Liquid cooling: a next generation data center strategy

Abstract

Now that heat loads of 20-25 kW are projected for individual data center enclosures, heat removal and dissipation are critical for ensuring optimization of network component operations and performance. Heat must be evacuated from enclosures and yet not overwhelm a facility's cooling capacity. Also, any proposed solutions must be compatible with site climate control systems.As the IT market continues to focus on maximizing the capacity of server blades per enclosure, traditional air-cooled server cabinets often cannot support escalating heat loads. New solutions are required. Enclosure-based liquid-cooling solutions represent next-generation cooling strategies, offering more effective heat transfer and removal from high-density installations.This presentation will discuss the variety of liquid-cooling systems - both enclosure- and processor-based. A review of enclosure and facility heat loads and current climate-control solutions will lead into a discussion of options available for extreme density installations. End user and facility issues will be addressed followed by application-based solutions for the most stringent criteria.