Energy Efficiency Considerations for HPC Procurement

LINK TO MOST CURRENT DOCUMENT:

Energy Efficiency Considerations for HPC Procurement Document: 2021

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aB7uv47anaHUcHzw140tJLUSe9xVkQfQ/view?usp=sharing

The Energy Efficient HPC Working Group (EE HPC WG) has a Procurement Team that has written and regularly updates a document to encourage the adoption of energy conservation measures and energy efficient design in supercomputing and, more generally, high performance computing.

It is intended that this document encourage dialogue in the entire community about priorities and specific requirements for HPC system energy efficient features and capabilities.

It captures energy efficiency requirements with varying degrees of innovation that the EE HPC WG recommends considering when writing procurement documents for supercomputer acquisitions.

It draws upon recent procurement documents created and used by major supercomputing sites, and also draws upon content experts in energy efficient HPC to modify and supplement the material from these documents. The document incorporates feedback by reviewers in the vendor community.

Each HPC center has its own unique mission, and priorities may differ greatly between centers. Some of the requirements, especially those that are Innovative, may drive up product cost beyond the value of the feature or capability to the center. The authors recognize that there may be trade-offs, but also want to encourage the dialogue that helps to communicate requirements as well as costs. The HPC center has the exclusive responsibility for managing its procurement processes. It is hoped that this document will encourage consideration of energy efficiency during the execution of those processes.