Reality Check: Server Insights : cooling

HP VMworld session: Conquering Costs and Complexity in a Virtualized Environment

Kristie Popp — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:12:00 GMT

I attended a thought leadership session at Vmworld today, “Conquering Costs and Complexity in a Virtualized Environment”. In 1996, there were roughly 6 million servers. In 2009, that number has increased to nearly 32 million servers. In the presentation link below, HP & IDC outline graphs of expenses and the rise in costs which are baffling. What is the largest cost? People. Next? Power & cooling. A big point brought up at the session was, ‘who heard of power capping from the local utility center 10 years ago’? Well, no one. But with city infrastructures being tapped too hard, it had to happen. Draw these lines for expenses for management, power and cooling and utility costs on a graph looking five years out - it will be unmanageable. A few great comments that came out of the meeting: “Find that real estate management person who’s paying the power bill and that one will help you make the argument for virtualization and justify consolidation.” and “5 ‘9s’? no. need all ‘9s’. 100% availability. Web commerce doesn’t wait an hour.”

Virtualization is helping but needs to attack the growing costs and ongoing management of the datacenter, flipping the expense of operation to expense on innovation. The session leaders spoke of the data center as a system relationships & new innovations and management tools need a holistic approach.

From Mark Linesch, the HP session leader:

Virtualization has sparked an overall industry discussion on the changing face of the datacenter. It has helped increase utilization rates and been a major disruptor to traditional data center operations. With the number of virtual machines exploding however, virtualization has also introduced new challenges and opportunities on the transformational journey to conquer costs and complexity and move toward a shared and service-oriented data center environment.

Our session at VMworld 2009 is all about tackling the issues AFTER those first early successes have been achieved. Armed with the latest research from Michelle Bailey at IDC, we discuss the facts about virtual sprawl and the need to rethink IT management and processes.

For example, many organizations are beginning to use vMotion-type capabilities in their production environments. As part of our session, we discuss how customers can further lower costs and dramatically increase their ROI from VMware with automation tools and experience. We also tackle energy as IT managers re-architect the datacenter and implement a broad range of solutions to fit more servers into existing power and space constraints. It still amazes me that today’s G6 ProLiant servers from HP can increase performance by up to 10x while reducing power consumption by 10x – saving costs and lowering energy consumption. But this is just the beginning of a comprehensive strategy that is needed to lower costs and reclaim power within existing data center environments.

Here are some take-aways from the session:

• Download our whitepapers:

− Orchestration for the Business-Driven Data Center http://www.eds.com/insights/whitepapers/5846/

− Realizing TCO Savings with HP BladeSystem Virtual Connect Flex-10 Technology, IDC Whitepaper

http://www.hp.com/go/realizing-tco

• Navy Marine Corps Intranet case study: http://www.eds.com/insights/casestudies/nmci-virtualizing-servers.aspx

Here are the slides from HP & IDC presented at the session. http://www.slideshare.net/HPintheEnterprise/conquering-costs-and-complexity-in-a-virtualized-environment

Presenting today were:
Mark Linesch Vice President, Strategy and Portfolio Management, Enterprise Servers and Networking
HP
Rob Taylor Vice President, Data Center Services, Infrastructure Services, EDS an HP company
HP
Michelle Bailey Research Vice President, Enterprise Platforms and Datacenter Trends
IDC

We would look forward to any feedback and thoughts on this topic.

Now I get the HP POD. See what we are learning at the HP Tech Forum 2009 POD demos, sessions & tours

Kristie Popp — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:06:00 GMT

The HP POD (Performance Optimized Datacenter) is stealing the show at the HP Tech Forum 2009. The POD is set up and you can tour the POD, talk to the experts and also see the power house running the POD. Kevin Egan & Steve Cumings from HP are informative, graciously answering all questions and helping us to all fully grasp the coolness of the HP POD.

Here is a quick overview of the HP POD in plain English by Jason Newton:

Hp Pod In Plain English Hptf

Here are the technical slides from Kevin Egan's technical break out session:

HP POD Containerized Data Center

Some quick take-away points:

HP POD solves the customer challenges:

Capacity Limitations
More energy efficiency needed
Increased pressures on capital expenses

Highlights:

HP can ship the POD fully loaded in six weeks
Lower operating expenses – more efficient
22 racks 50U high --- 11000U in 40x9 container
POD cools the IT… closely coupled cooling. NO mixing of hot & cold air.
Usually cool whole datacenter or certain areas.. not as efficient.
HP’s highest density – non proprietary too.
HP can cater to extreme hot or cold temperatures. Plumbing is the issue – keeping temps right.
The POD is powered by ActivePower www.activepower.com. Partner with HP for the power house – Flywheel, 600Lbs spinning away! They also had a very cool tour. See Jason Newton’s POD in plain English tour above for info & photos from the tours.
Questions on security always come up. Can someone drive away my datacenter? Someone would reaaalllly want to do this, as the POR averages 100,000 lbs. Would need 007 to pull that off. Just get the regular security in place.
HP is investing heavily in POD technology & structure. 20FT version coming out in Q4. At the Houston Campus, they are building out 5 in a spine. HP has a full roadmap for the POD. The PODs offer a huge opportunity to defer capital expenses
One customer has as a totally remote using iLO – only stepping in to make upgrades, change out any hardware.
TCO Comparison available. Kevin’s team would be abile to run this for customers. Contact them here.

All companies have the same problems. Who are the POD customers?

Capacity expansion 40%
Scale out 30%
Disaster Recovery 10%
Transitional 10%
Military & Custom 10%

Lastly: Every HP POD conversation goes to people wanting to live in it!!!

Key quotes from our Featured Bloggers at Tech Forum on the HP POD:

"I think a lot of us drool at the processing and storage capacity potential that the POD represents, but there are a lot of other factors that make the POD a serious, almost no-brainer contender when planning for a datacenter solution."

Shane Pitman , from his blog Neowin, HP Technology Forum & Expo POD tour

"Adding to the list of pluses provided by an HP POD solution are the POD's expandability and configuration options. With space for 22 50U full-depth industry standard racks, the configuration options are enormous. Want all storage? No problem. Want all blades? Can do. Already have the technology but just looking for a better housing solution? HP will ship you an empty POD with the racks, power, and cooling infrastructure in place, ready for your existing hardware, and not just HP hardware. The HP POD will support any third party technology."

Shane Pitman, from his blog Neowin, read more at HP Technology Forum & Expo POD tour

I will post more pics in the next few days of the POD too.

Let us know your thoughts & impressions on the HP POD. Are you ready for a mobile data center?

I received a new HPC Multi-core server today – Live from SC08

d-field — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:59:00 GMT

This week, I am attending the annual SC08 conference. For 2 decades, the tradition in HPC is to announce and demonstrate new products at the SC conference, and there is a lot to absorb.

For me, the event started with a 2-day HP user conference, attracting some of HP’s largest HPC customers. It was a very full 2 days, with lectures on many subjects from customers, Intel, AMD, software development companies, and of course HP. Even though I work here, I learned a lot about projects in other parts of the company.

At the SC08 show, I saw my 1^st HP POD – portable optimized datacenter – a 40-foot-long shipping container on the outside, and a self-contained computer facility on the inside. This excellently-designed mobile facility can contain 3500 servers or 12,000 disk drives, in standard 19” racks. Just provide a flat location, power, chilled water, and a network cable, and you have a new computer room.

To make the week more interesting, AMD announced the new Opteron Shanghai processor – higher clock speed, bigger cache, faster Northbridge, and improved performance:power ratio.

One of the good things about big companies is that they spawn startups. This year, a startup company announced a new HPC architecture at SC08. Nearly all the employees are my friends and previous HP co-workers. Check out www.conveycomputer.com

Views of the HP POD

aimeeschoaf — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 18:35:00 GMT

The HP POD had a very busy week indeed... and we had some great photos taken while it was in the Silicon Valley. Here are a few of those pics - thank you for participating! For more information on the HP POD, go to: www.hp.com/go/pod.

Look for the HP POD this Fall at an industry event near you!

The HP POD finds Yahoo... Photo by Ryan Knight

The HP POD introduces itself to Google -- photo by Holly Benson

Photo by Cheryl Edwards

Will Hayes says, "Wait, come back! You forgot to drop off my TV!

Photo by Carlos Mangandy

Congratulations to the winner of our "Spot the POD" Drawing!

aimeeschoaf — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:18:00 GMT

Congratulations to Kenn Durrence, who was drawn as the winner of our "Spot the POD" Drawing. Kenn captured the HP POD in San Jose.

Congratulations, Kenn! Please email aimee.schoaf@hp.com with your contact information!

Thank you all for participating in this promotion - watch for the HP POD coming your way again this Fall.

“Spot the POD” Drawing

aimeeschoaf — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:22:00 GMT

The "Spot the POD" Drawing is now closed. We will be randomly choosing one winner from the eligible entries on Friday, July 18, 2008. Here are some of the photos posted as the POD made its journey through Silicon Valley! Thank you all for participating! For more information on the HP POD, go to www.hp.com/go/pod.

Nascent

aimeeschoaf — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 06:13:00 GMT

By Christian Post

"Nascent: coming or recently having come into existence."

It would be a short argument to suggest that containerized datacenters are nascent. They have been developed and deployed for years to serve mobile, military, and disaster response needs. Yet we are seeing a ground-swell of containerized offerings at the convergence of unprecedented energy costs, a resurgence of compute demand, and the growth of business dependence on IT. One could claim the interest in containerized datacenter solutions has now emerged beyond background noise and appears to be forming a "nascent" marketplace.

Who is paying attention? Certainly enterprise scaleout, Web 2.0 and HPC customers. Containers offer shorter time to provision and noticeable capex and opex savings. More than clamoring for provider briefings, some users are developing their own concepts. Further, mid-level managers see savings beyond the 20% barrier that normally hinders proposing new approaches to executives. The datacenter construction industry is certainly taking notice: Here is a diversification opportunity in which to invest, a competitive threat to take notice, and a potential fad to counter. Container integrators, also, note the opportunity and are seeking partnerships to extend their reach beyond non-IT applications. Finally, IT providers are staking claims. To them, containers extend the sales and solution opportunity beyond the box, enclosure, and rack to a sales opportunity valued at 2000+ nodes per order and solution opportunity in which to differentiate. How long will it last? That's the problem with "nascent." The early adopter era nears and likely precedes the pause. In the pause, investors and watchers will reflect on whether the return merits the convergence of facilities and IT and the new processes in deployment and operations.

So who will be the preferred provider(s)? Consider the following criteria: First, containers bring together technology at the MEP&IT spheres. Certainly design leadership that offers density, cost, and deployment prowess are mandatory. Second, IT configuration flexibility will be imperative, especially to those seeking best-in-class performance per watt or heterogeneous flexibility. Third, unique services for deployment, break/fix, and management of containers must be included. Few customers would leave any of these three out. But one is still missing. As varied as there are datacenter strategies and building designs, few customers express exactly the same container design expectations.

Thus there is a fourth criteria. In a new market, the provider that can 1) offer sound advice on whether to and how to deploy containerized datacenters and 2) respond to container design modifications quickly with skill and reputation, will likely emerge most trusted for such a "nascent" investment. What do you think? What is "nascent" about the containerized datacenter market? How long will it last? What kind of provider best serves the customer need?