I recently had the chance to sit down with our vice president of data center services, Mike Frank, to ask him all about our new usage-based power feature in our data centers. Mike gave me the scoop on why being able to monitor your power consumption is a step-up in terms of controlling costs and optimizing your infrastructure for maximum efficiency. Check out what he had to say…
What is usage-based power?
Usage-based power is exactly as the name implies. It allows customers in our colocation facilities to pay for only the power they are using instead of paying a flat rate — in many cases helping them save on costs. In today’s economy things have gotten incredibly expensive, and power is included in that. It’s definitely a customer-friendly feature since being able to understand your power consumption is critical to knowing if you are running at maximum efficiency. In turn, customers have more control over their environment and more flexibility over what they can do.
How does it work?
There is something called a branch circuit monitoring system which puts a physical monitor on your power circuit that reports back to the network. Customers can then get that data on their invoice at the end of the month so they can compare it over previous months and years.
Why is this feature important?
By allowing companies visibility into how much power they are using, they can create more efficient environments and create more efficient configurations with their devices, servers, racks and the way they deploy their gear. For example, if I can look at my power consumption and I see that I am using a lot of power, I have the ability to upgrade my machines and change my infrastructure to lower my power consumption — something that could also encourage the industry to become more conscious of energy usage as it relates to being green.
Where is this being deployed?
Usage-based power is available now as a beta at our Dallas facility. The Dallas team is prepared and trained to implement this feature for customers today. Over the course of 2013 we’ll be rolling it out to other markets.
Thanks Mike! We’ll be looking forward to the implications this has for customers and the industry as a whole.
What are your thoughts on usage-based power in the data center?
