COMP47290 Green, Sustainable, Data Centre Management

Academic Year 2021/2022

Data centres are an integral part of Cloud computing, and central to all internet business activities and commerce. Their growth in numbers and size over the past 1o years has been phenomenal to the extent that they now pose major infrastructural and environmental concerns for the operators and the countries in which they are resident. Data centre statistics clearly indicate the problems. If the global data centre industry was equivalent to a country, it would be the 12th largest global consumer of electricity ranking just above Italy. Annually the industry produces 330 MTCO2e , equivalent to the carbon footprint of the entire global airline industry, yet 40% of the energy consumed is totally wasted. The U.S data centre business could save $3.8 billion, if it adopted more energy efficient technologies and practices. The situation is no better in Europe, by 2020, it is predicted that 25% of Europe’s electricity production will be consumed by ICT equipment.

This module will look at the sustainability problems of the data centre industry, why they exist and the economic and environmental imperative to resolve them. Emphasis will be given to the practices and techniques that can reduce operating cost in data centres by 40%.

Students will undertake a group or individual project to design and implement a data centre management tool for a data centre using an advanced data centre energy management system. An Agile project development strategy will employed and guided by experts form industry.

The module will review the key issues of proper data centre management, the importance of identifying and measuring various metrics and KPIs, and the legal obligations affecting the operation and supervision of all data centres.
The principles, techniques and software tools that support a a sustainable approach to data centre management will be introduced and discussed in the module. Main topics include:

1. The environmental impact of the global data centre industry.
2. The major physical components of a data centre; IT equipment, Power sourcing and distribution and cooling.
3. Overview of Green, sustainable data centre management and the current status of data centres.
4. Key performance metrics and their measurement.
5. Data centre management tools- DCIM (Data Centre Infrastructure Management) system.
6. Efficient and Effective management and operational structures for data centres.
7. Legal and European obligations and regualtions affecting data centre operations.
8. The economic and environmental challenges facing data centres. The EU Code of Conduct on Data Centres .
9. Overview of data centre professional organisations and standards.
10. Agile programming development.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

Knowledge and comprehension of the following:-

1. The enormity of global data centre energy consumption and the economic and environmental necessity to address it.

2. The core of Green, sustainable data centre management.

3. The structure and operation of a typical data centre involving power and cooling.

4. The management issues in a data centre.

5. The current technical challenges and legal obligations facing data centres.

6. Key indicators of efficiency and performance.

7. Advances in IT equipment that improve efficiency and performance.

8. The future of the data centre industry.

9. Designing energy management tools specific to the needs and requirements of a data centre.

10. Advanced data centre control systems.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24

Practical

24

Autonomous Student Learning

160

Total

208

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, Supervisor meetings, Thesis writing. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Java Programming


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Project: The project that will highlight a particular challenge in the data centre industry and develop a prototype software solution. The deliverables are a thesis and software solution. Unspecified n/a Graded No

70

Examination: 2 hours at end of semester 2 hour End of Trimester Exam No Graded No

30


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Students will be supervised and there will be continuous face to face supervisor feedback.