Until recently most data centers have been air cooled, using cool air circulated inside the facility to remove heat rejected by air-cooled servers. Enterprise customers continue to spend billions of dollars a year developing air-cooled data centers that maximize operational efficiencies.
However, in just a short period of time, market demands and technological advances are driving a growing need to use liquid-cooled servers. Artificial Intelligence. Big Data. Internet of Things. Remote work. Hyper-converged Infrastructure.
These technologies are accelerating, and with them the need for increasing CPU & GPU power densities. Now server OEMs, high performance computing centers and even hyperscale data center operators are turning to liquid cooling to yield maximum performance and solve growing space and thermal constraints inside IT hardware.
The fact is, it is just a physics problem. The more power that is generated at the chips, the more air must be forced through smaller areas to cool them. As the air flow increases, the pressure required to push it through increases exponentially. It’s a process of rapidly diminishing returns.
This presents a significant challenge for many existing data centers that have been designed for air-cooled servers, which still make up the majority of heat load. In many locations, there are limited options, if any, to accommodate advanced IT equipment that is liquid cooled. It was with this challenge in mind that Motivair developed its Heat Dissipation Unit ™ or HDU.
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INTELLIGENCE IS THE ABILITY TO ADAPT TO CHANGE – STEPHEN HAWKING
Liquid-cooled servers are now available from all major IT manufacturers. But what can be done to adapt existing data center infrastructure to accommodate it either on a case-by-case basis or at scale? How do co-location data center operators satisfy market demands? How do hyperscale data centers add the power-hungry server architectures they need if they have no water-cooling infrastructure available?
Currently, liquid cooled servers operate by circulating fluid in a closed loop, first through the servers to pick up heat and then out to a Coolant Distribution Unit (CDU) that transfers the heat between the servers and the building’s central water cooling system. By design, the server heat collected by the water is never exposed to the air in the data center.
However, there is a novel solution that bridges the gap between liquid cooled servers and existing air-cooled IT infrastructure.
As a leader in liquid cooled computer systems, Motivair developed its HDU product range to circulate fluid safely and efficiently through liquid cooled servers and then transfer that heat to the air inside air-cooled data centers.
This solution not only enables the highest server performance but, as a readily available product, it allows for immediate adoption of liquid cooled servers wherever the rapidly growing demand for such computer is required.
The Motivair HDU is scalable, adding dense high-powered compute capacity where it is needed, when it is needed. This saves tremendous amounts of capital expense in comparison to the costs associated with building a new liquid cooled data center or converting an entire air cooled data center to accommodate new technology.
As technology continues to advance, supporting infrastructure must find a way to keep up. In today’s rapidly changing market, the HDU extends the useful life of expensive data center investments, ensures liquid cooled IT hardware operates within design specifications and reduces the overall cost of technology expenditure.
For additional support in preparing your IT facility for next generation liquid cooled IT equipment, contact us or visit our Data Center and IT Cooling services page for additional information.