1. Power for your Blade Server Environment
What you need to know

2. Agenda Introduction Market Trends Terms 3-Phase (3~) Power
High Power and Blade Servers
Review
Hello. My name is (insert name here) and I am the (fill in position) of Geist Manufacturing.
I am here to show you how to deliver power to blade servers.
After the introduction Geist I will review with you the data center power trends, go over some basic electrical terms, explain 3-phase power, and review how to provide power to high power and blade server racks. After all this we will quickly review and answer questions.

3. The PCE Family of Companies
Data Center Power Distribution & Environmental Monitoring
Blow Molding
Computer Room Environmental Monitoring
Geist Manufacturing is one of 8 companies owned privately by Plastic Companies Enterprises.
Three of the eight are plastic manufacturing operations – Geist Plastics for extrusion, HTI for injection molding, and Apex for blow molding.
Of the other companies… Let’s continue on the next page.
Monitoring and Management of Data Center Operations and Infrastructure
Pipe & Profile Extrusion
Design Services & Web-Enabling Technologies
Injection Molding

4. Geist Manufacturing and PCE Headquarters
Company Overview
Geist History
1948 – Founded as Winders & Geist
1993 – Introduced Geist PDUs
1997 – Privately acquired by PCE
2005 – Acquired IT Watchdogs
2007 – Established Geist International
2008 – Established Geist Technology
– Established Geist Contract Manufacturing
– Established Geist Metalworks
2009 – Established Geist Intelligent Facilities
Geist Manufacturing Today
A provider of innovative products for data center power distribution and monitoring systems
100 employees
2008 sales grew 20% over the prior year
Sales now reaching 6 continents
Partnerships in the USA, the UK, China, Taiwan, France and Australia
Geist Manufacturing and PCE Headquarters
Geist Metalworks
Geist was originally founded as Winders and Geist in One of the earliest products was the flexible duct (i.e., Flexiduct) that protects wires that are stretched across open traffic areas, such as factory floors, auditorium floors, and the like.
In 1993 Geist started building power distribution units – the type of basic power strip that we all know.
In 1997 the company was acquired by PCE, mostly for the plastics operations - but the small operation that was the PDU business continued.
In 2005 IT Watchdogs, a small web-enabled monitoring company was purchased, and now provides the technology components and code that make Geist’s most advanced products possible.
In 2008, under the new Geist Technology banner, Geist is making the technology components and development services also available to others outside of Geist.
Geist Contract Manufacturing, another new operation, now works with 3rd party companies to develop and build new products.
In coordination with our other operations, we established Geist Metalworks last year. The Metalworks operation is located just 3 doors from Geist Manufacturing, and is configured with the latest generation equipment to precisely cut, bend and powdercoat the metal chassis we need for our products.
Having built a reputation in North America for quality and service, Geist established Geist International in 2007 and began looking for new markets to conquer. So far, Geist has sold environmental monitoring and PDU products to the six major continents.

5. Market Trends Power to the Rack
The market trend is for data center cabinets and racks to require more and more energy as the increasing demand put upon data centers drives the need for greater system performance and higher server density.
As you are aware, there is an ever-increasing need to provide more power to the data center.
Within the data center, each cabinet and rack is demands more server performance, and the server density continues to grow in both the cabinets and in the data centers.
You see that in 2003 there was a relatively light load put upon each rack, but over time that number has continued to increase, so that by 2010 the power requirements of the typical rack will be 15 times what it was in 2003.
Source:
Surveys by 7x24 Exchange, Lawrence Berkeley Labs, Uptime Institute estimates based on gradual implementation of new server technology that is either already announced or currently on the market 5

6. Market Trends Blade Servers on the Rise
Server consolidation, virtualization, and power savings are leading to a boom in blade server sales over the next four years.
WW blade server shipments are expected to rise from 620,000 in 2006 to 2.4 million units in 2011
a compound annual growth rate of 31.5%
In 2006 blade servers represented only 7.9% of all servers sold
By 2011 the sales of blade servers are expected to rise to approximately 21.6% of all servers sold
Blade Servers
Other Servers
78.4%
92.1%
To increase computing power in a rack, the trend now is for more data centers to install blade servers. They take up less space than the typical server configuration and they generally provide greater performance. As you can see, the use of blade servers is growing rapidly.
There is a penalty for all that computing power… As the number of servers increase in each rack, the demand for electrical power increases as well. The challenge is to be able to provide that power, as we’ll see.
21.6%
7.9%
2006
2011
Source: iSuppli 6

7. Electrical Terminology
Amp (or Ampere): The standard measure of electrical current.
Electricity flows through a wire much like a water flowing through a pipe. The flow of electricity (electric current) is measured in amps.
The Amp draw of a circuit is dependent on the needs of the devices plugged into it, and is limited by the branch circuit protection.
Volt: The standard measure of electrical potential, and is a fixed value for every circuit. Voltage is measured with respect to a reference point (usually between two conductors of the circuit).
Voltage is analogous to pressure in a water pipe. Higher pressures, or higher voltages, allow more energy to flow within a given amount of time.
Standard voltages present in most data centers are 120V and 208V in the USA, and 230V in continental Europe.
As we get going, lets go over some basic information.
(Read the slide information for amps and volts.) 7

8. Electrical Terminology
Watt : The measure of the work being performed (i.e., total power being consumed) by a system.
In a perfectly efficient design, power is calculated as:
watts = volts x amps (W = V x A)
Power Factor: The ratio of Real Power to Apparent Power.
A power factor of 100% represents perfect efficiency. Lower values indicate that there is energy loss in the circuit.
When a design is not perfectly efficient, the power calculation is:
watts = volts x amps x power factor (W = V x A x PF)
Power is the measure of how much work can be performed in a given amount of time. For electric power the measurement is in watts.
For perfectly efficient systems, there is no energy loss so that the calculation for power is watts = volts x amps.
In the real world, perfect efficiency is hard to find, and so, to calculate useful power, a power factor is used. The power factor ranges between zero and one, or between 0% and 100%, where the higher the number the more efficient the system.
AMPS … the rate of flow of electricity. VOLTS … the push (or pressure), not the amount
WATTS … the power that is used POWER FACTOR… the efficiency 8

9. Single-Phase Power
Single-phase power is like a 1-cylinder diesel engine.
Power is produced once each cycle.
Single Phase
Lets begin looking at single-phase and 3-phase power.
Here is an example of single-phase power – a single cylinder diesel engine, where once each cycle power is produced.
The wave form below that represents the electrical equivalent of single cycle power – with a single-phase electrical feed line. 9

10. 3-Phase Power
A 3-cylinder diesel engine has one cylinder firing with each 120 degree rotation of the crankshaft… so that 3 power pulses are generated for each full cycle.
Like the 3-cylinder diesel engine, a 3-phase power feed has 3 power lines that are offset from each other by 120 degrees.
Three Phases
When you expand your engine to 3 cylinders, you set each cylinder to fire with a 120 degree offset from the other two cylinders. This becomes a 3-phase system, where power is provided 3 times in one cycle of the crankshaft.
For an electrical equivalent, you have 3 feed lines of AC power that are offset from each other by 120 degrees (like the 3-cylinder engine), and each phase provides power to the system. 10

11. 3-Phase Delta Configuration
A 3-phase delta power configuration consists of 4 conductors -
 3 “hot” lines  1 ground line.
In a delta configuration there is only one output voltage level available.
208V by wiring one “hot” line to another “hot” line (green arrows)
3-Phase 208V Delta
Line 1
208V
Line 2
There are several configurations for 3-phase electrical power. First, there is the 3-phase delta configuration. The delta configuration has 4 conductors, one for each feed line (1,2, and 3), and one for ground.
240v between each leg. Not 120v.
208V
208V
Line 3
Ground
Page 11 11

12. 3-Phase Wye Configuration
A 3-phase wye power configuration with 5 conductors -
 3 “hot” lines  1 ground line  1 neutral line
The neutral line in the circuit is what makes the 3-phase Wye configuration flexible and increasingly popular, as it allows the output of both 208V and 120V from the same PDU without using a transformer or multiple whips.
208V by wiring any “hot” line to another “hot” line (green arrows)
120V by wiring any “hot” line to “neutral” (brown arrows)
3-Phase 120V/208V Wye
120V
208V
Line 1
Line 2
Neutral
Line 3
Ground
When you use a 3-phase WYE configuration, you have a 5th conductor, the neutral line. When using the neutral line as a path to ground, 120 volts becomes available. When the neutral line is not used, 208V is available between each line of the 3-phase circuit.
Therefore, with the WYE configuration, a single PDU can provide two separate outside voltages – 120V and 208V.
When you have a 3-phase WYE system, you can see how well your system is balanced by monitoring the current on the neutral line. A balanced 3-phase system should have zero current on the neutral line.
Page 12 12

13. 3-Phase Power Makes Sense
Why bring 3-phase power to the cabinet level?
Ability to power 120V and 208V loads from the same branch circuit
Less wire under the floor to block airflow
Fewer whips for the electrician to pull, reducing installation cost
Simpler to balance loads within a cabinet rather than across cabinets
Why bring 3-phase power to the cabinet level?
Less wire under the floor, fewer whips for the electrician to pull, easier to balance your load at the cabinet level.
A 3~ 20A 120V system would have 2400W per phase available, 5 wires (1 whip) for 7200W. This compares favorably vs. a single-phase system where you would need 3 separate 20A circuits, each with 3 wires per whip (which would be a total of 3 whips or 9 wires). With fewer wires, the 3-phase system is more adaptable for air flow and for simpler (and less expensive) electrical installations.
Remember that a key benefit of providing 3-phase to the rack is that three-phase distribution can power both 120 V and 208 V loads from the same branch circuit. This is particularly useful for when you don’t know what equipment will be installed in the future.
Also remember that balancing 3-phase is an easier task when you can adjust your loads between the three phases to minimize current on the neutral line. 13

14. WHY USE 3 WHIPS WHEN A SINGLE 3-PHASE WHIP CAN DO THE JOB?
The 3-Phase Advantage
Equal Power Example 
20A 120V 3-Phase System
Power = Voltage x Current
= [120V x 20A] x 3 phases
= 2400W per phase x 3 phases
= 7200W or 7.2kW
5 wires per whip x 1 whip = 5 wires
1 circuit = 1 whip
WHY USE 3 WHIPS WHEN A SINGLE
3-PHASE WHIP CAN DO THE JOB?
20A 120V Single-Phase System
Power = Voltage x Current
= [120V x 20A] x 3 circuits
= 2400W per circuit x 3 circuits
= 7200W or 7.2kW
3 wires per whip x 3 whip = 9 wires
3 circuits = 3 whips
Let’s Look at a 7.2kW example being fed by 20A circuits.
In a single phase configuration three separate 2400W whips are needed to support a 7200W (or 7.2kW) need.
With a 3-phase configuration, each phase can support 2400W separately, so that by using all 3 phases just one 3-phase whip can support the same 7200W (or 7.2kW) need. 14

15.  The 3-Phase Advantage More Power – Less Current Example
6.2kW
7.2kW
4.2kW
20A 208V 3-Phase System
Power = Voltage x Current x 1.73
= 208V x 20A x1.73
= 7197W or 7.2kW
NO CIRCUIT BREAKERS REQUIRED
30A 208V Single-Phase System
Power = Voltage x Current
= 208V x 30A
= 6240W or 6.2kW
REQUIRES 2 2-POLE CIRCUIT BREAKERS
When comparing single whip solutions, the 3-phase solution delivers more power.
In this case, we are looking at 208V systems.
As you can see,
the 20A single-phase solution only provides 4.2kW of power
the 30A single-phase solution provides 6.2kW of power, but now also needs to have circuit breakers on the whip.
the 20A 3-phase solution provides 7.2kW of power – which is more than 70% more power than the 20A single-phase solution, and offers more than 15% more power than the 30A single-phase solution… and yet the 3-phase 20A solution still does not require circuit breakers on the whip!
20A 3-Phase Benefits
> 70% more power than 20A single-phase
> 15% more power than 30A single-phase
No circuit breakers required
Requires only a 20A feed
20A 208V Single-Phase System
Power = Voltage x Current
= 208V x 20A
= 4160W or 4.2kW
NO CIRCUIT BREAKERS REQUIRED 15

16. 3-Phase Power Guidance
Examples of preferred arrangements for branch circuits
For a medium density rack of up to 7.2kW a 20A 120V/208V 3-phase power whip serves the rack well.
For a higher density rack of up to 10.8kW a 30A 120V/208V 3-phase power whip with circuit breakers can handle the larger load
Here are examples of preferred arrangements for branch circuits as follows:
A single 120/208V 20A 3-phase power whip can supply common medium density racks up to 7.2kW/rack, including the 20% derating.
For higher density racks, a single 120V/208V 30A 3-phase whip can provide power up to 10.8kW, again with the 20% derating. As this is a 30A solution, circuit breakers are included within the whip. 16

17. How Much Power Do I Need?
As a reference, Here is a useful table to aid in the design and support of data centers. Knowing the power being supplied (as volts and amps, or as watts) gives you the following:
derated power value
BTU value
Amount of cooling required
Airflow volume required
The table is also useful if you need to work backwards. Given the maximum cooling and airflow available, you can determine the maximum amount of power that should be supported.

18. Power Meter: Diagnostic Tool
 Measure phase loads & neutral loads for proper balance
Correcting unbalanced phase loads and minimizing the neutral load can result in electric utility bill savings
Monitor breaker loads
Ensure that current draw is safely below breaker ratings to avoid unnecessary operational interruptions
Measure current usage at each socket
Identify what equipment has high current demands and may be in need of service or replacement
Within an organization, departments can be billed by the IT department for equipment energy use
Knowing the power demands of a rack is a key piece of information when operating a data center.
By measuring the current you have the ability to
Recognize unbalanced loading in 3-phase power feeds, giving you a chance to reconfigure your hardware power connections for better power balance (and possibly save on electric utility fees)
Review current loads in comparison to breaker ratings, letting you know where the power demands are approaching the breakers limits before they trip and shut down critical hardware
And, where individual outlets are being monitored, you can tack the current draw to identify hardware that is inefficient or in need of service. This is also useful where departments within an organization are being billed back for energy usage.
Meters can be pre-installed as part of the whip (or PDU), or independent meters can be used to measure a circuit or outlet on either a temporary or permanent basis. (Example: The above meter is a 3-phase current meter that reports locally and through the web, and is available as an independent meter, but it is also available as an integrated component of our EM line of PDUs.) 18

19. Best Practices with Blade Servers
Monitor Current: YES Switched Outlet: NO
In racks with traditional 1U servers, per-outlet switching allowed rebooting of a single servers
With blade servers, per-outlet switching is no longer a requirement
Per-outlet switching would mean that, instead of rebooting a single blade server, multiple servers would be simultaneously rebooted. This is not a reasonable approach to take in a high-uptime application
With per-circuit or per-outlet monitoring, the users have the ultimate in visibility of power usage and protection against unwanted downtime.
A classic 1U server has its own internal power supply, and that power supply is not shared with other servers in the rack. Remotely rebooting the server can be done by cycling the outlet on the PDU that feeds the server’s power input.
When working with blade servers, this changes.
A blade server is mounted in a chassis that contains the power supply, similar to the 1U server. However, this blade server chassis is capable of supporting multiple blade servers (as is shown on page 22). As the power feed coming into the chassis may supply power to multiple blade servers, cycling the PDU outlet to reboot the blade server may result in many or all blade servers in the chassis being rebooted … and that power cycling may adversely affect more customers or operations. Therefore, you do not want to cycle the power to a blade server chassis.
Power or current monitoring is still a good thing, whether for 1U servers or blade servers. As stated earlier, monitoring the current continues to provide valuable feedback about the health of the server rack, for load balance, circuit limit monitoring, and for internal bill-back capability on energy usage.

20. The Quest for Higher kW Loads
Blade Server use is growing, along with increasing power consumption.
High-density applications continue to require more power.
The increase in size and number of power feeds is leading to greater airflow restrictions, higher installation costs, and decreased availability of breaker space in power distribution panels.
It seemed that - for any redundant applications requiring more than 17W - the only solution was to use four 60A X three-phase feeds.
Geist solves this problem with 80-amp and 120-amp 3-phase PDUs
Up to 35kW blade-filled cabinets can be supplied power with a single feed, or with two feeds in redundant applications.
Now that we’ve alerted you about outlet switching and blade servers, be aware that blade server adoption is increasing, and so is the power load in server racks. The more servers per rack, the higher you can expect the power requirement to be.
With the greater power demand comes more and heavier power feeds, which tend to impede airflow, add to installation costs and use up what little space is available in breaker panels.
On top of high density power demands, power redundancy makes things worse.
Today, a cabinet can require more than 17kW, and this has meant that four 60A 3-phase feeds were required.
Geist offers an alternative that provides some relief to this burden: The Geist “Big Boy” PDUs, which provides either a single 80A or a single 120A feed to the cabinet. With these new PDUs, the number of feeds to high power cabinets can be reduced by half.

21. Blade Server Solutions!!!
Geist’s “Big Boy” 80A and 120A 3-Phase ZP PDUs
Standard product that supports high power needs
80A X 208V X 1.73 = 28kW x 80% = 23kW
120A X 208V X 1.73 = 43kW x 80% = 35kW
Monitoring, both local and remote, is built in to each unit
Input feed lines are hard-wired to the mains
The oversized pin-and-sleeve plug, cord and receptacle are eliminated, saving expense and removing bulk
Direct connection to the mains increases reliability
Each unit is UL listed
Convenient, tool-free mounting is available
As you can see, the Big Boy 80A provides up to 23kW of power after the 20% derating… and the 120A model delivers up to 34.5kW of power, again after a 20% derating. In addition to the high power delivery, each Big Boy PDU provides both local and remote current monitoring. For added safety, these PDUs are hardwired directly to the mains, and this increases reliability while also avoiding the bulk and expense of high current connectors. As always with Geist PDUs, each unit is appropriately UL listed, and each unit is available with tool-free mounting.

22. IBM BladeCenter H Power Example
IBM BladeCenter H can have up to four 2900 watt power supplies.
For full use of all 14 blade slots, all four power supplies must be installed.
2 power connections to the chassis are required
When redundancy is specified, the number of power connections increases to 4
Total Power = 4 x 2900W = 11600W = 11.6kW
Current load = [power / volts] / derating factor = [11600W / 208V] / 80% = 55.8A / = 69.8A  70A
As mentioned on page 19, here is an example of a blade server chassis – the IBM BladeCenter H.
This chassis is capable of connecting to 4 power connections.
When fully loaded with 14 blade servers, two power 2900W power supplies are required.
When redundancy is required on the full chassis, however, all four 2900W power supplies must be used.
With that kind of power requirement, the current load works out to about 70A minimum!
To properly feed the four 2900W power supplies, a minimum of 70A of current should be available to the chassis
Image source:

23. IBM Application 23KW HARDWIRED PDU 80A x 3~ MAX
Removable plate for wiring, bottom feed
Branch circuit protection by 20A x 3~ UL-listed circuit breakers
80A x 208V x 1.73 = 28.8kW
28.8kW x 80% derating factor
= 23kW at max power draw
We designed the Big Boy units around the most common blade server applications that are available today.
Here is where the IBM Blade Center chassis with a power demand of 23k, after derating. This can be provided by a single Big Boy 80A PDU, and a second Big Boy 80A PDU can be used for redundancy.

24. HP Application #1 23KW HARDWIRED PDU 80A x 3~ MAX
Removable plate for wiring, bottom feed
Branch circuit protection by 20A x 3~ UL-listed circuit breakers
80A x 208V x 1.73 = 28.8kW
28.8kW x 80% derating factor
= 23kW at max power draw
Here is the HP C7000 using two 80A Big Boy units to meet the 23kW power demand. This configuration provides redundancy and the capability to handle the max power of the rack. 24

25. HP Application #2 34KW HARDWIRED PDU 120A x 3~ MAX
Removable plate for wiring, bottom feed
Branch circuit protection by 30A x 3~ UL-listed circuit breakers
120A x 208V x 1.73 = 43kW
43kW x 80% derating factor
= 34.5kW at max power draw
Here you can see the HP C7000 with a higher, 34kW power demand. The 120A Big Boy units (one for primary power and one for redundancy) support this configuration to the maximum power requirements of the rack. 25

26. Dell Application 23KW HARDWIRED PDU 80A x 3~ MAX
Removable plate for wiring, bottom feed
Branch circuit protection by 20A x 3~ UL-listed circuit breakers
80A x 208V x 1.73 = 28.8kW
28.8kW x 80% derating factor
= 23kW at max power draw
This Dell PowerEdge 1955 chassis configuration is using two 80A Big Boy units to meet the 23kW power demand. This configuration provides redundancy and the capability to handle the power demands of the rack.

27. Review Introduction Market Trends Terms 3-Phase (3~) Power
High Power and Blade Servers
Review
So, in the last few minutes we have reviewed the server market trends with regard to increasing power demands.
We have discussed the growing adoption blade servers, and how that adds to the increase in power demands as well.
We have gone over some basic electrical terms – volt, ampere or amp, watt, power factor.
We have looked 3-phase power and its advantages over single-phase power, and explained the differences between the two types of 3-phase power: Delta (4-conductor and no neutral, and only 1 voltage) and WYE (5-conductor including neutral, and two different voltages). We have also seen how a 3-phase power feed can supply more power than a single-phase power feed.
Finally, we have reviewed how to determine server rack power demands, as well as looked at a few application examples.

28. thank you