powered ultra-dense servers do far more work perwatt, far more efficiently. TransmetaEfficeon processors are the higher end processors from Transmetaand they run at upto 1.6Ghz and have high performance I/O interfaces.They are built upon Fujitsu's next-generation 90nm silicon technologyfeaturing transistors with a length of just 40nm. The entire Transmeta range not just uses the x86 instruction set, theyalso have full multimedia instruction support (MMX, SSE-SSE2).Transmeta has done very little in marketing in terms of selling theirproducts for the server market. Like all other companies they havefocussed on mobile products, set-top boxes etc.. While these productsaregreat for the mobile market, they do have a great potential in theserver market. FIC, JM-Net etc. have some products for the servermarketwhich run on the Transmeta processors. Via, the Taiwanesemanufacturerpurchased the Cyrix processors and has since gotten out of the race offaster processors with AMD and Intel. Instead they are focussing on fanless, low-powered processors. They have the Eden and the C3 range ofprocessors. The power consumption varies from only 7watts to15Watts. Additionally, the processors come with thePadLock Hardware Security Suite which provides a platform approach tocomputer security, ensuring uncompromising security performance. Thesefeatures include the implementation of the Quantum-based VIA PadLockRNG (Random Number Generator), and the VIA PadLock ACE (AdvancedCryptography Engine) supporting AES encryption. According to Via, the VIA Eden-NProcessor is the world's smallest, lowest power and most securenative x86 processor. It is a mere 15mm x 15mm in terms of size andconsumes between 2.5W @ 533MHz to 7W @ 1GHz. Via again like Transmeta has not focussed in the server market. Theimages above give a good idea of the benefits of this processor in theserver market. For datacenters, Via may be the best in thePerformance/Per Watt/Per Cubic Foot matrix. Companies like Hitachi make some very good low powered hard disk driveswhich have a very small form factor. They have both IDE's at 7200 rpmas well as SCSI hard drives. Many may think it is better to take higher end servers as the power orheating problem does not directly affect them. As mentioned earlier aserver driven by a low-powered processor would be able to take justabout 200 sites. This means that a person with 600 sites would need totake 3 such servers instead of one higher powered server. Here are somebenefits of this scenario. One of the biggest factors influencing the performance of sites on theinternet is the capability of the network card (ethernet) .When all sites arehosted on just one server, they all would use the same networkcard to push the data. Now if these sites are distributed among 3servers the amount of data that the sites can push would be 3 timesmorewhich means faster access to the sites. Another benefit is that if oneof the site goes down all 600 people would not be effected, rather only1/3rd the number of sites would be affected.Hence, the number of support request would be lesser. And finally, suchprocessors are very affordable. Typically they would be just a third ofthe cost of regular mainstream processors. Amarjyoti Krishnan heads bobcares.com, a tech support company for webhosts and ISPs. He is the co-founder of Poornam Info Vision Ltd., a software and IT services company which specializes in Linux based solutions for Webhosts and ISPs. Poornam Info Vision is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company with a team of over 100 engineers. Amarjyoti is a Computer Engineer based in India and has over 7 years of experience in the hosting industry. He has spoken and written extensively on the subject. His articles have been published both online as well as in print in magazines. http://poornam.com
MORE RESOURCES: RH's CEO had a relatable reaction when the stock dived Business Insider New Kansas City hardware store to be built in suburb. Another location is on the way Kansas City Star Switch 2's full reveal analysed: how powerful is Nintendo's new hardware and is DLSS being used? Eurogamer Family-owned CT hardware store for sale after 100 years. ‘It’s home,’ longtime customers say Hartford Courant Roland SP-404 MKII 5.0, new firmware turns the hardware sampler into a Serato DJ and Studio controller synth anatomy Thermalright Hyper Vision 360 Review: Confusing SKU Spam Tom's Hardware Market Analysis: Apple And Competitors In Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals Industry Benzinga Huskers Hunt for Hardware at Big Ten Championships - University of Nebraska - Official Athletics Website huskers.com The GPU benchmarks hierarchy 2025: Ten years of graphics card hardware tested and ranked Tom's Hardware Restoration Hardware CEO's stunned reaction as he watched company's stocks tank in real-time The Mirror US Russian spy infiltrates ASML and NXP to steal technical data necessary to build 28nm-capable fabs Tom's Hardware HP craters to multi-year low as tariffs impact IT hardware/networking stocks (HPQ:NYSE) Seeking Alpha Python on Hardware weekly video for April 2, 2025 #Python #adafruit Adafruit Industries President Trump's 25% tariff on aluminum sparks concerns over rising PC enclosure and GPU costs Tom's Hardware Introducing Family Day at McKeithen's Hardware! Statesboro Herald BofA Securities Double Downgrades Restoration Hardware (RH) to Underperform, PT $130 - StreetInsider Nintendo unveils Switch 2 ahead of June 5 launch Ars Technica Best Motherboards 2025 for Gaming, by Socket and Chipset Tom's Hardware Trimco Hardware acquired by Allegion HBS Dealer Sunshine Ace Hardware announces Spring Round Up to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Priority Marketing Behind the scenes at Germantown Hardware HBS Dealer Arm aims to capture 50% of data center CPU market in 2025 Tom's Hardware Nintendo Says Switch 2 Lacks Hardware Gimmick So More Devs Will Make Games For New Console Bounding Into Comics Sunshine Ace Hardware kicks off Spring Round Up to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Gulfshore Business Learn about bear safety at Hardware Wildlife Education Center exhibit during April The Times-Independent Intel announces 18A process node has entered risk production — crucial milestone comes as company ramps to Panther Lake chips Tom's Hardware Same players, different sport: Stamford Baseball looks to bring more hardware home BigCountryHomepage.com Hardware Rebels to present wall beds and drawer systems at Closets Expo Woodworking Network Naugatuck developer seeks approval from land use boards for two buildings, hardware store CT Insider Osmosis Becomes Exclusive Distributor of STW Technic's Telematics Hardware for the Marine Sector PR Newswire Amazon reserves RTX 5070, RX 9070 XT GPUs as Amazon Prime exclusives, to the dismay of scalpers Tom's Hardware Hardware Ranch Wildlife Education Center has bear exhibit beginning Friday, April 4 Cache Valley Daily SplatOverflow enables remote hardware troubleshooting Cornell Chronicle Nvidia confirms Nintendo Switch 2 SoC's AI, ray tracing features, keeps real specs to itself for now Tom's Hardware Chinese DRAM maker reportedly mulls DDR4 hike prices Tom's Hardware Patients: The 420 Hardware Gift Guide Greenway Magazine What missile hardware does Iran have left? The Jewish Chronicle F5’s Multi-terabit VELOS Hardware Powers AI Workloads for Service Providers and Large Enterprises iTWire This hardware store lasted 142 years. But it couldn’t survive 2025. The Washington Post |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Building A PC Many people simply go to the retail store and get sold to when it comes to computing equipment. You would be very surprised how easily you can pick up all the core components and assemble yourself or get a friend or family member in the know to do it for you. Basics of RAID A couple of the recent Tech Tips from www.geeks. Preventing Tape Drive Failure Contrary to popular belief, tape drives are generally robust and reliable. However, there are three common mistakes that people make that dramatically increase the probability of tape drive failure. How to Get the Case Off Your PC! This is the first step to servicing, upgrading or removing PC hardware from your PC. Refer to my other articles on adding, upgading or removing just about any piece of hardware. Wireless Networking, Part 2: Setup and Security The first installment in this two-part series of Tech Tips provided an introduction to the basic capabilities and hardware involved in wireless networking. In the final installment of this two-part series, we will look at some of the basic setup and security considerations that should be addressed. How To Buy The Perfect Student Laptop If you are like most student's, money isn't exactly growing on trees. Choosing the right laptop can be a matter of saving yourself a lot of heartache and money at the same time. Your Business versus Mother Nature Business Consultants earn hundreds of thousands of dollars every year showing businesses how to improve their productivity. All business consultants in the Information Technology area agree that the biggest threat to business survival is data loss. The Printer Cartridge Review Years ago computers were huge and their accompanying printers were huge as well. Instead of ink cartridges like those used now, they had toner reservoirs and later toner cartridges. Which Notebook Computer Has Your Name On It? Notebook Computers Are Sexy!Granted, the notebook computer may just be the sexiest accessory this side of a Baywatch Extra! But are they worth the extra money? Should yournext PC be a notebook or laptop computer?What are the pros and cons of owning a notebook computer? More importantly, which notebook is best for you?There's no denying it -- notebook computers are sexy!Slim, svelte and lightweight; they always come across aslooking sexy, the ultimate in high fashion accessories.Maybe sexy isn't the most appropriate word -- we are talking about chips, hard drives and bits of metal. Buying a Refurbished Dell Laptop Dell offers a full line of refurbished laptops on their website, dell.com. Trouble-shooting Hard Drive Problems - Part 1 It is extremely important not to make or write any changes to data on the hard drive without first verifying the hard drive configuration. Therefore, the first priority when unable to access information on a hard drive is to verify all of the configuration information dealing with the suspect hard drive. 3 Easy Step To Locate A Real Bargain On Laptop Batteries Looking for a real bargain on laptop batteries? How do I know the batteries are running good as advertised? Which merchants are offering quality rechargeable cells? Where can I get the bargain? Where to buy?Many of you have some of these questions? Certainly!!. We surely want to saving our hard to earn $$ and only buy quality cells. Blu-ray: A Primer Blu-ray is an optical disc format which is set to rival HD-DVDin the race to be the de-facto standard storage medium for HDTV. The HD-DVD vs Blu-ray battle resembles that between Betamax and VHS and DVD+RW and DVD-RW. Rackmount Computer Keyboards The other piece of vital equipment to accompany the rack mount computers and the monitors are the rack mount computer keyboards. Rackmount computer keyboards are built with durability and reliability in mind. Used Laptop Computer: Your Quick Purchase Inspection Guide - Part 4 Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right laptop for you? This fourth and final article strives to give you a few suggestions for your next laptop purchase. Electronic Schematics Diagram-The Four Commonly Asked Questions I came across quite a number of questions about electronic circuit schematics diagram.Most of the question asked are:a) Do we really need a schematic diagram in order to repair any electronic equipment?b) Will schematic diagram help us to repair faster?c) At where we can get a particular schematic diagram?d) How to read schematic diagram?Well, the answers is as below:a)-Theoretically yes, practically not necessary, it all depends on how good you arein electronic repair knowledge. An Inexpensive Solution to Securing Public Access Computers Offering secure public Internet access is not as easy as it may seem. As the IT manager for a mid-sized public library, it's become apparent to me that creating a secure network of library workstations for use by the public is more important than ever before. Video Encryption What is Video Encryption?Video Encryption is an extremely useful method for the stopping unwanted interception and viewing of any transmitted video or other information, for example from a law enforcement video surveillance being relayed back to a central viewing centre.The scrambling is the easy part. Can I Use My Old Ink With My New Printer? The quick answer is.. Best DVDs for Your Personal DVD Player When bought personal DVD player, the very next thing to do is purchasing an important DVDs collection with your favourite movies, documentaries, shows, cartoons. Here are few hints before buying.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |