The Data Center Design Channel is sponsored by Wright Line

• Goldman Sachs Eyes Servers With Batteries

  March 4th, 2010 : Rich Miller

  Both Google and Facebook are using custom web servers with on-board batteries to capture big gains in energy efficiency in their data centers. Now Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs may be ready to join them.

  Goldman Sachs vice president David Schirmacher discussed the company’s operations yesterday at the DataCenterDynamics New York conference. “I think the trend you’re going to see is servers with batteries,” said Schirmacher. “That’s one of the areas we’ve been focusing on. Everyone knows what Google has done with their custom servers. That’s not pushing into the mainstream manufacturing market. We have some teams working on this.”

  Pioneered by Google
  In April 2009, Google revealed its use of a custom web server that integrates a 12 volt battery (Note: Data Center Knowledge readers read all about this in February 2008). The new design shifts the uninterrible power supply (UPS) and battery backup functions from the data center into the server cabinet.
  

  Google cited this design as a key factor in the exceptional energy efficiency data it has reported for its data centers, including Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratings between 1.1 and 1.2. Facebook recently says it is implementing a similar design using on-board batteries and expects it will reduce the energy loss during power distribution from the current 35 percent to about 15 percent.

  Goldman Sachs’ interest in a custom server design seen only at the two largest Internet sites reflects the growing importance of data center operations for Wall Street firms, a trend driven the huge growth in electronic trading platforms. Goldman is a huge player in the high-frequency trading market, and opened a new greenfield data center in New Jersey last year.

  More Efficient Power Distribution
  The use of an on-board battery on web servers allows data center operators to create a more efficient power path through the facility. In most data centers, a large centralized UPS system stands between the utility power grid and the servers. When there is a grid outage, the UPS taps a large bank of batteries (or in some cases, a flywheel) for “ride-through” power until the generator can be started. The AC power from the grid is converted into DC power to charge the batteries, and then converted back to AC for the equipment, with each conversion resulting in small power losses.

  Schirmacher, who is known to many in the data center industry through his involvement in the 7×24 Exchange, said traditional designs represent an inefficient use of capital because they build the reliability into the data center, which is an expensive long-term asset. A better approach, he said, would be to distribute the reliability across servers, which are cheaper short-term assets that are regularly refreshed.

  As Schirmacher noted, server vendors have not moved to adopt Google’s design ideas and include an on-board battery option on standard servers.

  Schirmacher spoke in an afternoon panel on industry trends. An earlier panel in which Wall Street firms discussed their data center operations was closed to media.

• 
• 
• Slashdot It!

Jeff

Posted March 4th, 2010

So, any guesses as to what happens when high inlet temps (a ‘trend’ lately) meet servers laden with lowest-cost-bidder lead acid batteries and a power outage drops half of the data center because the batteries are too cooked to hold the load until the generator starts? Good luck with the ROI number once the bill for 500 new batteries and the labor to install them all comes in! I am all for innovation but this makes total DC distribution look positively conservative and vanilla by comparison.

We need to be hearing about some innovations in long life, highly durable alternative material batteries *before* we make the leap… How good of an idea it is to put lead and acid inside every server is certainly to be determined.

Bob L

Posted March 4th, 2010

I think it is plausible design. We now have to deal with recycling of the servers. Just add batteries to that list. Most sites already have battery UPS’s. There is already a ready process to deal with batteries. Since servers last 3 to 5 years, batteries should be able to last that same length. Decomm a server, remove hard drive for destruction IAW info sec rules, step 2 remove battery, place in battery recycle bin. Etc.
Google is doing it, I’m sure they have already worked through that issue. They would be severely embarrassed if it came out they were not properly disposing of batteries.
The one bit I’m interested in is how do you handle various size servers? We have 1U, 2U, Blades, etc… Google seems to have a standard server, but most folks do not. They purchase a server based on needs.

jeff 2

Posted March 4th, 2010

I dont understand why server manufacturers have not pushed out dc power supplies that run in the 400 volt range so that we can simply deploy a central battery plant that is more efficient and deliver the voltage the server in the way it wants it over smaller wire infrastructure in the dc.

This will save in many areas and will reduce harmonics and associated excess heat from this as well. additionally the apparent power to run the servers will be less due to the fact that there is less draw since there is no need for ac power supplies to go from ac to dc. We can just rectify once at a central plant which is far more efficient.

I keep scratching my head on this one. DC power supplies are far more expensive still…….doh!

RESOURCE LINKS: