Optimizing Server Refresh Cycles: The Case for Circular Economy with an Aging Moore's Law

Abstract

Demand for digital services is increasing significantly. Addressing energy efficiency at the data center mechanical and electrical infrastructure level is starting to suffer from the law of diminishing returns. IT equipment, specifically servers, account for a significant part of the overall facility energy consumption and environmental impact, and thus, present a major opportunity, not the least from a circular economy perspective. To reduce the environmental impact of servers, it is important to realize the effect of manufacturing, operating, and disposing of servers on the environment. This work presents new insights into the effect of refreshing servers with remanufactured and refurbished servers on energy efficiency and the environment. The research takes into consideration the latest changes in CPU design trends and Moore's law. The study measures and analyzes the use phase energy consumption of remanufactured servers vs new servers with various hardware configurations. Case studies are used to evaluate the potential impact of refurbished server refresh from an economic as well as environmental perspectives.