Virtualisation’s power impact

While one of virtualisation's key selling points is its potential to deliver dramatic savings in terms of server count, footprint, power consumption and cooling requirements for data centers, Eaton Industries is cautioning resellers to be aware of the 'unique challenges' it also presents. The power management solutions company says power and cooling infrastructure – which may have been sufficient for pre-virtualisation needs – can easily become inadequate when data center performance patterns are radically altered, as they are with virtualisation. Michael Mallia, Eaton's product line manager, Distributed Power Solutions, says virtualisation is increasing power density for servers. Where in the past servers may have been 10-20% utilised, 'now racks have much higher loads – sometimes up to 80%, so you have to make sure the UPS is sized correctly'. "Resellers need to be talking more about scalable solutions and future proofing UPS and, on the software side, communication with virtualised machines." Intelligent Power The company recently launched its upgraded Intelligent Power Manager software, provided free with UPS, in a move Mallia says 'is a big value add for the resellers'. The software allows 'proper communication' with virtualised machines, including 'moving virtual machines from bad power to good power' he says. "If a UPS battery is running low, it can move to a UPS with good battery capacity. It's all about using it more efficiently and protecting the integrity of machines." The software can also send email alarms and automate shutdowns. Mallia says Kiwi interest in the company's higher end 5PX UPS, released several months ago, has 'exceeded our expectations' and highlights that New Zealand businesses understand the value of higher end UPS protection – and what they are getting for their money. The company will be running seminars in New Zealand from late Q1 next year, along with launching 'lots of products' including racks and more advanced power distribution units. "Everyone is really searching for energy efficiency today," Mallia says. "Power is not getting any better and everyone is buying servers. Adding a UPS to a server sale should be easy. "And keeping power management and protection front of mind is an easy way to add value to sales and an easy way for resellers to increase margins."