CLC/TR 50600-99-1:2016

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-junij-2016
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Information technology - Data centre facilities and infrastructures - Part 99-1:
Recommended practices for energy management
Informationstechnik - Einrichtungen und Infrastrukturen von Rechenzentren - Teil 99-1:
Empfohlene Praktiken für das Energiemanagement
Technologies de l'information - Installations et infrastructures de centres de traitement de
données - Partie 99-1 : Pratiques recommandées relatives à la gestion énergétique
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CLC/TR 50600-99-1:2016
ICS:
27.015 (QHUJLMVNDXþXQNRYLWRVW Energy efficiency. Energy
2KUDQMDQMHHQHUJLMHQD conservation in general
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35.110 Omreževanje Networking
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

TECHNICAL REPORT CLC/TR 50600-99-1

RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
April 2016
ICS 35.020; 35.110; 35.160
English Version
Information technology - Data centre facilities and infrastructures
- Part 99-1: Recommended practices for energy management
Technologies de l'information - Installations et Informationstechnik - Einrichtungen und Infrastrukturen von
infrastructures de centres de traitement de données - Partie Rechenzentren - Teil 99-1: Empfohlene Praktiken für das
99-1 : Pratiques recommandées relatives à la gestion Energiemanagement
énergétique
This Technical Report was approved by CENELEC on 2016-04-21.

CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Turkey and the United Kingdom.

European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung
CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2016 CENELEC All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC Members.
Ref. No. CLC/TR 50600-99-1:2016 E

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 7
2 Normative references . 7
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations . 7
3.1 Terms and definitions . 7
3.2 Abbreviations . 10
4 Principles . 11
4.1 General . 11
4.2 Data centre utilization, management and planning . 11
4.3 Data centre ICT equipment and services . 12
4.4 Data centre cooling . 12
4.5 Data centre power equipment . 14
4.6 Other data centre equipment . 14
4.7 Data centre building . 14
4.8 Data centre monitoring . 14
5 Expected Practices . 15
5.1 Existing data centres . 15
5.2 ICT equipment (new or replacement) . 21
5.3 Software install or upgrade . 25
5.4 New build or refurbishment of data centres . 27
6 Optional and alternative Practices . 35
6.1 Existing data centres . 35
6.2 ICT equipment (new or replacement) . 43
6.3 Software install or upgrade . 45
6.4 New build or refurbishment of data centres . 46
7 Practices under consideration . 51
7.1 Practices expected to be included in Clause 5 in due course . 51
7.1.1 Existing data centres . 51
7.1.2 ICT equipment (new or replacement) . 52
7.1.3 Software install or upgrade . 52
7.1.4 New build or refurbishment of data centres (any data centre built or undergoing
a significant refit of the mechanical and electrical equipment from 2015
onwards) 53
7.2 Practices expected to be included in Clause 6 in due course . 53
7.2.1 Existing data centres . 53
7.2.2 ICT equipment (new or replacement) . 53
7.2.3 Software install or upgrade . 54
7.2.4 New build or refurbishment of data centres . 54
Annex A (informative) Environmental classifications . 55
A.1 ASHRAE classifications . 55
A.2 ETSI EN 300 019-1-3 classifications . 55
Bibliography . 56
European foreword
This document (CLC/TR 50600-99-1:2016) has been prepared by CLC/TC 215 “Electrotechnical
aspects of telecommunication equipment” in conjunction with the Directorate-General Joint Research
Council (DG JRC) of the European Commission (EC).
This document aligns with the Best Practices document of the Code of Conduct for Data Centre
Energy Efficiency (CoC) scheme operated by the DG JRC and continues to be prepared by data centre
experts from operators, vendors, consultants, academics, professional and national bodies.
The publication of this Technical Report is intended to integrate recommended Practices of energy
management into the EN 50600 series of standards developed by CLC TC 215 and also to widen
accessibility and increase participation in the CoC scheme by ensuring translation of the Best Practices
into multiple languages.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CENELEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CENELEC by the European Commission
and the European Free Trade Association.
Introduction
The unrestricted access to internet-based information demanded by the information society has led to
an exponential growth of both internet traffic and the volume of stored/retrieved data. Data centres are
housing and supporting the information technology and network telecommunications equipment for
data processing, data storage and data transport. They are required both by network operators
(delivering those services to customer premises) and by enterprises within those customer premises.
Data centres need to provide modular, scalable and flexible facilities and infrastructures to easily
accommodate the rapidly changing requirements of the market. In addition, energy consumption of
data centres has become critical both from an environmental point of view (reduction of carbon
footprint) and with respect to economic considerations (cost of energy) for the data centre operator.
The implementation of data centres varies in terms of:
a) purpose (enterprise, co-location, co-hosting, or network operator facilities);
b) security level;
c) physical size;
d) accommodation (mobile, temporary and permanent constructions).
The needs of data centres also vary in terms of availability of service, the provision of security and the
objectives for energy efficiency. These needs and objectives influence the design of data centres in
terms of building construction, power distribution, environmental control and physical security. Effective
management and operational information is required to monitor achievement of the defined needs and
objectives.
This series of European Standards specifies requirements and recommendations to support the
various parties involved in the design, planning, procurement, integration, installation, operation and
maintenance of facilities and infrastructures within data centres. These parties include:
1) owners, facility managers, ICT managers, project managers, main contractors;
2) architects, consultants, building designers and builders, system and installation designers;
3) facility and infrastructure integrators, suppliers of equipment;
4) installers, maintainers.
At the time of publication of this Technical Report, EN 50600 series will comprise the following
standards and documents:
EN 50600-1, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 1: General
concepts;
EN 50600-2-1, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 2-1: Building
construction;
EN 50600-2-2, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 2-2: Power
distribution;
EN 50600-2-3, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 2-3:
Environmental control;
EN 50600-2-4, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 2-4:
Telecommunications cabling infrastructure;
EN 50600-2-5, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 2-5: Security
systems;
EN 50600-3-1, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 3-1:
Management and operational information.
EN 50600-4-1, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 4-1:
Overview of and general requirements for key performance indicators
EN 50600-4-2, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 4-2: Power
Usage Effectiveness
EN 50600-4-3, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 4-3:
Renewable Energy Factor
CLC/TR 50600-99-1, Information technology — Data centre facilities and infrastructures — Part 99-1:
Recommended practices for energy management
The inter-relationship of the standards within the EN 50600 series is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 — Schematic relationship between the EN 50600 series of documents
EN 50600-2-X standards specify requirements and recommendations for particular facilities and
infrastructures to support the relevant classification for “availability”, “physical security” and “energy
efficiency enablement” selected from EN 50600-1.
EN 50600-3-X documents specify requirements and recommendations for data centre operations,
processes and management.
EN 50600-4-X documents specify requirements and recommendations for key performance indicators
(KPIs) used to assess and improve the resource usage efficiency and effectiveness, respectively, of a
data centre.
The Directorate-General Joint Research Council (DG JRC) of the European Commission operates a
Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy Efficiency (CoC) scheme. In support of the scheme, a “best
practices” document has been established by DG JRC. To enhance the visibility, these Best Practices
have been converted in this Technical Report to create recommended Practices for improving the
energy management (i.e. reduction of energy consumption and/or increases in energy efficiency) of
data centres.
The areas addressed are:
— physical building;
— mechanical and electrical equipment;
— computer room;
— cabinets/racks;
— ICT equipment;
— operating systems;
— virtualisation;
— software;
— business practices.
The Practices are separated into Expected Practices as referenced in the CoC (see Clause 5) and
other Practices which may be employed as optional or alternative solutions in particular cases (see
Clause 6). Practices under consideration for the next or future revision/amendment of this Technical
Report are included in Clause 7. During the maintenance of this Technical Report, the Practices of
Clauses 6 and 7 may be augmented and others may migrate into Clause 5.
The Practices listed in Clauses 5, 6 and 7 are referenced as ×.16.yyy where x is the clause number, 16
refers to the 2016 publication of this document and yyy is a sequential number. Also included is the
CoC BP reference (as used in 2016) in order to provide an audit trail. Future versions of this document
will use these references to track changes in the Practices, provide a historic record and to simplify
translation of the document.
Customers or suppliers of information and communication technology (ICT) services may also find it
useful to request or provide a list of the Practices of this Technical Report that are implemented in a
data centre to assist in procurement of services that meet their environmental or sustainability
standards.
This Technical Report also:
— acts as an education and reference document to assist data centre operators in identifying and
implementing measures to improve the energy management of their data centres;
— provides a common terminology and frame of reference for describing an energy management
practice, avoiding doubt or confusion over terminology.
1 Scope
This Technical Report is a compilation of recommended Practices for improving the energy
management (i.e. reduction of energy consumption and/or increases in energy efficiency) of data
centres. It is aligned with the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy Efficiency (CoC) scheme
operated by the Directorate-General Joint Research Council (DG JRC) of the European Commission
(EC).
It is recognized that the Practices included may not be universally applicable to all scales and business
models of data centres or be undertaken by all parties involved in data centre operation, ownership or
use.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
EN 50600 series, Information technology - Data centres facilities and infrastructures
3 Terms, definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions of series EN 50600 and the following
apply.
3.1.1
aggregation
consolidation or combination of ICT equipment or services
3.1.2
airflow pathway
route taken by air to reach a specific point
3.1.3
albedo
diffuse reflectivity or reflecting power of a surface
3.1.4
availability
ability of an item to be in a state to perform a required function under given conditions at a given instant
of time or over a given time interval, assuming that the required external resources are provided
[SOURCE: EN 50600-1:2012, 3.1.1, modified]
3.1.5
cable management system
system used for the support and/or containment, retention, protection of all types of cables, information
and communication lines, electrical power distribution conductors and their associated accessories
(includes ducts and tubes housing, or intended to house, blown information technology cables and/or
cable elements)
[SOURCE: EN 50174-1:2009+A2:2014, 3.1.7]
3.1.6
co-location data centre
data centre in which multiple customers locate their own network(s), servers and storage equipment
Note 1 to entry: The support infrastructure of the building (such as power distribution and environmental control)
is provided as a service by the data centre operator.
[SOURCE: EN 50600-1:2012, 3.1.6]
3.1.7
computer room space
area within the data centre that accommodates the data processing, data storage and
telecommunication equipment that provides the primary function of the data centre
[SOURCE: EN 50600-1:2012, 3.1.7]
3.1.8
computer room air conditioning/computer room air handling
CRAC/CRAH
equipment that provides cooling airflow volumes into a computer room as a means of environmental
control
Note 1 to entry: Other abbreviations such as CCU, DFU, RACU, UFU are sometimes used to refer to such
equipment.
3.1.9
cooling economiser
a system to enable outside air that is cooler than the air inside a refrigerated space to be brought into
that space and the same amount of warmer inside air to be exhausted from the space
3.1.10
data centre
a structure, or group of structures, dedicated to the centralized accommodation, interconnection and
operation of information technology and network telecommunications equipment providing data
storage, processing and transport services together with all the facilities and infrastructures for power
distribution and environmental control together with the necessary levels of resilience and security
required to provide the desired service availability
Note 1 to entry: A structure can consist of multiple buildings and/or spaces with specific functions to support the
primary function.
Note 2 to entry: The boundaries of the structure or space considered the data centre which includes the
information and communication technology equipment and supporting environmental controls can be defined
within a larger structure or building.
[SOURCE: EN 50600-1:2012, 3.1.9]
3.1.11
direct liquid-cooled ICT equipment
ICT equipment that is cooled by a direct flow of liquid into an equipment cabinet or directly to the ICT
equipment chassis to provide cooling rather than the use of moving air
3.1.12
energy efficiency
measure of the work done (as a result of design and/or operational procedures) for a given amount of
energy consumed
3.1.13
energy management
combination of reduced energy consumption and increased energy efficiency, re-use of energy and
use of renewable energy
Note 1 to entry: See also EN 50600-3-1 for another definition of energy management.
3.1.14
enterprise data centre
data centre that is operated by an enterprise which has the sole purpose of the delivery and
management of services to its employees and customers
[SOURCE: EN 50600-1:2012, 3.1.14]
3.1.15
grid (technology)
interconnection of ICT resources in multiple locations to achieve a common objective
3.1.16
hot aisle/cold aisle (system)
construction of cabinets and containment intended to prevent the mixing of ICT equipment intake and
exhaust air within computer room space(s)
3.1.17
information and communication technology (ICT) equipment
information technology (IT) and network telecommunications (NT) equipment providing data storage,
processing and transport services
Note 1 to entry: Representing the “critical load” of the data centre.
3.1.18
insolation
total amount of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area during a given time
3.1.19
make-up air
air introduced into a data centre space to replace air that is exhausted through ventilation or
combustion processes
3.1.20
managed service
data centre operated to provide a defined set of services to its clients either proactively or as the
managed service provider (not the client) determines that services are needed
3.1.21
rack
open construction, typically self-supporting and floor-mounted, for housing closures and other
information technology equipment
[SOURCE: EN 50174-1:2009, 3.1.31]
3.1.22
resilience
capacity to withstand failure in one or more of the ICT equipment or data centre infrastructures
3.1.23
set-point
desired or target value (maximum or minimum) for either temperature or humidity
3.1.24
Typical Meteorological Year
collation of selected weather data for a specific location, generated from a data bank much longer than
a year in duration. It is specially selected so that it presents the range of weather phenomena for the
location in question, while still giving annual averages that are consistent with the long-term averages
for the location in question
3.1.25
virtualisation
creation of a virtual version of physical ICT equipment or resource to offer a more efficient use of ICT
hardware
3.2 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this document, the following abbreviations apply in addition to those of the
EN 50600 series of standards.
AC Alternating current
ASHRAE Formerly “American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Airconditioning
Engineers”
BIOS Basic input/output system
BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology
CoC EC DG JRC Code of Conduct for Data Centre Energy Efficiency
CRAC/CRAH Computer room air conditioning/computer room air handling
DC Direct current
DCIE Data centre infrastructure efficiency
DCIM Data centre infrastructure management
DG JRC Directorate-General Joint Research Council of the European Commission
DX Direct expansion
EC European Commission
IP Internet protocol
ICT Information and communications technology
IT Information technology
ITIL Information Technology Infrastructure Library
LCA Life cycle assessment
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
NT Network telecommunications
PDU Power distribution unit
PSU Power supply unit
PUE Power usage effectiveness
SLA Service level agreement
SMASH Systems Management Architecture for Server Hardware
SNMP Simple network management protocol
UPS Uninterruptible power supply
SPEC Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation
TM
SERT Server Efficiency Rating Tool
4 Principles
4.1 General
Clauses 5 to 7 contain the full list of energy management Practices of this Technical Report.
Clause 5 contains those Practices that are considered “Expected Practices” of the CoC and which are
listed under the following situations:
a) existing data centres (example);
b) ICT equipment (new or replacement);
c) software install or upgrade;
d) new build or refurbishment of data centres.
Clause 6 contains those Practices that are considered as optional or alternative. within the CoC
scheme.
Under each heading the recommended Practices of Clauses 5 and 6 are based upon the categories
described in 4.2 to 4.8.
Each practice has been assigned a qualitative value (1 to 5) to indicate the level of benefit to be
expected from its implementation and, therefore, the relative priorities that should be applied to it. A
value of 5 indicates the greatest benefit/priority.
NOTE These values are not intended to be totalled or aggregated to provide an overall ‘operator score’ and
should not be mistaken as being quantitative. This would require large scale data on the effects of each practice
or technology which is not yet available as well as a complex system of scoring representing the combinational
increase or reduction of individual practice values within that specific facility.
Practices under consideration for inclusion in either Clauses 5 or 6 for the next or future
revision/amendment of this Technical Report are included in Clause 7. These Practices do not have a
qualitative value applied to them.
4.2 Data centre utilization, management and planning
It is important to develop a holistic strategy and management approach to the data centre in order to
ensure the required availability and effective delivery of economic and environmental benefits. The
sub-headings under this category are:
a) Involvement of organisational groups
Ineffective communication between the disciplines working in the data centre is a major driver of
inefficiency and may create issues of capacity management and reliability.
b) General policies
These policies apply to all aspects of the data centre and its operation.
c) Resilience level and provisioning
Two of the most significant sources of inefficiency in data centres are the over provisioning of
space, power or cooling or the facilities being run at less than full capacity. Monolithic, as opposed
to modular design of facilities also represents a significant and frequently unnecessary capital
expenditure. Further, as the level of resilience of the data centre increases the inefficiencies due
to fixed overheads increase and this is compounded by poor utilization.
4.3 Data centre ICT equipment and services
The ICT equipment creates the demand for power and cooling in the data centre, any reductions in
power and cooling used by, or provisioned for, the ICT equipment will have magnified effects at the
utility energy supply.
NOTE The specifications of ICT equipment operating temperature and humidity ranges in this section do
not indicate that the computer room should be immediately operated at the upper bound of these ranges. This is
addressed under the category “Data centre cooling”. The purpose of the equipment environmental specifications
in this section is to ensure that new equipment is capable of operating under the wider ranges of temperature
and humidity thus allowing greater flexibility in operating temperature and humidity to the operator.
The sub-headings under this category are:
a) Selection and deployment of new ICT equipment
Once ICT equipment is purchased and installed in the data centre it typically spends several years
in the data centre consuming power and creating heat. The appropriate selection of hardware and
deployment methods may provide significant long term savings.
b) Deployment of new ICT services
The service architecture, software and deployment of ICT services have an impact at least as
great as that of the ICT equipment.
c) Management of existing ICT equipment and services
It is common to focus on new services and equipment being installed into the data centre but there
are also substantial opportunities to achieve energy and cost reductions from within the existing
service and physical estate, for example, by decommissioning hardware no longer in use or
implementing energy saving policies.
d) Data management and storage
Storage is a major growth area in both cost and energy consumption within the data centre. It is
generally recognized that a significant proportion of the data stored is unnecessary, duplicated or
does not require high performance access.
Some sectors have a particular issue due to very broad and non-specific data retention directives
from governments or regulating bodies which may cause large volumes of data to be
unnecessarily heavily protected and archived.
4.4 Data centre cooling
A major part of the facility infrastructure is the cooling system.
Cooling of the data centre is frequently the largest energy loss in the facility and as such represents a
significant opportunity to reduce energy consumption.
The sub-headings under this category are:
a) Airflow management and design
The objective of airflow management is to circulate only the amount of air through the data centre
that is necessary to remove the heat created by the ICT equipment (i.e. no air circulates
unnecessarily).
Poor airflow management often results in attempts to compensate by reducing air supply
temperatures or supplying excessive air volumes, which have an energy penalty.
Improving airflow management will deliver more uniform ICT equipment inlet temperatures and
are a prerequisite to increasing temperature set-points and reducing airflow volumes which enable
reductions in energy consumption without the risk of equipment overheating.
b) Cooling management
The data centre is not a static system and the cooling systems should be tuned in response to
fluctuations in thermal load.
c) Temperature and humidity settings
Operating overly restricted environmental controls (in particular, excessively cooled computer
rooms) results in an energy penalty.
Widening the set-point range for temperature and humidity may reduce energy consumption.
When reviewing environmental management issues it is recommended that expert advice should
be sought before changing the environmental range for the facility (e.g. before set-points are
changed) in order to avoid risks to operational integrity.
d) Selection of cooling system
The cooling system typically represents a major part of the energy consumed in the data centre in
addition to the critical ICT load. This is also the area with the greatest variation in technologies.
1) Free and economised cooling
Free or economised cooling designs use cool ambient conditions to meet part or all of the
facilities cooling requirements hence compressor work for cooling is reduced or removed,
which can result in significant energy reduction. Economised cooling can be retrofitted to
some facilities.
2) High efficiency cooling system
When refrigeration is used as part of the cooling system design high efficiency cooling system
should be selected. Designs should operate efficiently at system level and employ efficient
components. This demands an effective control strategy which optimises efficient operation,
without compromising reliability. Even in designs where the refrigeration is expected to run for
very few hours per year the cost savings in infrastructure electrical capacity and utility power
availability or peak demand fees justify the selection of high efficiency equipment.
e) Computer Room Air Conditioner/Computer Room Air Handling (CRAC/CRAH) equipment
These are major components of most cooling systems within the computer room and are
frequently unable to provide efficient operation in older facilities.
f) Reuse of data centre waste heat
Data centres produce significant quantities of waste heat. Whilst this is typically at a relatively low
temperature there are some applications for reuse of this energy which could offer economic and
environmental benefit. As ICT equipment utilization is increased through consolidation and
virtualisation the exhaust temperature is likely to increase which will provide greater opportunity for
waste heat to be re-used. Direct liquid-cooled ICT equipment is likely to provide a further
improvement in the ability to use waste heat.
4.5 Data centre power equipment
Another major part of the facility infrastructure is the power conditioning and delivery system. This
normally includes uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), power distribution units (PDU), cabling and
may also include other equipment e.g. backup generators and static switches.
The sub-headings under this category are:
a) Selection and deployment of new power equipment
Power delivery equipment has a substantial impact upon the efficiency of the data centre and
tends to stay in operation for many years once installed. Careful selection of the power equipment
at design time can deliver substantial savings through the lifetime of the facility.
b) Management of existing power equipment.
4.6 Other data centre equipment
Data centre spaces contain equipment other than that of 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5. Practices should be
employed to minimize energy consumption and/or improve energy efficiency of such equipment and
should be optimized based on relevant building standards, such as relevant EU standards, LEED,
BREEAM etc.
The sub-heading under this category is:
a) General Practices
These general Practices apply to all data centre spaces.
4.7 Data centre building
The location and physical layout of the data centre premises is important to achieving flexibility and
efficiency.
The sub-headings under this category are:
a) Building physical layout
The physical layout of the building can present fundamental constraints on the applicable
technologies and achievable efficiencies (e.g. technologies such as fresh air cooling require
significant space for equipment and distribution systems that may not be available in an existing
building).
b) Building geographic location
The geographic location for a data centre may impact achievable efficiency, primarily through the
influence of external climate.
c) Water sources
Data centres may use a significant quantity of water to provide environmental control. The type
and source of water may affect the energy consumption.
4.8 Data centre monitoring
The development and implementation of a monitoring and reporting strategy is key to managing the
efficiency of a data centre.
The sub-headings under this category are:
a) Energy consumption and environmental measurement
Many data centres currently have little or no monitoring of energy consumption or environmental
conditions; some do not have separate utility metering or billing.
The ability to measure energy use and factors impacting energy use is a prerequisite to identifying
and justifying improvements. It should also be noted that measurement and reporting of a
parameter may also include alarms and exceptions if that parameter passes outside of the
acceptable or expected operating range.
b) Energy consumption and environmental data collection and logging
Once data on energy consumption and environmental (temperature and humidity) conditions is
available through the installation of measurement devices it should be collected and logged.
c) Energy consumption and environmental reporting
Energy consumption and environmental (temperature and humidity) condition data needs to be
reported to be of use in managing the energy efficiency of the facility.
d) ICT reporting
Utilization of the ICT equipment is a key factor in optimizing the energy efficiency of the data
centre.
5 Expected Practices
5.1 Existing data centres
Index CoC Task set Description Value
v. 7.1.0
Index
UTILIZATION, MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING: Involvement of organisational groups
5.16.01 3.1.1 Group Establish a group containing representatives from all 5
involvement disciplines (software, ICT equipment, mechanical,
electrical and procurement) for the approval of any
significant decision to ensure that the impacts of the
decision have been properly understood and an
effective solution reached.
NOTE For example, this could include the definition of
standard ICT equipment lists by considering the
mechanical and electrical implications of different types
of hardware. This group could be seen as the
functional equivalent of a change board.
UTILIZATION, MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING: General policies
5.16.02 3.2.1 Consider the Audit the existing equipment to maximize any unused 3
embodied capability by ensuring that all areas of optimization and
energy in consolidation are identified prior to new material
devices investment. The most important element to this in
terms of impact is the ICT equipment and the severity

of impact is related to the frequency of refresh and
replacement.
NOTE Industry is beginning to use the term
“embodied impact” in place of “embodied energy”
Index CoC Task set Description Value
v. 7.1.0
Index
ICT EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES: Management of existing ICT equipment and services
5.16.03 4.3.1 Audit existing Audit the existing physical estate to establish what ICT 5
physical estate equipment is in place and what service(s) it delivers.
and services
Consider the implementation of an ITIL type
Configuration Management Database and Service
Catalogue in accordance with ISO 20000.
5.16.04 4.3.2 Decommission Decommission and remove any ICT equipment 5
and remove supporting unused services
unused
equipment
5.16.05 4.3.8 Audit of Identify the allowable intake temperature and humidity 4
existing ICT ranges for existing installed ICT equipment.
environmental
Identify ICT equipment with restrictive intake
requirements
temperature ranges so that it may be either
• marked for replacement as soon as is practicable
(see Note) with equipment capable of a wider
intake range or
• moved and dealt with as per Practices “Equipment
segregation” Practice 5.16.10 and “Separate
environmental zones” Practice 5.16.11.
NOTE The specification of wider operating humidity
and temperature ranges for the computer room should
be performed in conjunction with changes in ICT
equipment procurement policy. Over time, ICT
equipment with narrow environmental operating ranges
should be replaced.
ICT EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES: Data management and storage
5.16.06 4.4.1 Data Develop a data management policy to define what data 3
management should be kept, for how long and at what level of
policy protection taking care to understand the impact of any
data retention requirements.
Implement the policy by communication and
enforcement by those responsible.
DATA CENTRE COOLING: Airflow management and design
5.16.07 5.1.4 Cabinet/rack Install blanking plates in locations within cabinets/racks 4
airflow where there is no equipment.
management –
NOTE This helps to minimize the waste heat from one
Blanking Plates
device contaminating the intake air of another device
(re-circulation) which reduces cooling efficiency.
5.16.08 5.1.7 Raised floor Review placement and opening percentages of vented 3
airflow tiles to ensure appropriate airflow volume to ICT
management equipment and to reduce bypass air flow.
Close unnecessary apertures in floors where the sub-
floor space acts as an airflow pathway.
Maintain unbroken rows of cabinets/racks to prevent
re-circulated air and reinforce Hot / Cold aisle design
with empty but fully blanked cabinets (or solid doors)
rather than leaving gaps in aisles.
NOTE Unbroken rows are necessary in hot/cold aisle
environments where any opening between the aisles
will degrade the separation of hot and cold air. This
may be achieved by filling any gaps with fully blanked
cabinets/racks.
Index CoC Task set Description Value
v. 7.1.0
Index
5.16.09 5.1.8 Raised floor Review the placement and level of obstruction created 3
airflow by cabling, cable management systems and other
management – structures in the airflow pathways.
Obstructions
Ensure that the under floor airflow pathways are as free
of obstructions as possible.
Consider the use of overhead cable management
systems which may substantially reduce the level of
obstruction.
NOTE Obstructions reduce airflow creating
turbulence, increasing the resistance and increasing
the energy required to deliver the required airflow.
Obstructions may increase velocities, causing negative
pressure.
5.16.10 5.1.11 Equipment Install groups of ICT, mechanical and electrical 3
segregation equipment with substantially different environmental
requirements and/or equipment airflow direction in
separate areas which have independent environmental
controls.
NOTE This prevents cooling system settings being
constrained by the equipment with the most restrictive
environmental range or poor airflow control which may
compromise overall energy efficiency.
5.16.11 5.1.12 Separate Provide separate areas for ICT equipment which: 4
environmental
a) is compliant with the extended range of Practice
zones
5.16.30;
b) requires more restrictive temperature or humidity
control as described in Practice 5.16.29. Examples
are equipment which requires tighter environmental
controls to;
• maintain battery capacity and lifetime such as
UPS;
• meet archival criteria such as tape;
• meet long warranty durations (10+ years).
NOTE These areas should have separate
environmental controls and may use separate cooling
systems to facilitate optimization of the cooling
efficiency of each zone. The objective of this Practice is
to avoid the need to set the computer room cooling
system for the equipment with the most restrictive
environmental range and therefore compromising
overall energy efficiency.
5.16.12 5.1.13 Separate Design computer rooms to enable discrete areas with 4
environmental additional “close control” cooling equipment which may
zones – Co- be offered to customers with extremely tight
location or environmental control requirements.
Managed
This allows a tighter SLA to be offered without
Service
compromising overall energy efficiency.
Provider
NOTE The discrete areas may be differentially priced
to include the capital and operational (metered), cost
overhead of supporting a less energy efficient legacy
environment as an incentive for customers to install
ICT equipment in more efficient areas and consider the
options for more energy e
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