A survey of energy-saving technologies in cloud data centers

Abstract

As an important part of the new infrastructure, the cloud data center is developing rapidly, and its energy consumption problem is becoming more and more prominent. Therefore, research on energy-saving technologies for cloud data centers has attracted widespread attention from academia and industry. Some studies have reviewed energy-saving optimization methods and technologies for data centers, but recently, many state-of-the-art optimization methods of energy consumption and energy-saving technologies have sprung out, which are still worth analyzing and discussing. Depending on the in-depth investigation and analysis of related research status, this article firstly focuses on analyzing and discussing the energy-saving technologies of the two components: IT equipment and cooling systems, both of which bring about the largest energy consumption in cloud data centers. As for IT equipment, its energy-saving technologies mainly include the energy saving of servers, storage systems, and network systems. While as for cooling systems, airflow organization in the computer room, thermal-aware scheduling technology, and other new energy-saving technologies are involved. Secondly, on the basis of analyzing the energy-saving technologies of the two major components, a new optimization scheme of energy consumption for the jointing computing system and cooling system is explained. Throughout this work, various energy-saving strategies and technologies have been described and compared. Finally, the future trends and development directions of energy saving for data centers are further promoted, such as integral optimization of energy consumption jointing multiple components, energy saving using artificial intelligence methods, energy saving based on novel hardware equipment, hybrid cooling energy saving, and comprehensive energy conservation with various energy technologies.