Which metric indicates how efficiently power is used for IT versus overhead in data centers?

The metric that measures how efficiently power is used for IT compared to total power consumption in data centers is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). PUE is calculated by dividing the total amount of energy consumed by a data center by the energy consumed specifically by the IT equipment. This ratio provides insight into the proportion of energy used for computing resources versus the energy spent on cooling, lighting, and other overhead systems.

A lower PUE indicates a more efficient data center, as it shows a greater percentage of energy is allocated to the IT operations instead of support systems. This makes PUE a critical metric for data center management as organizations aim to maximize energy efficiency and minimize operational costs.

Other options like Absorption Rate, Uptime %, and IT Load Leased do not relate directly to power efficiency in the same way. The Absorption Rate typically relates to real estate market conditions, Uptime % concerns the reliability of systems, and IT Load Leased refers to the amount of IT resources being leased, not their energy efficiency. Thus, PUE stands out as the most relevant metric for understanding power efficacy in data center operations.