Huawei, a leader in technology solutions, has underscored the critical need for green data storage in data centers to meet ambitious carbon peak and neutrality targets, as highlighted in a recent blog post.
As organizations worldwide intensify efforts to achieve carbon neutrality, the focus has turned to data centers, which account for a significant portion of global energy consumption. Huawei emphasizes that more than 30 percent of a data center’s energy usage is attributed to storage, making it a pivotal area for reducing carbon emissions.
To construct sustainable data centers, the emphasis must be on minimizing the energy consumption of IT equipment, particularly storage devices, while also improving power usage effectiveness (PUE).
Trends in Green Data Centers
Reducing PUE is a crucial step towards greener data centers, but Huawei stresses that lowering the power consumption of IT equipment, especially storage devices, is paramount. Without intervention, the carbon emissions solely from storage could surpass the total global emissions recorded in 2019 by 2030.
Innovations in energy-saving storage technologies are pivotal for driving the low-carbon evolution of data centers. Storage vendors are actively developing solutions to facilitate the transition towards sustainability and contribute to environmental preservation.
Energy-Saving Storage Technologies
Huawei advocates for several energy-saving storage technologies, including:
Multi-protocol convergence and silo convergence: This facilitates versatile storage solutions that cater to various workload and application needs, thereby enhancing resource utilization.
Data reduction: Maximizing storage capacity by compressing data without distortion, reducing operational costs, and energy consumption.
High-density design: Utilizing high-capacity SSDs and compact disk enclosures to store more data with less energy and space.
Near-storage computing: Processing data closer to its storage location to minimize energy-intensive data movement.
Dedicated processors: Employing specialized processors to handle data reduction and protocol processing tasks efficiently, reducing overall power consumption.
Load-based intelligent frequency modulation and core adjustment: Leveraging AI-driven predictive analytics to optimize storage operations and minimize energy consumption.
Suggestions for Industry Action
Huawei recommends a shift towards comprehensive carbon footprint reporting throughout a product’s lifecycle, urging enterprises to demand transparency from equipment suppliers. Additionally, the establishment of unified energy efficiency evaluation standards is proposed to streamline assessments and foster innovation in energy-saving technologies.
Enterprises are encouraged to deploy storage solutions powered by energy-efficient technologies and incentivize vendors to innovate further. Huawei suggests prioritizing advancements such as dedicated processors, data reduction techniques, and high-density all-flash designs to drive greater energy efficiency in next-generation storage products.
