Two New Algorithms for Data Center Cooling Design

Consulting Engineers who are involved in the design of data centers know the effects of packing greater and greater computing power into smaller and smaller spaces. With the advent of blade servers in computer rooms, a data center’s annual cooling bill can run literally into the millions of dollars.

Several manufacturers of data center cooling and power applications have developed integrated solutions to the problem, but now a research team from Duke University and Hewlett-Packard Labs have developed new algorithms for addressing the problem of high temperatures at data centers.

Justin Moore and his colleagues have developed algorithms to avoid the hot spots that are created when temperatures in a data center are kept at a uniform level. One algorithm gives a server less work as its environment heats up. The other surveys the entire space and reduce the work for the servers that are more likely to be recirculating hot air.

Moore and his associates presented their findings at the Usenix Annual Technical conference in Anaheim, Calif., from April 10 through 15. To read the complete text of their presentation, click here .

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