The greenest data centre in Switzerland
Project details
While data centres are recognized as being as indispensable as they are energy-hungry, Infomaniak is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of this activity by commissioning, in 2014, the greenest data centre in Switzerland.
It is cooled only by ventilation and injection of outside air, without air conditioning.
Qualitative benefits
- Renewable energy Uses 60% hydroelectric power ("TÜV SÜD EE01" certified) and 40% renewable energy (certified "Naturemade Star" certified).
- Energy Efficiency The DIII data centre has a power usage effectiveness indicator (PUE[1]) less than1.1 (well below the EU average of 1.8). Significant reduction in energy consumption and expenditure. In 2015 energy efficiency actions saved us €70,000 on our electricity bill.
- Technological innovation Servers with "low voltage" technology purchased. The company uses "Xeon series L" processors that consume 40% less energy than older generations, even at full power. A UPS that offers a yield of 99% (against 92% usually), which is exceptional for a data processing centre. So for 100 watts of power consumed by a server, only 1 watt is used by the UPS which starts up only when needed, unlike conventional devices that operate all the time. The miniaturized equipment means less need for storage space and less surface area required.
- Recycling All servers are replaced before the end of their service life (every 4 years) and completely recycled. This renewal policy means that more powerful servers are constantly being acquired, using less energy and reducing the need for land use.
[1] The PUE indicator is used to describe the energy efficiency of a processing centre. It indicates the ratio between the total energy consumed by all of the processing centre (with air conditioning) and the part that is actually consumed by the IT systems that this centre operates (servers, storage and network). Ideally, energy would be consumed only by the computer servers deployed in the centre, leading to an ideal PUE of 1.0. http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indicateur_d%27efficacit%C3%A9_%C3%A9nerg%C3%A9tique
Stages of the initiative
The experience of commissioning the Carouge and Vernier data centres provided Infomaniak with unique expertise, meaning that this new data centre does not need cooling. Separating hot aisles from cold aisles in the Vernier data centre was one such step.
Areas of activity
Aspects allowing us to have minimal environmental impact were taken into account in the design of this new data centre. The main obstacle was finding the funds for investment in this project.
2012 - Design of the data centre
2013 – Construction of the building
2014 – Commissioning the data centre
From 2014 - Data centre in operation
