A Complete Model for Modular Simulation of Data Centre Power Load

Data centres are very fast growing structures with significant contribution to the world’s energy consumption. Reducing the energy consumption of data centres is easier when the components that comprise a data centre and their respective energy consumption are known. A complete model for a modular design of a data centre and a technique for simulating each module’s energy consumption are presented. Detailed power consumption modelling for each component as well as their interactions are the merits of this model. Unlike existing research, the present modular simulation model can take different design structures of data centres into account and provide us with hourly power consumption profiles for each component. The impacts of environmental parameters such as temperature and humidity are also investigated and incorporated into the model. The flexibility, scalability, comprehensiveness and modularity of this model provides researchers and designers with a powerful tool for energy analysis, management and planning of data centres with different designs and locations. Note to Practitioners The main goal of this paper is to propose a modular approach for designing a typical data centre. The total power consumption profile of any data centre can be calculated based on considering its components and environmental data. By including and removing components, we can determine the consumption profile of a data centre at the design stage. This model is intended as a tool for designers and planners, that defines the impact of each parameter on the power consumption of each component. Therefore, the effective parameters of each component are determined and placed into context to enhance the flexibility, scalability, comprehensiveness and modularity of this model towards a powerful tool for the practitioners in this field. Keywords—Data Centre, power load modelling, server utilisation, modular simulation, mathematical modelling.