Facing High-Density Power and Cooling, Vertiv Tackles AI Data Center Challenges

In the era of AI, data centers are pivotal in supporting the intense computing power that AI requires. With the rapid development of AIGC services, power demands for chips, servers, and cabinets are soaring. Vertiv addresses these high-density power and cooling challenges, leading the AI data center industry with cutting-edge infrastructure solutions.

 

As AI technology advances rapidly, do you know which industry is most impacted?

In the AI era, various industries will be reshaped, and data centers, as the forefront of AI transformation, are naturally the first to face these changes.

There is a general consensus in the industry: to gain an advantage in the AI wave, powerful AI computing power is essential, and data centers are the core infrastructure to support this computing demand.

As the demand for AIGC (AI-generated content) services grows rapidly, the power requirements of chips, servers, and racks continue to rise. Facing high-power-density AI application scenarios, high-density configurations have become one of the most prominent features of AI data centers.

In the face of the high-density trend, what unprecedented challenges will data centers encounter?

Power and Cooling Challenges Brought by High Density

For AI data centers, the complexity introduced by high density extends beyond the high-density deployment of equipment. It also requires solutions to two critical challenges: power supply and cooling.

Challenge 1: How can we efficiently deliver the exponentially increased power demand from the grid to the racks within the same building?

In the AI Era, Power Demand Rises as Core Computing Shifts from CPU to GPU

The shift from traditional CPUs to GPUs as the core of computing in the AI era brings significantly higher power demands. For example, power capacity per rack has surged from 5 kW to 40 kW, an eightfold increase. Under these conditions, delivering this dramatically increased power and current from the grid to the racks within existing building space requires highly efficient power distribution paths, with a system reliability of 99.99999% or higher.

Key questions include:

• How can we ensure high reliability and availability in power transmission?
• How can we reduce transmission losses?
• How can we effectively address cluster overloads and AI’s peak-load power characteristics?
• How can we save space despite the substantial increase in power distribution equipment?

These pressing challenges demand immediate solutions.

Challenge 2: How can we quickly and efficiently remove the additional heat generated by high-power equipment?

Power Density Challenges Traditional Cooling Solutions in AI Data Centers

With rising power densities, conventional cooling solutions are no longer adequate for the cooling demands of AI data centers. Today’s cooling strategies must balance high-density cooling needs with energy efficiency. In this context, single-mode cooling solutions struggle to meet the requirements, leading to the adoption of hybrid cooling approaches. This even includes integrating both air and liquid cooling within the same rack.

End-to-End Solutions for Data Center Challenges

When high-density power and cooling needs combine, how should we respond? Vertiv believes that simply adopting popular market solutions won’t break through these challenges. Instead, we need forward-thinking and comprehensive perspectives to develop innovative solutions that best match specific needs, delivering the optimal response to data center challenges.

To address these emerging demands, Vertiv has implemented an innovative, end-to-end solution based on the principle of "Coordinated Cooling and Power, Reliable Integration," tackling AI data center construction challenges from the ground up.

Reliable Power Management Chain

Facing surging power demands, Vertiv’s solutions maximize resources, offering double capacity with half the space, and constructing a “highway” for power distribution. Guided by reliability, Vertiv’s complete product line delivers the best-fit solutions, including modular products with a 50% capacity increase, ultra-compact prefabricated power modules, high-density reliable UPS systems, and intelligent mid-power buses. These meet end-to-end requirements across facility/outdoor, room/row, and rack/server power switching and distribution.

Comprehensive Thermal Management Solutions

To meet the diverse cooling demands of AI data centers, Vertiv developed a complete thermal management solution based on a “Full-Stack Air-Liquid” technology approach. This combines rich air and liquid cooling products to deliver high-density air cooling, hybrid air-liquid solutions, and adaptable cooling options for varying rack power densities.

Backplate liquid cooling, cold-plate CDUs, and immersion cooling align well with the cooling requirements of AI chips. Vertiv also integrates fluorinated pump-free cooling, pre-cooling, and dynamic complementary cooling technology, seamlessly blending air and liquid cooling to handle residual heat from AI workloads.

As AI technology continues to evolve and data center power density increases, power and cooling infrastructure will prioritize miniaturization and efficiency. For equipment manufacturers, staying attuned to these trends is critical. Vertiv remains committed to technological innovation, delivering finely-tuned solutions to drive AI data center advancement.