AI and HPC are Transforming Data Centers
The COVID-19 pandemic and artificial intelligence (AI) has driven the demand for High Performance Computing (HPC) to new heights. For instance, modeling the COVID virus’ spike protein and finding sites on those spikes that could be drug targets are done with HPC-powered simulation.
Adapting to HPC Needs
Deploying a high power density HPC environment generates significant heat. In fact, due to the size of the compute workloads and density, servers in an HPC environment can run approximately 30 percent hotter than traditional computing platforms. Especially in an older data center where the cooling systems were designed to accommodate significantly lower power densities, HPC will expose ineffective or insufficient cooling capacity.
As a result, liquid- and immersion cooling will increasingly become the norm in Data Centers and these possibilities must be taken into account today in order to adapt to the changing requirements in the future.
The Uptime Institute recently confirmed the average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratio for a Data Center in 2020 is 1.58, which is only marginally better than it was seven years ago.
Power and Cooling Requirements
The average power density in the data center will increase significantly from 5 kilowatts (kW) per rack to as much as 11 kW per rack in the next few years, according to a survey conducted by the Uptime Institute’s 451 Research firm. A major factor in the increasing density is the rise of (AI) data processing. Powerful new hardware for AI systems is adding more computing power to each device and increasing power density –- the amount of power consumed by servers and data storage in a rack –- and the associated waste heat.
This trend is challenging traditional data center cooling practices, which, in turn, is prompting Data Center operators to implement new strategies and designs such as, liquid cooling.
High-density cooling and AI for supercomputing and (HPC) are increasingly in focus for Data Centers, especially since AI and new applications require much more power per chip.
This trend is in-line with Uptime Institute surveys published in 2020 and 2021, which found that nearly 70 percent of enterprise Data Center users say their average rack density is increasing. The 2021 edition of the Advancing Data Center and IT Infrastructure Professionals’ (AFCOM) State of the Data Center survey also noted a trend toward higher power density racks, with 27% of Data Center users deploying (HPC) solutions and another 39% expected to use converged architectures with higher server densities.
Your HPC Experts
As experts in the field of high-performance computing, we have been involved for many years at various levels, both nationally and internationally. As part of the Open Compute Project (OCP), for instance, which aims to redefine hardware and make it more efficient, flexible and scalable, we help shape the concepts of tomorrow.
Our HPC solutions and the tailored concepts we develop already enable enormous power densities with high energy efficiency and maximum sustainability at the same time. When you work with us, we guarantee the highest quality standard available as well as a committed team dedicated to providing you with a unique solution that fits all of your needs.
