IBM, Syracuse University, New York State in pact to build among world's most energy-efficient data centres

01 June 2009

IBM, Syracuse University and New York State have entered into a multiyear agreement to build and operate a new computer data centre on the university's campus that will incorporate advanced infrastructure and smarter computing technologies to make it one of the most energy-efficient data centres in the world.

The data centre is expected to use 50 per cent less energy than a typical data centre today, making it one of the "greenest" computing facilities in operation.

The $12.4 million, 6,000-square-foot data centre  will feature its own electrical tri-generation system and incorporate IBM's latest energy-efficient computers and computer-cooling technology. Syracuse University (SU) will manage and analyse the performance of the center, as well as research and develop new data centre  energy efficiency analysis and modeling tools.

IBM will provide more than $5 million in equipment, design services and support, which includes supplying the electrical cogeneration equipment and servers such as IBM BladeCenter, IBM Power 575 and an IBM z10 systems. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is contributing $2 million to the project.

The centre  will expand SU's advances in the development and use of "green" innovations in nationally strategic domains. IBM intends to showcase the data centre  and its energy-efficient technologies to help clients design new data centers or improve their current operations.

Through its "Smarter Planet" initiative, IBM is helping clients take advantage of the fact that the world is becoming more instrumented, intelligent and interconnected. IBM is working with SU and New York State to use smarter technologies in the new data center. For example, the project will focus on the actual infrastructure of the data centre  itself, not just the computer hardware and software. A key element will be an on-site electrical co-generation system that will use natural gas-fueled microturbine engines to generate all electricity for the centre  and provide cooling for the computer servers.