Supermicro – Green Computing for a Greener Earth
Supermicro addresses data center power consumption problems in system and rack-scale. While a general server still has the main components of CPUs, GPUs (for AI and HPC), storage, and networking, the average power consumption per server will lowered by using different technologies. The first is to share specific components among separate servers. Larger power supplies can then be used, which will lose less power when running at a higher usage in the conversion step. In addition, by sharing the fans, larger, more efficient fans can be used, also reducing power consumption at the server level. Through shared components and disaggregation, Supermicro also reduces both TCO and TCE (Total Cost to Environment) by minimizing e-waste for each upgrade cycle.
With CPUs and GPUs becoming more power hungry with each new generation, novel and simple techniques are needed to reduce the cooling requirements of powerful servers and data centers today. Liquid cooling is becoming more popular as the components generate more heat. With liquid cooling at the server level, the cold liquid is pumped over the CPUs and GPUs as well as other high power components, which carries the heat away from the electronic devices. Liquids are 25X more efficient at carrying away heat than air is. Therefore, liquid cooling at the system level reduces the fan speed (still needed for other heat producing components) as less air must be pulled over the electronics. In addition, the more significant savings that result in lowering the PUE in a data center is the less air-conditioning that must be used.
Additional liquid cooling techniques, such as Rear Door Heat Exchangers and Immersion Cooling, can be implemented. In both cases, as with Direct To Chip, the cooling technology is brought closer to the CPU and GPU, which further reduces the need for Computer Room Air Conditioning (CRAC). Many product families from Supermicro are designed and tested extensively in high-temperature environments, so the customers feel confident to run their data centers at hotter temperatures, reducing the CRAC energy consumption.
Green computing is ingrained into the design of servers, AI and rack scale solutions from Supermicro. When more organizations use green computing solutions, they could save a combined $10 billion in electricity costs per year WW. What’s more, the reduction of electricity use from green computing solutions like Supermicro’s is equivalent to removing 30 fossil fuel power plants and that also equivalent to planting approximately 8 billion trees to offset the CO2 emissions.
Let’s work together and make our Mother Earth greener and happier.