April 15, 2008 - SizingLounge has released a free online tool for sizing servers that includes energy efficiency variables in its cost calculations. The new tool is designed to help IT managers identify the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of their datacenters, as defined by Green Grid standards.

Here's how it works: Users choose a software platform and number of users and the tool spits out results for Dell, HP, IBM, and Sun servers, ordered by total costs of ownership. Users can then compare the cost efficiency of various system architectures and operating systems, such as UNIX, Linux, or Microsoft Windows. Users can also compare the total costs of a central system with a high availability configuration versus a grid environment.

The tool's software portfolio contains the full range of databases, application servers, and applications, according to SizingLounge.

To access the tool, click here.