Power Management Optimization for Data Centers: A Power Supply Perspective

With the escalating demand for cloud computing services, data centers (DCs) encounter formidable challenges extending beyond capital investment needs to accommodate increasing computational demands and routine infrastructure maintenance. These challenges include substantial electricity costs due to high energy consumption and the environmental issues caused by high carbon emissions. To reduce costs and mitigate environmental impacts, modern DCs not only use energy-efficient technologies to improve the efficiency of common IT and cooling systems, but also actively optimize the direct, indirect and environmental costs of the power supply side, posing significant challenges for DCs power management. Therefore, this paper presents a comprehensive survey of cost-aware optimization from the power supply perspective. First, it reviews the structures and key metrics of the power supply system, modeling methods and supporting techniques for main power and IT system components, establishing a foundation for optimization. Second, traditional (brown) and green energy sources are categorized to survey and compare existing critical works, analyzing the application of power management methods to tackle cost-related challenges. Finally, future research trends in the power supply perspective for DCs are discussed. This survey aims to provide recommendations for power supply side cost optimization to further advance the sustainable development of DCs.