Paving the way for a sustainable digital ecosystem

Implementation of workload coordination and resource allotment approaches can help datacentres make the best use of their resources.

In an era of growing digitalisation, datacentres have emerged as the fundamental support of our technological framework. However, worries persist over the ecological effects due to their swift growth and power-demanding activities. These datacentres rank among the planet’s most energy-intensive establishments, drawing substantial electricity to fuel servers, cooling mechanisms, and auxiliary apparatus vital for their operations. Such elevated energy usage significantly affects the environment by adding to greenhouse gas discharges and ushering climate change.

THE AI POWER CONSUMPTION CHALLENGE

The growing surge of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years has been a remarkable and transformative phenomenon. However, AI models and algorithms are highly resource-intensive and consume significant amounts of power. Training AI models involve massive computational workloads, often requiring specialised hardware accelerators like GPUs, which consume substantial energy. This power consumption is a major concern when it comes to making datacentres greener.

According to research conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, AI could contribute to around 20% of the total worldwide electricity usage by the year 2030. This is quite worrying, given the anticipation of AI’s further proliferation in the upcoming years.

WHAT SHOULD DIGITAL-FIRST COMPANIES DO?

To tackle these concerns, organisations need to embrace sustainable methodologies to enhance the energy efficiency and ecological compatibility of datacentres. Various strategies exist to make datacentres eco-friendly.

#1

Enhance hardware infrastructure efficiency: To reduce the ecological influence of datacentres, organisations have the option to initiate the process by enhancing their hardware infrastructure. Making the switch to servers and networking equipment that are more adept at conserving energy can result in a notable reduction in power usage.

Approaches like server virtualisation and containerisation allow for improved deployment of resources and their consolidation, ultimately leading to the conservation of energy.

#2

Utilise renewable energy: Datacentres are widely recognised for their significant energy usage. To enhance their environmental friendliness, organisations need to give precedence to the utilisation of renewable energy resources.

The allocation of resources toward solar panels, wind turbines, or the procurement of renewable energy credits can effectively balance the ecological impact of datacentres. Furthermore, organisations have the opportunity to investigate collaborations with nearby utility providers to guarantee a steady supply of clean energy.

#3

Develop effective cooling mechanisms: To ensure servers operate at their best temperatures, datacentres need strong cooling systems. Common cooling approaches frequently result in considerable energy inefficiency.

Introducing cutting-edge cooling methods such as hot-aisle and cold-aisle containment, effective airflow control, and liquid cooling systems can distinctly decrease energy usage while improving cooling efficiency.

#4

Enhance workload optimisation and resource allocation: AI workloads within data centers can demand a lot of resources, which can result in the ineffective utilisation of computational assets. Through the implementation of workload coordination and resource allotment approaches, datacentres can make the best use of their resources. Equilibrium of workloads, automatic capacity adjustment, and forward-looking data analysis contribute to decreasing energy consumption while upholding peak performance.

#5

Optimise data center infrastructure management: Deploying such a management system grants organisations immediate insight into energy usage, surrounding environmental factors, and equipment functionality. Datacentre infrastructure management systems also facilitate preventive monitoring, capacity strategising, and energy enhancement, resulting in more ecologically viable datacentre operations.

As the demand for digital services keeps increasing, the pressing issue of datacentre sustainability comes to the forefront. By implementing the steps, datacentres can enhance their sustainability and improve their competitive edge.

By Shrikant Navelkar

The author is a Director at Clover Infotech.

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