Results 1 to 17 of 17
Thread: Estimating server power usage
-
11-10-2009, 11:34 PM #1New Member
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Posts
- 4
Estimating server power usage
I am trying to estimate power usage for the purpose of looking for colocation offers and am wondering what you guys think the draw for this server would be. Thank you for all your help.
4U Supermicro X7DB8 motherboard
Dual Quad-Core Xeon E5345 2.33GHz
8GB DDR2 PC-5300 RAM
Adaptec AID-9140w SAS/SATA Controller
6x Hitachi 36GB 15k rpm Hard Drives in RAID 10
2x Western Digital 250GB Hard Drives for backupLast edited by jjtoday; 11-10-2009 at 11:35 PM. Reason: Title spelling fix
-
11-10-2009, 11:59 PM #2Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Location
- Dallas/FortWorth TX
- Posts
- 1,703
i would assume this config should draw around 6 amps more or less.
<<< Please see Forum Guidelines for signature setup. >>>
-
11-11-2009, 11:00 AM #3Web Hosting Guru
- Join Date
- Nov 2009
- Location
- Reston
- Posts
- 305
If you have the server already, the easiest way to get the power draw is to plug it into a kill-a-watt meter... They are cheap to buy... But keep in mind power draws are going to vary depending on CPU usage and cooling factors (fans will run more etc).... It's impossible to really say how much this server is going to draw if you need an exact number.
-
11-11-2009, 11:22 AM #4WHT Addict
- Join Date
- Feb 2004
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
- Posts
- 162
The easiest way to get a wattage figure is to go by the power supply rating. That gives a peak consumed power estimate, though it should be higher than the actual watts used. If the server uses a 1200W PS, then it needs at most 10 Amps at 120V. At least in theory.
bigwrench
-
11-11-2009, 12:04 PM #5Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Dec 2001
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Posts
- 6,896
I'd put my money between 2.25A and 3.75A @ 110/120v (depending on PSU efficiency, number of dimms, and type of dimms, and quantity/type of fans)
The E5345 has a TDP of 80W, hence a 6.0A estimate @ 120V is wayyyy out in left field.Myles Loosley-Millman - admin@prioritycolo.com
Priority Colo Inc. - Affordable Colocation & Dedicated Servers.
Two Canadian facilities serving Toronto & Markham, Ontario
http://www.prioritycolo.com
-
11-11-2009, 08:37 PM #6Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Apr 2009
- Location
- Dallas/FortWorth TX
- Posts
- 1,703
<<< Please see Forum Guidelines for signature setup. >>>
-
11-11-2009, 10:33 PM #7Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Dec 2001
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Posts
- 6,896
Myles Loosley-Millman - admin@prioritycolo.com
Priority Colo Inc. - Affordable Colocation & Dedicated Servers.
Two Canadian facilities serving Toronto & Markham, Ontario
http://www.prioritycolo.com
-
11-11-2009, 11:05 PM #8Randy
- Join Date
- Aug 2006
- Location
- Ashburn VA, San Diego CA
- Posts
- 4,615
Fast Serv Networks, LLC | AS29889 | DDOS Protected | Managed Cloud, Streaming, Dedicated Servers, Colo by-the-U
Since 2003 - Ashburn VA + San Diego CA Datacenters
-
11-12-2009, 02:45 PM #9Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Posts
- 58
-
11-12-2009, 03:54 PM #10THE Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Jan 2003
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Posts
- 6,957
I would agree with your estimate.
160w for the CPUs, 120w for the drives, 110w for the motherboard, fans and other components. With an ~85% efficient power supply you're right at the top end of that, 3.7A at 120v and the numbers I provided are peak numbers, so you should pretty much always run less than those.Last edited by KarlZimmer; 11-12-2009 at 03:58 PM.
Karl Zimmerman - Founder & CEO of Steadfast
VMware Virtual Data Center Platform
karl @ steadfast.net - Sales/Support: 312-602-2689
Cloud Hosting, Managed Dedicated Servers, Chicago Colocation, and New Jersey Colocation
-
11-12-2009, 03:56 PM #11Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Sep 2008
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Posts
- 4,568
-
11-13-2009, 12:59 AM #12Junior Guru Wannabe
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Posts
- 58
-
11-13-2009, 06:15 AM #13New Member
- Join Date
- Oct 2009
- Posts
- 4
Thank you all for your estimates. Until I get a measurement, I will use a 4A estimate to be a little bit on the safe side.
-
11-13-2009, 06:34 AM #14Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Mar 2009
- Posts
- 2,222
Server manufacturers only have a limited range of power supplies.
For each model of server, the use the next-higher power supply that is capable of powering a maximally configured server running flat out in a room whose temperature is the highest the server can run in (so the fans are running hardest.)
In practice, you may find the server is using about half the power that the power supply can deliver.
-
11-13-2009, 07:00 AM #15Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Jun 2003
- Location
- London, UK
- Posts
- 1,765
We have dual quad core, 8 SAS disk machines drawing 1.5A @ 220V (Dell R710), so I'd estimate this machine to use ~3.5A @ 110V.
Darren Lingham - Stablepoint Hosting
Stablepoint - Cloud Web Hosting without compromise
We provide industry-leading cPanel™ web hosting in 80+ global cities.
-
11-13-2009, 12:23 PM #16WHT Addict
- Join Date
- Feb 2004
- Location
- Phoenix, AZ
- Posts
- 162
I agree and it's done to handle normal current surges like spinning up all drives at poweron, peak cpu bursts on all cores, and don't forget a PS also powers any optional add-on cards and external devices (USB, firewire, etc). PS wattage is a rough estimate, but it's an estimate!
bigwrench
-
11-13-2009, 01:17 PM #17Web Hosting Master
- Join Date
- Dec 2001
- Location
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Posts
- 6,896
The amount of disinformation, bad information, or just flat out wrong information present in this thread, boggles the mind.
Myles Loosley-Millman - admin@prioritycolo.com
Priority Colo Inc. - Affordable Colocation & Dedicated Servers.
Two Canadian facilities serving Toronto & Markham, Ontario
http://www.prioritycolo.com
Similar Threads
-
Estimating email load on a server
By bjseiler in forum Programming DiscussionReplies: 11Last Post: 01-17-2003, 06:08 PM -
Estimating server needs based on traffic
By leftofcentre in forum Dedicated ServerReplies: 7Last Post: 12-16-2002, 05:48 PM -
Estimating Bandwith
By ginagamo in forum Web HostingReplies: 7Last Post: 08-10-2002, 11:34 PM -
Estimating Speed
By NVB in forum Web HostingReplies: 0Last Post: 08-06-2001, 12:43 PM -
Estimating traffic...
By Badger_Hoss in forum Web HostingReplies: 1Last Post: 07-26-2001, 06:30 PM