ENERGY STAR® Program Requirements
Product Specification for
Computer Servers
Eligibility Criteria
Draft 1 Version 3.0

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Following is the Version 3.0 ENERGY STAR Product Specification for Computer Servers. A product shallmeet all of the identified criteria if it is to earn the ENERGY STAR.

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1 DEFINITIONS

4A) Product Types:

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1) Computer Server: A computer that provides services and manages networked resources forclient devices (e.g., desktop computers, notebook computers, thin clients, wireless devices,
PDAs, IP telephones, other computer servers, or other network devices). A computer serveris sold through enterprise channels for use in data centers and office/corporate environments.
A computer server is primarily accessed via network connections, versus directly-connecteduser input devices such as a keyboard or mouse. For purposes of this specification, acomputer server must meet all of the following criteria:

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A. is marketed and sold as a Computer Server;

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B. is designed for and listed as supporting one or more computer server operating systems(OS) and/or hypervisors;

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C. is targeted to run user-installed applications typically, but not exclusively, enterprise innature;17
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D. provides support for error-correcting code (ECC) and/or buffered memory (including bothbuffered dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs) and buffered on board (BOB)
configurations).

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E. is packaged and sold with one or more ac-dc or dc-dc power supplies; and21
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F. is designed such that all processors have access to shared system memory and are
visible to a single OS or hypervisor.

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2) Managed Server: A computer server that is designed for a high level of availability in a highly
managed environment. For purposes of this specification, a managed server must meet thefollowing criteria:

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A. is designed to be configured with redundant power supplies; and27

B. contains an installed dedicated management controller (e.g., service processor).

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Note: In reviewing the current data set, EPA has not found any examples of unmanaged computer
servers certified as ENERGY STAR. EPA welcomes stakeholder feedback on whether unmanaged
servers are still sold outside of the ENERGY STAR program, or whether all current computer servers on
the market within scope meet the Managed Server definition, making the definition above obsolete.

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3) Blade System: A system comprised of a blade chassis and one or more removable blade
servers and/or other units (e.g., blade storage, blade network equipment). Blade systems
provide a scalable means for combining multiple blade server or storage units in a single
enclosure, and are designed to allow service technicians to easily add or replace (hot-swap)

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blades in the field.

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A. Blade Server: A computer server that is designed for use in a blade chassis. A blade
server is a high-density device that functions as an independent computer server andincludes at least one processor and system memory, but is dependent upon shared blade
chassis resources (e.g., power supplies, cooling) for operation. A processor or memory
module that is intended to scale up a standalone server is not considered a Blade Server.

4243(1) Multi-bay Blade Server: A blade server requiring more than one bay for installation ina blade chassis.

4445(2) Single-wide Blade Server: A blade server requiring the width of a standard blade
server bay.

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47(3) Double-wide Blade Server: A blade server requiring twice the width of a standard
blade server bay.

4849(4) Half-height Blade Server: A blade server requiring one half the height of a standard
blade server bay.

5051(5) Quarter-height Blade Server: A blade server requiring one quarter the height of astandard server bay.

5253(6) Multi-Node Blade Server: A blade server which has multiple nodes. The blade server
itself is hot swappable, but the individual nodes are not.

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B. Blade Chassis: An enclosure that contains shared resources for the operation of blade
servers, blade storage, and other blade form-factor devices. Shared resources provided
by a chassis may include power supplies, data storage, and hardware for dc power
distribution, thermal management, system management, and network services.

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C. Blade Storage: A storage device that is designed for use in a blade chassis. A blade
storage device is dependent upon shared blade chassis resources (e.g., power supplies,
cooling) for operation.

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4) Fully Fault Tolerant Server: A computer server that is designed with complete hardware
redundancy, in which every computing component is replicated between two nodes running
identical and concurrent workloads (i.e., if one node fails or needs repair, the second node
can run the workload alone to avoid downtime). A fully fault tolerant server uses two systems
to simultaneously and repetitively run a single workload for continuous availability in a
mission critical application.

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5) Resilient Server: A computer server designed with extensive Reliability, Availability,
Serviceability (RAS) and scalability features integrated in the micro architecture of thesystem, CPU and chipset. For purposes of ENERGY STAR certification under thisspecification, a Resilient Server shall have the characteristics as described in Appendix B ofthis specification.

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6) Multi-node Server: A computer server that is designed with two or more independent server
nodes that share a single enclosure and one or more power supplies. In a multi-node server,
power is distributed to all nodes through shared power supplies. Server nodes in a multi-nodeserver are not designed to be hot-swappable.

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A. Dual-node Server: A common multi-node server configuration consisting of two server
nodes.

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7) Server Appliance: A computer server that is bundled with a pre-installed OS and application
software that is used to perform a dedicated function or set of tightly coupled functions.
Server appliances deliver services through one or more networks (e.g., IP or SAN), and are
typically managed through a web or command line interface. Server appliance hardware andsoftware configurations are customized by the vendor to perform a specific task (e.g., nameservices, firewall services, authentication services, encryption services, and voice-over-IP(VoIP) services), and are not intended to execute user-supplied software.

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8) High Performance Computing (HPC) System: A computing system which is designed andoptimized to execute highly parallel applications. HPC systems feature a large number ofclustered homogeneous nodes often featuring high speed inter-processing interconnects aswell as large memory capability and bandwidth. HPC systems may be purposely built, or
assembled from more commonly available computer servers. HPC systems must meet ALL
the following criteria:

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A. Marketed and sold as a Computer Server optimized for higher performance computing
applications;

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B. Designed (or assembled) and optimized to execute highly parallel applications;

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C. Consist of a number of typically homogeneous computing nodes, clustered primarily toincrease computational capability;

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D. Includes high speed inter-processing interconnections between nodes.

97989) Direct Current (dc) Server: A computer server that is designed solely to operate on a dc
power source.

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10) Large Server: A resilient/scalable server which ships as a pre-integrated/pre-tested system
housed in one or more full frames or racks and that includes a high connectivity I/O
subsystem with a minimum of 32 dedicated I/O slots.

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Note: EPA has removed the “Product Category” definition found in Version 2.1 as it is considered
redundant and is not used within the specification.

104B) Computer Server Form Factors:

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1) Rack-mounted Server: A computer server that is designed for deployment in a standard 19inch data center rack as defined by EIA-310, IEC 60297, or DIN 41494. For the purposes ofthis specification, a blade server is considered under a separate category and excluded fromthe rack-mounted category.

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2) Pedestal Server: A self-contained computer server that is designed with PSUs, cooling, I/O
devices, and other resources necessary for stand-alone operation. The frame of a pedestal
server is similar to that of a tower client computer.

112C) Computer Server Components:

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1) Power Supply Unit (PSU): A device that converts ac or dc input power to one or more dc
power outputs for the purpose of powering a computer server. A computer server PSU must
be self-contained and physically separable from the motherboard and must connect to thesystem via a removable or hard-wired electrical connection.

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A. Ac-Dc Power Supply: A PSU that converts line-voltage ac input power into one or more
dc power outputs for the purpose of powering a computer server.

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B. Dc-Dc Power Supply: A PSU that converts line-voltage dc input power to one or more dc
outputs for the purpose of powering a computer server. For purposes of this specification,a dc-dc converter (also known as a voltage regulator) that is internal to a computer server
and is used to convert a low voltage dc (e.g., 12 V dc) into other dc power outputs for use
by computer server components is not considered a dc-dc power supply.

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C. Single-output Power Supply: A PSU that is designed to deliver the majority of its rated
output power to one primary dc output for the purpose of powering a computer server.
Single-output PSUs may offer one or more standby outputs that remain active wheneverconnected to an input power source. For purposes of this specification, the total rated
power output from any additional PSU outputs that are not primary and standby outputs
shall be no greater than 20 watts. PSUs that offer multiple outputs at the same voltage as
the primary output are considered single-output PSUs unless those outputs (1) are
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have independent current limits.

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D. Multi-output Power Supply: A PSU that is designed to deliver the majority of its rated
output power to more than one primary dc output for the purpose of powering a computer
server. Multi-output PSUs may offer one or more standby outputs that remain active
whenever connected to an input power source. For purposes of this specification, thetotal rated power output from any additional PSU outputs that are not primary andstandby outputs is greater than or equal to 20 watts.

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2) I/O Device: A device which provides data input and output capability between a computer
server and other devices. An I/O device may be integral to the computer server motherboard
or may be connected to the motherboard via expansion slots (e.g., PCI, PCIe). Examples ofI/O devices include discrete Ethernet devices, InfiniBand devices, RAID/SAS controllers, andFibre Channel devices.

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A. I/O Port: Physical circuitry within an I/O device where an independent I/O session can beestablished. A port is not the same as a connector receptacle; it is possible that a single
connector receptacle can service multiple ports of the same interface.

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3) Motherboard: The main circuit board of the server. For purposes of this specification, themotherboard includes connectors for attaching additional boards and typically includes thefollowing components: processor, memory, BIOS, and expansion slots.

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4) Processor: The logic circuitry that responds to and processes the basic instructions that drivea server. For purposes of this specification, the processor is the central processing unit
(CPU) of the computer server. A typical CPU is a physical package to be installed on theserver motherboard via a socket or direct solder attachment. The CPU package may include
one or more processor cores.

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5) Memory: For purposes of this specification, memory is a part of a server external to theprocessor in which information is stored for immediate use by the processor.

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6) Storage Device: A collective term for disk drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), tapes
cartridges, and any other mechanisms providing non-volatile data storage. This definition is
specifically intended to exclude aggregating storage elements such as RAID array
subsystems, robotic tape libraries, filers, and file servers. Also excluded are storage devices
which are not directly accessible by end-user application programs, and are instead
employed as a form of internal cache.

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Note: EPA is proposing to consolidate the previous HDD and SSD definitions from Version 2.1 byharmonizing with the Storage Device definition found in the ENERGY STAR Data Center Storage Version
1.0 specification. This definition captures newer non-volatile technologies not covered by the previous
HDD and SSD definitions. EPA welcomes stakeholder feedback on this change.

167D) Other Datacenter Equipment:

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1) Network Equipment: A device whose primary function is to pass data among various network
interfaces, providing data connectivity among connected devices (e.g., routers and switches).
Data connectivity is achieved via the routing of data packets encapsulated according toInternet Protocol, Fibre Channel, InfiniBand or similar protocol.

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2) Storage Product: A fully-functional storage system that supplies data storage services toclients and devices attached directly or through a network. Components and subsystems thatare an integral part of the storage product architecture (e.g., to provide internal
communications between controllers and disks) are considered to be part of the storage
product. In contrast, components that are normally associated with a storage environment at
the data center level (e.g., devices required for operation of an external SAN) are notconsidered to be part of the storage product. A storage product may be composed ofintegrated storage controllers, storage devices, embedded network elements, software, andother devices. While storage products may contain one or more embedded processors, these

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processors do not execute user-supplied software applications but may execute data-specificapplications (e.g., data replication, backup utilities, data compression, install agents).

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3) Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS): Combination of convertors, switches, and energy
storage devices (such as batteries) constituting a power system for maintaining continuity ofload power in case of input power failure.

186E) Operational Modes and Power States:

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1) Idle State: The operational state in which the OS and other software have completed loading,the computer server is capable of completing workload transactions, but no active workloadtransactions are requested or pending by the system (i.e., the computer server is operational,
but not performing any useful work). For systems where ACPI standards are applicable, Idle
State correlates only to ACPI System Level S0.

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2) Active State: The operational state in which the computer server is carrying out work in
response to prior or concurrent external requests (e.g., instruction over the network). Active
state includes both (1) active processing and (2) data seeking/retrieval from memory, cache,or internal/external storage while awaiting further input over the network.

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F) Other Key Terms:
1) Controller System: A computer or computer server that manages a benchmark evaluation
process. The controller system performs the following functions:199

A. start and stop each segment (phase) of the performance benchmark;200

B. control the workload demands of the performance benchmark;

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C. start and stop data collection from the power analyzer so that power and performancedata from each phase can be correlated;203

D. store log files containing benchmark power and performance information;

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E. convert raw data into a suitable format for benchmark reporting, submission andvalidation; and206

F. collect and store environmental data, if automated for the benchmark.

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2) Network Client (Testing): A computer or computer server that generates workload traffic fortransmission to a unit under test (UUT) connected via a network switch.

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3) RAS Features: An acronym for reliability, availability, and serviceability features. The three
primary components of RAS as related to a computer server are defined as follows:

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A. Reliability Features: Features that support a server’s ability to perform its intended
function without interruption due to component failures (e.g., component selection,
temperature and/or voltage de-rating, error detection and correction).

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B. Availability Features: Features that support a server’s ability to maximize operation at
normal capacity for a given duration of downtime (e.g., redundancy [both at micro- andmacro-level]).

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C. Serviceability Features: Features that support a server’s ability to be serviced without
interrupting operation of the server (e.g., hot plugging).

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Note: EPA has removed the sentence “RAS is sometimes expanded to RASM, which adds manageability
criteria” found in Version 2.1 based on the note box above questioning the continued need to address
manageability as a unique functionality, rather than a core functionality of all current computer servers
within scope.

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4) Server Processor Utilization: The ratio of processor computing activity to full-load processor
computing activity at a specified voltage and frequency, measured instantaneously or with ashort term average of use over a set of active and/or idle cycles.

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5) Hypervisor: A type of hardware virtualization technique that enables multiple guest operating
systems to run on a single host system at the same time.

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6) Auxiliary Processing Accelerators (APAs): Computing expansion add-in cards installed ingeneral-purpose add-in expansion slots (e.g., GPGPUs installed in a PCI slot).

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7) Buffered DDR Channel: Channel or Memory Port connecting a Memory Controller to adefined number of memory devices (e.g., DIMMs) in a computer server. A typical computer
server may contain multiple Memory Controllers, which may in turn support one or more
Buffered DDR Channels. As such, each Buffered DDR Channel serves only a fraction of thetotal addressable memory space in a computer server.

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G) Product Family: A high-level description referring to a group of computers sharing one
chassis/motherboard combination that often contains hundreds of possible hardware and software
configurations. Products within a product family may differ in color.

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Note: EPA has clarified that differences in product color are acceptable within a product family, given theremoval of the previous section titled “Qualifying Families of Products” section in Version 2.1.

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1) Common Product Family Attributes: A set of features common to all models/configurations
within a product family that constitute a common basic design. All models/configurations
within a product family must share the following:

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A. Be from the same model line or machine type;

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B. Either share the same form factor (i.e., rack-mounted, blade, pedestal) or share the samemechanical and electrical designs with only superficial mechanical differences to enablea design to support multiple form factors;

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C. Either share processors from a single defined processor series or share processors thatplug into a common socket type.

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D. Share PSUs that perform with efficiencies greater than or equal to the efficiencies at all
required load points specified in Section 3.2 (i.e., 10%, 20%, 50%, and 100% of
maximum rated load for single-output; 20%, 50%, and 100% of maximum rated load for
multi-output).

2532) Product Family Tested Product Configurations:

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A. Purchase Consideration Variations:

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(1) Low-end Performance Configuration: The combination of Processor Socket Power,
PSUs, Memory, Storage Devices, and I/O devices that represents the lower-price or
lower-performance computing platform within the Product Family.

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(2) High-end Performance Configuration: This configuration shall include the highest
processer performance per socket, as represented by the highest numerical value
resulting from the multiplication of the processor count by the frequency in GHz,
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offered for sale and capable of meeting ENERGY STAR requirements.

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B. Typical Configuration:

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Typical Configuration: A product configuration that lies between the Minimum Power andHigh-end Performance configurations and is representative of a deployed product withhigh volume sales.

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C. Power Utilization Variations:

1Highest processor performance per socket = [# of processor cores] x [processor clock speed (GHz)],
where # of cores represents the number of physical cores and processor clock speed represents the Max
TDP core frequency as reported by SERT, not the turbo boost frequency.

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(1) Minimum Power Configuration: The minimum configuration that is able to boot andexecute supported OSs. The Minimum Configuration contains the lowest Processor
Socket Power, least number of installed PSUs, Memory, Storage Devices, and I/O
devices, that is both offered for sale and capable of meeting ENERGY STAR
requirements.

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Note: EPA received stakeholder feedback that the Agency may be able to meet its goal of creating a
product family envelope that has sufficient flexibility to allow manufacturers to sell compliant non-tested
configurations, while ensuring that all members of the family meet the ENERGY STAR requirements
through fewer test points. Stakeholders indicated that this change would reduce testing costs significantly
while maintaining the integrity of the program. EPA is concerned that partners will not be able torepresent their product families with three points. Further, EPA’s dataset shows meaningful differences
between minimum power and low end performance configurations, supporting the maintenance of thecurrent test points. EPA seeks stakeholder feedback on the ability of three configurations per productfamily to fully represent that family. EPA also seeks data that makes clear the redundancy of the current
test points.

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2 SCOPE

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2.1

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2.1.1

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2.2

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2.2.1

Products that are covered under other ENERGY STAR product specifications are not eligible forcertification under this specification. The list of specifications currently in effect can be found atwww.energystar.gov/products.

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2.2.2

The following products are not eligible for certification under this specification:

Included Products
A product must meet the definition of a Computer Server provided in Section 1 of this document
to be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification under this specification. Eligibility under Version 3.0
is limited to Blade-, Multi-node, Rack-mounted, or Pedestal form factor computer servers with nomore than four processor sockets in the computer server (or per blade or node in the case of
blade or multi-node servers) Products explicitly excluded from Version 3.0 are identified in
Section 2.2.

Excluded Products

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i.

Fully Fault Tolerant Servers;

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ii.

Server Appliances;297

iii. High Performance Computing Systems;

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iv. Large Servers;

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v.

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vi. Network Equipment.

Storage Products including Blade Storage; and301

3 CERTIFICATION CRITERIA

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3.1

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3.1.1

All calculations shall be carried out with directly measured (unrounded) values.

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3.1.2

Unless otherwise specified, compliance with specification limits shall be evaluated using directly
measured or calculated values without any benefit from rounding.

Significant Digits and Rounding

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3.1.3

Directly measured or calculated values that are submitted for reporting on the ENERGY STAR
website shall be rounded to the nearest significant digit as expressed in the corresponding
specification limit.

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3.2

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3.2.1

Power supply test data and test reports from testing entities recognized by EPA to perform power
supply testing shall be accepted for the purpose of certifying the ENERGY STAR product.

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3.2.2

Power Supply Efficiency Criteria: Power Supplies used in products eligible under this specificationmust meet the following requirements when tested using the Generalized Internal Power Supply
Efficiency Test Protocol, Rev. 6.7 (available at www.efficientpowersupplies.org). Power Supply
data generated using Rev. 6.4.2 (as required in Version 1.1), 6.4.3, 6.5, or 6.6 are acceptableprovided the test was conducted prior to the effective date of Version 3.0 of this specification.

Power Supply Requirements

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i.

Pedestal and Rack-mounted Servers: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a pedestal or rackmounted computer server must be configured with only PSUs that meet or exceed theapplicable efficiency requirements specified in Table 1 prior to shipment.

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ii.

Blade and Multi-node Servers: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a Blade or Multi-node computer
server shipped with a chassis must be configured such that all PSUs supplying power to thechassis meet or exceed the applicable efficiency requirements specified in Table 1 prior to
shipment.

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Table 1: Efficiency Requirements for PSUs
Power Supply Type

Rated Output Power

10%
Load

20%
Load

50%
Load

100%
Load

Multi-output(Ac-Dc)All Output Levels

N/A

90%

92%

89%

Single-output(Ac-Dc)All Output Levels

83%

90%

94%

91%

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Note: EPA is proposing power supply efficiency requirements equivalent to 80Plus platinum in Version
3.0. Several stakeholders have shared recently that most server products offer a platinum power supply
option, and 63% of the configurations tested in Version 2.0 already used platinum level power supplies forcertification purposes. EPA welcomes stakeholder feedback on this proposal.

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3.2.3

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Power Supply Power Factor Criteria: Power Supplies used in Computers Servers eligible under
this specification must meet the following requirements when tested using the Generalized
Internal Power Supply Efficiency Test Protocol, Rev. 6.6 (available atwww.efficientpowersupplies.org). Power Supply data generated using Rev. 6.4.2 (as required in
Version 1.1), 6.4.3, or 6.5 are acceptable provided the test was conducted prior to the effective
date of Version 3.0.
i.

Pedestal and Rack-mounted Servers: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a pedestal or rackmounted computer server must be configured with only PSUs that meet or exceed theapplicable power factor requirements specified in Table 2 prior to shipment, under all
loading conditions for which output power is greater than or equal to 75 watts. Partners are
required to measure and report PSU power factor under loading conditions of less than 75
watts, though no minimum power factor requirements apply.

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ii.

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Blade or Multi-node Servers: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a Blade or Multi-node computer
server shipped with a chassis must be configured such that all PSUs supplying power to thechassis meet or exceed the applicable power factor requirements specified in Table 2 prior
to shipment, under all loading conditions for which output power is greater than or equal to
75 watts. Partners are required to measure and report PSU power factor under loading
conditions of less than 75 watts, though no minimum power factor requirements apply.
Table 2: Power Factor Requirements for PSUs
10%
20%
Power Supply Type
Rated Output Power
Load
Load

50%
Load

100%
Load

Ac-Dc Multi-output

Ac-Dc Single-output

All Output Ratings

N/A

0.80

0.90

0.95

Output Rating ≤ 500 W

N/A

0.80

0.90

0.95

Output Rating > 500 W
andOutput Rating ≤ 1,000
W

0.65

0.80

0.90

0.95

Output Rating > 1,000
watts

0.80

0.90

0.90

0.95

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3.3

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3.3.1

Power Management Requirements
Server Processor Power Management: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a Computer Server must
offer processor power management that is enabled by default in the BIOS and/or through amanagement controller, service processor, and/or the operating system shipped with thecomputer server. All processors must be able to reduce power consumption in times of low
utilization by:

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i.

reducing voltage and/or frequency through Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS),
or

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ii.

enabling processor or core reduced power states when a core or socket is not in use.

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3.3.2

Supervisor Power Management: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a product which offers a preinstalled supervisor system (e.g., operating system, hypervisor) must offer supervisor system
power management that is enabled by default.

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3.3.3

Power Management Reporting: To certify for ENERGY STAR, all power management techniquesthat are enabled by default must be itemized on the Power and Performance Data Sheet. Thisrequirement applies to power management features in the BIOS, operating system, or any otherorigin that can be configured by the end-user.

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3.4

Blade and Multi-Node System Criteria

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3.4.1

Blade and Multi-Node Thermal Management and Monitoring: To certify for ENERGY STAR, ablade or multi-node server must provide real-time chassis or blade/node inlet temperaturemonitoring and fan speed management capability that is enabled by default.

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3.4.2

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3.5

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3.5.1

Blade and Multi-Node Server Shipping Documentation: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a blade or
multi-node server that is shipped to a customer independent of the chassis must be accompaniedwith documentation to inform the customer that the blade or multi-node server is ENERGY STAR
qualified only if it is installed in a chassis meeting requirements in Section 3.4.1 of this document.
A list of certified chassis and ordering information must also be provided as part of productcollateral provided with the blade or multi-node server. These requirements may be met via either
printed materials, electronic documentation provided with the blade or multi-node server, or
information publically available on the Partner’s website where information about the blade or
multi-node server is found.

Active State Efficiency Criteria
Active State Efficiency Reporting: To certify for ENERGY STAR, a Computer Server or Computer
Server Product Family must be submitted for certification with the following information disclosed
in full and in the context of the complete Active State efficiency rating test report:

382
383

i.

Final SERT rating tool results, which include the results files (in xml, html, and text format)
and all results-chart png files; and

384
385

ii.

Intermediate SERT rating tool results over the entire test run, which include the results-details
files (in xml, html, and text format) and all results-details-chart png files.

386

Data reporting and formatting requirements are discussed in Section 4.1 of this specification.

387
388
389
390

Note: Per request from several stakeholders, EPA has added the requirement to include the xml files
generated by the SERT tool in submissions along with the html and text formats. EPA welcomesstakeholder feedback on whether collecting the xml format eliminates the need to collect the html
formatted files.

391
392
393

3.5.2

Incomplete Reporting: Partners shall not selectively report individual workload module results, orotherwise present efficiency rating tool results in any form other than a complete test report, incustomer documentation or marketing materials.

394

3.5.3

Active State Efficiency Requirements: TBD in next draft.

395
396
397
398
399
400

Note: EPA is engaged in discussions with many stakeholders, including TGG and SPEC, to determine
potential options for Active State efficiency metrics to make use of the SERT data generated in Version 2.
EPA will continue to work closely with these groups and plans to release a proposed path forward on
Active State metrics in Draft 2. EPA strongly encourages manufacturers and other interested
stakeholders to come to consensus on a path forward in time for the release of the next draft, but if this is
not accomplished, EPA will develop and propose an approach in Draft 2.

401
402

EPA welcomes additional feedback on the following areas regarding Active State metrics and efficiency
requirements:

403
404

1) Should Active State and Idle State criteria remain separated as is currently proposed in Draft 1, or are
there technical merits to combining them into a single metric?

405
406
407
408

2) What guidance can industry provide end-users to better correlate the SERT worklet scores shown on
the ENERGY STAR computer servers qualified product list with customer’s real life workloads andapplications? EPA would like to work with industry to develop and/or disseminate guidance for purchasers
as part of the Version 3.0 process.

409
410
411
412
413

3) Are the two storage worklets scores in SERT sufficient to differentiate computer server configurations
from storage products? EPA welcomes feedback on how to more clearly handle computer server
products which are performing heavy storage duties, particularly in light of the Version 1.1 revision of the
ENERGY STAR Data Center Storage specification planned for later this year that is expected to expand
the scope to include network attached storage products.

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

Page 10 of 22

Idle State Efficiency Criteria – All One-Socket (1S) and Two-Socket (2S) Servers

414

3.6

415
416
417
418
419

3.6.1

420
421
422

Note: EPA has consolidated Idle State efficiency criteria for all one and two socket servers into Section
3.6. Additional information on how to calculate per blade idle power (PBLADE) and per node idle power(PNODE is found in Sections 3.8 and 3.9 respectively.

423
424

3.6.2

Idle State Data Reporting: Idle State power (PIDLE, PBLADE, or PNODE) shall be measured andreported, both in certification materials and as required in Section 4. In addition, for blade andmulti-node products, PTOT_BLADE_SYS and PTOT_NODE_SYS shall also be reported respectively. Pleasesee Section 3.8 for details on how to calculate PBLADE and PTOT_BLADE_SYS, and Section 3.9 fordetails on how to calculate PNODE and PTOT_NODE_SYS.

Idle State Efficiency: Measured Idle State power (PIDLE, PBLADE, or PNODE) shall be less than orequal to the Maximum Idle State Power Requirement (PIDLE_MAX), as calculated per Equation 1.

425

Equation 1: Calculation of Maximum Idle State Power

426

PIDLE _ MAX  PBASE   PADDL _ i

n

i 1

427
428
429
430
431
432
433

Where:

PIDLE_MAX is the Maximum Idle State Power Requirement,
PBASE is the base idle power allowance, as determined perTable 3 or Table 4,
PADDL_i is the Idle State power allowance for additional
components, as determined per 5.

434

i.

These Idle power limits are applicable to one and two socket systems only.

435
436

ii.

Use Section 6.1 of the ENERGY STAR Computer Servers Test Method to determine the Idle
State power for certification.

437
438

iii. The Resilient category in Table 3 and Table 4 applies only to systems that meet the definition
of Resilient Server as set forth in Appendix B.

439
440
441

iv. All quantities (with the exception of installed processors) in Table 3, Table 4 and, Table 5refer to the number of components installed in the system, not the maximum number ofcomponents the system can support (e.g., installed memory, not supported memory; etc.)

442
443

v.

444
445

vi. For the purposes of determining Idle power allowances, all memory capacities shall be2rounded to the nearest GB

446
447
448
449
450
451

vii. The Additional I/O Device allowance may be applied for all I/O Devices over the Base
Configuration (i.e., Ethernet devices additional to two ports greater than or equal to 1 Gigabit
per second (Gbit/s), onboard Ethernet, plus any non-Ethernet I/O devices), including onboard I/O devices and add-in I/O devices installed through expansion slots. This allowance
may be applied for each of the following types of I/O functionality: Ethernet, SAS, SATA,
Fibre Channel and Infiniband.

452
453
454

viii. The Additional I/O Device allowance shall be calculated based upon the rated link speed of asingle connection, rounded to the nearest Gbit. I/O devices with less than 1 Gbit speed do
not qualify for the Additional I/O Device allowance.

2

The Additional Power Supply allowance may be applied for each redundant power supply
used in the configuration.

330

GB defined as 1024 or 2

bytes.

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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455
456
457

ix. The Additional I/O Device allowance shall only be applied for I/O devices that are
active/enabled upon shipment, and are capable of functioning when connected to an active
switch.

458

Table 3: Base Idle State Power Allowances for all One Socket Servers
Category

Resilient

Base Idle State Power
Allowance, PBASE(watts)

A

No

37.0

B

Yes

130

459
460

Table 4: Base Idle State Power Allowances for all Two Socket Servers
Category

Blade or MultiNode

Resilient

Base Idle State Power
Allowance, PBASE(watts)

C
D

No
Yes

No
No

85.0
105

E

No

Yes

297

461
462
463
464
465
466
467

Note: EPA is proposing the above base idle requirements for one and two socket servers. Per
stakeholder suggestion, EPA did investigate separating one socket servers by whether they are blade ornot, but the data in this category did not support such a differentiation. As a result, blade/multi-node form
factor was not used as a differentiating factor for one socket servers. EPA did observe an increase inenergy consumption of blades and multi-nodes in the two socket category, and included it as adifferentiating function along with resiliency for that category.

468

Table 5: Additional Idle Power Allowances for Extra Components
SystemCharacteristic

Applies To:

Additional Idle Power Allowance

Additional
Power Supplies

Power supplies installed
explicitly for power(v)
redundancy

10 watts per Power Supply

Storage Devices

Per installed storage
device4.0 watts per Storage Device

Additional
MemoryInstalled memory(vi)greater than 4 GB

0.25 watts per GB

Additional
Buffered DDR
ChannelInstalled buffered DDR
Channels greater than 8channels(Resilient Servers only)

4.0 watts per Buffered DDR Channel

Installed Devices
greater than two portsof ≥ 1 Gbit, onboard
Ethernet< 1Gbit: No Allowance= 1 Gbit: 2.0 watts / Active Port
> 1 Gbit and < 10 Gbit: 4.0 watts / Active Port
≥ 10 Gbit: 8.0 watts / Active Port

Additional(vii),
I/O Devices(viii), (ix)(vi)

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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469
470

Note: EPA is proposing the following adder value revisions from the Version 2.0 allowances based onrecent improvements in technology.

471
472

- Aligning in observed trends in power supply efficiency, EPA changed the Additional Power Supplies
adder from 20 watts per power supply to 10 watts.

473
474

- Recognizing improvements in storage device performance in a range of other products, EPA is
proposing changing the Storage Device adder from 8 watts per Storage Device to 4 watts.

475
476
477

- Based on understood state of the art performance gathered during the development of Version 2.0, EPA
proposes changing the Additional Memory adder from 0.75 watts/GB above 4GB of installed memory to
0.25 watts/GB above 4GB of installed memory.

478
479
480
481
482
483

EPA intends to set levels such that the revised Idle State energy efficiency requirements above, whencombined with the upcoming Active State energy efficiency requirements in Draft 2, will result inrecognizing approximately the top quartile of most efficient computer server products on the market. The
proposed Idle State requirements above result in an average reduction in PIDLE_MAX of 40 watts for one
socket rack servers and 78 watts for two socket rack servers compared to previous Version 2.1 Idle Stateefficiency requirements.

484
485

3.7

486
487

3.7.1

488
489
490

Note: EPA does not have enough data to propose meaningful three or four socket idle state efficiency
levels at this time. EPA welcomes additional Idle State data on these products to aid in the developmentof idle requirements for them.

491

3.8

492
493

3.8.1

Idle State Efficiency Criteria – Three-Socket (3S) and Four-Socket (4S) Servers(neither Blade nor Multi-Node)Idle State Data Reporting: Idle State power (PIDLE) shall be measured andreported, both in certification materials and as required in Section 4.

Calculating Idle State Values – Blade Servers
The testing of Blade Servers for compliance with Section 3.6.1 shall be carried out under all of thefollowing conditions:

494
495
496
497
498
499

i.

Power values shall be measured and reported using a half-populated Blade Chassis. Blade
Servers with multiple power domains, choose the number of power domains that is closest to
filling half of the Blade Chassis. In a case where there are two choices that are equally close
to half, test with the domain or combination of domains which utilize a higher number of Blade
Servers. The number of blades tested during the half-populated Blade Chassis test shall bereported.

500
501

ii.

Power for a fully-populated blade chassis may be optionally measured and reported, provided
that half-populated chassis data is also provided.

502
503

iii. All Blade Servers installed in the Blade Chassis shall share the same configuration(homogeneous).

504

iv. Per-blade power values shall be calculated using Equation 2.

505

Equation 2: Calculation of Single Blade Power

PBLADE 

506
507
508
509
510

Where:


PTOT _ BLADE _ SYS
N INST _ BLADE _ SRVPBLADE is the per-Blade Server Power, PTOT_BLADE_SYS is
total measured power of the Blade System,

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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

511
512
513
514

3.9

515
516

3.9.1

NINST_BLADE_SRV is the number of installed Blade Servers in
the tested Blade Chassis.

Calculating Idle State Values – Multi-Node Servers
The testing of Multi-Node Servers for compliance with Section 3.6.1 shall be carried out under allof the following conditions:

517

i.

Power values shall be measured and reported using a fully-populated Multi-Node Chassis.

518
519

ii.

All Multi-Node Servers in the Multi-Node Chassis shall share the same configuration(homogeneous).

520

iii. Per-node power values shall be calculated using Equation 3.

521

Equation 3: Calculation of Single Node PowerPNODE 522

PTOT _ NODE _ SYS
N INST _ NODE _ SRV

523
524
525
526
527

Where:


528

3.10 Other Testing Criteria

529
530

3.10.1 APA Requirements: For all computer servers sold with APAs, the following criteria and provisions
apply:

PNODE is the per-Node Server Power, PTOT_NODE_SYS is total
measured power of the Multi-Node Server,
NINST_NODE_SRV is the number of installed Multi-NodeServers in the tested Multi-Node Chassis.

531
532
533

i.

For single configurations: All Idle State testing shall be conducted both with and without the
APAs installed. Idle Power measurements taken both with the APAs installed and removed
shall be submitted to EPA as part of ENERGY STAR certification materials.

534
535
536

ii.

For Product Families: Idle State testing shall be conducted both with and without the APAs
installed in the High-end Performance Configuration found in 1.G)2). Testing with and without
the APAs installed may optionally be conducted and disclosed at the other test points.

537
538
539
540

iii. Idle State power measurements taken both with the APAs installed and removed shall be
submitted to EPA as part of ENERGY STAR certification materials. These measurements
shall be submitted for each individual APA product that is intended for sale with the certified
configuration.

541
542
543
544

iv. Measurements of PIDLE in Sections 3.6 and 3.7, PBLADE in Section 3.8 and PNODE in Section 3.9
shall be performed with APAs removed, even if they are installed as-shipped. These
measurements shall then be repeated with each APA installed, one at a time, to evaluate Idle
State power consumption of each installed APA.

545
546

v.

547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555

The Idle State power consumption of each installed APA in qualified configurations shall not
exceed 30 watts.

Note: EPA has reviewed publically available test data on the latest two generations of high performance
consumer grade GPUs (price range $500-1000) and has observed average idle values ranging from 7-15
watts. The same data shows variability with spikes as high as 30 watts and dips below 5 watts while inidle. For this reason, EPA is proposing that the Idle State power consumption requirement for APAs belowered from 46 watts to the maximum observed energy consumption spikes of the two latest generationhigh performance cards (30 watts). As proposed, this requirement balances the desire to encourage theuse of the latest generations of GPUs with the best performance per watt with the recognition that use ofnewer APAs can be a more efficient computing approach than general purpose servers for specificworkloads.

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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556
557
558

EPA welcomes stakeholder feedback on if this level is sufficiently aggressive to remove older (typicallyless energy efficient) generation APAs from consideration without negatively impacting the use of newer
APAs.

559
560

vi. The Idle State power consumption of each individual APA product sold with a qualified
configuration shall be reported.

561

4 STANDARD INFORMATION REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

562

4.1

563
564
565

4.1.1

Data Reporting Requirements
All required data fields in the ENERGY STAR Version 3.0 Computer Servers Qualified ProductExchange form shall be submitted to EPA for each ENERGY STAR certified Computer Server or
Computer Server Product Family.

566
567

i.

Partners are encouraged to provide one set of data for each ENERGY STAR certified productconfiguration, though EPA will also accept a data set for each qualified product family.

568
569

ii.

A product family certification must include data for all defined test points in 1.G)2), as
applicable.

570
571
572

iii. Whenever possible, Partners must also provide a hyperlink to a detailed power calculator on
their Web site that purchasers can use to understand power and performance data for
specific configurations within the product family.

573
574

4.1.2

The following data will be displayed on the ENERGY STAR Web site through the product finder
tool:

575

i.

model name and number, identifying SKU and/or configuration ID;

576

ii.

system characteristics (form factor, available sockets/slots, power specifications, etc.);

577

iii. system type (e.g., managed or resilient.);

578
579
580

iv. system configuration(s) (including Low-end Performance Configuration, High-end
Performance Configuration, Minimum Power Configuration, and Typical Configuration for
Product Family certification);

581
582
583

v.

584

vi. available and enabled power saving features (e.g., power management);

585

vii. a list of selected data from the ASHRAE Thermal Report;

586
587

viii. inlet air temperature measurements made prior to the start of testing, at the conclusion of Idle
State testing, and at the conclusion of Active State testing;

588
589

ix. for product family certifications, a list of qualified configurations with qualified SKUs or
configuration IDs; and

590
591

x.

592
593

4.1.3

power consumption and performance data from required Active and Idle State Efficiency
Criteria testing including results.xml, results.html, results.txt, all results-chart png files,
results-details.html, results-details.txt, results-details.xml, all results-details-chart png files;

for a blade server, a list of compatible blade chassis that meet ENERGY STAR certification
criteria.

EPA may periodically revise this list, as necessary, and will notify and invite stakeholder
engagement in such a revision process.

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

Page 15 of 22

595

5 STANDARD PERFORMANCE DATA MEASUREMENT AND OUTPUTREQUIREMENTS

596

5.1

597
598
599
600
601

5.1.1

A computer server must provide data on input power consumption (W), inlet air temperature (°C),
and average utilization of all logical CPUs. Data must be made available in a published or useraccessible format that is readable by third-party, non-proprietary management software over a
standard network. For blade and multi-node servers and systems, data may be aggregated at thechassis level.

602
603
604
605
606

5.1.2

Computer servers classified as Class B equipment as set out in EN 55022:2006 are exempt fromthe requirements to provide data on input power consumption and inlet air temperature in 5.1.1.
Class B refers to household and home office equipment (intended for use in the domestic
environment). All computer servers in the program must meet the requirement and conditions toreport utilization of all logical CPUs.

607

5.2

608
609
610

5.2.1

Products may use either embedded components or add-in devices that are packaged with thecomputer server to make data available to end users (e.g., a service processor, embedded poweror thermal meter (or other out-of-band technology), or pre-installed OS);

611
612
613
614
615
616

5.2.2

Products that include a pre-installed OS must include all necessary drivers and software for end
users to access standardized data as specified in this document. Products that do not include a
pre-installed OS must be packaged with printed documentation of how to access registers that
contain relevant sensor information. This requirement may be met via either printed materials,
electronic documentation provided with the computer server, or information publically available on
the Partner’s website where information about the computer server is found.

617
618

5.2.3

When an open and universally available data collection and reporting standard becomes
available, manufacturers should incorporate the universal standard into their systems;

619
620
621

5.2.4

Evaluation of the accuracy (5.3) and sampling (5.4) requirements shall be completed throughreview of data from component product datasheets. If this data is absent, Partner declaration
shall be used to evaluate accuracy and sampling.

622

5.3

623
624
625
626

5.3.1

Input power: Measurements must be reported with accuracy of at least ±5% of the actual value,with a maximum level of accuracy of ±10W for each installed PSU (i.e., power reporting accuracy
for each power supply is never required to be better than ± 10 watts) through the operating range
from Idle to full power;

627
628
629

5.3.2

Processor utilization: Average utilization must be estimated for each logical CPU that is visible to
the OS and must be reported to the operator or user of the computer server through the operating
environment (OS or hypervisor);

630

5.3.3

Inlet air temperature: Measurements must be reported with an accuracy of at least ±2°C.

631

5.4

632
633
634
635
636

5.4.1

Input power and processor utilization: Input power and processor utilization measurements mustbe sampled internally to the computer server at a rate of greater than or equal to measurement
per contiguous 10 second period. A rolling average, encompassing a period of no more than 30
seconds, must be sampled internally to the computer server at a frequency of greater than orequal to once per ten seconds.

637
638

5.4.2

Inlet air temperature: Inlet air temperature measurements must be sampled internally to thecomputer server at a rate of greater than or equal to 1 measurement every 10 seconds.

594

Measurement and Output

Reporting Implementation

Measurement Accuracy

Sampling Requirements

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

Page 16 of 22

639
640
641

5.4.3

Time stamping: Systems that implement time stamping of environmental data shall sample
internally to the computer server data at a rate of greater than or equal to 1 measurement every
30 seconds.

642
643
644
645
646

5.4.4

Management Software: All sampled measurements shall be made available to externalmanagement software either via an on-demand pull method, or via a coordinated pushmethod. In either case the system’s management software is responsible for establishing thedata delivery time scale while the computer server is responsible to assuring data delivered
meets the above sampling and currency requirements.

647

6 TESTING

648

6.1

649
650

6.1.1

Test Methods
When testing Computer Server products, the test methods identified in 6 shall be used todetermine ENERGY STAR certification.

651

Table 6: Test Methods for ENERGY STAR Certification
Product Type orComponent
All
All

652
653

6.1.2

654
655
656

6.2

658

6.2.1

ENERGY STAR Test Method for Computer Servers (Rev. April2016)
Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) most3
current Server Efficiency Rating Tool (SERT)When testing Computer Server products, UUTs must have all Processor Sockets populated
during testing.
i.

657

Test Method

If a Computer Server cannot support populating all Processor Sockets during testing, thenthe system must be populated to its maximum functionality. These systems will be subject
to the base idle state power allowance based on the number of sockets in the system.

Number of Units Required for Testing
Representative Models shall be selected for testing per the following requirements:

659
660
661

i.

For certification of an individual product configuration, the unique configuration that is
intended to be marketed and labeled as ENERGY STAR is considered the Representative
Model.

662
663
664
665

ii.

For certification of a product family of all product types, one product configuration for eachof the four points identified in definitions 1.G)2) within the family are considered
Representative Models. All such representative models shall have the same Common
Product Family Attributes as defined in 1.G)1).

666
667

6.2.2

All product configurations within a product family that is submitted for certification must meet
ENERGY STAR requirements, including products for which data is not reported.

668
669
670

Note: EPA has removed the section previously titled “Qualifying Families of Products” from Version 2.1 as
the contents previously found in that section are sufficiently covered in the product family definition andSection 6.2.2 above.

3

For the purposes of this document, the most current SERT version will be listed in the most recently
published Servers 3.0 Clarification Memo, located on the Enterprise Servers Specification Version 3.0
website (https://www.energystar.gov/products/spec/enterprise_servers_specification_version_3_0_pd)

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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671

7 EFFECTIVE DATE

672
673
674
675

7.1.1

Effective Date: This ENERGY STAR Computer Servers specification shall take effect on TBD. To
certify for ENERGY STAR, a product model shall meet the ENERGY STAR specification in effecton its date of manufacture. The date of manufacture is specific to each unit and is the date on
which a unit is considered to be completely assembled.

676
677
678
679
680

7.1.2

Future Specification Revisions: EPA reserves the right to change this specification should
technological and/or market changes affect its usefulness to consumers, industry, or theenvironment. In keeping with current policy, revisions to the specification are arrived at throughstakeholder discussions. In the event of a specification revision, please note that the ENERGYSTAR certification is not automatically granted for the life of a product model.

681

8 CONSIDERATIONS FOR FUTURE REVISIONS

682

8.1

TBD

683

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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APPENDIX A:
Sample Calculations

684
685
686

Idle State Power Requirements

687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699

To determine the Maximum Idle State Power Requirement for ENERGY STAR certification, determine thebase idle state level from Table 3 or Table 4, and then add power allowances from Table 5 (provided in
Section 3.6 of this Eligibility Criteria). An example is provided below:

700
701
702
703

EXAMPLE: A standard single processor Computer Server with 8 GB of memory, two storage devices, andtwo I/O devices (the first with two 1 Gbit ports and the second with six 1 Gbit ports).
1. Base allowance:a. Determine base idle allowance from Table 3 for one socket servers, provided forreference below.
b. The example server is evaluated under Category A and could consume no more than
37.0 watts in Idle to certify for ENERGY STAR.

Category

Resilient

Base Idle State Power
Allowance, PBASE(watts)

A

No

37.0

B

Yes

130

2. Additional Idle Power Allowances: Calculate additional idle allowances for extra components from
Table 5, provided for reference below.
SystemCharacteristic
Additional
Power Supplies
Storage Devices
Additional
MemoryAdditional
Buffered DDR
ChannelAdditional
I/O Devices(singleconnection speed
rounded tonearest Gbit)

704
705
706
707
708

Applies To
Power supplies installed
explicitly for power
redundancy
All installed storage
devices
Installed memory greaterthan 4 GB
Installed buffered DDR
Channels greater than 8channels(Resilient Servers only)
Installed Devices greaterthan two ports of 1 Gbit,
onboard Ethernet

Additional Idle Power Allowance
10.0 watts per Power Supply
4.0 watts per Storage Device
0.25 watts per GB

4.0 watts per Buffered DDR Channel< 1 Gbit: No Allowance= 1 Gbit: 2.0 watts / Active Port
> 1 Gbit and < 10 Gbit: 4.0 watts / ActivePort≥ 10 Gbit: 8.0 watts / Active Port

a. The example server has two hard drives. It therefore is provided with an additional 8.0
watt allowance for each hard drive (2 Storage Devices x 4.0 watts).
b. The example server has 4 GB in excess of the base configuration. It therefore is provided
with an additional 1.0 watt allowance for memory (4 extra GB x 0.25 watts/GB).

ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Computer Servers – Eligibility Criteria

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709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716

c.

The example server has one I/O card that does not qualify for an adder: the first device
has only two Ethernet ports and does not exceed the two-port threshold. Its second
device does qualify for an adder: the server is provided with an additional 12.0 wattallowance for the device (six 1Gbit ports x 2.0 watts/active port).

3. Calculate the final idle allowance by adding the base allowance with the additional power
allowances. The example system would be expected to consume no more than 58.0 watts at Idle
to qualify (37.0 W + 8.0 W + 1.0 W + 12.0 W).

717

Additional Idle Allowance - Power Supplies

718
719
720
721
722
723
724

The following examples illustrate the idle power allowances for additional power supplies:

725

Additional Idle Allowance - Additional Buffered DDR Channel

726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734

The following examples illustrate the idle power allowances for additional buffered DDR channels:

735
736

Note: EPA has revised the examples in Appendix A to reflect the new proposed idle state requirements in
Version 3.0.

A. If a Computer Server requires two power supplies to operate, and the configuration includes three
installed power supplies, the server would receive an additional 10.0 watt idle power allowance.
B. If the same server were instead shipped with four installed power supplies, it would receive anadditional idle power allowance of 20.0 watts.

A. If a resilient Computer Server is shipped with six installed buffered DDR channels, the server
would not receive an additional idle power allowance.
B. If the same resilient server were instead shipped with 16 installed buffered DDR channels, itwould receive an additional idle power allowance of 32.0 watts (first 8 channels = no additional
allowance, second 8 channels = 4.0 watts x 8 buffered DDR channels)

737

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738
739
740
741

APPENDIX B:
IDENTIFYING RESILIENT SERVER CLASS
A. Processor RAS and Scalability - All of the following shall be supported:

742
743

(1) Processor RAS: The processor must have capabilities to detect, correct, and containdata errors, as described by all of the following:

744
745

(a) Error detection on L1 caches, directories and address translation buffers using
parity protection;

746
747
748

(b) Single bit error correction (or better) using ECC on caches that can containmodified data. Corrected data is delivered to the recipient (i.e., error correction is
not used just for background scrubbing);

749
750
751
752

(c) Error recovery and containment by means of (1) processor checkpoint retry andrecovery, (2) data poison indication (tagging) and propagation, or (3) both. The
mechanisms notify the OS or hypervisor to contain the error within a process orpartition, thereby reducing the need for system reboots; and

753
754
755
756

(d) (1) Capable of autonomous error mitigation actions within processor hardware,such as disabling of the failing portions of a cache, (2) support for predictive
failure analysis by notifying the OS, hypervisor, or service processor of thelocation and/or root cause of errors, or (3) both.

757
758
759
760
761

(2) The processor technology used in resilient and scalable servers is designed toprovide additional capability and functionality without additional chipsets, enablingthem to be designed into systems with 4 or more processor sockets. The processors
have additional infrastructure to support extra, built-in processor busses to support
the demand of larger systems.

762
763
764
765
766

(3) The server provides high bandwidth I/O interfaces for connecting to external I/O
expansion devices or remote I/O without reducing the number of processor sockets
that can be connected together. These may be proprietary interfaces or standard
interfaces such as PCIe. The high performance I/O controller to support these slots
may be embedded within the main processor socket or on the system board.

767
768

B. Memory RAS and Scalability - All of the following capabilities and characteristics shall bepresent:

769(1) Provides memory fault detection and recovery through Extended ECC;

770(2) In x4 DIMMs, recovery from failure of two adjacent chips in the same rank;

771
772
773

(3) Memory migration: Failing memory can be proactively de-allocated and data migrated
to available memory. This can be implemented at the granularity of DIMMs or logicalmemory blocks. Alternatively, memory can also be mirrored;

774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781

(4) Uses memory buffers for connection of higher speed processor -memory links to
DIMMs attached to lower speed DDR channels. Memory buffer can be a separate,
standalone buffer chip which is integrated on the system board, or integrated on
custom-built memory cards. The use of the buffer chip is required for extended DIMM
support; they allow larger memory capacity due to support for larger capacity DIMMs,
more DIMM slots per memory channel, and higher memory bandwidth per memory
channel than direct-attached DIMMs. The memory modules may also be custombuilt, with the memory buffers and DRAM chips integrated on the same card;

782
783

(5) Uses resilient links between processors and memory buffers with mechanisms torecover from transient errors on the link; and784(6) Lane sparing in the processor-memory links. One or more spare lanes are available

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785

for lane failover in the event of permanent error.

786
787
788
789
790
791

C. Power Supply RAS: All PSUs installed or shipped with the server shall be redundant andconcurrently maintainable. The redundant and repairable components may also behoused within a single physical power supply, but must be repairable without requiring
the system to be powered down. Support must be present to operate the system indegraded mode when power delivery capability is degraded due to failures in the power
supplies or input power loss.

792
793
794
795
796

D. Thermal and Cooling RAS: All active cooling components, such as fans or water-based
cooling, shall be redundant and concurrently maintainable. The processor complex musthave mechanisms to allow it to be throttled under thermal emergencies. Support must bepresent to operate the system in degraded mode when thermal emergencies aredetected in system components.

797
798

E. System Resiliency – no fewer than six of the following characteristics shall be present in
the server:

799(1) Support of redundant storage controllers or redundant path to external storage;

800(2) Redundant service processors;

801(3) Redundant dc-dc regulator stages after the power supply outputs;

802(4) The server hardware supports runtime processor de-allocation;

803(5) I/O adapters or hard drives are hot-swappable;

804
805

(6) Provides end to end bus error retry on processor to memory or processor toprocessor interconnects;

806
807

(7) Supports on-line expansion/retraction of hardware resources without the need for
operating system reboot (“on-demand” features);

808
809
810

(8) Processor Socket migration: With hypervisor and/or OS assistance, tasks executing
on a processor socket can be migrated to another processor socket without the needfor the system to be restarted;

811
812

(9) Memory patrol or background scrubbing is enabled for proactive detection andcorrection of errors to reduce the likelihood of uncorrectable errors; and

813
814
815

(10) Internal storage resiliency: Resilient systems have some form of RAID hardware in
the base configuration, either through support on the system board or a dedicatedslot for a RAID controller card for support of the server’s internal drives.

816

F. System Scalability – All of the following shall be present in the server:

817
818

(1) Higher memory capacity: >=8 DDR3 or DDR4 DIMM Ports per socket, with resilient
links between the processor socket and memory buffers; and

819
820
821
822

(2) Greater I/O expandability: Larger base I/O infrastructure and support a higher
number of I/O slots. Provide at least 32 dedicated PCIe Gen 2 lanes or equivalent I/Obandwidth, with at least one x16 slot or other dedicated interface to support external
PCIe, proprietary I/O interface or other industry standard I/O interface.

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