Where do operators even begin to consider battling the unknown digital future? And what comes first, product innovation or strategic implementation? Don Strickland, Product Manager, Legrand, assesses how physical infrastructure and intelligent monitoring can solve the ongoing power problem for AI data centres.
The data centres of today are vastly different from the data centres of even just a few years ago. With the rapid growth of next-generation technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), data centres are not just growing – they are being pushed to their operational limits.
The extreme power densities that modern data centres require mean that racks must be capable of handling configurations of anywhere from 40kW to a staggering 300kW. This looming increase translates to an expected doubling of global data centre power usage in the next two years.
There are, of course, both challenges and opportunities within such a dynamic industry environment. On one hand, the never-before-seen power demands and heat outputs present a formidable obstacle to overcome. On the other hand, data centres that can clear these hurdles quickly and effectively have the chance to take advantage of a very exciting and lucrative new market.
So, what’s the secret sauce? What do data centres need to focus on to make sure they are set up for success in the hyper-dense future of AI deployments?
Cooling, for one. Supply from the grid for another. There are also the physical infrastructure upgrades that need to happen to support heavier equipment – tasks like strengthening rack designs and increasing floor load capacities.
While these might be the areas that a data centre leader’s mind might immediately go toward, there is an oft-forgotten aspect underscoring the entire operation: power distribution, and the environmental monitoring to optimise it. With such powerful servers at play, data centres can no longer afford to not ensure maximum power efficiency.
Effective power management ensures such efficiency, while precise environmental controls give the ability to maintain those optimal conditions. When it comes to utilising AI, these functions are no longer optional. Let’s take a look at how smart sensors, smart rack PDUs and track busways can solve the power problem for AI data centres.
A mandate to monitor
As data centre chips run faster, they also run hotter, making managing the internal environment more complex due to increased heat output. The stakes are higher, too, as the high-density settings mean even minor fluctuations in environmental conditions can greatly impact performance.
While a lot of attention is paid to sophisticated cooling solutions in addressing operating conditions and preventing failures, an effective solution must also involve environmental monitoring to know how those cooling solutions can best be used. The answer is to arm yourself with information, provided by measuring as much – and as closely – as you can.
Incorporating intelligent rack PDUs that can support the use of smart sensors enables data centres to monitor a range of environmental conditions from temperature and humidity to airflow and particulates. Smart sensors that integrate seamlessly with rack PDUs are key to developing a proactive management strategy, as data centres cannot ensure that the conditions within the data centre are constantly optimised for both performance and energy efficiency without measuring such conditions first.
With smart sensors, data can be collected and instantly analysed through a data centre’s DCIM (Data Centre Infrastructure Management) or BMS (Building Management System) software, providing data centre operators with a real-time overview of their operations, right down the rack. The importance of such detailed, PDU-level monitoring cannot be overstated.
When compared to sensing mechanisms for in-row or in-rack cooling solutions, smart sensors at the PDU level offer greater accuracy, better measurement density, increase flexibility and save wiring space, among a myriad of other benefits. With AI deployments, it’s a level of measurement that data centres can’t afford to bypass anymore.
Smarter power
We’ve discussed how data centres can arm themselves with the ability to track their power usage in the name of efficiency, but how can they use that information to optimize the way their facility uses power? After all, the power consumption of AI workloads fluctuates widely, and often. Plus, with even denser compute configurations, the stakes are higher for the risk of power disturbances and quality issues.
The solution lies in changing how power reaches each rack. Until now, basic power strips have been enough to handle the density demands of the average data centre. However, heavy-duty clusters and advanced computing setups force power distribution to evolve. Enter the intelligent rack PDU: advanced power distribution units that provide real-time control of electrical power across the data centre.
By integrating these PDUs, data centres can achieve real-time, granular adjustments in power quality and consumption at the outlet and infeed levels, offering enhanced energy efficiency, power management and redundancy planning in their IT environments. Intelligent PDUs not only flag potential problems, but also facilitate proactive management of resources, enhancing operational efficiency in ways never seen before in the industry.
But what about the capacity of the system itself? How can data centres ensure that the power sent to each rack won’t overload the circuits?
The answer to this challenge lies in high-capacity track busways, specially designed for the demands of AI-driven data centres to handle high electrical loads. There are other power-and-heat-related benefits, too. For one, the ability to tap power anywhere along the busway and add or rearrange plug-in units without downtime is a game-changer, ensuring that power is always available where and when it is needed.
For another, their overhead configuration eliminates the obstruction of traditional wiring methods, thereby enhancing airflow and cooling efficiency. Best of all, advanced track busway systems can integrate with power monitoring systems that provide real-time data on power usage and efficiency, so both the busways and the rack PDUs can work together at the click of a mouse.
As data centres evolve into AI brokers, the integration of intelligent technologies like smart sensors, advanced rack PDUs and high-capacity power busways will become increasingly crucial. Along with advanced cooling systems, they form an important part of the comprehensive solution that will support the demands of the data centre now and into the great unknown digital future.
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