Datacenter Dynamic Power Management – Intelligent Power Management on Intel Xeon® 5500

With newly released Intel Xeon® 5500 Processor family, it comes with a new breed of datacenter power management technology - Intel® Intelligent Power Node Manager (Node Manager in short).

As a former datacenter engineering manager, I had personal experience of the management issues at datacenters, especially dealing with power allocations and cooling – we often assumed the worse case scenario as we could not predict when the server power consumption will peak. When it did peak, we had no way to control it. It is like driving with blindfold and hope for the best outcome. The safest bet was to make the road as wide as possible - leave enough headroom for the power budget, so that we would not run into power issues. But it resuled in under utilized power, or stranded power, that is quite a waste.

Over the course of last several years, we met with many IPDC (internet portal datacenter) companies. We heard over and over again of their datacenter power management challenges, which was even worse than I experienced. Many of the IPDC companies we talked with leased racks from datacenter service providers under strict power limits per rack. The number of servers per rack they can fit had direct impact to their bottomline. They did not want to under-populate the racks, as they had to pay more rent for the same amount of servers; they could not over-populate the racks as it would be over the power limits. Their power management issues could be best summerized as the following:

·        Over-allocation of power: Power allocation to servers does not match actual server power consumption. Power is typically allocated for worst case scenario based on server nameplate. Static allocation of power budget based on worst case scenario leads to inefficiencies and does not maximize use of available power capacity and rack space.

·        Under-population of rack space: As a direct result of the over-allocation problem, there is a lot of empty space on racks. When the business needs more compute capacity, they have to pay more for additional racks. There are not enough datacenter spaces for them to rent. As a result, they had to go to other cities even other countries – increased operational cost and supporting staff.

·        No capacity planning: There is not effective means to forecast and optimize power and performance dynamically at rack level. To improve power utilization, datacenters needs to track actual power and cooling consumption and dynamically adjust workload and power distribution for optimal performance at rack and datacenter levels.

This is where the Node Manager comes to play. Let’s take a look at what Node Manager and its companion software tool provided by Intel for rack and group level power management – Intel® Data Center Manager (DCM) will do:

Intel® Intelligent Power Node Manager (Node Manager)

Node Manager is an out-of-band (OOB) power management policy engine embedded in Intel server chipsets. Processors carry the capability to regulate their power consumption through the manipulation of the P- and T-states. Node Manager works with the BIOS and OS power management (OSPM) to perform this manipulation and dynamically adjust platform power to achieve maximum performance and power for a single node. Node Manager has the following features:

·        Dynamic Power Monitoring: Measures actual power consumption of a server platform within acceptable error margin of +/- 10%. Node Manager gathers information from PSMI instrumented power supplies, provides real-time power consumption data singly or as a time series, and reports through IPMI interface.

·        Platform Power Capping: Sets platform power to a targeted power budget while maintaining maximum performance for the given power level. Node Manager receives power policy from an external management console through IPMI interface and maintains power at targeted level by dynamically adjusting CPU p-states.

·        Power Threshold Alerting: Node Manager monitors platform power against targeted power budget. When the target power budget cannot be maintained, Node Manager sends out alerts to the management console

Intel® Data Center Manager (DCM)

DCM is software technology that provides power and thermal monitoring and management for servers, racks and groups of servers in datacenters. It builds on Node Manager and customers existing management consoles to bring platform power efficiency to End Users. DCM implements group level policies that aggregate node data across the entire rack or data center to track metrics, historical data and provide alerts to IT managers. This allows IT managers to establish group level power policies to limit consumption while dynamically DCM provides allows data centers to increase rack density, manage power peaks, and right size the power and cooling infrastructure. It is a software development kit (SDK) designed to plug-in to software management console products. It also has a reference user interface which was used in this POC as proxy for a management software product. Key DCM features are:

·        Group (server, rack, row, PDU and logical group) level monitoring and aggregation of power and thermals

·        Log and query for trend data for upto one year

·        Policy driven intelligent group power capping

·        User defined group level power alerts and notifications

·        Support of distributed architectures (across multiple racks)

What the combination of DCM and Node Manager will do to datacenter power management? Here is the magic part… With the DCM at group and rack level setting policies, Node Manager can dynamically report the power consumed by a server and adjust it within certain range, so that the overall power consumption of the rack or a particular server group could be managed within a given target. Why this is important? Let me use a real example to explain it:

IPDC Company XYZ (a name I cannot disclose in public) has a mission critical workload at their datacenter that runs 24x7 and there are workload fluctuations during the day. The CPU utilization is mostly at 50~60%, with few cases that it will jump to 100%, typical for datacenter operations. To be on the safe side, the current solution is to do a pre-qualification of the Xeon® 5400 server for the worst case at 100% CPU utilization which ran at ~300W. They used 300W for power allocation, which was considered significantly lower than the nameplate value of the power supply (650W).

With Xeon® 550, for the same workload at 100% throughput, the platform power consumption goes down to 230W, a 70W reduction from the previous generation CPU – a good reason to switch to a new platform due to the advance intelligent power optimization features on Xeon® 5500. But the story does not end there…

On top of that, we further analyze the effect of power capping using Node Manager and DCM. After many tests, we noticed that if we cap at 170W and the performance of impact for workload at 60% CPU utilization and blow is almost negligible. This means, that we 170W power capping, the platform can deliver the same level of services most of the time, with 50W less (230W-170W) power consumption. For occasional spike that is above 60% CPU utilization, there will be some performance impact. However, since the Company XYZ operates at below 60% CPU utilization most of the time, the performance impacts are tolerable. As a result, we can squeeze more power from the power allocation using the dynamic power management feature of Node Manager and DCM.

What does this mean to the Company XYZ? Well, we can do the math. The rack they lease today has the limit of 2,200W/rack. With the current Xeon® 5400 servers, they can put upto 7 servers per rack at 300W per server. With Xeon® 5500, they can safely put 9 servers at 230W per server – a 28% increase of the server density on the rack. Top it up, by using Node Manager and DCM to manage the power at rack level with power limit of 2,200W and dynamically adjust the power allocation among the servers, we can put at least 12 servers at an average of 170W power allocation per server – a 71% increase of the server density comparing with the situation today! This means a great saving for the Company XYZ. In this case, the power consumption of each server on the rack could go above 170W, or lower than 170W. DCM dynamically adjusts the power capping policy while holding the line for entire rack power consumption below 2,200W.

Of course, the power management result varies from workload to workload. There has to be workload-based optimization in order to achieve the best result. Also, we assume that the datacenter should be able to provide sufficient cooling for devices that consume power within the given power limit. Even though, the result we get from this test could not be applied universally to all IPDC customers, we have finally had a platform that can dynamically and intelligently monitor and adjust the platform power based on workload. For datacenter managers, you can manage power at rack level and datacenter level with optimized power allocation to fully utilize the datacenter power. Are you ready to give it a try?

In my blog titled top 10 reasons to buy in a recession ,I discussed generic reasons to invest.  While small businesses (and to some extent medium businesses) don’t have the scale to take advantage of some of the consolidation and cost savings gains discussed in my “why buy for the big guy” blog, the benefits of replacing older servers remains a strong value for smaller businesses also. 

For those business owners who don’t have dedicated IT staff, your technology is depended on for reliable, efficient operation of the business. Technology is depended on to support daily operations and services ... like website operation, email communication, customer management, purchasing and record retention among other things.  If not … then you (as business owner) must turn your attention away from customers and towards your technology platform – not something a you have the time or resources to do.

Before reading, you need to know that I’m not a small business owner but I do have a family (in many ways that is my business) and as such I have several computers at home to support the operation of my family.  Recently, I experienced some issues with my existing computers that have put me in the market for replacement technology.  Specifically, when doing my taxes this year and when trying to load TurboTax*, my computer did not have sufficient memory to support the new 2008 software version.  Additionally, my wife and I track our finances with Quicken* and recently the slow performance on our computer has resulted in us spending too much time doing data entry on a slow computer.  In essence, our technology now is limiting us from doing the things we need to do .. so time to upgrade .. and I am shopping for a new desktop.

These challenges are similar to what I foresee from small businesses when it comes to technology upgrades.  Here are two examples of customers who, as a result of a growing demands and slowing performance of existing technology, turned to a Xeon-based server to streamline operations, boost reliabiilty, improve customer service, improve competitiveness and open up business possibilities for themselves.

ð       Yellow River i-café.  See How this small i-café went from a situation where a demanding workload caused hardware failures, leading to down time, loss of revenue, and frustrated customers to a situation where Yellow River saw performance gains and head room for growth by upgrading to an new Intel Xeon based server.

ð       Lampworks. Read how Jason Harper of Lampworks went from “We knew that we’d hit the wall with our desktop-based server; it couldn’t bear the extra load. Our computer was suddenly a barrier to our growth, rather than a business enabler” ... to ... “We’re extremely excited about the growth possibilities that our new server gives us.”

As your technology ages, you have a choice.  Typically standard OEM manufacturer warranties are supported for 3 years with purchase of a new server.  Before you extend the warranty (for $800-1200 per server for additional two more years), evaluate the enhanced performance, improved energy efficiency and capability to replace many servers (either desktop or true server technology) with fewer new servers.  If you are already at the end of your extended warranty, can you run the risk of server failure inside your business or can you afford the unexpected expense of a service call. 

Additionally there are some government incentive programs, like the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act  that offer businesses accelerated depreciation (60% first year vs standard 20%) on new computer hardware which can lower you 2009 tax burden and accelerate ROI.

Is your current technology holding you back or in your way? ... If so, consider a new server.

Chris 

I enjoy running, and I typically train with a heart rate monitor to help me stay in a certain zone during my workouts.  When I was out on a run the other day and started to settle into my zone, instead of my mind drifting off to a peaceful place (like it should), for some reason it started drawing parallels about the human heart and Turbo Boost Technology.  I decided to play along as I was my own captive audience.

Let’s start with the heart, which as a pump has evolved over a long time to be pretty darn reliable and adapt quickly based on the needs of its owner.  It’s nominally rated at about 70-100 beats per minute (BPM), which is all it needs to do to support most activities during a normal day.  If you take care of it and operate it within spec, it should provide many years of reliable service in that range. 

However, we know the heart is capable is much higher rates, and most every day I operate it well above the rated 70-100 BPM during my runs.  As long as I take in enough air, don’t overheat, or don’t cramp up, my heart can maintain these higher rates without much problem.  In fact, if I feel REALLY good on a particular day, I can probably go above my max heart rate, but it’s not recommended and a lot of bad things can happen (a typically accepted max BPM calculation is 220 BPM – your age).

How does this relate to Turbo Boost Technology?

Xeon® 5500 processors are spec’d at a rated frequency (for example, 2.93 GHz), and the processor and platform are designed to operate for an indefinite period of time at that frequency.  With Turbo Boost, the processor is now able to run higher than rated frequency whenever you need a boost in performance, provided it meets the following conditions:  (1) the operating system requests the extra performance (I want to go out running), and (2) the processor has power, current, or temperature headroom (I’m getting enough air, and not overheating or cramping up).  As long as those conditions are met, the processor will run at those higher frequencies to maximize performance whenever it’s needed, either for short periods, long periods, or somewhere in-between.  When your performance demands drop, the processor frequency drops down to normal.

How high can you Turbo?

Similar to your maximum heart rate, we need to set Turbo Boost frequency limits in the Xeon® 5500 processors.  For example, the highest Turbo frequency the 2.93 GHz processor can support is 3.33 GHz, which is a 400 MHz jump.  While there still could be platform headroom even at the highest Turbo Boost frequency (I’m still feeling good at my max heart rate), we need to set these limits to ensure the processors will function reliably for a good long time.

So let your servers get some exercise with Turbo Boost – they’ll thank you for it.

Our new product, the Intel Xeon Processor 5500 series, has ushered in what we at Intel call a new generation of intelligent server processors. Before I wrote this blog I had to look up the definition of intelligence (American Heritage Dictionary):

In•tel•li•gence n 1.a. The capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. b. The faculty of thought and reason.

In this context, I’d like to discuss two topics. (1) An Intelligent Product (2) An Intelligent Choice

An Intelligent Product: (the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge)

Key technology enhancements to the Xeon 5500 include a suite of new features and capabilities that enable servers utilizing these new processor to serve a wide range of server usages (from basic business to high performance computing) (from single threaded applications to well threaded applications) (from non virtualized to highly virtualized environments) and makes these servers adaptable to the environment you want to deploy it into.

ð       Intel Hyper-Threading Technology is back boosting performance for well threaded applications

ð       Intel Intelligent Power Technology adjusts server power consumption real time to workload

o       Automated Low Power States reduces CPU, Memory and I/O power without impacting performance

o        Integrated Power Gates dynamically turn cpu cores that are not in use to reduce idle power near 10W

ð       Intel Turbo-Boost Technology speeds up your processor when application demands peak

ð       Intel QuickPath Technology provides industry leading server bandwidth (up to 3.5x prior Xeon)

The benefits for IT and Business?

ð       A server platform that can adapt to your application environment allowing you to deploy it in one environment today with the knowledge you can repurpose it tomorrow, if needed

ð       A server platform that can adapt you changing workload demands over the course of a day, saving power when demands are low and better performance when you need it most

Read the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series platform brief to learn about these technologies

Visit this video about the new product and the technologies listed above

An Intelligent Choice: (the faculty of thought and reason)

Economic times are tough and we’re all struggling with spending choices (or not spending) at both a personal and corporate level. However, business spends about 2/3 of their IT budget maintaining existing servers (source IDC). IDC further estimates that 40% of the servers installed today are 4yr+ single core servers with another 40% being 3 year old dual-core. These servers are consuming a lot of valuable resources. With a heavy % of IT budget spent on operating costs, the challenge is that if you cut spending, you are cutting innovation. This limits business competitiveness.

What is the option? …. Server Refresh. Compared to installed single core Xeon servers, these new Xeon processors enable up to 9x performance per server, a 9:1 server consolidation opportunity (with flat performance), lowering operating costs by an estimated 90% and delivering an estimated up to 8 month payback on investment. That means that an investment in a new server today can pay for itself in less than a year, helping you to self fund more innovation or helping to boost the bottom line of your organization. If your environment is dual-core based, the opportunity is about a 3:1 consolidation opportunity.

               Download this pdf to understand the 8 month estimate

View a video demonstration highlighting the 9:1 consolidation and 3:1 consolidation

In summary the Xeon 5500 series is an intelligent product in it’s capability to adapt to both it’s application and user environment and an intelligent choice for IT investment delivering an estimated up to 8 month payback – much better than you can do in the stock market, bank or many other projects.

I think that this is the right product at the right time.  What do you think? ... I'd like to hear your reactions.

Chris

Last week I read Shannon’s blog about an “unmarketable server” - I got a real and personal taste of the power of this new product last week. I had the opportunity to interview two customers for a video that will be available when we introduce this product in the coming weeks. These customers had access to early hardware and shared their testing results and perspectives of this new product. The information was eye-opening for me.

As I flew back home on Saturday, I was reminded of how I felt as a kid getting ready for Christmas. When I was young, I couldn’t wait for Christmas morning so I could open up my presents and play with my new toys all day long. That is the way I feel with the new Intel Xeon processor 5500 series (codename Nehalem) about to launch later this quarter – I can’t wait.

In short (and I have to save the details for the video because I’m required to by non-disclosure), these customers are moving forward with plans to invest in new server technology because of the dramatic performance and energy efficiency gains that a technology refresh can provide them. Both of these customers are seeking a competitive advantage in their respective businesses and despite the economy, they see prioritized investment in new server technology as a means to enhance their services, reduce costs, streamline efficiency and better support their customers.

When I asked the question about economic conditions and the relative importance of buying new technology today for their business – the customers did not blink – investing in new server technology and refreshing aging servers is of critical importance to their business.

It was clear to me that these customers are looking forward to an early Christmas this year with the introduction of Xeon 5500 servers.

Stay tuned to Intel’s online server community www.intel.com/server for more information.

Having bounced from Engineering to Sales to Marketing in my career I have found some unique interactions between those organizations along the way. But I have recently come across something for the first time that seems particularly noteworthy. I am finding that many of the internal discussions I am having about our upcoming products are largely void of the usual marketing fluff. You could argue that this blog and my previous statement is itself marketing, but oh well.  I am also not saying that I don’t still visit an end user who is having trouble picking out a server topology, an infrastructure to virtualize on or maybe they are having datacenter challenges or power constraints and we provide them with advanced product info.  All of that still happens regularly and I expect it will continue for a long time. Rather, I am referring to the solutions we are starting to propose for those problems.

I am sure everyone in marketing can remember some product that they were responsible for that kept them up nights. The feature set wasn’t quite right, the price was out of whack, competition was breathing down their necks or competition was the incumbent in a certain area. Those are tough days and you only hope that the future products in the hopper are leadership and there is balance to your present day effort. For a while I have seen segments where products are “unmarketable”. You can pretty much leave the marketing guys at the door when you walk in to a High Performance Computing account, Financial Services Account or Internet Portal Datacenter. They want hardware and you can take your PowerPoint slides and “shove them $#@^%.” That may be a direct quote J

Still, that was certain segments. They did their own benchmarking and they made their decisions based on the exact workloads and configurations they are running. Many Enterprises, Datacenters and Small/Medium Businesses rely on third party data, benchmarks or word of mouth to make their purchase decisions. We have been talking to them under non-disclosure lately about our next generation Nehalem based products and the responses have been rather unique. In short, Nehalem appears to be “unmarketable”. I find myself pretty much trying not to mess things up when talking about the product. There have been some early public discussions about the performance and the message boards seem to be taking a keen interest in how the platform looks. The launch will happen later in Q1 and I for one am looking forward to seeing what exciting new things companies are going to be doing with them.

In Lesson 3 , our final video in this series on virtualization, I interviewed Intel Technology Specialist Radhakrishna (RK) Hiremane Shridhar, who discusses the platform and hardware assist technology that has been designed specifically into the current and future generations of Intel processor based servers to support both consolidation and emerging flexible live VM migration use models.I invite you to view lesson 3 (~ 6min) and comment on the usefulness of this information to your business planning.

I hope you were able to gains some key insights in this series. 

• For the lighthearted fun loving side … watch this fun video featuring the Orange Guy

• But when it comes down to serious business decisions, use these technical resources.
• • Implementing virtualization ; Understanding Intel VT FlexMigration

Learn more about Intel Virtualization Technology at www.intel.com/go/virtualization.

Can your Server Do Yoga? Namasté

Chris Peters, Intel

The use models and benefits of Server Virtualization are as diverse as the number of poses in the art of Yoga.  Virtualization is boosting server utilization while creating more flexible use models that feature live application migration from server to server. 

Over the past year, I found myself constantly talking with IT professionals about how they are using virtualization and how it was transforming their business.  And despite a more challenging economic environment for business and IT on the horizon, several industry analysts continue to predict investment growth in server virtualization during 2009.  It is easy to understand why. 

The many customers I have talked with and the many of the case studies I’ve read articulate that virtualization is lowering TCO through CapEx avoidance (data center construction, staff hiring) and OpEx reductions (power/cooling, management and maintenance savings).  In addition, virtualization is improving time to service, simplifying management of server infrastructure, boosting server utilization, and accelerating ROI of new hardware investment.  Beyond these “foundational” usages, I also found a set of new flexible use models that IT was considering that are based on moving applications dynamically from server to server … real time. 

For Lesson 1 of a 3 part series on virtualization, I interviewed Sudip Chahal from Intel IT where he explained to me the variety of terms, buzz words and use models of virtualization that are delivering the benefits above.  

I invite you to view this short video (~5 min) and comment about how you are using or intending to use virtualization in your business.

Namasté

Chris