In this IP corner article, Jaroslav Rajić, CCNP and CCSI at NIL Data Communications, identifies and describes the measures and actions necessary to evolve the Data Center to a more energy-efficient architecture over time. The aim of energy-efficient Data Center architecture is to reduce the center’s carbon footprint by decreasing its power and cooling expenses (for many organizations, the main motivation behind taking these measures).

To increase overall equipment-resource utilization, a Data Center infrastructure design should employ virtualization principles. Implementing “green” Data Center architecture is easier to achieve with greenfield Data Center deployment than by upgrading an existing system.The article lists a few measures required to transform the existing Data Center to a more energy-efficient architecture and decrease its operational expenses.