Universidad Iberoamericana

Mega Data Centers and Their Environmental Impact

Case pg.196

CH-5

Intro to ITC - CGT-100

Group 7 Sec 2

Eduardo Aybar 12-0583

Shaila Jaime 12-0436

Desiree Bieri 12-0755

Mega Data Centers

To keep up with the amount of information, businesses need to invest in larger data centers. Many businesses find it more economical to outsource their data center needs. * Dozens of mega data centers are being constructed around the world (mega data centers typically cost hundreds of millions of dollars and consume acres of properties) * One of the largest recently constructed was by Next Generation Data for USD$301 million dollars
Next Generation Data is specialist in the operation and on-going management of mission-critical environment, offering flexible low cost data center solutions.
Next Generation Data is first choice for corporate because it provides: * Size, scale and flexibility * High quality infrastructure * Multiple layers of security * Abundant power (180 MVA available to site) * Costumer service & support
Evironmental Impact

The increase in data center construction is a concern for the environment because of their energy consumptions for the processing, storage and cooling require. For example:
The Next Generation Data data center outside Newport has its own energy subtraction that provides 90 MVA of electrical power. That’s roughly equivalent to the requirement of a city of 400,000 people.
A number of efforts are underway to counter attack the growing demand for data centers. * Hardware manufacturers are producing servers that are efficient, requiring half the energy as their predecessors to do twice the work.

* They are implementing new energy-efficient technologies.

As a result, managers will migrate data to new green systems.

Companies are finding it necessary to weigh the value of storing information against the value of affecting the environment. However it is important to protect both.
Data centers allow the storage of vast amount of information that the company could benefit from, especially financially. This stored information can be useful for decision making. On the other hand, companies should keep in mind the impact these centers do to the environment. Companies can be sued for too much contamination.
In the end companies should be aware of both values and protect them both equally to benefit financially.

If we were systems administrators for a data center, we would follow some steps to create and manage a data center to store the maximum amount of valuable data with minimum impact on the environment. We would use fresh air cooling and Energy Star rated equipment to help reduce its impact on the environment. Also through the use of more efficient servers and using alternative energy sources we would reduce the impact on the environment.