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IBM researchers are counting on a 40-year-old technology to keep modern, state-of-the-art data centers running cool and allow companies to squeeze more computing power from the electricity they consume.
These considerations are more important than ever. The power consumed by a rack of servers has risen from around 5 kilowatts (kW) of power per server rack five years ago to as much as 30 kW today, thanks to the introduction of more powerful processors and denser blade servers. And the power-consumption levels will continue rising in the years ahead.
"People want more compute power and we can give it to them because we can package this into a smaller footprint, basically," said Roger Schmidt, chief thermal architect and distinguished engineer at IBM's Server and Workstation Division.
The challenge that Schmidt and his colleagues face is how to dissipate the increasing levels of heat these systems generate. "We're working on this all the way from the chip to the data center," he said.
At the data-center level, Schmidt sees an expanded role for water cooling as a means to bring heat levels down.
Water cooling, which uses small pipes filled with distilled or deionized water to dissipate heat, was first used by IBM to cool mainframe computers during the 1960s. The technology, which was used in more than 90 percent of mainframes by the mid-1980s, was given a second lease on life in 2005, when IBM introduced its line of Cool Blue water-cooling products.
One such product is IBM's US$4,299 Rear Door Heat eXchanger, which attaches to the rear of a server rack. Four inches thick and weighing about 32 kilograms (70 pounds) when filled with water, the Rear Door Heat eXchanger, can absorb more than half of the heat coming from a server rack, according to IBM.
IBM's water-cooling systems, as well as competing products from such companies as HP, offer several benefits for data centers. Most importantly, water can absorb more heat than air, and the pumps required to circulate water in a cooling system consume less power than air-conditioning systems.
And IBM plans to expand its line of water-cooling products in the months ahead. "We've got other enhancements coming out shortly," Schmidt said, declining to elaborate on specific details.
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Comments (3)
Water cooled systemsBy Kurt on June 23, 2007, 10:49 pmI agree with Len, as an operator of one of those large scale Data and Trading facilities we have often run into the exact situation. Rob comfort cooling to support...
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Water In the Data Center ...By Len Johsnon on February 12, 2007, 1:42 pmWater in the Data Center is nothing new .. HOWEVER, even with some of the most ingenious solutions being developed by IBM, HP, Rittal, etc. , one problem CONTINUES...
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Like water under the bridge for the data centerBy Anonymous on February 6, 2007, 5:39 pmwater cooling for electronics is a lot older than the 1960's - radio transmitters were using it in the 1920's Re: This article.
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