Energy-Based Efficiency Metric Helps To Optimize Server Power Delivery For Dynamic Workloads

Focus:

This article studies opportunities for server power architecture optimization based on an efficiency metric that accounts for dynamic energy usage, introduces potential power delivery solutions, and discusses tradeoffs for corner cases. After briefly explaining why 80Plus certifications are inadequate for power supply evaluation, the article derives an energy efficiency metric starting from Eout/Ein and using a power histogram that charts power usage over time. It then explains how to apply this energy efficiency metric to evaluate and compare server power supply efficiencies in an actual system. The article goes on to discuss how to optimize the efficiency of power systems for real workloads, highlighting the benefits of using power supplies with lower power ratings, and explaining how closed loop system throttling (CLST) can support use of lower-power power supplies in redundant systems. The last section discusses use of CLST to protect against power viruses.

What you’ll learn:

• How to evaluate the energy efficiency of server power supplies and other power converters in systems with variable power consumption
• How to optimize a server power delivery architecture for energy efficiency based on workload profile and an energy-based dynamic efficiency metric
• How to use closed loop system throttling to optimize server power delivery architectures and protect against power viruses

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Author & Publication:

Viktor Vogman, Power Conversion Consulting, Olympia, Wash, How2Power Today, Oct 15 2018

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