 |
| Microsoft is flooding servers in basins of fluid |
Microsoft has begun drenching its servers in fluids to improve performance and energy efficiency. Servers are now used for production loads that are similar to liquid storage tanks.
This immersive process has been in use in the industry for several years. However, Microsoft stated that it was the first cloud provider to implement two-stage immersion cooling in a production environment.
The server is cooled by being completely immersed in a non-conductive fluorocarbon liquid that collides directly with the components and reaches a lower boiling point (50 ° C) until it condenses.
Since no energy is required to move the liquid in the tank and the condenser does not need refrigerant as well, a closed loop refrigeration system is constructed, which reduces costs.
Microsoft explained: the server is immersed in a water tank, just like water is boiling in a saucepan, it boils, but the boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius and the boiling point of this liquid is 50 degrees Celsius.
In the past few years, cryptocurrency companies have used this type of liquid cooling to mine Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
In the past few years, this approach has inspired Microsoft to test its method and thus test the massive demand for the cloud and the workload of applications such as machine learning.
Currently, most data centers use outside air for cooling, and the outside air is evaporated to keep its temperature below 35 degrees Celsius.
This technology is called submersible cooling, but it uses a lot of water and the new tank technology aims to reduce water consumption.
Microsoft said: This approach can eliminate the need for water in the data center, which is very important to us.
The server stand also enables Microsoft to bring devices together, which in the long run will require less space than conventional air-cooling systems.
The company is trying to test this method with a small amount of in-house production and plans to use it on a large scale in the future.
When researching the reliability impact of this new cooling, Microsoft says we expect better reliability, and our collaboration with the Natick program a few years ago demonstrated the importance of removing moisture and oxygen from the environment.
As part of Project Natick, Microsoft flooded Scotland's entire data center with 864 servers and 27.6 petabytes of storage. The test was successful.
Microsoft hopes to achieve similar results with the new immersion technology in which liquid replaces oxygen and moisture, both of which are corrosive and can lead to system failure.
Part of this work is also linked to Microsoft's environmental commitment to tackling water scarcity, as the company is committed to adding more water to its global business by 2030.
This includes Microsoft's use of on-site rainwater harvesting systems and the collection of condensate from air conditioners to water treatment plants.
However, Microsoft removed nearly 8 million cubic feet of water from municipal networks and other local sources in 2019, up from just over 7 million cubic feet in 2018.