Powering the Information Age: Metrics, Social Cost Optimization Strategies, and Indirect Effects Related to Data Center Energy Use
Powering the Information Age: Metrics, Social Cost Optimization Strategies, and Indirect Effects Related to Data Center Energy Use
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推动信息时代：指标、社会成本优化策略以及与数据中心能源使用相关的间接影响
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发表时间：
2016
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通讯作者：
Nathaniel Horner
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作者：
Nathaniel Horner
本论文包括三项研究，研究数据中心和其他信息和通信技术（ICT）基础设施的能源使用方面，这些基础设施是支持电子服务所必需的，这些服务现在已经成为日常生活中的一个普遍方面。信息通信技术的能源消耗，特别是数据中心的能源消耗，越来越受到行业和公众的关注，并不断呼吁提高效率和更加关注环境影响。第一项研究检查了用于评估数据中心能源性能的指标，发现事实上的行业标准--电力使用效率（PUE）仅占数据中心能源性能的四个关键方面之一。PUE测量设施基础设施的开销，但不考虑IT设备的效率，其利用率或电源的排放情况。因此，PUE与能源和碳效率的对应性很差，这一点可以通过一小组经验数据中心能源使用测量来证明。第二项研究对间接能源影响进行了分类，以帮助评估信通技术的直接能源消耗是否被其能源效益所抵消，并得出结论认为，信通技术可能具有巨大的潜在净能源效益，但对实际节省的迹象或幅度没有达成共识，这在很大程度上取决于实施细节。第三项研究估计了内容分发网络中动态负荷转移的潜力，以减少与电力消费相关的私人成本和排放相关的外部性。利用基于批发电力市场的可变边际零售价格和从成本最小化模型中的排放数据估计的边际损失，分析发现，负载转移可以将数据中心的电费减少约25%-33%，或者避免30%-40%的公共损失，而一系列联合成本最小化策略可以同时降低私人和公共成本。即使在现有的带宽和网络距离限制下，也可以实现这些节省中的绝大多数，尽管当前的虚拟化、能源效率和绿色电力的行业趋势可能使负载转移的吸引力降低。
This dissertation contains three studies examining aspects of energy use by data centers and other information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure necessary to support the electronic services that now form such a pervasive aspect of daily life. The energy consumption of ICT in general and data centers in particular has been of growing interest to both industry and the public, with continued calls for increased efficiency and greater focus on environmental impacts. The first study examines the metrics used to assess data center energy performance and finds that power usage effectiveness (PUE), the de facto industry standard, only accounts for one of four critical aspects of data center energy performance. PUE measures the overhead of the facility infrastructure but does not consider the efficiency of the IT equipment, its utilization, or the emissions profile of the power source. As a result, PUE corresponds poorly with energy and carbon efficiency, as demonstrated using a small set of empirical data center energy use measurements. The second study lays out a taxonomy of indirect energy impacts to help assess whether ICT’s direct energy consumption is offset by its energy benefits, and concludes that ICT likely has a large potential net energy benefit, but that there is no consensus on the sign or magnitude of actual savings, which are largely dependent upon implementation details. The third study estimates the potential of dynamic load shifting in a content distribution network to reduce both private costs and emissions-related externalities associated with electricity consumption. Utilizing variable marginal retail prices based on wholesale electricity markets and marginal damages estimated from emissions data in a cost-minimization model, the analysis finds that load shifting can either reduce data center power bills by approximately 25%–33% or avoid 30%–40% of public damages, while a range of joint cost minimization strategies enables simultaneous reduction of both private and public costs. The vast majority of these savings can be achieved even under existing bandwidth and network distance constraints, although current industry trends towards virtualization, energy efficiency, and green powermay make load shifting less appealing.