For many data center operators, freeing up floor space in the data center has eclipsed ensuring that there is enough power to run the data center. This can all change in an instant though. As with any data center optimization effort, the key to getting ahead of this “chicken and egg” scenario is to to identify which underutilized servers (Note: those with < 5% utilization for starters) are consuming valuable floor space but aren’t useful.

According to the Uptime Institute, up to 30% or more of the servers in the data center may not be contributing anything useful to the business. Once underutilized servers are identified, these server’s applications can be consolidated, virtualized to fewer physical servers, or eliminated. It doesn’t matter if a data center has a few dozen or a few thousand underutilized servers. Consolidating these servers (virtualizing useful applications and removing, repurposing, or replacing underutilized servers) is a surefire way to create space to deploy new ones.

At Viridity Software, we have seen that some of the data centers located in heavily populated, major metropolitan areas are straining the limits of their capacity. They are often looking for alternatives like expanding their data center or moving some of their applications to the cloud computing solutions. This can result in compromising best practices for cooling and power provisioning and it can add risk. To get a true understanding of available power and cooling capacity, data center managers need to eliminate risk.

Viridity EnergyCenter software quickly identifies underutilized servers that are consolidation candidates. Once they are addressed, additional data center space is freed up. EnergyCenter is a software-only solution that doesn’t require additional hardware or agents, so it can be installed quickly and it is non-intrusive to the environment. There is no need to disrupt the daily operation of the data center in order to fully utilize the benefits of EnergyCenter.

Part of more efficiently managing space is intelligently deploying IT assets. The EnergyCenter Placement Assistance tool helps to optimally place assets by finding all possible places a new server can be deployed based on available power and space within each rack. This ensures that new servers are placed in the most efficient place.

Considering the alternative of having to perform a costly data center expansion, intelligent, placement and consolidation of underutilized servers can save valuable time and money.