Intel IT: Taking Power Management to the Limit--and Beyond

Intel's 20-year-old FM1 data center in Folsom, California, was almost maxed out: Even though it had just been through a power upgrade, it already had just about as many servers as its aging infrastructure could support. But Intel IT Global Facilities Services, which operates the FM1 data center, needed to add 300 new servers to support an upcoming SAP* re-platforming--without exceeding the equipment's thermal operating limits. Another wrinkle: Intel expects to decommission the FM1 facility within the next five years, so it was essential to find a way to free up capacity for the new servers without a major capital investment. To formulate a strategy for making best use of the data center's existing infrastructure, Intel IT Global Facilities Services carried out a detailed analysis that predicted the effect of adding new servers and compared it to the data center's potential thermal limits. Consultants also investigated ways to improve the data center's overall efficiency using the available electrical power under the current infrastructure. Finally, a risk/benefit/cost analysis and detailed computational fluid dynamics (CFD) physics model of the current environment helped to identify the best solutions.

Vendor:

Intel Corporation

Posted:

Feb 8, 2021

Published:

Nov 21, 2008

Format:

PDF

Type:

Case Study