On Sat, 22 Mar 2008, Patrick Giagnocavo wrote:
Would someone pay extra for > 7KW in a rack? What would be the maximum you could ever see yourself needing in order to power all 42U ?
As you recognize, its not an engineering question; its an economic question. Notice how Google's space/power philosphy changed between leveraging other people's space/power, and now that they own their own space/power. Existing equipment could exceed 20kW in a rack, and some folks are planning for equipment exceeding 30kW in a rack. But things get more interesting when you look at the total economics of a data center. 8kW/rack is the new "average," but that includes a lot of assumptions. If someone else is paying, I want it and more. If I'm paying for it, I discover I can get by with less.