KDDI Corporation announced that it will open a verification environment for AI data center technologies such as power supply technology and cooling technology for cutting-edge GPU servers in April at the KDDI Telehouse Shibuya Data Center.
The verification environment will be opened in anticipation of the full-scale operation of the AI data center (hereinafter referred to as Sakai AI Data Center) that KDDI is building on the former site of Sharp’s Sakai factory in fiscal 2025. In addition, the verification environment will be used to conduct joint verification with partner companies that develop and manufacture various products for servers in general, including GPU servers. KDDI explained that GPU servers consume a lot of power during operation due to their high performance, requiring large-capacity power equipment, and that the high heat generated by the high performance of servers is also increasing. In order to operate an AI data center, it is essential to introduce water-cooling technology that can cool servers more efficiently, in addition to improving the cooling efficiency of the air-cooling technology used in conventional data centers.
The verification environment will be built by combining a server that supports direct liquid cooling (DLC: Direct Liquid Cooling), which feeds cold water directly into the server, with a high-heat generating device that simulates a GPU. In addition, it has a maximum power capacity of 300kVA and a maximum cooling capacity of 300kW, making it possible to test the cutting-edge GPU “NVIDIA GB200 NVL72” that is scheduled to be introduced in the Sakai AI Data Center.
With the high performance and high integration of semiconductor chips, the amount of heat generated per rack for the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 has increased by more than 10 times compared to conventional models, making it essential to support DLC, which can efficiently remove heat from servers with low power consumption. As AI becomes more widespread and used in the future, the demand for AI data centers that support DLC will increase, and the need to introduce DLC-compatible equipment is expected to increase even for data centers that currently use air-cooling technology. In order to respond to these needs as quickly as possible, the existing KDDI Telehouse Shibuya Data Center will be renovated to support DLC, and a verification environment will be built that can be used to establish and improve optimal facility design and operation methods with an eye toward commercialization, such as technical verification with manufacturers who own cutting-edge cooling technology and water leakage countermeasures.
In addition, sensors that measure power supply and temperature will be installed in the verification environment. This allows data to be constantly collected and analyzed when water-cooled servers are in operation. Furthermore, in anticipation of problems such as water leaks in a commercial environment, safety devices such as water leakage sensors and emergency shut-off valves that work in conjunction with the sensors have been installed. Even if a water leak occurs, testing can be done without affecting the surrounding environment. Companies collaborating in building and testing the testing environment are Super Micro Computer (USA), NIDEK Co., Ltd., and Shinohara Denki Co., Ltd. KDDI will use the testing environment as a place to work with partner companies to establish new cooling technologies for data centers, develop and test highly efficient power supply equipment, and more. KDDI says it will continue to work on testing and commercializing new technologies with partner companies in various industries and sectors.
SOURCE: Yahoo
