SGI's Eco-Logical™ servers and storage are designed to reduce power consumption and increase system-level efficiency and reliability. Leveraging low wattage components with high Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) ratings — with careful focus on the power supply in a given system — is an important design criteria. Available with both high efficiency Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) power supplies, SGI servers and storage systems feature a broad range of power distribution options compatible with any data center design:

In 2003, SGI launched the industry’s first large-scale X86 Direct Current (DC)-based servers and storage, optimized for both AC- and DC-based data centers alike.

Some of today’s most advanced data centers, along with legacy telco environments, already feature -48VDC input power and have the ability to bring that power very efficiently to DC-based servers and storage, simplifying the power conversions that lose efficiency even before power enters a given rack of systems.

How Does It Work?
SGI Direct DC Racks contain interior bus bars that deliver -48VDC power to each resident SGI Eco-Logical™ half-depth, back-to-back mounted server or storage system. Inside each system, a high efficiency -48VDC power supply achieves efficiency levels of up to 94.5% and MTBF ratings exceeding 2 million hours — a significant reliability increase over legacy AC power supply technologies.

Direct DC deployments provide the highest levels of efficiency we can deliver, yielding significant power savings for the data center. Available with optional dual feed support, such systems can accept an “A” and “B” feed for DC input circuit level redundancy.

High Voltage DC Distribution Option
SGI has partnered with Validus to provide a high voltage DC distribution option, simplifying the infrastructure typically required to distribute -48VDC at the data center level.

In this scenario, Validus deploys a sophisticated rectification module which converts utility line power to -575VDC and subsequently transfers the output power to one or more 120kW row-level power conversion units (PCU). PCUs then convert the voltage to a safe and usable -48VDC, routed via Validus Power Distribution Modules (PDM) in single- or dual-feed configurations directly to the DC bus bars located inside one or more SGI Direct DC racks.

A SGI/Validus deployment enables the elimination of a number of costly infrastructure components typically required in the AC data center, often including the uninterruptible power supply (UPS), static transfer switch (STS) and remote power panel (RPP). The result is a reduced ratio of infrastructure to technology per square foot and a significant reduction in energy consumption.

This highly flexible DC power distribution system can easily scale from 500kW to 2.5mW based on the size and complexity of the data center.

SGI also offers AC-to-DC Rack Rectification and Central Rectifier deployment options for AC-based data centers.