PARTNERSHIPS AND FULL- SOLUTION EXPERTISE RANK AS TOP REQUIREMENTS FOR SMOOTH TRANSITIONS TO HIGHER DENSITIES .
INDUSTRY WATCH
PARTNERSHIPS AND FULL- SOLUTION EXPERTISE RANK AS TOP REQUIREMENTS FOR SMOOTH TRANSITIONS TO HIGHER DENSITIES .
issues around water availability and usage is another concern that must be constantly addressed within the data centre arena across the continent .
Modelling the desired space
With this data and support of a specialised partner , IT and facility teams can model the desired hybrid cooling infrastructure in the data centre and identify obstacles to overcome , such as weight restrictions , a lack of onsite water , the need to install new piping , access route concerns , and other issues . Once all issues have been addressed , it is a good idea to contract with a vendor to construct a digital twin replica of the new design to explore new systems and processes in 3D .
Impact on operations
Using liquid cooling solutions within the data centre system offers one way to avert issues , if they are using closed loop liquid cooling technology , which means that once the system pipes have been filled with water , there is no water waste . Moreover , a closed water loop is capable of capturing heat to utilise it to warm nearby offices , homes or farms , supporting the circular economy .
Africa is also the second-driest continent , behind only Australia , with two thirds of it classed as arid or semi-arid .
How to do it ? A roadmap to kicking off this type of cooling strategy should include the following steps :
Current and future requirements
IT and facility teams must decide how much space to allocate to new AI , HPC workloads to support current demand and growth over the next few years . Some will convert a few racks at a time , while others could allocate entire rooms for these workloads and supporting the addition of liquid cooling systems .
Site audit
Before developing a business case , teams need to know if retrofitting a facility with liquid cooling systems is technically and economically feasible . The IT and facility team should work with partners to conduct a thorough site audit , including the following steps :
• Perform a computational fluid dynamics study of existing airflows in the facility .
• Analyse existing air-cooling equipment to see if it provides enough capacity to be leveraged in the new hybrid cooling infrastructure and if current piping can be reused .
• Perform a flow network modelling analysis to evaluate the ability of the liquid cooling system to support server liquid cooling requirements .
• Execute a water and power usage effectiveness analyses to determine how efficiently they are using water and power resources .
• Carry out a total cost of ownership study to optimise operations by replacing old or inefficient equipment to lower operational costs .
• Examine infrastructure to see if it can be adapted for use with more power-intensive workloads , such as AI .
• Review physical space to see if raised floors can support the combined weight of new power and hybrid cooling systems , and determine access routes for piping .
• Check the facility for potential required maintenance of existing infrastructure .
• Review the on-site water supply , to determine if it is suitable for use in planned liquid cooling systems .
• Address any safety regulation compliance concerns .
The audit and modelling exercise provides the IT and facility team with insight into how extensive the liquid cooling deployment will be to develop a business case for executive consideration . The IT and facility team will also want to consider how on-site construction will disrupt current operations and what impact adding extra heat loads on site will have on current workloads and service-level agreements .
Efficiency and sustainability
Since liquid cooling removes heat at the source , it can be more efficient than air cooling alone and lowers facilities ’ PUE metrics . By using water or fluid to cool systems and allows teams to recapture and reuse heat , reducing wasted energy and supporting the circular economy . These gains can reduce indirect or energyregulated emissions for enterprises . As a result , liquid cooling can be an essential part of enterprises ’ sustainability programmes .
RFP and RFQ
With this information , a new solution customised for site requirements can be designed , whereafter a design with a bill of materials and required services , issue quote requests and select the manufacturers to build and integrate the liquid cooling system . p
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