Microsoft uses wireless sensors to track the temperature of the data center and saves energy
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Microsoft’s global global basic services department (responsible for overseeing Microsoft’s online service platform) now uses a wireless sensor network to improve the visibility of the company’s data center and reduce the power wasted due to excessive cooling of large IT equipment rooms. This system was developed by Microsoft’s R&D department and tested for the first time in 2006. It has now been used in Microsoft data centers around the world.
This project is called Data Center Genome (DC Genome), and it started in 2006 when Microsoft tested some sensors in a data center. So far, the company has gradually installed more than 700 sensors to track the temperature of individual racks and shelves in global data centers, so that Microsoft can obtain real-time information about the temperature or humidity of each server rack.
Feng Zhao, the main person in charge of the Network Embedded Computer Group of the Microsoft Research Center, started to develop the system after a meeting with Michael Manos, general manager of Microsoft Data Center Services. Microsoft Data Center Service belongs to Microsoft Global Basic Services and is responsible for the design, construction and management of many data centers of the company. At that time, Microsoft’s business was developing very rapidly, and more and more users around the world used the company’s network services such as Hotmail and IM. To this end, Microsoft has to build necessary infrastructure around the world, such as server data centers, to support the ever-increasing user traffic. This not only requires thousands of servers, but also requires enough power to keep the computer room at a proper temperature.
“The problem is, with so many servers, how can we know the status of each server,” Zhao said. Generally, it is difficult for the staff to judge whether the air-conditioning system is operating normally, whether the specific server exceeds the safe temperature limit, etc. The vast majority of data centers are large-the average area of each room is about 470,000 square feet-to store multiple server racks. The air conditioning system of each data center must ensure that the temperature of any server rack in the computer room does not exceed a specific value. A data center consumes 0.5-1 million watts of electrical energy per million is used to maintain the temperature of the computer room. Because it is impossible to know the temperature at any point in the computer room, most computer rooms can only maximize the use of air conditioning.
The task of the network embedded computer group is to study advanced sensor technology and computer energy-saving technology; by 2006, this group has developed wireless sensors. “We have been studying sensor technology for a long time. I think the data center is an ideal application place.” He said that this technology can help the data center reduce power consumption. “It is feasible from an environmental and business point of view to use a sensor to track temperature,” he said.
In the next few years, the team tested wireless sensors on a small scale in multiple data centers at Microsoft. Finally, this system was fully adopted in several data centers in Seattle.
The system consists of Genomote, a small, battery-powered device. There are two types of Genomote, the child Genomote and the parent Genomote-the two integrate together to form a wireless sensor node and import data into the back-end system, so that Microsoft can monitor the data center in real time and locate hotspots.
Mother Genomote (left) and son Genomote (right)
“If the temperature exceeds a certain limit, the server will be unstable, which will affect Microsoft’s network services,” Zhao said.
The child Genomotes contain sensors that measure temperature and humidity every 30 seconds, and then upload the data to the parent Genomote through a cable connection. The function of the parent Genomotes is similar to a specific type of RFID tag. It communicates with a 2.4 GHz signal that complies with the IEEE 802.15.4 standard to form a mesh network, which transmits information from one parent Genomote to another until it reaches a base station. Contains a receiver connected to the back-end system Ethernet. If a base station has a problem, the system instructs the data transmission to continue until it reaches a working base station.
Zhao’s team installed a mother Genomote and several child Genomotes on the front or back of each server rack. “A typical configuration includes 3 sub-sensor nodes,” he said: “located on the top, middle and bottom of the bracket, and connected to the main node.” Microsoft declined to say how many data centers currently use this system.
Using the software system developed by the Microsoft R&D Center, these data can be displayed on the map. The map shows the layout of the data center, highlighting hot spots in real time. The software can also store these data for event analysis and assess the situation of the data center within a specific period of time.
When the temperature anywhere in the computer room exceeds the safety line, the system will promptly notify Microsoft. Microsoft uses this data to evaluate the situation of the entire center and adjust the temperature or fan speed. Servers with too high temperature will be shut down or the data will be transferred to another server.
“For example, we once installed this system in a data center. The rooms of this data center usually include hot and cold aisles. In the cold aisle, the cold air from the air conditioning system passes through the front of the server. The hot aisle is the hot exhaust gas generated by the server and is sent back The AC system is used for cooling. After using the sensor, Microsoft found that hot exhaust gas leaked into the cold aisle, affecting the cooling capacity of the server,” Mano said. To this end, the staff installed metal sheets under the bracket to prevent hot air from leaking.
At present, this system has been installed in multiple data centers of Microsoft. Manos said that he can view the situation of global servers in the office, and can also store historical data of server temperature. When there is a significant change in the thermal pattern of a certain bracket, the company can understand it in time. For example, the excessive use of IM or other services by netizens in a day will cause the temperature of some servers to rise. Now, Microsoft has effectively solved this problem by adjusting the server workload and activating or shutting down some servers within a certain period of time. “This allows us to understand the capacity and functions of the server and helps us optimize the data center,” he said.
Microsoft is now integrating the AC system test sensor, allowing Microsoft to automatically raise and lower the temperature based on the sensor’s measurement.
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