Periodic Reporting for period 2 - GREENDC (Sustainable energy demand side management for GREEN Data Centers)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2019-01-01 do 2022-09-30
The GREENDC project contributes to greener data centres by developing a decision support system (DSS) that helps data centre managers predict energy demands better and evaluate strategies to minimize energy waste and CO2 emissions. The GREENDC DSS monitor the energy use of IDCs and propose dynamic cooling strategies to save energy consumption. GREENDC is implemented through knowledge exchange between two academic partners and two industrial partners. Academic partners transfer knowledge on energy forecasting and optimal operation strategies to industrial partners while industrial partners transfer their knowledge on data centre operations through secondment activities.
Based on the user feedback in D1.2 the second version of the GREENDC DSS (version 2.0) was delivered in month 40 as originally planned. The main changes in the version 2.0 includes improved user interfaces and the development of a dynamic cooling component. The new user interfaces present diagram of the data centres to present monitoring information such as temperatures in multiple places of data centres, energy consumption by different types of cooling and computing devices, and workloads of server racks. More graphic analysis of those data is also added. The dynamic cooling component provides dynamic set points of cooling devices as the workloads of the server racks changes during a work day. This can remove cooling waste by increasing setpoints of cooling devices when workloads of servers are low.
The evaluation of the GREENDC DSS version 2.0 was conducted by TSAT DC managers for user experiences of the system (new user interfaces) in month 66. On the other hand, the DSS was also tested by DC managers of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) to evaluate the optimal cooling device operation schedules in month 67 and 68.
The GREENDC project made good progress to disseminate project results. A project web site and twitter page were established and are being used as the main channel for the dissemination of the project outcomes. Total 14 papers were presented in international conferences and four papers in professional events. Four papers were published international journals, one accepted, and one is under a review process. The success story of the GREENDC project was published on the EUROPA web site (https://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?artid=51406). For communication activities, Twenty RISE ambassador activities were implemented, and two open day events were organized.
The training of early stage researchers via various knowledge transfer mechanisms is continuously provided through the secondment activities. The consortium implemented total 253 knowledge exchange activities during the project duration. PhD students who were involved in the secondments and training activities was now working at UN to work in Thailand in the area of sustainability, Lecturer at UBRUN, a post-doctor in the University of Cardiff in the UK, a government institute in Turkey after their graduations.
The GREENDC project also helped career developments of the staff members of the consortium partners. Total 7 PhD students who participated to the secondment activities were successful to have professional posts after their involvement in the project. They are now working at UN, Universities in the UK and Turkey, and governmental institutes.