More efficiency strategies for data center managers

Data center IT staffs will have to prepare for quite a few changes over the next few years. According to The Data Center Journal, the amount of traffic hosted by the data center industry will exceed 7.6 zettabytes by 2017. Higher capacity means more hardware and higher cooling costs for data centers. As a result, $60 billion is spent by the industry on power costs each year. Thankfully, there are numerous strategies available for IT staff interested in preempting rising electricity costs by setting sustainable plans in motion. Taking advantage of energy saving technology sooner than later is great way to improve performance and reduce long-term facility costs.

Upgrade hardware to monitor energy use
One of the most important parts of making a data center more efficient is providing a way for IT teams to know how much electricity is being used and where. Tracking this data provides experts with more detailed insights into which pieces of hardware are compromising the system and may be in need of a replacement. Greentech Media pointed out that the information collected by modern servers equipped with energy management software can be used to resolve efficiency problems and determine where and how they occur.

Connecting legacy architecture to pieces of smart hardware can be made easy via the deployment of an serial to Ethernet server. IT teams should try to simplify architecture integration as much as possible, as added complexity could ramp up energy use and defeat the purpose of facility wide upgrades.

A greener data center is a cheaper data center.

Modern networking tools can help streamline operations
Upgrading the data center with energy efficient hardware is a great first step for an IT staff, and just the beginning of comprehensive efficiency strategies designed to improve the facility's performance. Data Center Knowledge recommended that facility owners consider investing in networking tools as well. One example of advancements in network technology that data center teams could put into practice is new 10 Gbps or 100 Gbps Ethernet connections.

Likewise, staffs can increase CPU availability by controlling overhead and streamline input/output operations with an offload engine. Maximizing the amount of energy that a data center can save ultimately comes down to the IT team focusing on solutions that are the right fit for the facility.

Perle's serial to Ethernet converters connect serial based equipment across an Ethernet network. The Perle IOLAN range of Console Servers, Device Servers and Terminal Servers feature built-in support for IPv6 along with a broad range of authentication methods and encryption technologies.