Metrics like Green Grid's PUE are helpful, but the don't necessarily show the full picture of datacenter power use and efficiency
Containing the cost of powering the data center is one of the chief priorities for many IT and facilities professionals. But determining whether a data center is a paragon of green virtue or an unrepentant gas guzzler is trickier than it might seem at first glance. That's why the Green Grid, a nonprofit trade group led by IT vendors, devised PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), which compares the total power used in a facility with the power devoted specifically to IT equipment. But as with almost any new standard, there is confusion within the industry about how to measure PUE and in what context it is useful
Containing the cost of powering the data center is one of the chief priorities for many IT and facilities professionals. But determining whether a data center is a paragon of green virtue or an unrepentant gas guzzler is trickier than it might seem at first glance.
That's why the Green Grid, a nonprofit trade group led by IT vendors, devised PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), which compares the total power used in a facility with the power devoted specifically to IT equipment. But as with almost any new standard, there is confusion within the industry about how to measure PUE and in what context it is useful