UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYWASHINGTON, D.C. 20460
OFFICE OF
AIR AND RADIATIONMarch 15, 2013
Dear Servers Partner or Other Interested Party:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to provide you with the Final Version 2.0
ENERGY STAR Servers Specification and the Final ENERGY STAR Servers Test Method. EPA and The
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would like to thank the many stakeholders who have invested time andeffort over the past year to contribute feedback to this specification revision process. The effective datefor the Version 2.0 ENERGY STAR Servers specification is December 16, 2013. This letter highlights keyfeatures of the new specification and outlines the process for qualifying products to it.
The Version 2.0 Specification introduces new Active State Efficiency criteria, requiring all server products
to run the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation's (SPEC) Server Efficiency Rating Tool (SERT)
and report the results. These results will be used in a later Version 3.0 Specification to set active
efficiency levels. It also greatly increases the scope of products covered, now including the majority of theserver market by adding blade, multi-node, and resilient servers on top of existing coverage of rack andpedestal servers from Version 1.0.
In addition, this specification:• Introduces a new approach to product families that requires significantly fewer tests of individual
configurations to qualify.
• Cuts memory adders by more than half, to reflect rapid improvements in this component’s energy
efficiency, and maintains rigorous idle power requirements for one and two socket rack andpedestal servers.
• Includes the option of testing systems with Auxiliary Processing Accelerators (APAs), allowing
systems to be shipped with GPGPUs or similar components.
• Allows products with 3 phase power supplies to qualify.
• Updates requirements for power and temperature sampling, including an allowance for systems
that implement time stamping of data.
The Version 2.0 Servers Specification was developed through extensive engagement with stakeholders
including numerous draft specifications and meetings. Stakeholder comments, draft versions of thespecification, and related materials are available on the ENERGY STAR website atwww.energystar.gov/RevisedSpecs under the link for "Enterprise Servers."
Changes to the Version 2.0 Specification from the Final Draft include:• An expansion of the rounding rules for blade chassis. Based on stakeholder input on the Final
Draft, EPA and DOE have relaxed the requirements to allow for rounding to the nearest power
domain.
• An expansion of form factor restrictions in product families, to enable products that differ only bysuperficial mechanical differences to be qualified within the same product family.
• Changed Section 4.1 to detail general reporting rather than focus on the PPDS, as EPA does notintend to use the PPDS for Version 2.0.

Changes to the Version 2.0 Test Method from the Final Draft include:• Additional three-phase voltages for the European Market. Based on stakeholder input on theFinal Draft, DOE has included 400 V ac 50 Hz in the list of supply voltages for European market.
• Input frequency option of 50 Hz or 60 Hz for the Japanese market to reflect the voltage standardsof Japan.
• The same expansion of rounding rules for blade chassis as stated in the Specification.
• Change in section 5.2 F) to clarify that the controller system and the Unit Under Test (UUT)
should be connected to the same network switch and must be configured to communicate via thenetwork.
• Change in section 5.1 J) to ensure that the UUT offers at least one Ethernet port for the purposeof testing. Based on stakeholder input DOE has deleted the requirement of setting up the UUTwith minimal I/O add-in cards.
• General Test Method updates to be consistent with SERT requirements.
Timeline and Next Steps:
EPA shares its partners' desire for a smooth transition from one ENERGY STAR specification to the next,
so that users can expect ENERGY STAR labeled products to fully meet the latest requirements upon theireffective date. With this in mind, EPA has established the following timeline:
•••
••
•
•

Effective today, manufacturers may begin testing eligible products against the Version 2.0
requirements.
thOn the week of March 18 , the QPX forms will be distributed to stakeholders for review.
thBy April 5 , manufacturers and Certification Bodies (CBs) should submit comments on the QPX
forms, for review by EPA
In April, EPA will finish creating the data submission forms for CBs. CBs must successfullycomplete a test submission in order to retain their ENERGY STAR recognition. Once the above
are completed, product test results will begin appearing on the ENERGY STAR website.
After August 30th, CBs will be instructed to stop certifying new product submittals to the Version
1.1 specification. Existing certification to Version 1.1 will remain valid for purposes of ENERGYSTAR qualification until December 16, 2013.
In September, EPA will organize an "off-season" meeting to review SERT data submission anddiscuss a variety of topics relating to future versions of the servers specification.
As of December 16, 2013, all servers will have to meet the Version 2.0 requirements to bear theENERGY STAR mark. All certifications of products to the Version 1.1 specification will be invalid
for purposes of ENERGY STAR qualification.

Third-party Certification:
As a reminder, all new products must be certified by an EPA-recognized CB before being labeled andmarketed as ENERGY STAR qualified. Upon satisfactory completion of all certification requirements, aCB will notify the partner that the product is ENERGY STAR qualified and will submit qualified productdata to EPA for listing on the ENERGY STAR website. For more information on the Third-party
Certification program, please visit www.energystar.gov/3rdPartyCert.
EPA thanks stakeholders who provided feedback during the specification revision process and looks
forward to working with you as you qualify and market your energy-efficient servers. Please direct anyquestions about the specification or partnership process to RJ Meyers, EPA, at Meyers.Robert@epa.gov,or 202-343-9923; or John Clinger, ICF International, at John.Clinger@icfi.com, or 215-967-9407. For any
questions related to the Test Method, contact Bryan Berringer, DOE, at Bryan.Berringer@ee.doe.gov, or202-586-0371.
Thank you for your continued support of ENERGY STAR.
Sincerely,Robert Meeyers
Data Center Product Managerervers
ENERGY STAR for Se