How AI makes Datacenters greener & more sustainable?

In brief

• Data centers currently account for 4% of the total greenhouse emissions worldwide.
• Automating various processes using AI-based robots improves data center efficiency.??
• Digital twins with AI and ML are helping reduce data centers’ carbon footprint.

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In the first week of August 2022, an electrical explosion at a Google data center in the US injured three employees. An arc flash, which is an electrical explosion that generates intense heat, was the cause. The data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where this accident happened, is one of the world’s largest data center campuses.

Data centers consume large amounts of electricity and a safety hazard in them can cause significant harm. The International Energy Agency states that data centers account for around 1% of the global electricity demand. With?digital transformation?across sectors gaining momentum, the demand for data services is rising exponentially. This calls for bigger data centers. A rating agency predicts that the capacity of data centers in India will record a five-fold increase in the next five years.

Automating process?

Most of the operational processes in traditional enterprise data centers like server upgrades, scheduling, monitoring, maintenance, patching, updating, reporting, application delivery capacity planning, etc. are repetitive and error prone. Over the next five years, these tasks may automate using AI-powered robots that deliver accurate results.??

Industrial robots can efficiently expedite tasks like disposing, decommissioning, and destruction of outdated servers and other infrastructure.?Robots used for remote monitoring can collect data on sound and images to detect irregularities and security risks. Hyperscale data centers are now automating their systems with software-based management tools and ML. Benefits are aplenty. Automation not only frees up human interference but also provides valuable inputs on server nodes and configurations and boosts speed. So, it improves the overall efficiency and increases the ROI.

Greener and sustainable

Digital twins (real-time virtual representations) are now becoming key to data center efficiency improvement. They allow collection of data from all sources and help data centers to operate more sustainably, not only from a cost perspective but also from an environmental standpoint. From facility design to space utilization, digital twin technology reduces carbon footprint. As a data center becomes bigger and handles more data, the operations become more complex. Digital twins with AI and ML platforms analyze silos of data generated and track all the components within the facility to make real-time adjustments. This can also mean predicting behaviors, which in turn helps in predictive maintenance, cutting energy, time and costs.

Improved security

Data centers are prone to different kinds of security risks — physical as well as digital — which are major concerns for service providers. AI/ML-powered smart cameras, intrusion detection systems, and robots ensure the physical protection of a data center. AI is also effective in preventing cyber security risks as AI systems learn normal network behavior and spot deviation, if any. Additionally, AI can also detect malware and identify security loopholes in data center systems while thoroughly analyzing incoming and outgoing data for security threats.