Green Computing

Efficiency & Energy Savings

As data centers have changed so has the energy required to power and cool. Being "Green" and reducing your carbon footprint is not only a good thing to do it’s the necessary thing to do.

Energy isn't the only efficiency businesses need from computing environments. Improving workflow to streamline access to data and provide information when and where it is needed becomes more difficult as data volume grows. Improving the way your storage infrastructure provides access to data can deliver beneficial cost savings.

"We're getting 30 times the processing power and less than one-tenth of the A/C cooling requirement. The computers are generating as much heat as the old one we had, but now, the chilled water in the doors is absorbing all the heat. Our data center has turned off the 20-ton unit, saving 40 percent on the air conditioning bill, right from day one."

— Dr. Michael Bruck
Assistant Director of Research Computing
University Information Technology Services
University of Arizona


SGI Professional Services has performed audits and assessments enabling us to recommend refinements and modifications to existing data centers. We've not only helped companies save huge dollar amounts in energy expense, but enabled them to increase their processing power and the lifespan of hardware through more efficient operations.

We've developed targeted Assessment Services to help you take advantage of the most efficient methods for improving and optimizing their HPC environments.

  • Dense Systems Assessment helps assess, install and maintain the high density servers and storage utilized in data centers with techniques to power and cool more efficiently.

  • Storage Assessment begins by giving an accurate snapshot of existing capabilities and develops a road map of best-practice industry recommendations to keep you efficiently meeting user needs with business applications.

  • Energy Efficiency Assessment is your ticket to comprehensive insights about how your current environment is consuming energy and recommendations for improved efficiency.

  • Power Distribution Audit shows how to manage your computing environment for optimal efficiency in delivering computing power, avoiding the disruptions caused by voltage sags, harmonics, poor surge protection ... and more.

  • Modular Data Centers: A data center in a box to solve space or power issues and deliver the capacity you need.

  • Data Center Consulting: Assessing your data center environment and providing recommendations for enhancements or improvements.

Do you experience any of the following situations?

"As part of our new ICE purchase, SGI Professional Services conducted a Data Center Assessment to prepare our facility for the new system. They identified a critical issue that without knowing prior to installation would have delayed the project many weeks."

— National Oceanographic Center, Southampton

  • You purchased new racks of high density storage but aren't sure of the best location in your data center or your options for best energy efficiency in powering them.
  • You've decided to relocate your data center, but the space wasn't designed to accommodate the power and cooling needs of your equipment.
  • Your utility company says your power use is greatly imbalanced and needs to be corrected.
  • Your data growth has escalated, you can't get rid of it, but providing equal access for older, less-used data is costly and you want to increase efficiencies in how your information is accessed, used and managed.

Data Center optimization of power and cooling

"As part of our new ICE purchase, SGI Professional Services conducted a Data Center Assessment to prepare our facility for the new system. They identified a critical issue that without knowing prior to installation would have delayed the project many weeks."

— Research and Education facility in the UK

A secure government site in the United Kingdom chose SGI Professional Services to perform a Data Center Assessment to bring their data centre in line with optimal power and cooling efficiencies. As this work could have carried a hefty price tag, they wanted to explore their options and have a high degree of certainty prior to choosing a solution. SGI PS utilized their expertise with CFD and power flow diagrams to demonstrate the outcomes of removing one CRAC [Computer Room Air Conditioner] or multiple CRACs as well as how each option would impact their operations.

Preparing the data center for a new high density server
For a Research and Education Facility based at a purpose-built waterside campus in the UK, SGI delivered an HPC System to facilitate ocean model development. In conjunction with the 768-core SGI Altix ICE that was installed, SGI Professional Services performed a Data Center Assessment to prepare the facility for the new ICE Server.

Contact SGI Professional Services to learn the steps you can take to return to peak efficiency.