ERGYSTAR
ENERGY STAR Revised Definitions for Computer Servers
Based on Draft 1 Specification Comments
1) Definitions: Below are the definitions of the relevant terms in this document.
A. Computer Server: A computer that provides services and manages networked resources for client
devices such as: desktop computers, notebook computers, thin clients, wireless devices, other
computer servers and other networked devices. Computer servers primarily respond to requests
and are accessed via network connections, and not through direct user input devices such as a
keyboard, mouse, etc. For purposes of this specification, computer servers must include all of
the following characteristics:
•	Marketed and sold as a server;
•	Designed and capable of having at most four processors (i.e., 1 - 4 individual processor
sockets);
•	Support for error-correcting code (ECC) and/or buffered memory;
•	Dedicated management controller, such as Baseboard Management Controller (BMC),
service processor, or ability to detect Wake On LAN (WOL) packets (Magic Packet and/or
Directed Packet Filtering) to wake or power on from low power states;
•	Include at least two ports for network communication capability, e.g., Ethernet, Fibre Channel,
etc. (both ports can be the same technology);
•	Include Reliability, Availability, Serviceability, and Manageability (RASM) features;
•	Designed for and listed as supporting Server Operating Systems and/or Hypervisors, and
targeted to run user-installed enterprise applications; and
•	Designed and placed on the market as a Class A product as per EN55022:1994 under the
EMC Directive 89/336.
Note: The purpose of including these detailed characteristics in the definition above is to (1)
clearly delineate the types of computers covered by this specification and (2) separate servers
covered by this specification from those products being addressed in the Version 5.0 computer
specification, which is currently underdevelopment. Therefore, any "low end" computer server
that does not meet the definition above will continue to be covered by the computer specification.
For example, a desktop-derived server targeted to run user installed enterprise applications and
which meets all of the requirements above is eligible for qualification under this server
specification. All other desktop-derived servers, such as "home" or "media" servers, will continue
to be covered by the computer specification. Lastly, servers with greater than four processor
sockets are considered outside the scope of this specification, due primarily to their increased
complexity, but may be considered in future revisions.
In the definition above, EPA is particularly interested in comments on:
(1)	The use of Wake On LAN (WOL) as an alternative to a service processor or BMC
(2)	The relevance of the Class A EMC designation and whether this should also refer to
Class B under the directive.
Once this computer server definition has been established, EPA's next step will be to determine
which types of servers will require further delineation based on their unique functionality and/or
differences in energy performance. EPA has initiated this process as illustrated in the definitions
for blade and appliance servers provided below.
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B.	Blade Chassis: An enclosure containing shared resources for the operation of blade servers and
blade storage. These resources include power supply(s) for power conversion, dc power
distribution, cooling, network hardware, and system management, and may also contain shared
storage. A blade chassis contains multiple slots which can be populated with a number of blades
of different sizes and are often capable of accommodating blades from different vendors.
C.	Blade Server: A computer consisting of, at minimum, a processor and system memory that relies
on certain shared resources (e.g., power supply, cooling, etc.). Blade servers are designed to be
installed in a blade chassis and are incapable of operating independent of the chassis.
D.	Blade Storage: A storage element that relies on certain shared resources, contained in a blade
chassis. Blade storage units are incapable of operating independent of the blade chassis.
E.	Direct Current (Dc) Server: A computer server designed to operate with a dc-dc power supply or
a server which runs directly off dc voltage supplied to internal dc-dc converters from an external
source.
F.	Server Appliance: A self-contained server system bundled with a pre-installed operating system
and application software that is used to perform a dedicated function or set of tightly coupled
functions. Server appliances deliver services through one or more networks (e.g,. IP or SAN), and
are typically locked down systems managed through a web interface. Server appliance hardware
and software configurations are customized by the vendor to perform a specific task, and are not
intended to execute user-supplied software. Example services that may be made available via a
server appliance include: name services, firewall services, authentication services, and
encryption services.
G.	Storage Equipment: A system designed specifically to provide data storage external to the server
and which may be part of an archival process. While storage equipment may contain an
embedded processor, this processor is not made available to execute user- installed software
applications, but may execute data specific applications, e.g. backup utilities, data compression,
install agents, and other tasks.
H.	Network Eguipment: A product whose primary function is to route Internet Protocol traffic among
ports connected to it. In data centers this includes switches and routers.
Note: Definitions for blade servers and server appliances were created because they may
require the development of separate requirements in future drafts based on differences in
design and functionality compared to the larger server population covered by this specification.
Additional types of servers may be defined in future drafts, as necessary. For example, it was
suggested that EPA include definitions for network and telecom servers. EPA also created
definitions for storage equipment, blade storage, and network equipment to ensure that these
product types are properly excluded. Several of these definitions have been modified based on
the Draft 1 comments. EPA is interested in stakeholder feedback on the above definitions, as
well as feedback on specific product types (e.g., network servers, firewall servers, etc.) and
where they fit best based on the definitions outlined above.
Computer Server Power Supplies
I. Computer Server Power Supply: A server component designed to convert high voltage input
power to lower voltage dc output(s) for the purpose of powering the server. A computer server
power supply must be separable from the main system and must connect to the system via a
removable or hard-wired male/female electrical connection, cable, cord or other wiring.
J. Ac-Dc Power Supply: A power supply designed to convert line voltage ac input power into lower
voltage dc output(s) for use by the server.
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K. Dc-Dc Power Supply: A power supply designed to convert dc input voltage from one level
(including -48 V dc) into lower voltage dc output(s) for use by the server. Dc-to-dc converters
(also known as voltage regulators) internal to the product and used to convert low dc voltage (e.g.
12 V dc) into other dc voltages for use by the individual server components are not considered
dc-dc power supplies under this specification.
L. Single-Voltage Power Supply: A power supply designed to convert high voltage input power into
only one single lower dc voltage output. Although single-voltage power supplies only provide one
primary voltage for powering the server during operation, they may also include one or more
lower voltage standby rails (typically 5 V dc) used only to initiate start-up when the main system is
powered down.
M. Multi-Voltage Power Supply: A power supply designed to convert high voltage input power
simultaneously into multiple different lower dc voltage outputs. There may be other low power DC
output voltage(s) for standby power.
Note: This section has been revised to be more inclusive of dc-dc power supplies. EPA is
continuing to investigate the technical feasibility of including servers that utilize dc-dc power
supplies in this specification. The definition for single-voltage power supplies has been
amended to indicate that power supplies with a dedicated standby rail are still considered
single-voltage supplies for the purposes of this specification.
2) Qualifying Products: A computer server must meet the definition provided in Section 1 .A, 1 .B or
1 .C above, to be eligible for ENERGY STAR qualification under this specification. Storage
equipment, blade storage, and network equipment, as defined above, are not eligible for ENERGY
STAR qualification under this specification.
Note: EPA plans to address storage equipment and network equipment under separate
specification development initiatives. As a result, these product types are excluded from
qualifying for ENERGY STAR under this specification.
When reviewing this document, stakeholders should consider the following important points:
•	EPA's intention is to cover a broad array of server types that fit the technical definition
provided in 1 .A.
•	EPA also intends to cover blade chassis and blade servers under this specification.
However, since these server systems have a different approach and form factor from
volume rack mount servers, EPA will have to determine which requirements might pertain
to an ENERGY STAR qualified blade chassis (e.g., power supply efficiency) and which
might pertain to a particular blade server itself (e.g., power management, idle, etc).
•	EPA is also interested in the possibility of addressing servers using dc-dc power supplies
in this specification. Feasibility for this approach will depend on the emergence of an
appropriate and industry accepted test procedure that can be used to test these product
types and determine comparable energy performance levels. If developed, EPA will
consider using an amended power supply test procedure to accomplish this task.
•	EPA will decide whether different types of servers may require separate energy
performance criteria or levels. A decision to address these different types of servers will
require the creation of separate "sub categories" of ENERGY STAR servers, with their
own unique energy efficiency criteria and/or levels, and will be dependent on availability of
energy performance data that supports this conclusion. Moreover, a justification for
subcategories will be driven by significant differences in functionality and/or observable
energy performance for a given workload.
Stakeholders are encouraged to provide feedback on this latest proposal to Rebecca Duff, ICF
International, at rduff@icfi.com by Friday, May 9, 2008.
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