Tectre and Uni join for £300,000 green IT project
Wed, 18 Dec 2013 10:35:00 GMT
Research project aims for optimum environmental performance for high performance computers and data centres
HIGH performance computers and data centres that consume large amounts of power and generate high levels of heat are costly to the companies that run them – and to the environment. It is estimated that the IT industry is responsible for two per cent of worldwide carbon emissions. Now, a research team at the University of Huddersfield, in tandem with a go-ahead local company, is developing a tool which will enable firms and institutions to ensure that their computing systems are as energy efficient as possible.
The research project, conducted by University IT and electronics experts, working closely with the Huddersfield-based IT support firm Tectre, has earned funding of £150,000 from the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board (TSB). The overall cost of the 15-month scheme is £300,000 and it will result in a commercial package that should create exceptional interest from all organisations that install large-scale computing systems. It is predicted that in the first year of availability, sales could reach £200,000.
“It is a green IT project,” said the University of Huddersfield’s Dr Christopher Newman, a scientist and computer specialist with a background as a technical troubleshooter in industry.
He explained that the package which emerges from the research will be “vendor independent”. At the moment, companies that install computer systems and data centres usually have to rely on the firm which supplied the hardware in order to carry out an appraisal of energy consumption and heat distribution.
“These existing tools look at the overall energy consumption and heat distribution of complete racks and hardware cabinets, but our tool will take a deeper look and even distinguish between which servers are developing the most intense heat,” said Dr Newman.
Pictured left to right: Marie-Claire Micuta, Dr Christopher Newman, Daniel Munnings, Dr Violeta Holmes and Yvonne James
The new system will also act as a “predictor tool”, he added. This means that data centres can be remodelled or planned in advance to ensure optimum environmental performance.
“The tool will run ‘what if?’ scenarios and help to predict what the energy consumption and temperature distribution will be if you decide to change the layout of the data centre,” said Dr Newman.
“And, very importantly, you will be able to model what you believe will happen before the data centre is built. That is a real innovation.”
The tool being developed as part of the TSB-backed project will consist of sensors that can be attached to various parts of the equipment. Readings from them will be logged and analysed by specially-developed algorithms.
There will also be a consultancy dimension. Specialists trained in the use of the new tool will visit customers in order to ensure that their data centres are as energy efficient as possible.
Tectre Enterprise Solutions
Partner firm Tectre, founded by its managing director Gillian Arnold – who had a 20-year career with IBM – provides green IT consultancy, technical services and IT recruitment and solutions nationwide. One of its specialities is helping firms to use their energy more efficiently, reducing their carbon footprint.
In this video Gillian Arnold talks about Tectre Enterprise Solutions and the meaning of 'Green IT'.
Gillian Arnold is lead partner for the research and at the University of Huddersfield, Dr Newman – who worked with Tectre on developing the bid for TSB funding – is principal investigator. He is joined by the high performance computing expert Dr Violeta Holmes. Yvonne James, with expertise in computer hardware and networking, has been appointed research assistant, as she works towards her PhD. Also taking part is Masters by Research student Daniel Munnings.
Not only are its specialist facilities being used to develop the tool, it is expected that the University of Huddersfield will be an early customer, as it seeks to cut costs by ensuring that its own Computing and Library Centre is as energy efficient as possible.
