March 19th, 2009
Rackable infrastructure highlights new approach to power distribution
I had planned to provide oodles of specs today for the latest cabinet architecture from Rackable Systems, a product it is calling Cloudrack C2. But ZDNet’s gadget guy Andrew Nusca over at The ToyBox land beat me to the punch. (Serves me right for being on a plane coast-to-coast.) I’ll point to his post here, where you can read the details of the new technology the company announced this week.
Aside from Cloudrack 2’s ability to accommodate much higher ambient temperatures (allowing data center managers to accommodate temperatures of up to 10 degrees to 15 degrees Fahrenheit higher), I also want to amplify another theme in the Cloudrack 2 design that I discussed with Rackable CEO Mark Barrenechea earlier this week.
It involves a new feature in Cloudrack 2 called Power XE, which is a power distribution technology. Barrenechea says Power XE addresses “stranded power,” the 10 percent to 15 percent of electricity that essentially is wasted due to inefficient design. Power XE uses hot-pluggable N+1 redundant rectifiers to convert AC power into 12V DC power. Essentially, it eliminates the traditional power supply.
“If you’re wasting power that you’re already paying for, you can recapture it immediately,” Barrenechea says of the Power XE feature.
You will see this approach show up in other Rackable products. You’ll also see other server vendors continue to address their cabinet and chassis infrastructure to provide for higher and higher density with fewer moving parts. It’s another factor that reminds me that green IT is as much about how you place different technologies across the data center and provide for cooling as it is about any specific microprocessor tweak or power management philosophy.
Heather Clancy is an award-winning business journalist in the New York area with more than 20 years experience covering the high-tech industry. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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