Title
Data Center Cost Optimization Via Workload Modulation Under Real-World Electricity Pricing.
Abstract
We formulate optimization problems to study how data centers might modulate their power demands for cost-effective operation taking into account three key complex features exhibited by real-world electricity pricing schemes: (i) time-varying prices (e.g., time-of-day pricing, spot pricing, or higher energy prices during coincident peaks) and (ii) separate charge for peak power consumption. Our focus is on demand modulation at the granularity of an entire data center or a large part of it. For computational tractability reasons, we work with a fluid model for power demands which we imagine can be modulated using two abstract knobs of demand dropping and demand delaying (each with its associated penalties or costs). Given many data center workloads and electric prices can be effectively predicted using statistical modeling techniques, we devise a stochastic dynamic program (SDP) that can leverage such predictive models. Since the SDP can be computationally infeasible in many real platforms, we devise approximations for it. We also devise fully online algorithms that might be useful for scenarios with poor power demand or utility price predictability. For one of our online algorithms, we prove a competitive ratio of 2-1/n. Finally, using empirical evaluation with both real-world and synthetic power demands and real-world prices, we demonstrate the efficacy of our techniques. As two salient empirically-gained insights: (i) demand delaying is more effective than demand dropping regarding to peak shaving (e.g., 10.74% cost saving with only delaying vs. 1.45% with only dropping for Google workload) and (ii) workloads tend to have different cost saving potential under various electricity tariffs (e.g., 16.97% cost saving under peak-based tariff vs. 1.55% under time-varying pricing tariff for Facebook workload).
Year
Venue
Field
2013
CoRR
Online algorithm,Mathematical optimization,Workload,Electricity,Tariff,Peaking power plant,Data center,Mathematics,Competitive analysis,Electricity pricing
DocType
Volume
Citations 
Journal
abs/1308.0585
6
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.55
17
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Cheng Wang1886.95
Bhuvan Urgaonkar22309158.10
Qian Wang38427.81
George Kesidis429338.77
Anand Sivasubramaniam54485291.86