Power edges processing power: a virtual hot swap

Software-defined power is considered by many to be the next step after digital power. But how real is it and is anyone using it? CUI, Inc. has been asked and has answered partly through their recently announced limited exclusivity agreement for hardware development with Virtual Power Systems. Within the agreement, CUI will design, manufacture, and distribute the hardware components of the ICE (Intelligent Control of Energy) system and ICE block hardware that enables data center operators to double power and server utilization. The idea is shift applications to the data center with the most cost-efficient power at any given time, increasing reliability and efficiency.

“Until recently, the data center market has focused on pure compute processing power in order to handle increasingly massive data loads,” says CUI Sr. VP Mark Adams,”power didn’t seem as relevant.” But, says Adams, data center operators were “shocked and surprised” when presented with the data CUI collected regarding the amount of unused power and the potential power savings have week-long monitoring experiments. For the first time, he says, they are thinking about power. An existing data center that utilizes the CUI and VPS ICE system could see up to a 15-25 percent reduction in power costs coupled with the avoidance of 40 – 60 percent of conventional CapEx investment.
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