ABSTRACT
This chapter examines multiple high-performance computing models and various “green Information Technology” strategies that can help improve the long-term “sustainable” nature of the network enterprise. True supercomputers are the top of the line in terms of raw computing power. These systems are used in government studies, atmospheric modeling, genetic and bioinformatics research, and similar uses requiring massive throughput and calculations for large data sets. Distributed computing can be performed outside high-end supercomputing installations by coordinating multiple independent computers toward a single task. Virtualization, distributed computing, consolidated storage solutions, remote desktops, and a myriad of other technology improvements offer ever greater opportunities for technology cost reductions and data center energy and cooling requirements. Many technology vendors produce specialized server hardware for high-performance and cloud computing, coordinating high-speed network attached storage with high-density blade server architectures and multicore CPU/graphics processing unit processing power.
