The three companies will combine Fujitsu’s liquid-cooling monitoring and control software, Supermicro’s high performance GPU servers, and Nidec’s high-efficiency liquid-cooling system to develop a service that will help data centers increase their power usage effectiveness (PUE).
Japan’s IT services provider Fujitsu has announced a collaboration with American IT company Supermicro and Japanese electric motors maker Nidec to improve data center energy efficiency.
As part of this collaboration, the three companies will combine Fujitsu’s liquid-cooling monitoring and control software, Supermicro’s high performance GPU servers, and Nidec’s high-efficiency liquid-cooling system to develop a service that will help data centers increase their power usage effectiveness (PUE), according to a media release.
The rapid proliferation of AI is driving a surge in computing demand, leading to a global increase in the number of data centers and their overall power consumption. Higher power consumption is largely due to the increased cooling requirements of GPUs used in AI servers. Many data centers utilize air cooling, resulting in high average PUE ratios.
While liquid cooling offers significantly higher efficiency, the design, construction, and operation of liquid-cooling systems require a high level of expertise and skill, and deployment of these systems has been limited.
“Fujitsu will apply its 40-year track record in liquid-cooling technology used in top-tier supercomputers and mission-critical servers around the world to develop software that provides real-time monitoring of liquid-cooled servers and optimizes cooling equipment,” Fujitsu said in the media release.
This is expected to reduce liquid-cooling equipment power consumption and improve overall data center energy efficiency by up to 40% compared to traditional air-cooling methods. The software will also centralize management of liquid-cooled servers and equipment, reducing data center management workload.
Supermicro will provide high-density, high-performance AI server systems optimized for liquid cooling. This eliminates the need for air cooling fans, significantly reducing server power consumption and improving the server environment with reduced noise and lower operating temperatures.
Nidec will provide highly efficient cooling systems centered around its Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs). Nidec will utilize its proprietary pump technology and expertise in precision engineering to deliver reliable and high-performance liquid cooling solutions. These systems will optimize thermal management within servers, significantly reducing energy consumption and contributing to sustainable datacenter operations, the media release said.
