SGI announced the launch of a new and radical modular data center, which makes use of outside air in place of chilled water to cool the IT system inside, on Monday. The company said that this would make it more energy efficient.

The Ice Cube Air, as it is named, has been created in a modular format. SGI has released it in 3 variants, beginning with the smallest which measures to about 8 feet. This is perfect for four server racks. The prices begin at $99,000 without the addition of the IT equipment. Customers also have the option of putting the four modules together to create a capacity for 16 racks. The Ice Cube Air employs one of the most energy efficient techniques of utilizing external air for the cooling purpose. In case the climate is too warm for fresh-air cooling, SGI plans to install evaporative or direct expansion cooling systems for the backup. There is also the traditional chiller option for customers.

The company objective is exemplified in its statement, “Our intent is to make it easier to buy a modular data center, by offering a product that lets customers start small and has that expandability quotient,"

Yet, there is a question of this air cooling methods creature effective at all times. According to Bill Manner, vice-President of product marketing, SGI, “We believe air cooling is a solution that can be used everywhere. It won’t work everyday everywhere, or every hour of the day everywhere, and that’s why we offer backup cooling systems as well.”

In comparison with most traditional data centers which have a PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) of about 2.0, The Ice Cube Air only has a PUE of 1.06. This ensures optimum usage of power. Customers also have the option of 20-foot Ice Cube Air, big enough for 10 racks, and another large module, which includes two 20-foot modules combined together. These medium and large Ice Cube Air modules can be fitted together similar to the 8-foot module. The containers are fitted to hold all of the vendor’s gear. The racks can handle a maximum IT load of 25k W. This is adequate for many operations.

Since the launch of the elevated report Black Box, by Sun Microsystems, containerized datas contain taken off. Several vendors like IBM, Dell and Hewlett-Packard have now entered the market with dedicated facilities for these. Containerized data centers allow customers to increase the computing ability quickly, in case the expansion of a data center project is delayed. These are also used by the military in various capacities in remote locations.

Sensing the market movement, more vendors are moving away from standard shipping containers. I/O Data centers, among the new entrants in the industry, had announced a couple of months ago about their decision to sell custom-built portable data centers to customers.

These air cooled models are recommended by SGI, for all customers. The only exceptions are in cases where long distance transport is required. In such situations, the company advises customers to choose from the more durable and tougher standard shipping containers.