Software defined power is a set of solutions that will enable full utilization of the data center capacity, as opposed to the excessive over provision often found in existing data centers.
End to end software defined power may one day encapsulate sustainability metrics covering measurement of everything from true green PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements), grid losses, behind the meter adaptable power provision right down to dynamically maximizing server power performance per watt. However, there remains a long way to go.
Following on from the success of the PUE metric, the data center industry is becoming focused on power capacity utilization – one suggestion being a new metric of Power Capacity Effectiveness, being Total Power Consumed divided by Total Power Capacity installed.
