ADVANCED COOLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR

DATA CENTER AND IT EQUIPMENT

The exponential growth of data in society requires new equipment, infrastructure and networks, capable of processing more data in ever shorter times. Historical documents, but also recent research, show that microprocessor chips become more efficient, but also consume more energy, while allowing higher efficiency at the same time.

It is clear that this trend will continue due to the technical and economic advantage it offers, but it will challenge how data centers are built and how and where they are deployed.

The market for digital services and data centers is rapidly developing where the key winning performance factors of Primaria are: energy efficiency, space reduction, latency reduction, speed of deployment, power and heat density, scalability, reliability and optimization of costs.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

It has a strong correlation with high density since high density requires removing heat closer to the source, where temperatures are higher. This allows cooling equipment to operate at higher temperatures conducive to free-cooling during longer periods of the year, even year-round, and increases the efficiency of cooling equipment that relies on a process of refrigeration.

High-density cooling systems for rear doors, cabinets and liquid cooling systems are suitable and examples of such technical solutions.

They can achieve a mechanical pPUE of between 1.03 and 1.10, as compared to the actual average global pPUE of 1.65, and are compatible with varying levels of high-density loads.

SPACE

High density presents a major opportunity to reduce the data center footprint or build much more processing capacity on any planned footprint.

The high density is also, due to the higher operating temperature, advantageous for sizing cooling systems by allowing the selection of smaller and more compact equipment, reducing the footprint occupied in the data center white space and/or on the external ground.

LATENCY – TIME REQUIRED FOR DATA PROCESSING AND TRANSPORT

The exponential amount of data expected to be generated at the edge of networks in the new age of IoT would be: expensive, time consuming and would consume a lot of bandwidth to be transported in large centralized data centers.

A growing number of applications today already require low latency.

Therefore long-distance data transport cannot be tolerated for much longer.

For these reasons, the next generation of data centers will increasingly be edge data centers, located closer to the point of data generation and use. These will be smaller sites, typically edge and micro data centers, built and interconnected in mesh networks.

SPEED

New data center sites need to be installed in a short time to respond to market and customer needs.

Also for this reason, data center operators are increasingly looking at modular and scalable prefabricated solutions that are gaining ground in a world where Time To Market is increasingly a competitive advantage.

This will be further enhanced with the advent of edge computing and micro data centers that can be assembled offsite and placed almost anywhere in shorter timescales.

POWER AND THERMAL DENSITY (W/CHIP, W/ACK, W/M2)

They have always been on the rise, but recent years have seen a rapid evolution and more widespread use of High Performance Computing (HPC) in mainstream applications in enterprise, colocation, cloud and hyperscale data centers.

It is not uncommon to see rack loads of 30 to 50kW and in extreme HPC applications the density can reach 100kW/rack and beyond.

This is a good indicator, what can be expected in the near future, for those planning to build a new data center or renovate an existing data center.

SCALABILITY

It has also become of primary importance to data center operators due to the high density issue.

The speed of evolution of information technology makes it almost impossible and risky to try to predict what the requirements and loads will be in 5 or 10 years.

Scalability and modularity offer a solution. They allow for shorter scheduling and a "build as you go" approach where capacity can be added as needed in phases without the risks of obsolescence, overinvestment (financial exposure), and locked-in capacity, ultimately accommodating growing densities.

Data centers that can be expanded with one or a few racks at a time offer a huge advantage.

RELIABILITY

High density through modularity and more simplified technology in the form of free-cooling, liquid cooling, and preventive maintenance increase data center reliability.

SAVINGS

Each of the above factors represents cost savings, one or both in the form of capex and opex. Where such technologies and methodologies are systematically planned and implemented, investment cost reductions of up to 50% can be achieved, and total cost of ownership savings are in the same range.

These cost savings are a major competitive advantage for any data center owner and operator.

PRIMARY PRODUCT RANGE

Primaria recently expanded its product portfolio to include innovative and intelligent products for data center, telecommunications and other IT applications, addressing the high density problem.

The product range now includes High Density and High Efficiency:

• rear door coolers for IT racks;
• free-cooling air handling units with or without adiabatic function;
• inrow air conditioners and cabinet coolers with direct and indirect free cooling;
• coolers and heat recovery units for liquid cooling systems.

PRIMARY PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS

Primaria products and systems feature innovative high-density cooling technologies that allow for increased product performance and efficiency over traditional cooling technologies.

High-density cooling technology has a cascading effect that ripples through the entire data center infrastructure and delivers benefits, without compromising reliability, in terms of:

• space saving
• energy saving
• cost saving
• scalability
• quality over time: thanks to a predictive maintenance technology, based on machine learning, unique in the data center cooling industry with a level of confidence of the forecast > 80% which reduces equipment failures and related costs up to 99%.

This enables Primaria to address the increasing power and heat densities of next-generation IT equipment, increase product reliability and life, and reduce costs, to previously unknown levels, greatly benefiting our customers and partners.