FEATURE
Digital infrastructure in data centres relies on an uninterrupted , reliable supply of power . Clients expect round-theclock access to their servers , storage systems and networking equipment – none of which are available if there are disruptions to their data centre ’ s power . So , even while juggling various considerations , such as cooling and space limitations , maintaining power should be viewed as the top priority for data centre engineers . Though these other concerns can be detrimental to business functions , breaks in power supplies can have severe consequences , so carry a need for precision . Fortunately for data centre engineers , digital twins can support the careful management of power supplies .
Data centre power capacity
Comprehensive power planning can only be achieved once engineers have an in-depth understanding of their available power capacity . For example , to gain a definite answer about the power drawn to a specific piece of infrastructure , engineers need more knowledge than just measured data of historical power from specific panels or breakers . Without it , they will likely be unaware of possible knock-on effects when they make a change .
Of course , additional servers will use more power , but how much depends on their workloads and even that will vary depending on the work they ’ re doing . For instance , are they machines that run periodic , resource-intensive jobs , pushing up consumption ? Or are they Disaster Recovery systems that generally lie dormant , running idle until a failover from another centre requires them to function ? Together , these variations make it difficult for managers to understand how much power is being consumed at any one time .
In the past , managers typically tracked and measured power usage on spreadsheets . However , spreadsheets are manually built with complex calculations and human error often occurs , including when they are handed on from person to person as employees leave . As such , they are often incapable of providing accurate , granular insights
and enabling effective planning – particularly when forecasting power demands . Data centre digital twins are the modern solution , providing 3D replicas of physical data centres . This is a key alternative to spreadsheets , giving complete visibility over the power system and offering zero disruption when passed between users .
With digital twins , managers can make assured changes to power systems . They can illustrate the power draw if the equipment ran at full load over any given period , show if installing more equipment would overload breakers and enable managers to work out how to balance three-phase power to prevent loss of capacity and inefficiencies . Rather than inputting their own calculations , engineers can rely on software to do all the maths , then visualise their options to make risk-free , educated choices .
Reducing costs
Aside from reducing risk , digital twins can also reduce expenditure . The same efficiencies that improve safety also cut down the amount of time it takes to make confident decisions – reducing time spent on each project and improving cost margins .
They also cut costs by improving system resilience . Power-related outages account for over 40 % of significant outages . Digital twins help managers achieve better visibility over power loads in the data centre – including simulating
Dave King , Senior Product Marketing Manager , Cadence www . intelligentdatacentres . com
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