As data centers evolve to meet the growing demands of modern computing, the need for efficient cooling solutions has become increasingly critical. This is where liquid cooling technology comes into play, offering a more effective and sustainable solution.
In late 2024, Michigan State University saw its first liquid-cooled racks installed at the MSU Data Center as an initial phase was completed through a partnership between MSU IT, the university’s High Performance Computing Center (HPCC), Institute for Cyber-Enabled Research (ICER), and Infrastructure, Planning and Facilities. Liquid cooling systems can maintain lower temperatures more effectively than air cooling. This is crucial for high-performance environments where even slight temperature increases can lead to performance degradation and potential hardware failures.
“Our initial installation of three racks totaled 17,000 cores, 48 GPUs, 100TB of RAM, 2.7 quadrillion floating point operations per second, and 400 Gb capable networking,” said Andy Keen, High Performance Computing Architect with ICER. “All the while adding zero additional heat load into the Data Center white space.”
Keen said liquid cooling allows for more powerful and denser components in a system, which can be twice as efficient as air cooling. This capability enables the university to run high-performance computing services and conduct research that would not be possible otherwise.
“This capability is crucial for advancing the university’s research initiatives,” Keen said. “We are able to use a new system that is significantly faster, providing more power and more performance.”
The new racks have also meant an opportunity to retire old systems, Keen said. The university retired five racks of older systems in December and plans to retire another eight racks by July, he said. As technology advances and the power requirements of servers increase, liquid cooling can easily adapt to these changes. This flexibility ensures that the data center can continue to operate efficiently and effectively, even as workloads become more demanding.
“The efficiency of the system reduces operational costs, making it a more sustainable option for high-performance computing,” Keen said.
Aaron McCormick, Data Center Facilities Manager, said most of the data center’s racks are designed for 10 kilowatts and 30 kilowatts per rack, but the new system can handle 60 kilowatts per rack. This allows for significantly more equipment in the same space, enhancing the data center’s capacity. In addition, the plan is to utilize free cooling during cold months, reducing the need for mechanical refrigeration.
The installation of liquid-cooled racks in the Data Center represents a significant step towards enhancing cooling efficiency, reducing energy consumption, optimizing space, and ensuring scalability.
