IMN CONFERENCE
Smaller Servers, Larger Loads
Ultradense server blades can pack racks - but how to cool them?

July 31, 2001 (San Francisco) -- First there were thin servers. Then high-density servers.
Now, meet the "ultradense" server blade, which promises to jam as many as 336 processors into a single industry-standard rack.
The new technology offers data center operators the chance to improve the efficiency of their racks, which normally accommodate up to 42 thin servers measuring 1.75 inches thick (an industry standard known as 1U).
But it also raises the specter of higher electricity bills to power and cool increasingly crowded data center space.
In a panel at last week's IMN Summer Conference, industry power and HVAC specialists say the new generation of servers create challenges, and has sent them back to the drawing board looking for solutions.
"It's clear to us that this formula is well on its way in the marketplace," said Robert Bauer, President-Americas for Liebert Corp., a leading maker of HVAC equipment.
Bauer said Liebert has been monitoring development at chipmakers such as Intel Corp. "They continue to push up the speed," said Bauer. "We do not see the power efficiencies keeping pace."
While some power professionals were deeply skeptical of reported power requests of up to 300 watts per square foot for data centers, Bauer said high-density "hot spots" within data centers can already reach those levels.
"It will be easy to pile a lot of equipment into these spaces," he said. "The question is - can you do that and still maintain your greatest asset - reliability?"
Data center operators appear ready to give it a go, expressing enthusiasm for new space-saving technologies.
"In the space where we could get 1,200 servers, we can now get 4,800," said Phillip Senff of iBiz Technology, which operates small data centers.
"Racks and servers take 60 to 70 percent of the space within a data center," said Sandip Gupta, vice president for business development at Ensim Corp., which develops automated hosting products. "There are different ways to better utilize your server capacity."
Gupta also said the ultradense servers could offer operational benefits." Fewer people are needed to run the data center because manageability is being built into these servers," said Gupta.
RLX Technologies and FiberCycle recently introduced ultradense servers based on Transmeta's Crusoe chip, which offers significantly lower power usage than earlier products, but is viewed as unproven by much of the marketplace.
Compaq, Hewlett-Packard and IBM are expected to begin marketing their own ultradense servers later this year or in early 2002, which will all likely use next-generation Intel processors.
The industry's rush to ever-thinner servers will place a premium on operating an energy-efficient data center, according to Richard Greco, a principal in EYP Mission Critical Facilities. That hasn't always been a historic priority, he noted.
"Speed to market was key initially, leading to inefficient systems," said Greco. "Availability of equipment ws much more important over the last few years than the energy efficiency of the equipment.
"Now people are concerned whether energy will be available at all, and operating costs are clearly a priority," he added. "The good news is that you can design for energy efficiency."
Just in case, Liebert's preparing to cool even hotter hot spots.
"New technologies can handle spot consumption in a rack of up to 1,500 watts per square foot," said Bauer. "There are some developments that will meet the 'zero U' requirement people seem to need."

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