Grow a Greener Data Center Excerpt

Conventional data centers can have a huge impact upon the environment, using massive
amounts of energy and water, emitting pollutants, and discarding huge quantities of
machine waste. Their insatiable demand for energy and often inefficient designs make
data centers expensive to operate and prime targets for future environmental
regulation.

Fortunately, it’s now possible to design a data center that consumes fewer
resources, costs less money to run, has a longer usable lifespan, and can even
highlight a company’s social responsibility. “Grow a
Greener Data Center” shows how.

Author Douglas Alger makes the business case for greening data centers and presents
technologies, design strategies, and operational approaches to help any company improve
the energy efficiency and “eco-friendliness” of their IT hosting environments. He
provides multiple strategies for “greening” each phase of a new data center project —
selecting a site, designing and building the facility, and choosing hardware — as well
as tips for retrofitting an existing server environment.

Alger explores IT and facilities technology areas as well as broader green building
practices, including building material selection, electrical system design, use of
alternative energy, cooling system design, cabling media choices, fire suppression
options, water conservation practices, landscaping strategies, recycling programs,
e-waste management, and more.

This excerpt of the book’s entire first chapter entitled, “Going Green in the Data
Center.” This chapter defines green, discusses the drivers for companies to build
greener data centers, and presents the benefits a business can see from environmentally
friendlier server environments. The chapter also outlines incentive programs that
reward green efforts and recaps environmental activities that several major companies
pursue today.

The attached Zip file includes:

• Intro Page.doc
• Cover Sheet and Terms.pdf
• Grow a Greener Data Center Excerpt.pdf