After spending a great week networking with folks at Data Center Dynamics Chicago, I caught TechHermit's post on the latest anti-PUE post by Ken Brill.
A Controversy of lunacy
September 19, 2008I have been sidelined for the past few weeks with a rooftop air handler replacement project. As a result I have not been very active here, but the growing lunacy in our industry around efficiency metrics has pulled me out of my long hours to post a slight commentary.
Data Center Journal posted a video on the growing controversy which attempts to get at the heart of the issue. Personally I don’t feel that this post is very even handed and it gives Ken Brill and the Uptime Institute a lot of air time with his buffoonish rebuttals of PUE. The flip side has barely a rebuttal from the Green Grid. In effect his issues are nomenclature. Additionally the schizophrenic ramblings has him taking credit for developing the metric 5 years ago, and then publicly flogging the same metric with a different name. Does anyone else see the utter lunacy in this?
As TechHermit points out I don't want to draw more attention to Ken Brill, and it is not worth fighting Ken as it seems like he is the only one out there fighting the Green Grid and users of PUE, rounding up his believers for the next Uptime Institute Meeting.
Ken has way too much energy and connections in the data center industry to ignore what he is doing. Being an Aikidoist, I've learned to think of how to use the attacker's energy to your advantage.
Aikido (合気道, aikidō?) is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying (with) life energy"[1] or as "the Way of harmonious spirit."[2] Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury.
Aikido is performed by blending with the motion of the attacker and redirecting the force of the attack rather than opposing it head-on. The aikidōka (aikido practitioner) "leads" the attacker's momentum using entering and turning movements.
Aikido training is mental as well as physical, emphasizing the ability to relax the mind and body even under the stress of dangerous situations.[42] This is necessary to enable the practitioner to perform the bold enter-and-blend movements that underlie aikido techniques, wherein an attack is met with confidence and directness.[22] Morihei Ueshiba once remarked that one "must be willing to receive 99% of an opponent's attack and stare death in the face" in order to execute techniques without hesitation.[6] As a martial art concerned not only with fighting proficiency but also with the betterment of daily life, this mental aspect is of key importance to aikido practitioners.[43]
TechHermit closes with the following.
I am not giving Ken Brill more airtime on this subject. Just talking about it feeds this goofy controversy. He is single-handedly splintering the data center community and the tools of media are turning a blind eye. Wise up. The Tiering System is out of date, and Ken Brill is in full brand protection mode. Even Microsoft is more “open source” to ideas than the Uptime Institute.
Using Ken's energy he will splinter the data center community in those who look to Uptime Institute for guidance, and those that do not. I've heard rumors many of the top data center vendors are questioning sponsorship for Uptime's Symposium 2009. 
Personally, I am making great connections with those who question Ken Brill's motives.
Who are you listening to? Ken Brill or the rest of the industry?
If you worship Ken Brill's words, you may want to start listening to the other side. But, don't expect the other side to come from Ken's media partners - Forbes, Datacenter Journal, Mission Critical, and SearchDataCenter.com.