For decades now, air cooling with containment has been the preferred method for cooling the IT equipment (ITE) in data centers. However, in recent years liquid cooling has come to the forefront due to its increased efficiency and ability to cool high-density ITE. What does this mean for future data center cooling? When deciding on a cooling solution for a future data center, there are a number of factors that need to be considered, such as location, climate, power densities, workloads, efficiency, performance, and physical space.
These considerations highlight the need for data center designers to take a more holistic approach to cooling, with the realization that, moving forward, both air and liquid cooling will coexist, especially with HPC data centers. This article examines why it’s important to consider the total cost of ownership (TCO) for each individual business case when choosing which type of cooling to use for data centers.