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Topic: Shut down the server the right way

Carsten Kurz
Film God

Posts: 4340
From: Cologne, NRW, Germany
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 02-16-2012 03:00 PM

'Proven fact' - that one should need numbers and evidence, don't you think?

'No-brainers' means, don't think about it? A 24/7 running server on a singles-show-per day-screen eats about 300US$ of wasted energy a year. Now how many failed drives do you need to fact-prove per year to make this a 'no-brainer'?

And where do you stop - with your office computer, with your laptop, with your lighting, with your HVAC, with your TV? Shouldn't it all keep better and effectively cheaper running it 24/7?

- Carsten

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Tommy Zackariasson
Film Handler

Posts: 31
From: Ed, Dalsland, Sweden
Registered: Aug 2011

posted 02-16-2012 03:29 PM

In a future not too far away I would say offsetting the energy use in ALL areas will be in one way or another forced upon us. From my point of view, it's a disgrace that a modern device to put a motion picture on a screen in front of an audience is all this energyconsuming - when it's not in use! Poor design, proven fact!
Regards

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Carsten Kurz
Film God

Posts: 4340
From: Cologne, NRW, Germany
Registered: Aug 2009

posted 02-16-2012 03:39 PM

I don't care about the energy consumed WHILE showing a picture. That has a sense, earns money and enjoys people. And it's not even that much - 3kW xenon + server plus some lights, etc. Not much more than a few bucks needed to entertain hundreds of people once everything else is in place. Even the production effort is worth it when hundreds of millions watch the feature.

Cost's a lot more when people watch it at home individually ;-)

- Carsten

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Tony Bandiera Jr
Film God

Posts: 3067
From: Moreland Idaho
Registered: Apr 2004

posted 02-16-2012 04:18 PM

quote: Carsten Kurz
'Proven fact' - that one should need numbers and evidence, don't you think?

'No-brainers' means, don't think about it? A 24/7 running server on a singles-show-per day-screen eats about 300US$ of wasted energy a year. Now how many failed drives do you need to fact-prove per year to make this a 'no-brainer'?

And where do you stop - with your office computer, with your laptop, with your lighting, with your HVAC, with your TV? Shouldn't it all keep better and effectively cheaper running it 24/7?

I am done with you, since you insist on being a smart ass and stirring the pot.

Do whatever you want and suffer the consequences of lost shows and failed drives (BTW 3 drives per year would eat that $300 easily, not counting lost time and or shows.)

You obviously have it set in your mind that you're right and we are all wrong, so have at it and don't even think about crying to us when your server crashes.

You also obviously are just making trouble because if you actually READ my last post you would have seen this:

quote: me
Bottom line is this:

If you are an operation that only runs a couple shows a week/month, then it MIGHT benefit you to shut down your servers..but as I said before you would be smart to power back up the DAY BEFORE a show, ingest, verify, then LEAVE THE SERVER ON until after the show. That way you have a better shot at saving the show if anything goes wrong.

If you run daily shows, then you are incredibly stupid if you shut down the server every day, you are killing the lifespan of your drives (PROVEN FACT in both cinema and server farms in other apps) so you are better off leaving it on 24-7 and offsetting the energy use in other areas.

..where I have conceded the fact that there are some locations that a shutdown probably would not be harmful, given the caveats I mentioned. And Brad mentioned it some posts back as well..did you even bother to read that?

Finally, I don't know if you know this, but I live and work in a state with the toughest energy laws in the nation, and yet they have no problem with these and other servers running 24/7 AS DESIGNED. But you can bet that the energy use is offset in other ways as I mentioned. Part of the LEEDS certification I mentioned REQUIRES that ALL equipment that uses energy or has an impact on HVAC HAS to be accounted for. Guess what? MY screening room STILL has it's full certification despite the evil server running 24/7.

That last part of your post was really lame, especially mentioning HVAC..which is bar none the BIGGEST energy user in ANY theatre. So you are just spouting off to start crap rather than thinking logically. [fu]

Oh, and I do agree with Tommy that it is not the greatest design to have something that eats power when not in use...but that applies to so much of our technology devises that it IS a problem in more than just our theatres.

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David Buckley
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 525
From: Oxford, N. Canterbury, New Zealand
Registered: Aug 2004

posted 02-16-2012 06:18 PM

It is true that each spinup cycle of a disk "consumes" disk lifetime, and a well referenced paper on this point (Greenawalt: Modeling Power Management for Hard Disks) calculated that for a particular disk, each spinup was equivalent to 3.75 operating hours.

Energy Star state that a computer should be able to survive 40,000 power-ups. I found only a few modern-ish disk drives that actually specify lifetime power cycles, they being in the range of 40,000 to 50,000.

The area of "leave the disks on" or "start them up, shut them down" is a big deal at the moment, with MAID arrays and other technologies that slow or stop disks becoming voguey, so I'd expect this to be an area where disks get better, not worse.

I have spent decades as an IT professional telling people to leave the disks on, but it seems that as a simple piece of advice that is now open to question.

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Jim Henk
Master Film Handler

Posts: 364
From: San Diego, CA
Registered: Feb 2006

posted 02-16-2012 09:06 PM

Carsten?
If you're looking for experienced folks here to bless action that I think you've already decided to take to be the best course, it's not going to happen.

You've asked, and been advised by the panel. Do what you will. If the situation blows up on you, then it moves to "You were warned". Otherwise, you're very lucky, and quite home-free. (Except, of course, for the person who comes after you, who is trained to do as you do, and isn't so lucky. Poor sod...) Please stop asking the apple tree to sprout strawberries. Not gonna happen.

As always, be well.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 02-16-2012 09:24 PM

This thread is starting to get a bit heated for no reason. The advice and opinions from both sides have all been represented here. Let's leave it at that.

Thanks to the participants.

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