The American Powers Conversion, ( APC) has introduced an online calculator that supports virtual environment with optimized power usage effectiveness.

One of the greatest issues around virtualisation, according to APC,  is that while it will undoubtedly reduce energy use as the physical number of data centre servers is consolidated, the facility’s power usage effectiveness (PUE) is likely to go off the scale.

PUE, APC, said is a metric used to determine the energy efficiency of a data centre and is determined by dividing the amount of power entering a data centre by the power used to run the computer infrastructure within it.

“This PUE issue can be de_motivating and costly for data centre professionals who are working hard to improve facility efficiency and meet environmental concerns,” says Carl Kleynhans, regional director: Africa, Indian Ocean Islands and South Caribbean at APC by Schneider Electric.

To help companies make decisions regarding the physical requirements for virtualising IT loads, he said that  APC by Schneider Electric has developed a free online tool available from the company’s data centre efficiency portal.

The calculator, according to him,  can be used at an early stage of planning for informed decision_making and to experiment with different scenarios and approaches. In line with the recommendations in the EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres Efficiency, the tool encompasses both IT and physical infrastructure considerations.

“The Virtualisation Energy Cost Calculator is an easy_to_use tool that allows the user to make and alter a number of inputs, such as the number of servers, rack space utilisation, system design and energy use in order to assess pre_ and post_virtualisation environments,”  Kleynhans said, adding that, “It was developed by APC to enable data centre and IT managers to make a ready assessment of the impact of virtualisation upon data centre energy and space.”

Virtualisation can bring a number of benefits to the data centre _ saving energy, increasing computing throughput, freeing up floor space and facilitating load migration and disaster recovery’ he said.

“Less well known is the extent to which savings can be further optimised if the power and cooling infrastructure is right_sized to the virtualised load. APC’s Virtualisation Energy Cost Calculator demonstrates the point graphically and also provides indicative efficiency outputs for both pre_ and post_virtualisation environments” he explained.

APC by Schneider Electric, a global leader in critical power and cooling services, provides industry leading product, software and systems for home, office, data centre and factory floor applications.  Backed by the strength, experience, and wide network of Schneider Electric’s Critical Power & Cooling Services,