Optimizing Idle Power of HPC Systems: Practical Insights and Methods

Research output: Contribution to book/Conference proceedings/Anthology/ReportConference contributionContributedpeer-review

Abstract

Energy costs are a critical consideration for operating High-Performance Computing (HPC) systems, with significant efforts dedicated to reducing the energy expenditure of active computations. However, compute nodes of HPC systems also spend a non-negligible amount of time idling, i.e., without performing any useful work. Optimizing idle power consumption presents an impactful and potentially more accessible opportunity for practical energy savings. This paper surveys factors that influence the idle power consumption of HPC systems. We employed various monitoring tools and power measurements in a structured practical approach to optimize idle power consumption during the installation phase of an HPC system. The results highlight the effectiveness of targeted idle power management strategies, demonstrating compound savings of approximately 90 W per node, and 57 kW for the full system in idle. This thoroughly discussed example can serve as a blueprint for similar optimizations in other HPC environments.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2024 IEEE International Conference on Cluster Computing Workshops (CLUSTER Workshops)
PublisherIEEE
Pages19-25
Number of pages7
ISBN (electronic)9798350383454
ISBN (print)979-8-3503-8346-1
Publication statusPublished - 27 Sept 2024
Peer-reviewedYes

Workshop

Title2024 IEEE International Conference on Cluster Computing Workshops
Abbreviated titleCLUSTER Workshops 2024
Duration24 - 27 September 2024
Website
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationKobe International Conference Center
CityKobe
CountryJapan

External IDs

ORCID /0009-0003-0666-4166/work/173054016
ORCID /0000-0002-5437-3887/work/173054732
Scopus 85211813513

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Conferences, Costs, Energy conservation, High performance computing, Monitoring, Optimization, Power demand, Power measurement, Power system management, Surveys, Energy efficiency, High-Performance Computing, Idle power, Power management