Overview
ISO/IEC TR 30133:2023 - Information technology - Data centres - Practices for resource-efficient data centres provides technology‑neutral, location‑independent guidance and best practices to improve the resource efficiency of data centres. The technical report emphasizes continuous improvement, design choices and operational practices across planning, management, cooling, power feeding, ICT equipment and cost considerations. It is focused on practical measures rather than on developing KPIs, performance comparability or maturity models (these items are explicitly excluded).
Key topics and technical focus
ISO/IEC TR 30133:2023 covers a broad set of resource‑efficiency topics, including:
- Data centre planning & building
- Site and building design considerations that use external environment and modular expansion to minimize resource use.
- Operational principles and continuous improvement
- Processes for collecting operational data, monitoring performance and replacing or upgrading equipment to improve efficiency.
- ICT equipment and services
- Server and storage management: virtualization, system integration, storage energy efficiency, power control, maintenance and management of idle equipment.
- Network equipment: virtualization, cabling and layout to reduce waste and optimize airflow.
- Cooling and thermal management
- Computer room air conditioning (CRAC/CRAH), hot‑aisle/cold‑aisle containment and alternative cooling approaches (including direct liquid cooling).
- Power systems and resilience
- Power feeding, UPS/PDU considerations and design practices that balance resilience and efficiency.
- Data centre infrastructure management (DCIM)
- Monitoring energy use, temperature/humidity, facilities and IT equipment; events/alarms; capacity management; automatic control and control loops to improve energy performance.
- Other infrastructure and systems
- Integration of fire protection, security and other facility systems into efficiency strategies.
Practical applications - who should use this standard
ISO/IEC TR 30133:2023 is practical for professionals working to reduce data centre resource use and operating costs, including:
- Data centre operators and facility managers implementing energy‑ and resource‑saving measures
- IT managers and architects planning virtualization, server consolidation and storage optimization
- HVAC and electrical engineers designing efficient cooling and power systems
- Sustainability officers and energy auditors assessing operational improvement opportunities
- Consultants and system integrators advising on DCIM and monitoring strategies
The guidance supports decision making in both new builds and retrofit/operations by identifying where to measure, monitor and improve resource efficiency.
Related standards (if applicable)
- ISO/IEC 30134‑1 (used as a terminology source in this report) and other data centre efficiency guidance.
- Industry guidance such as ASHRAE thermal and data centre design recommendations are commonly used alongside this TR.
Keywords: ISO/IEC TR 30133:2023, data centres, resource‑efficient data centres, data centre resource efficiency, DCIM, cooling, virtualization, power feeding, ICT equipment, monitoring.