4 ms·

the substation has a limit, so do all of the power distribution systems.

• jeffbee 5y ago
  Sure but that's the opposite trend from density, is it not? A dual 64-core EPYC Rome machine - and we know they are using these for web search, from published research papers - has 400W of CPU TDP alone, which is a more than double the per-host TDP of a Westmere EP (as an example of a retired platform). So if anything there is more empty space in the racks in 2021 than there would have been in 2011, based on the design power load of existing buildings.
  • greenail 5y ago
    The cycle for servers is 3 years, the cycle for the building is 30 years. What I'm trying to say is that if you can deliver more widgets per watt per sq ft by replacing the server than you go for that. If you can't why not keep the already depreciated server operating for another year. The incremental costs are mostly the power (and ac) plus the opportunity cost of putting a more efficient server in a year later. If it fails you just put in the newer server. If it doesn't you may save a bit.