DATA CENTER

Enhancing the Energy Efficiency
and Use of Green Energy in Data Centers
Datacenter Performance Per Energy (DPPE) Enhances Energy Efficiency and Use of Green Energy in Data Centers

This booklet describes the datacenter performance per energy (DPPE) system developed by theGreen IT Promotion Council (GIPC), introduces case studies, and explains how to use this metric.

Saving Energy and Using Green Energy in Data Centers
There is an increasing need to save energy
and use green energy to reduce environmental impact and energy costs.

Data centers are consuming ever-more energy as their role expands.
• Information to be managed is drastically increasing due to theexpansion of cloud computing services and smart phones.

Annual energy consumption in data centers in the U.S.
(Billion kWh/year)70• According to a report of the U.S. Environmental Protection

60

Agency (EPA), the energy consumed by data centers in the50

U.S. doubled from 2000 to 2006.

40• Urgent action must be taken to curb CO2 emissions by raising

Facilities
air conditioning,
power supplies,
lighting, etc.

()

30

energy efficiency.

IT equipment
servers,
storage devices,network devices

20(1002000)

2006

Source: “Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency Public Law 109-431”(US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 2007)

The key to high energy efficiency is to save energy
in each data center (reducing energy costs) and to use high-efficiency data centers.
Saving energy in each data center(reducing energy costs)

Using high-efficiency data centers

High-performance IT equipment are forcing datacenters to increase their energy consumption perunit and energy overall consumption.

Little attention is paid to saving energy in somesmall or old data centers.

Saving energy in each data center is crucial
in terms of reducing energy costs.

Concentrating IT equipment into an energyefficient data center saves more energy.

GIPC has worked hard to develop DPPE, a metric for measuring
the efficiency of a data center as a whole.
• Before implementing any measures, the efficiency of the datacenter must be precisely quantified.

Energy consumption of data centers by application (source: EPA)This part is to beassessed.

• The power usage effectiveness (PUE) is widely used to show
the energy efficiency of a data center.
itself. To improve the overall energy efficiency, it is necessary

IT equipment
servers,
storage devices,
network devices

to improve the efficiency of both the facility and IT equipment.

50％• However, PUE measures the energy efficiency of the facility• To achieve this, GIPC has been developing DPPE.

01()

PUE covers this part.

Facilities
air conditioning,power supplies,lighting, etc.

()

50％

Green IT Technologies for Enhancing Energy Efficiency of Data Centers
New green IT technologies for enhancing the energy efficiencyof data centers are emerging in Japan.
A wide variety of solutions won the 2012 Green IT Awards.

Enhancing energy efficiency of the facility including
air conditioning, lighting, power supplies / Using green energy
2012

METI Minister’s Awards

2012

METI Commerce and Information Policy Director-General’s Awards

A power supply for data centers that achieves high efficiency by using ahigh-voltage direct current (HVDC) and a centralized DC power supply(reducing the number of power supply units of each IT equipment)

A container data unit cooled by open air at low cost thatis suitable for cloud computing, easy to scale up, andefficiently accommodates servers

NTT Data Intellilink Corporation, Japan Radio Co., Ltd., and NTT Data Corporation

Internet Initiative Japan, Inc.

2012

Green IT Promotion Council Chairman’s Awards

A container-type data center that reduces power by
75% compared with conventional types
IPCORE Lab Inc. and NIPPON FRUEHAUF COMPANY, LTD.

2012

Green IT Award Judging Committee Special Awards

An air-conditioning system that blows cold air from thewall of the server room and uses only a third of the blastpressure of existing floor-blowing air-conditioning systems
Takasago Thermal Engineering Co., Ltd. and Kanden Energy Solution Co., Inc.

Energy saving of IT: using high energy efficiency IT equipment and improving
the efficiency of operation by virtualization, etc
2012

METI Commerce and Information Policy Director-General’s Awards

2012

Green IT Award Judging Committee Special Awards

Servers are usually installed for each customer to provide
security and reliability. Combining existing servers as a single
virtual system substantially decreases the number of servers
and power consumption.

A network system with the following two technologies: dynamic
energy-saving technology that switches on/off the networking
devices depending on the traffic, and flexible energy-saving
technology that carefully controls power for surplus functions

Fujitsu Limited

ALAXALA Networks Corporation02

Outline of DPPE and How to Measure the Metric
The energy consumption in data centers can be measured in four phases.
DPPE has four sub-metrics for each phase to comprehensively assess
the energy efficiency.

１The energy flow in data centers can be measured in four phases: purchasing of energy, use of facility,
purchasing of IT equipment, and operation of IT equipment.

Purchasing of energy

Energy consumption at facility

Conditions

Grid powerOther energy
suppliedfrom outside

Greenenergy

IT equipment

ConventionalenergyFacilities(Greenenergy
ConventionalenergyPurchasing green energy

2Energy consumption by IT equipment

air conditioning,
power supplies,
lighting, etc.

Hardware

Softwareand operation

Introducing high-efficiency IT equipment

Improving the operation of IT equipment)

Improving the efficiency of facilities

The efficiency in these four phases is calculated with corresponding metrics.
Purchasing of energy

Use of facility

Purchasing of IT equipment

Operation of IT equipment

Sub-metricGreen Energy Coefficient
GEC

Power Usage Effectiveness
PUE

IT Equipment Efficiency
ITEE

IT Equipment Utilization
ITEU

Formula

Green energy /Total energy consumptionof the data center

Total energy consumptionof the data center /Total energy consumptionof IT equipment

Total rated capacityof IT equipment /Total rated powerof IT equipment

Actual energy consumptionof IT equipment /Total rated powerof IT equipment

Measurement

Actual measurement• The ratio of green energy
to total energy consumption

Actual measurement• The ratio of total energy
consumption to thatof IT equipment

Specification values in catalogs• Energy efficiency values
described in IT equipment
catalogs

Combining actual values
and specification values in catalogs• Utilization rate of IT equipment

Improvement

Introducing photovoltaic
power systems, etc.

Improving the efficiencyof air conditioning systems
and power supply units

Introducing IT equipmentwith high energy
efficiency performance

Improving the utilization rateof IT equipment
and virtualizing

33-1

There are two assessment methods:① The four sub-metrics are arranged on a spider web chart to easily identify problems.
② A comprehensive assessment based on the four sub-metrics can show the improvement over time.

Assessment with a spider web chart

A spider web chart with the four sub-metrics showsthe efficiency of the data center.
ITEU
1.0

A larger diamond showshigher efficiency.

0.8
0.6
0.4

3-2

Comprehensive assessment of a data center

Productivity is obtained by dividing the amount ofdata processed by the energy consumption.
The comprehensive metric is calculated by the four
sub-metrics to show the productivity:

DPPE = ITEU × ITEE × (1/PUE) × (1/(1-GEC))

0.2GEC0.005

0.003

0.0

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
5.0

ITEEExample

0.42 × 0.48 × (1 / 1.76) × (1 / (1 – 0)) = 0.11

4.0
3.0
2.0
1.00.0

PUE03* A larger DPPE indicates higher energy efficiency.

Assessment Examples
As a fiscal 2010/2011 project delegated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan (METI),GIPC assessed the energy efficiency in several data centers in Japan.
The results clearly show the characteristics of the data centers, proving that DPPE is a useful assessment tool.

Old equipment but well-maintained
ITEU
1.0

Assessment

0.80.6• The small PUE indicates the high energy efficiency of the facility.

0.4• The high ITEU indicates the high operational efficiency of the IT

0.2

GEC0.005

0.003

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

0.0

5.0

ITEE

4.0

equipment.
• In contrast, a low ITEE shows the low energy efficiency of the IT

3.0

equipment.

2.0
1.0

Solid line: measured value
Dash line: average value of the assessed data centers*

0.0

PUE

New equipment with low utilization rate
ITEU
1.0

Assessment

0.8• The small PUE indicates the high energy efficiency of the facility.

0.60.4• The high ITEE indicates the appropriate use of high energy efficiency

0.2

GEC0.005

0.003

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

0.0

5.0

ITEE

4.0

IT equipment.
• In contrast, the relatively low ITEU suggests that the operating rate of3.0

the IT equipment needs to be improved.

2.0
1.0

Solid line: measured value
Dash line: average value of the assessed data centers*0.0

PUE

Changes in efficiency of a single data center in two years
ITEU
1.0Assessment

0.80.6• Almost the same ITEE values show no large changes in the IT

0.4

equipment.

0.2

GEC0.005

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
5.00.003

ITEE

4.0

• The increased ITEU indicates the improved operating rate of the IT
equipment.

3.0• The PUE approaching 1 indicates the improved energy efficiency of2.0
1.00.0

PUE

Green: Fiscal 2010
Blue: Fiscal 2011

the facility.
• The lower GEC may suggest no change in the amount of green
energy even though the data center has expanded.

Note: ITEU and ITEE values vary depending on the configuration and operation of the IT equipment for the applications of the data center.

*Outline of DPPE measurement projects• Verifying the effectiveness of DPPE as a METI project■ Measurement result• Fiscal 2010 to 2011

Sub-metricAverage

Range• Participants:

▲

PUE

1.8

1.4 – 2.3

ITEE

1.6

0.1 – 3.9▲

ITEU

0.40.3 – 0.6

GEC―0 – 0.003

More than 20 data centers in Japanand 2 data centers overseas (Singapore and Vietnam)
Brokerage systems, banking systems, ASP systems, cloud services• Measurements in accordance with the DPPE measurement guideline

04How to Use DPPE
DPPE helps assess and effectively improvethe efficiency of an entire data center and individual sections.

DPPE can be used to break down the assessmentand measures.

Usage of DPPE by Fujitsu Limited• Identify the current status of energy efficiency of the data center by using DPPE.
• The CIO assesses the achievement of the overall goal and specific targets.
• Managers set respective targets and implement measures.

DPPE = ITEU × ITEE × (1/PUE) × (1/(1-GEC))
We use DPPE to continuously assess the energy
efficiency of this data center. We can assess theresults of energy-saving efforts and draw up plans
for the future.
We also use it to review the results of each section.

1．The CIO
comprehensive
ly assesses theenergy
efficiency ofthe entire datacenter.

CIO

What figures does
ITEU show?
How is it expected tochange?

How much did ITEE
improve?

What figures does PUE
indicate compared withthe target?
What should we aim at?

How much has
photovoltaic power
contributed?
Does it need additional
investment?

ITEU has improved
thanks to theinstallation and additionof cloud (virtualized)
servers. Centralization
seems to have
improved the utilization
rate of IT equipment.
We can use theseresults to predict
trends.

ITEE has improved by
14% in the past twoyears. New projects
tend to use the latest
high-efficiency
equipment. We can set
the current status as
the baseline for future
projects.

Thanks to various
energy-saving
measures andimproved availability,
PUE has improved by
60% in the last two
years and we havealmost achieved thetarget. In new areas,
we can aim at higher
levels.

We have almost a
constant amount of PV
power generation, andso GEC has notchanged significantly.
We should review thecost effectiveness foradditional installation.

Sub-metric
to be managed

3．Managers
review thetrend and thecurrent status,
and thenpredict thetrend.

Managerfor IT system

Managerfor IT infrastructureManagerfor facility

Manager for facility
Manager for procurement

ITEU

ITEE

PUE

GEC

Housing-type data center• Housing-type data centers, where IT equipment isbrought in and managed by customers, can beassessed with PUE and GEC.
• The data center cannot improve the efficiency ofcustomers’ IT equipment.
• However, the data center can improve PUE andGEC; the sub-metrics of DPPE can be managed
separately.

■ Management of housing-type data centers

Data center
Purchasing of energy
Powerplant

Grid power

Green Other energy
energy supplied
Conventional from outsideenergyGreen Energy
energy supplied
Conventional from inside
energyUse of facility

Purchasing ofIT equipment

Conditions

IT equipment

Air conditioners,power supplies,lighting, etc.

HardwareManaged by the data center
05

2．The CIO
assesses andreviews thecurrent statusof each
sub-metric andimplements
measures.

Use ofIT equipment

Softwareandoperation

Managed by the customer

DPPE Q&AQuestion

AnswerWhat is the optimum
value of each sub-metric?

In theory, a smaller PUE and larger GEC and ITEU (as close to 1 aspossible), and larger ITEE represent better efficiency.
However, the configuration and operation of IT equipment varydepending on the characteristics of the data center. We recommend
clarifying the situation and then setting appropriate targets.

Can DPPE be used fordata centers poweredby natural gas orother sources?

Yes. The Conference for Harmonizing Global Metrics for Data Centers,
in which GIPC participated, has defined the method of measuring PUE
for data centers with energy sources other than electricity. DPPE canbe calculated based on it. See the DPPE manual for details.

Does the DPPE calculation
take into accounttechnologies of cloudcomputing or virtualization?

Yes. ITEU takes those technologies into account. This sub-metricassesses how efficiently the virtualization and other technologies use
IT equipment and improve the utilization rate.

Which IT equipment isthe target of ITEEand ITEU?

DPPE assesses the energy efficiency of IT equipment in the three
categories: servers for calculation, storage devices for accumulation,and network devices for transmission. DPPE does not cover otherkinds of IT equipment.

Measuring ITEE
and ITEU seems
to require efforts.

To measure ITEE and ITEU, you must refer to the list of IT equipmentin the data center and the values of energy efficiency in catalogs. With
much IT equipment, the work might require substantial manpower.
The list of IT equipment should be well-maintained. GIPC is planningto develop support tools.

High-efficiency Data Centers AchieveHigh Energy Efficiency Society
High-efficiency data centers will help create a high energy efficiency society.
Enhancing energy efficiency by concentrating servers

Enhancing energy efficiency by virtualization

Simply transferring servers from a space with
low-efficiency air conditioning to the latest data center
will substantially reduce the power consumption.

Concentrating servers from individual offices into thedata center and then sharing them will alsosignificantly reduce the power consumption.

15%■ Enhancing energy efficiency

by transferring servers

reduction

10080■ Transferring servers to the data centerand sharing them by virtualization
Powerconsumption 100

Powerconsumption 60

Server A60

reductionVirtualization
Server A

Server B40

Server B
Server C

20040%

Server C

Conventional location

Data center

Equal in performance

Source: Japan Data Center Council

06

DPPE Measuring Tool and Relevant Information
GIPC offers a tool and information regarding DPPE on its website at:
http://www.greenit-pc.jp/e/events/dppe/index.html

DPPE measurement guideline

DPPE measuring tool

The DPPE measurement guideline defines
standardized methods of measuring DPPE at
respective data centers and reporting the results.

The DPPE measuring tool is a spreadsheet tocalculate the value of metrics based on actual
measured values.

DPPE manual

Other references

The DPPE manual describes the details of metrics toenhance the understanding of DPPE.

• “Guideline for PUE/DCiE measurement, ver. 2.2”
Japan Data Center Council (http://www.jdcc.or.jp/english/index.html)

Global Standardization of DPPE
• GIPC and the METI are actively holding discussions with key public and private-sector entities from otherregions (The Green Grid, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency of the US, and EC Codeof Conduct of Europe) in order to define effective metrics for measuring and assessing the energy efficiencyof data centers. Since fiscal 2008, these organizations have regularly held international conferences andteleconferences to work together on the global standardization of energy efficiency metrics. GIPC and theMETI propose DPPE in this discussion.
• GIPC and the METI are also actively promoting DPPE in ISO/IEC JTC1 SC39.

• EC Code of Conduct (EC CoC)• The Green Grid (TGG)• Department of Energy (DoE)• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)• Green IT Promotion CouncilInquiries
For more details about DPPE and howto join, please contact us. The GreenIT Promotion Council welcomes those
who are interested in the development
and promotion of DPPE.

Green IT Promotion Office / Environmental Affairs Department
Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association
Fifth floor, Ote Center Bldg., 1-1-3, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0004
E-mail: greenit@jeita.or.jp
TEL: +81-3-5218-1055
Created in September 2012