CeBIT: Low Power Is Future for High-Powered Servers
Even where money is no concern, power shortages can still force organizations to reduce consumption--and not just in underdeveloped regions. In the summer, Sun sometimes has to power down its servers in San Diego if available power in the city is limited, according to Campbell. "That’s in the U.S., one of the richest economies of the world," he said.
Such events are still rare in Europe, but a heatwave in France in 2003 highlighted the fragility of electricity supplies there. Electricity consumption by air-conditioning systems soared, and some power stations were threatened with closure as their own cooling systems could no longer cope.
Perhaps that’s what prompted server manufacturer Bull SA to highlight energy efficiency at the launch of its Novascale 2320 Blade at CeBIT.
The blade has a dual-core low-voltage Intel Xeon processor and carries up to 8GB of memory and two internal 2.5-inch SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) disks, and has "the best available performance per watt in the industry," according to the company. However, Bull representatives were unable to give a figure for the device’s actual power consumption at press time.
-Peter Sayer, IDG News Service
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