Expand the capability and capacity of NCAR supercomputing facilities




		These scenarios show annual savings of approximately 23 to 74 billion kilowatt-hours in 2011 compared to current electricity efficiency trends in U.S. data centers. These savings reduce the peak load from data centers by the equivalent of up to 15 new power plants and reduce annual electricity costs by $1.6 billion to $5.1 billion. The projected savings in electricity usage correspond to reductions in nationwide carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of 15 to 47 million metric tons (MMT) in 2011. The best-practice scenario shows that electricity use in servers and data centers can be reduced below its 2006 level during the next five years rather than almost doubling, which would result if current efficiency trends continue.

Identified by CISL staff nearly five years ago, the trend of dramatic increases in power and cooling requirements for replacement computing systems garnered industry-wide attention in 2007. In response to research by Dr. John Koomey at Lawrence Berkley National Labs, Congress directed the EPA to study data center efficiency. The study recommends three sets of guidelines for computing facilities to implement: "improved," "best practice," and "state of the art." CISL continues to be actively engaged with the management of high-end facilities and has implemented many of the recommendations from all three categories in the Mesa Lab computer room. CISL is planning a new supercomputing facility that will fully meet "state of the art" specifications.

Providing computing facilities to meet NCAR's needs is fundamental to NCAR's strategic goal to "Provide robust, accessible, and innovative information services and tools," and to the related strategic priority of "Enhancing capability and capacity of NCAR supercomputing." We continue a two-pronged approach to meeting this challenge.

First, we have solidified and prepared the NCAR Mesa Lab computing facility infrastructure to operate at or near capacity for the next three years. With the installation of the POWER5+ system blueice, the Mesa Lab computing facility operated successfully at nearly 100% capacity for over four months. Blueice also represented the return of liquid-based cooling, one of the EPA's "state of the art" recommendations. Preparation is also underway to utilize more aggressive direct water cooling methods for the installation the POWER6 system, which is the second phase of NCAR's ICESS supercomputing procurement. The Mesa Lab facility will then be run at full capacity until a new facility goes into operation.

Having already implemented many of the EPA recommendations and still seeing significant constraints on both electrical and cooling capacity, CISL continues planning the construction of a new facility. A partner selection process was completed, and an announcement was made in January 2007 that the University of Wyoming was selected and that a site was identified in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Over the spring and summer of 2007, NCAR and Wyoming further developed the proposed partnership and are working with NSF toward final approval. Upon approval, the full design of the facility is scheduled for 2008.

This work is supported by NSF Core funding.